![Role of Tumor Suppressor pRb in Obesity]()
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has awarded Liang Zhu, M.D., Ph.D., and Streamson Chua, M.D., Ph.D., a five-year, $2.9 million grant to study pRb’s role in preventing diet induced obesity (DIO), which has reached epidemic proportions in the US. The majority of people with DIO have abnormally high blood levels of leptin. This hormone targets neurons in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), which regulates body weight. The team have found that high-fat diet induces pRb phosphorylation (adds a phosphate group to the protein) and inactivation, causing MBH neurons to malfunction. Preventing pRb phosphorylation preserves pRB function and significantly reduces DIO in mice. By identifying the neuronal and molecular mechanisms that maintain healthy MBH function, the team hopes to correct the dysfunction of these mechanisms that occurs in DIO. Dr. Zhu is professor and interim chair of developmental & molecular biology, as well as professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and of medicine. Dr. Chua is professor of medicine and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience. (1R01DK111043-01)
Posted on: Friday, September 16, 2016