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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Transcriptional Regulation Of Adipocyte Function, Kivanc Birsoy
Transcriptional Regulation Of Adipocyte Function, Kivanc Birsoy
Student Theses and Dissertations
The increased white adipose tissue mass associated with obesity is the result of both hyperplasia and hypertrophy of adipocytes. While adipocyte development and transcriptional processes are well studied in vitro, regulation of in vivo genes (such as leptin), the identity of the adipocyte progenitor cells and the development of the adipose organ have not been defined invivo. In this thesis, firstly KLF4 was discovered to be an essential early regulator of adipogenesis. KLF4 together with Krox20 cooperatively transactivates C/EBPβ, suggesting that KLF4 and Krox20 are part of an immediate early transcriptional network. This network is upregulated in a lipodystrophic animal …
A Molecular Dissection Of The Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus, Jeremy P. Segal
A Molecular Dissection Of The Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus, Jeremy P. Segal
Student Theses and Dissertations
The ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) plays an important role in the regulation of food intake, glucose metabolism, and body weight. However, in contrast to other hypothalamic nuclei that are also known to regulate energy homeostasis, there is a paucity of nucleus-specific marker genes for the VMH that can be used to label its constituent neurons. This represents a significant impediment to the application of molecular approaches for analyzing VMH circuitry and function. Thus, we conducted a microarray screen in order to identify VMH-specific genes that could be used to label populations of VMH neurons. Laser-capture microdissection was used to isolate …
Life Without Gpr7, The Neuropeptide W1 Receptor: Regulation Of Energy Homeostasis By Gpr7 And Its Endogenous Neuropeptide Ligands, Makoto Ishii
Student Theses and Dissertations
Classic lesion experiments from the 1940s have established the hypothalamus as playing an essential role in controlling energy homeostasis. Gold-thioglucose (GTG) induces lesions in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) resulting in hyperphagia and obesity. To identify genes involved in the hypothalamic regulation of energy homeostasis, we employed a screen to search for genes that were dysregulated in GTG induced obese mice. In this screen, GPR7, the endogenous G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for the recently identified ligands neuropeptide B (NPB) and neuropeptide W (NPW), was found to be specifically down-regulated after GTG treatment. The physiological role of GPR7 was …