Digital disputation
/Summary of research
The 1921 discovery of insulin was a Big Bang from which a vast and expanding universe of research into insulin action and resistance has issued. Insulin resistance is a key pathophysiological processes involved in diabetes mellitus type 2, one of the most prevalent and costly non-infectious diseases. Physical exercise is a cornerstone in preventing and treating diabetes mellitus type 2 by its substantial effects on insulin resistance. We analysed normal weight normoglycemic and overweight dysglycemic men before and after acute, long-term and acute upon long-term intensive exercise, focusing on three key insulin target tissues: skeletal muscle, liver, and white adipose, as well as blood. We considered the critical and underappreciated role of tissue crosstalk in whole body insulin action, especially the non-cell autonomous factors proposed to induce insulin resistance, including inflammatory mediators, sulphur- and branched-chain amino acids, adipokines, and hepatokines.