Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Measuring the Rate of Lipolysis in Ex Vivo Murine Adipose Tissue and Primary Preadipocytes Differentiated In Vitro
Published on: March 17, 2023
Free fatty acids and insulin secretion in humans
1Division of Endocrinology/Diabetes/Metabolism, Temple University School of Medicine, Temple University Hospital, 3401 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA. bodengh@tuhs.temple.edu
Abstract:
Acute increases in plasma levels of long-chain fatty acids raise plasma insulin levels by stimulating insulin secretion or by decreasing insulin clearance. In normal subjects, long-term elevations of fatty acids also stimulate insulin secretion. In fact, they increase insulin precisely to the degree needed to compensate for the fatty acid-induced insulin resistance. In contrast, in individuals who are genetically predisposed to develop type 2 diabetes (prediabetic subjects), the free fatty acid (FFA) stimulation of insulin secretion is not sufficient to fully compensate for the FFA-induced insulin resistance. Therefore, obesity, if associated with elevated fatty acid levels, may lead to hyperglycemia in prediabetic but not in normal individuals.
Related Concept Videos
Glucose Homeostasis: Pancreatic Islets and Insulin Secretion
Insulin and C-peptide are co-secreted in...
Insulin Secretory Vesicles
Hormones Regulating Blood Glucose
In addition to accelerating glucose uptake and utilization, insulin has...
Fats as Energy Storage Molecules
Fats as Energy Storage Molecules
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...