Role of galectin-1 in obesity-driven type 2 diabetes

Our overall aim is to better understand the pathophysiology of obesity-driven type 2 diabetes that will help us towards new strategies for prevention and treatment of the disease.

In a translational research program, we will focus on the role of galectin-1 in this context by using state-of-the-art techniques in vivo in man and study effects of galectin-1 on fatty acid (FA) uptake in human preadipocytes, human subcutaneous adipose tissue-resident macrophages and adipose microvascular endothelial cells in culture.

We will also investigate the capacity of galectin-1 and molecules besides glucose to secrete insulin in human islets in vitro, in particular specific fatty acids and amino acids (Factor X) that we find increased in obese subjects characterized by fasting hyperinsulinemia but normal glycemia.

Indeed, recent results from our group show that galectin-1 at baseline is an independent risk factor of incident diabetes, however, no measurement of galectin-1 at follow-up visits was performed in this study.

Here, using biobanked samples and data sets of large population-based cohorts with up to 22-years follow-up, we have access to follow-up sampies for analyses of galectin-1, C-peptide and leptin.

Our project fill a knowledge gap on the functional role of galectin-1 in adipose tissue and pancreas in humans and its potential together with other circulating markers to identify individuals at risk to develop prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in obesity.