Metabolic and molecular basis of the complex interaction between protein metabolism and insulin action in human skeletal muscle: Does saturated fat matter?

The ability of skeletal muscle glucose metabolism to respond adequately to insulin signalling is compromised (termed ‘insulin resistance’) under conditions of increased dietary fat availability and this is thought to be a consequence of the intracellular accumulation of lipids within skeletal muscle. Insulin resistance is a risk factor for the development of metabolic and cardiovascular disease and therefore an important modulator of metabolic health. Recent evidence from our laboratory has indicated that lipid-induced insulin resistance may also compromise the ability of skeletal muscle to adequately synthesise new protein in response to dietary amino acids (termed ‘anabolic resistance’).

The present studentship will use primary cell cultures from human skeletal muscle in conjunction with a variety of metabolic and molecular biology methodologies to investigate the specific intracellular pathways by which different types of dietary fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) affect both insulin and anabolic resistance.