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FRANK LEONHARDT
Scientists led by Gernot Schabbauer from the Medical University of Vienna found that the permanent activity of the PI3K signaling pathway causes phagocytes in adipose tissue (adipose tissue macrophages) to form greater amounts of the “MARCO feeding receptor” on their surfaces. .
This makes them professional fat eaters, according to Andrea Vogel from the Research Institute for Vascular Biology and Thrombosis at the Meduni Vienna in a statement: “They absorb fat and break it down, preventing it from entering the bloodstream.” Normally, macrophages are known as immune cells that destroy pathogens.
The so-called lipotoxicity would also be avoided, that is, it would prevent the fat particles from being deposited in the non-fat tissue (non-adipose tissue). Therefore, these cells specialized in eating fat maintain health, the researchers explain.
In the case of some metabolic diseases, inhibiting PI3K with medication to relieve them would be considered. According to the current study, this could have side effects in the form of changed blood lipid values because fat absorption by macrophages in adipose tissue is reduced, Schabbauer said.
* Link to specialized publication https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-00311-5
