Comparison of the effect of individual saturated and unsaturated fatty acids on cell growth and death induction in the human pancreatic β-cell line NES2Y
Abstract
We tested the effects of various types of fatty acids, differing in the degree of saturation and in the cis/trans configuration of the double bond, on the growth and viability of NES2Y cells (a human pancreatic beta-cell line). We found that saturated fatty acids, i.e. palmitic and stearic acids, at a physiologically relevant concentration of 1 mM and higher concentrations, induced death of the beta-cells in contrast to their unsaturated counterparts, i.e. palmitoleic and oleic acids.
Unsaturated elaidic acid with a trans double bond exerted significant inhibition of growth of the beta-cells at a concentration approximately ten times lower, i.e. 0.1 mM vs. 1 mM, than counterpart oleic acid with a cis double bond. Beta-cell death induced by saturated fatty acids in NES2Y cells was related to significant increase of caspase-2 activity but not to caspase-3 activation