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University of Cambridge

Nutraceutical modulation of lipotoxicity and the development of a tool to monitor palmitate induced sub-cellular dysfunction.

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Nutraceutical modulation of lipotoxicity and the development of a tool to monitor palmitate induced sub-cellular dysfunction. - by Dean Frederick Ashley. Over 64.3% of the UK are currently overweight or obese according to the NHS survey, a number that has continued to increase throughout the beginning of the 21st century. Inherently this increases the use of NHS resources through an increased prevalence of obesity associated diseases, including type 2 diabetes. To address this, changes to individual’s diets are required and a greater understanding of the sub-cellular mechanisms, that lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, need to be further understood. In this thesis, C2C12 myotubes & S. cerevisiae are treated with tunicamycin or the saturated fatty acid palmitate (Chapter 3), to create models of ER stress and lipotoxicity, respectively. These models are then used in subsequent chapters to study the nutraceutical modulation (Chapters 4 & 5) and sub-cellular aberrations of lipotoxicity (Chapter 6). Palmitate, the most prevalent saturated fatty acid elevated during obesity, was exposed to C2C12 myotubes in combination with the artificial sweetener Acesulfame-K (Ace-K)(Chapter 4) and the polyphenol compound curcumin (Chapter 5). Previous studies have highlighted a need for a more comprehensive understanding surrounding the possible effects of Ace-K. Using rtPCR and mass spectrometry, this thesis shows Ace-K can exacerbate palmitate induced inflammation, lipid intermediate accumulation and insulin resistance, through an AMPK dependant mechanism. Further consolidating the need for more in depth in vivo studies to understand the compound’s risks. The same techniques are then used to study the effects of curcumin, in combination with palmitate, on C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells. Previous studies have shown curcumin alleviates palmitate induced inflammation, general lipid accumulation and insulin resistance. However, the specific lipid intermediate responsible for these changes remained unknown. This study demonstrates curcumin decreases diacylglycerol accumulation, through a βoxidative dependant mechanism, whilst simultaneously increasing long chain ceramide concentrations, through PERK signalling. This provides a possible combining mechanism for curcumins anti-inflammatory and cytotoxicity phenotypes. Lastly (Chapter 6), a protocol for monitoring the sub-cellular relocalisation of proteins and lipids is developed using the Localisation of organelle proteins by isotopic tagging (LOPIT) technique. Organelles are separated based on their densities and proteomic and lipidomic LCMS open-profiling is used to quantify proteins and lipids abundances across the differential centrifugation fractions. Known organelle marker proteins are then used by the Bayesian ANalysis of Differential Localisation Experiments (BANDLE) algorithm to assign organelle localisations to proteins and lipids with previously unknown organelle localisations, whilst simultaneously identifying species that have changed location following palmitate treatment. This offers a combined workflow to study the sub-cellular relocalisation of proteins and lipids that can be applied to a range of perturbations within C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells.

Degree

thesis:*
Name dc:type.qualificationname
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
University of Cambridge
Year dc:date.issued
2022

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Ashley, Dean
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Griffin, Julian

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
DOI dc:identifier.doi
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92624
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/345204

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Cambridge University
Base URL
api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Ashley, Dean. Nutraceutical modulation of lipotoxicity and the development of a tool to monitor palmitate induced sub-cellular dysfunction.. Doctoral thesis, University of Cambridge, 2022. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92624