Membrane Flexibility and Exercise: A Guide to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

During the last two decades the discipline of biology developed the pacemaker hypothesis, which notes that the molecular composition of the mammalian lipid bilayer is centrally involved in regulating the metabolic activity of cells. At the same time, the discipline of physical chemistry demonstrated that the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acyl chains regulates the mutual distance of these chains in a bilayer membrane, and consequently affects the flexibility of the membrane. Based on these innovative results, an assessment of the deformability of the red blood cell provides reliable information about glucose disposal during the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as during aerobic exercise. J ou rna l o f D ia be tes & M e ta bolism

Impact of Dietary Oxidized Lipids on Energy Metabolism

“…As a consequence, the interaction energy between the two unsaturated fatty acid chains is reduced, leading to an enhanced membrane fluidity. 30 The mechanism of fatty acid uptake was found to be similar to the mechanism of glucose uptake. 31 The membrane-located fatty acid transporters were reported to regulate lipid metabolism.…”

“…One of the integral membrane proteins, the glucose transporter 1, for instance, covers an area of approximately 17 molecules of a phosphatidylcholine bilayer consisting of saturated fatty acid chains. 30 Thus, high membrane fluidity is required for the insertion of the glucose transporter into the membrane. Membrane fluidity is primarily determined by the membrane composition.…”