Author(s)

Ransi Ann Abraham, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Rajinder Parshad, Varna Seenu, Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Vinay Kumar Bahl

Centre of Chronic Disease Control, Delhi, India.
Department of Cardiac Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India.
Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India..
Department of Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India.

Fatty acids are unique macromolecules as they act as biological modulators of transcription factors and regulate their own metabolism by controlling the activity or abundance of transcription factors of fatty acid metabolism either by RNA processing and RNA stability. Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor (PPAR-γ) and Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein (SREBP-1c) are transcription factors expressed primarily in adipose tissue. We have studied the relation of fatty acid including trans fatty acid assessed in adipose tissue with the transcription factors. Adipose tissue was collected from 50 healthy subjects undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Fatty acid was assessed in the tissue by gas chromatography. The expressions of PPARγ and SREBP-1c were studied by real time RT-PCR. The expressions of PPARγ and SREBP1c were significantly correlated (r = 0.4 p < 0.005). The trans fatty acid did not show any significant correlation with expression but significant correlation was observed between DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and PPARγ expression (r = 0.33 p < 0.03) which remained significant (r = 0.87, p < 0.0001) after being adjusted for BMI and insulin. An upregulation of PPARγ led to decreased levels of SREBP1c. In conclusion, trans fatty acid did not affect the expressions of PPAR-γ and SREB1c in this study.

Transcription Factors; Trans Fatty Acid; Adipose Tissue; qPCR

R. Abraham, L. Ramakrishnan, R. Parshad, V. Seenu, D. Prabhakaran and V. Bahl, "Exploring the Role of Fatty Acid on Transcription Factors Regulating Fatty Acid Metabolism with Emphasis on Trans Fatty Acid," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 9A, 2013, pp. 33-38. doi: 10.4236/fns.2013.49A1006.