LAUSR

Purpose of ReviewElevations in circulating branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) have gained attention as potential contributors to the development of insulin resistance and diabetes.Recent FindingsEpidemiological evidence strongly supports this conclusion. Suppression of BCAA catabolism in adipose and hepatic tissues appears to be the primary drivers of plasma BCAA elevations. BCAA catabolism may be shunted to skeletal muscle, where it indirectly leads to FA accumulation and insulin resistance, via a number of proposed mechanisms.SummaryBCAAs have an important role in the development of IR, but our understanding of how plasma BCAA elevations occur, and how these elevations lead to insulin resistance, is still limited.