Systemic glucose tolerance in type-2 diabetes

A method to screen for an activator of adipose-resident NKT cells which comprises

• (a) preparing an isolated population of adipose-resident type-1 NKT;
• (b) contacting said cells with a candidate activator for a time sufficient to induce said cells to release a TH2 cytokine;
• and
• (c) detecting whether said cells have produced increased levels of a TH2 cytokine relative to untreated adipose-resident NKT cells.

A method to screen for an activator of adipose-resident NKT cells which comprises

• (a) preparing an isolated population of adipose-resident type-1 NKT;
• (b) contacting said cells with a candidate activator for a time sufficient to promote M2 macrophage polarization;
• and
• (c) detecting whether said cells have increased expression, relative to untreated adipose-resident NKT cells, of an M2 gene selected from any one or more of the group consisting of Arginase 1 (Arg1), chitinase 3-like 3 (Chi3l3), C-type lectin domain family 7, member a (Clec7a), Programmed cell death 1 ligand 2 (Pdc1Ig2), Resistin like alpha (Retnla), Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (Il1rn), and Interleukin receptor 4 alpha (Il4ra).

A method to screen for an activator of adipose-resident NKT cells which comprises

• (a) feeding one or more mice a high fat diet (HFD) for at least about 4 days up to about 24 weeks;
• (b) administering a candidate activator to said one or more mice;
• (c) sacrificing said one or more mice from about 4 to about 7 days after administering said activator;
• (d) preparing white adipose tissue (WAT) from said mice;
• and
• (e) detecting whether (i) said WAT contains increased expression, relative to expression in WAT from control mice, of any one or more of IL4, IL13, IL12, Arg1, Chi3l3, Clec71, Pdcd1Ig2, Retnla, Il1m and Il4ra, (ii) M2 macrophage polarization increases in said WAT relative to that in WAT from control mice, and/or (iii) whether one or more TH2 cytokine are produced.