Research

Hormonal

Elevated plasma free fatty acids (FFAs) induce endothelial dysfunction primarily by downregulating the AMPK/PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway, thereby reducing nitric oxide (NO) production and causing vasoconstriction.

If you have metabolic issues like obesity or type 2 diabetes, your body may have high levels of free fatty acids in your blood. This specifically damages the lining of your blood vessels by blocking the production of nitric oxide, which keeps arteries flexible. Managing metabolic health through diet and exercise can lower these fatty acids and protect your vascular function.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
FFAs induce ED via downregulation of the AMPK/PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway... FFAs downregulate insulin-mediated production of NO and peripheral blood flow via two mechanisms: 1) by reducing tyrosine phosphorylation IRS-1/2 and 2) by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt pathway... which not only controls insulin-stimulated uptake of glucose but also regulates eNOS -> NO production in the ECs
Arijit Ghosh et al. · Journal of Biomedical Science · 2017

Why this rating

The paper is a review citing multiple clinical and experimental studies, though it notes some findings are limited to in vitro models.

Source

Role of free fatty acids in endothelial dysfunction

Arijit Ghosh et al. · Journal of Biomedical Science · 2017

DOI 10.1186/s12929-017-0357-5

narrative_reviewCited 413×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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