In addition to hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus is often associated with hypertriglyceridaemia. Recently, we and others have identified a novel circulating factor, referred to as lipasin [1], refeeding induced in fat and liver (RIFL) [2], angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8) [3, 4], and betatrophin [5], which may have a dual role in mediating both triacylglycerol metabolism and glucose homeostasis.