secretion

The team suspected that trans fats were being incorporated into sphingolipids by SPT, which, in turn, would promote the excess lipoprotein secretion into the bloodstream that causes ASCVD.

"We found the incorporation of trans fats through SPT increased lipoprotein secretion from the liver, which then promoted the formation of atherosclerotic plaques," says first author Jivani Gengatharan, a postdoctoral researcher in Metallo's lab.

Furthermore, SPT's bias for trans fats was causing downstream sphingolipid secretion that could go on to cause plaque formation.

With the drug, there was a marked increase in the secretion of the anti-inflammatory signal, confirming their idea that not the number but the function of B cells responds to the treatment, according to the research published online on June 18, 2024, in Neurology® Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Having found that BKCa helps cancer cells with reprogramming their metabolism, Dr. Bischof, first author of the study, specifically looked for evidence of the Warburg effect by measuring lactate concentrations over time; higher levels of lactate secretion imply a shift towards metabolism that does not use oxygen.