Understanding the link between inflammation and type 2 diabetes

Obesity is a major risk factor for development of a number of other metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and even cancer. It is suggested that this is due to impaired responses to the hormone insulin, creating a state of “insulin resistance”. This insulin resistance is associated with increased inflammation in the body, as indicated by an increased number of macrophage cells (involved in inflammatory process) in the fat tissue of obese people. PTP1B is a major regulator of body weight and insulin sensitivity and mice lacking this gene are resistant to development of diabetes and obesity. In this study we aim to investigate the role of macrophage PTP1B in the process of inflammation and insulin resistance by using cell culture models to study these.