Article
Biology
Kevin P. Kelly, Mroj Alassaf, Camille E. Sullivan, Ava E. Brent, Zachary H. Goldberg, Michelle E. Poling, Julien Dubrulle, Akhila Rajan
Summary: Diet-induced obesity leads to dysfunctional feeding behavior, and the molecular mechanisms underlying this dysregulation are poorly understood. Using Drosophila as a model organism, this study investigates the role of adipocyte lipid composition in regulating feeding behavior. The researchers identify Pect as a critical regulator of hunger-driven feeding, and show that disrupting Pect activity leads to insulin resistance, dysregulated lipoprotein delivery to the brain, and a loss of hunger-driven feeding. These findings provide causative evidence for the role of adipocyte Pect in metabolic homeostasis.
Article
Entomology
Dan-Yan Huang, Xiao-Ling Xia, Run Huang, Sheng Li, Dong-Wei Yuan, Su-Ning Liu
Summary: The study reveals a novel role of 20E-induced let-7 in controlling growth during larval-prepupal transition in insects, by modulating cell size and endoreduplication in the fat body, which is critical for larval growth.
Article
Cell Biology
Eleonora Meschi, Renald Delanoue
Summary: Under conditions of nutritional and environmental stress, higher organisms have developed a system of interorgan communication through which one tissue can affect the metabolism, activity or fate of remote organs, tissues or cells. The adipose tissue in flies appears to be a main organizing center for regulating insect development and behavior by sensing nutritional and hormonal signals and orchestrating the release of adipokines. These findings have the potential to identify candidate factors and signaling pathways that mediate conserved interorgan crosstalk.
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Thomas P. Keogh, Shawn R. McGrath, Maxwell B. Allworth, Victor H. Oddy
Summary: Metabolizable energy intake is crucial for an animal's genetic potential for growth, but current growth models cannot account for variations in nutrition. This study used CT scanning to examine energy transactions and body composition changes in lambs at different intake levels and maturity stages, and compared the results to predictive equations.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Developmental Biology
Jose Esteban-Collado, Montserrat Corominas, Florenci Serras
Summary: The study showed that in Drosophila wing, PI3K Akt signaling is crucial for Ask1 to activate p38, but not JNK. Nutrient restriction or mutations targeting specific residues of Drosophila Ask1 protein can block regeneration, which can be reversed by ectopic activation of p38.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel Bakopoulos, Sofya Golenkina, Callum Dark, Elizabeth L. Christie, Besaiz J. Sanchez-Sanchez, Brian M. Stramer, Louise Y. Cheng
Summary: This study shows that insulin and TGF-beta signalling converge via a BMP antagonist sog to regulate ECM remodelling in adipose tissue. In tumour bearing animals, Sog also modulates TGF-beta signalling to regulate ECM accumulation. Activation of insulin signalling, inhibition of TGF-beta signalling, or modulation of ECM levels can rescue tissue wasting in the presence of tumor.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Meng-Hsuan Chiang, Yu-Chun Lin, Sheng-Fu Chen, Peng-Shiuan Lee, Tsai-Feng Fu, Tony Wu, Chia-Lin Wu
Summary: Thermosensation is critical for animal survival. This study reveals that nutritional status affects thermosensation in fruit flies, with hungry flies exhibiting stronger hot avoidance behavior. The activity of specific neurons in the brain is increased in hungry flies and these neurons receive the same level of hot input in both food-sated and hungry states. Insulin-like peptides regulate the activity of these neurons depending on feeding conditions. Surprisingly, different signaling pathways are involved in the regulation of hot avoidance behavior based on the type of insulin-like peptide. Finally, two specific neurons are found to be necessary for the output of integrated information related to hot avoidance behavior. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms of thermosensation modulation and its importance for animal survival.
