From Yale: Endothelium as a gatekeeper of fatty acid transport

Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Dec 3. pii: S1043-2760(13)00180-X. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2013.11.001. [Epub ahead of print]

Endothelium as a gatekeeper of fatty acid transport.

Mehrotra D, Wu J, Papangeli I, Chun HJ.

Source

Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.

Abstract

The endothelium transcends all clinical disciplines and is crucial to the function of every organ system. A critical, but poorly understood, role of the endothelium is its ability to control the transport of energy supply according to organ needs. Fatty acids (FAs) in particular represent a key energy source that is utilized by a number of tissues, but utilization must be tightly regulated to avoid potentially deleterious consequences of excess accumulation, including insulin resistance. Recent studies have identified important endothelial signaling mechanisms, involving vascular endothelial growth factor-B, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, and apelin, that mediate endothelial regulation of FA transport. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which these signaling pathways regulate this key endothelial function.