南京大学医学院附属鼓楼医院Yan Bi小组发现，细胞外囊泡介导脂肪组织与大脑的交流并促进与胰岛素抵抗相关的认知障碍。这一研究成果发表在2022年9月6日出版的国际学术期刊《细胞-代谢》上。

研究人员证明脂肪组织衍生的细胞外囊泡(EVs)及其包裹物microRNAs(miRNAs)介导脂肪组织和大脑之间的器官间通讯，其可以以膜蛋白依赖性方式转移到大脑中并在神经元富集，尤其是海马体。进一步的研究表明，高脂饮食(HFD)喂养小鼠或糖尿病患者的脂肪组织衍生EV会导致明显的突触丧失和认知障碍。这些EV中miRNA货物的消耗明显减轻了它们对认知功能的不利影响。总的来说，这些数据表明，靶向脂肪组织衍生的EV或其运载物miRNA可能为药物治疗具有认知障碍的糖尿病提供可能。

据悉，以肥胖相关胰岛素抵抗为主要特征的2型糖尿病与认知障碍风险增加有关。脂肪组织在这个过程中起着重要作用。

附：英文原文

Title: Extracellular vesicles mediate the communication of adipose tissue with brain and promote cognitive impairment associated with insulin resistance

Author: Jin Wang, Liang Li, Zhou Zhang, Xuhong Zhang, Ye Zhu, Chenyu Zhang, Yan Bi

Issue&Volume: 2022/09/06

Abstract: Type 2 diabetes with obesity-related insulin resistance as the main manifestationis associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. Adipose tissue playsan important role in this process. Here, we demonstrated that adipose tissue-derivedextracellular vesicles (EVs) and their cargo microRNAs (miRNAs) mediate inter-organcommunication between adipose tissue and the brain, which can be transferred intothe brain in a membrane protein-dependent manner and enriched in neurons, especiallyin the hippocampus. Further investigation suggests that adipose tissue-derived EVsfrom high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice or patients with diabetes induce remarkable synapticloss and cognitive impairment. Depletion of miRNA cargo in these EVs significantlyalleviates their detrimental effects on cognitive function. Collectively, these datasuggest that targeting adipose tissue-derived EVs or their cargo miRNAs may providea promising strategy for pharmaceutical interventions for cognitive impairment indiabetes.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.08.004

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00347-3