Bandar, Ivo Sah MD, PhD

Research Overview

2014-2015 RMATRIX Collaboration Pilot Projects Program Awards

Project Description

Abstract

Metabolic disorder is one of the leading causes of major health problems worldwide. Diabetes has been a significant health burden in the State of Hawaii and also disproportionately impacting Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI), and Asian Americans. Insulin resistance is a condition underlying diabetes and pre-diabetes and is linked to chronic inflammation, including the process that involves monocytes. Monocytes are circulating cells with inflammatory properties and appear to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic disorders, including insulin resistance and diabetes, through mechanisms that are still unclear. Peripheral blood monocytes are currently classified into three subsets based on CD14 and CD16 expression. Our recent studies have uncovered a 4th as yet uncharacterized monocyte subset, which appear to be segregated from the other subsets and associated with atherosclerotic disease markers in our HIV-infected adult. We have also demonstrated that among HIV-infected individuals on stable antiretroviral therapy, (ART), there is an increase in classical monocytes linked to insulin resistance in older individuals with chronic HIV infection, but whether this is applicable to the HIV-uninfected population remains unknown. Based on these findings, we wish to understand the role of monocyte in insulin resistance within the general population in Hawaii. Our hypothesis is that, similar to our HIV-infected population, monocyte inflammation will be directly linked to insulin resistance in the general population. Specifically, in this study, we propose to characterize monocyte phenotype and function from viably preserved banked peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) available from 75 HIV-uninfected individuals who participated in the Hawaii Aging with HIV Cohort (HAHC) study.