Type 2 diabetes is a major medical challenge with several hundred million patients worldwide. The disease is also increasing rapidly and by 2030 the number of patients worldwide will exceed 500 million. Type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications are thus a dominant health problem with a strong socio-economic impact. The cause of the disease is not fully understood, despite the considerable resources invested in research over a long period of time. The onset of type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to vascular complications, resulting in reduced quality of life and premature death for many diabetes patients. We have identified a new and unique way to reduce insulin resistance, the initial pathological event leading to type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, by affecting the transport of blood fats through the blood vessel wall and thus the ability of different tissues to accumulate fat. This is achieved by regulating signaling via a vascular growth factor called VEGF-B. The overall aim of the research program is to investigate the role that VEGF-B signaling plays in the blood vessels in the development of type 2 diabetes, and in the diabetes complications seen in large and small blood vessels. We will focus on molecular, cellular and organ-specific events controlled by VEGF-B signaling, and the consequences of pathological fat storage and its role in disease development.