Huge million-dollar research grant to help us understand fat accumulation in blood vessels

A new research collaboration between Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University, the Karolinska Institute and Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen has received DKK 50 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, according to a press release. The grant will be used to investigate how disorders in the body’s fatty tissue can lead to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease – especially in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

“When the adipose tissue can no longer store fats efficiently, for example in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, the fats accumulate in the wrong places in the body, including the blood vessels,” says Jacob Fog Bentzon, Professor at Aarhus University and Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus.

The project is led by Jacob Fog Bentzon and focuses on how abnormal accumulation of fat in the blood vessels affects the development of atherosclerosis. When adipose tissue does not function normally, dietary fats can escape into the bloodstream and accumulate in vessel walls where they are suspected of accelerating disease development. Previous research has shown that fat can alter the behavior of cells in blood vessels, which can worsen the condition.

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The researchers will combine analysis of blood samples and heart scans from around 5,000 people with type 2 diabetes with experimental studies in mice to identify the most harmful fats. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind atherosclerosis and thereby strengthen efforts to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease.

“We are getting better and better at treating type 2 diabetes, but cardiovascular disease is still far more common among people with type 2 diabetes than the rest of the population. We hypothesize that fat accumulation outside the normal fat depots is an important part of the disease picture. By understanding this mechanism, we can develop more targeted prevention and treatment,” says Professor and Head of Research Niels Jessen from Aarhus University and Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus.

It is estimated that around 250,000 Danes suffer from atherosclerosis to one degree or another. Researchers are now taking a closer look at the link between abnormal fat accumulation in blood vessels and the development of atherosclerosis.

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