High-fat diets rich in healthy fats reduce fat tissue inflammation and insulin resistance despite causing obesity

Mice fed a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) high-fat diet showed improved insulin sensitivity and reduced pro-IL-1β levels compared to those on a saturated fatty acid (SFA) high-fat diet.

• Replacement of SFA with MUFA in high-fat diets is associated with reduced priming of pro-IL-1β in adipose tissue.
• MUFA-fed mice exhibited less adipose IL-1β secretion and sustained activation of AMPK, which is linked to insulin sensitivity.
• The MUFA oleic acid can inhibit IL-1β secretion from SFA-primed cells in a manner dependent on AMPK.
• Shifting from SFA to MUFA high-fat diets improved fasting plasma insulin levels but did not reverse existing insulin resistance.
• In humans, high-SFA consumers showed reduced insulin sensitivity and increased expression of pycard-1 and caspase-1 in adipose tissue, unlike high-MUFA consumers.

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