Dietary Lipid Induced Insulin Resistance

The overall goal of the proposal is to use a saturated fatty acid (SFA)- enriched, high fat diet to rapidly induce insulin resistance (IR) to provide insight into underlying proximal mechanisms of reduced insulin signaling. Specifically, investigators will identify the initial changes in metabolite concentrations/or pathway signaling ("pathways" will be used to broadly refer to these mechanism specific measures) and therefore the mechanisms most likely responsible for the development of IR during this high fat nutritional challenge. Investigators have assembled a multidisciplinary team that is versed with dietary studies, fatty acid metabolism, measurement of IR and potential mechanisms and mediators of IR, and has experience working with monocytes and the two tissues, muscle and adipose tissue, that are particularly relevant for understanding the effects of high fat diets on IR.