Fig. 2
From: Interplay of fatty acids, insulin and exercise in vascular health
FFAs impair endothelial function and vascular health. FFAs are released from adipose tissue and enter the bloodstream. Elevated plasma FFAs induce endothelial inflammation through upregulation of inflammatory genes and increased ROS production to promote a selective insulin resistance in the vascular endothelium, resulting in reduced NO bioavailability, increased arterial stiffness and vascular resistance, less tissue perfusion, and reduced capillary substrate supply and exchange. (Abbreviations: FFAs, free fatty acids; ROS, reactive oxygen species; JNK, c-jun N-terminal kinase; IKKβ, inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit beta; NF-ҡB, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells; PPARs, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors; IRS, insulin receptor substrate; PI3-K, Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase; NO, nitric oxide; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; P, phosphorylation.)