Article
Biology
Xiaowen Ji, Jiajia Gao, Tian Wei, Li Jin, Guiran Xiao
Summary: This study reveals that the zinc transporter FOI is essential for fat body endoreplication and larval growth in Drosophila. Knockdown of FOI results in failure of fat body cells to reach normal size, decreased fat body size, and pupal lethality. The intracellular zinc depletion caused by FOI knockdown leads to oxidative stress, activation of the ROS-JNK signaling pathway, and inhibition of Myc expression, which is required for tissue endoreplication and larval growth in Drosophila.
Article
Developmental Biology
Kota Banzai, Takashi Nishimura
Summary: A temperature-sensitive mutation in the InR gene was found to cause insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in fruit flies, leading to metabolic defects and smaller body size.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ebru S. Selen, Susana Rodriguez, Kyle S. Cavagnini, Han-Byeol Kim, Chan Hyun Na, Michael J. Wolfgang
Summary: In this study, liver-specific Pcx knockout mice (PcxL-/-) were generated to investigate the role of Pcx in hepatic mitochondrial metabolism under different physiological states. The results showed that hepatic Pcx is important for maintaining long-term glycemia under carbohydrate-limited diets, and loss of Pcx is associated with changes in the abundance of acetylated proteins.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yaprak Ozakman, Dhaivat Raval, Ioannis Eleftherianos
Summary: Significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of host immunometabolic response to nematode-bacterial complexes. The study investigates the contribution of Toll and Imd signaling pathways to sugar metabolism in Drosophila larvae during infection with H. gerrardi nematodes. The results indicate that Imd signaling activity regulates feeding rate and Dilp2 and Dilp3 expression in infected larvae. Understanding the link between innate immunity and sugar metabolism in infectious diseases caused by parasitic nematodes is facilitated by this study.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Tamadher A. Alghamdi, Nicole A. J. Krentz, Nancy Smith, Aliya F. Spigelman, Varsha Rajesh, Alokkumar Jha, Mourad Ferdaoussi, Kunimasa Suzuki, Jing Yang, Jocelyn E. Manning Fox, Han Sun, Zijie Sun, Anna L. Gloyn, Patrick E. MacDonald
Summary: The Zmiz1 gene in beta cells is essential for maintaining normal glucose homeostasis. Genetic variations at the ZMIZ1 locus may affect the risk of type 2 diabetes by reducing the expansion of beta cell mass and the ability to maintain a mature beta cell state under metabolic stress.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Mai C. Arlien-Soborg, Jakob Dal, Michael Alle Madsen, Morten Lyng Hogild, Astrid Johannesson Hjelholt, Steen B. Pedersen, Niels Moller, Niels Jessen, Jens O. L. Jorgensen
Summary: This study investigates the molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance dissociated from obesity in patients with acromegaly. The results suggest that uncontrolled lipolysis is a major feature of insulin resistance in active acromegaly, characterized by upregulation of PTEN and suppression of insulin signaling in both muscle and fat.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jonathan Mercier, Alexis A. Nagengast, Justin R. DiAngelo
Summary: The ability of animals to store lipids during periods of limited nutrients is crucial for survival. However, excessive storage of lipids caused by increased food availability in modern society leads to metabolic diseases. This study focuses on the role of SR protein kinases (SRPKs) in regulating lipid storage in Drosophila. Lowering the expression of SRPKs in the fat body of adult flies resulted in decreased triglyceride levels due to reduced fat storage per cell. This was accompanied by altered splicing of the b-oxidation gene, CPT1, leading to increased production of a more active enzyme and a lean phenotype in the flies. Additionally, decreased SRPK levels in the fat body also led to reduced eating, further contributing to the decreased triglyceride levels.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Katherine A. Sauder, Wei Perng, Michaela P. Palumbo, Lizan D. Bloemsma, John Carey, Deborah H. Glueck, Dana Dabelea
Summary: Greater fat mass accretion during infancy and childhood is related to higher fasting glucose levels in children of Hispanic, Black, and Other races/ethnicities at 5 years of age, while greater fat-free mass accretion is associated with higher fasting glucose in non-Hispanic White children. Overall, greater fat mass accretion is linked to higher insulin levels, insulin resistance, and beta-cell function.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
(2021)
