Health risks of saturated fats aggravated by immune response

http://ekaweb02.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/icl-hro090115.php

Public Release: 3-Sep-2015
Health risks of saturated fats aggravated by immune response

Imperial College London

High levels of saturated fat in the blood could make an individual more prone to inflammation and tissue damage, a new study suggests.

Received wisdom on the health risks of eating saturated fat has been called into question recently. This new research supports the view that excessive consumption of saturated fat can be bad for us.

Scientists from Imperial College London studied mice that have an unusually high level of saturated fat circulating in their blood. The research, published today (3 September 2015) in Cell Reports shows that the presence of saturated fats resulted in monocytes - a type of white blood cell - migrating into the tissues of vital organs.

The researchers believe that the newly arrived monocytes could worsen tissue damage because they may exacerbate ongoing or underlying inflammation, but this aspect is still under study.

Lead researcher Dr Kevin Woollard said: "The mice we studied were treated with a drug that caused them to accumulate extremely high levels of fat in their blood. Although it is unusual, humans do sometimes have measurements approaching those levels, either from an inherited condition, or through eating fatty foods.

"Modern lifestyles seem to go hand-in-hand with high levels of fat in the blood. This fat comes from the food and drink that we consume; for example, you'd be surprised how much saturated fat a latte contains, and some people drink several through the course of the day.

"We think that maintaining a relatively high concentration of saturated fats for example by constantly snacking on cakes, biscuits, and pastries could be causing monocytes to migrate out of the blood and into surrounding tissues."

Blood is very finely balanced, and the exchange of cells and other substances with the surrounding tissue is part of maintaining that balance.

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