Immunometabolic cross-talk in the inflamed diabetic heart

While the exact causes of diabetes are still not fully understood, the link between obesity and type-2-diabetes (T2D) is firmly established. Progression of T2D disrupts the supply of energy to the heart causing it to fail. Obesity triggers changes to the body's metabolism including fat tissue releasing fat molecules into the blood and activating type of immune cells called T-cells. T-cells migrate causing inflammation in many parts of the body.Within heart cells, the energy from food is released by cell components called mitochondria. Problems with mitochondria contribute to T2D but what initiates them is unknown. I will examine whether T cells cause heart inflammation in T2D and whether this leads to faulty mitochondria and shortage of energy supply. Currently, there is no treatment to improve heart energy supply in T2D. I propose to develop a new metabolic therapy to prevent destruction of energy supply to the heart by reducing the recruitment of inflammation-causing T-cells in T2D.