Description
There are an estimated 21million diabetics in the United States and 150 million diabetics worldwide. The World Health Organization anticipates that these numbers will double in the next 20 years. Metabolic syndrome is a well recognized set of symptoms that increases a patients risk of developing diabetes. Insulin resistance is a factor in both metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes. It is characterized by decreased insulin stimulated glucose uptake in peripheral tissues, decreased adiponectin levels, increased adipocyte FFA and cytokine production, and increased insulin and hepatic glucose output. Prevention or reversal of insulin resistance should serve as an important strategy in addressing the growing health concerns posed by the Diabetes epidemic. While increased adiposity is associated with insulin resistance, the role of the cell types present within adipose (adipocytes, pre-adipocytes, endothelial cells, macrophages, fibroblasts, leukocytes and smooth muscle cells) in insulin resistance is unclear. In an effort to begin dissection of this question, we examined the transcriptional response of the buoyant and non-buoyant fractions isolated from insulin sensitive or TNF induced insulin resistant hMSC derived adipocytes before and after treatment with insulin.