Research
Helminth infection protects against high fat diet-induced obesity via induction of alternatively activated macrophages
Summary: With the support of a NORCH Pilot & Feasibility award, Dr. Su and colleagues in the Genomics and Cell Biology Core studied the effect of Helminth infection on immune and metabolic parameters. The findings show that helminth infection protects against weight gain on a high fat diet (HFD, see top figure, showing weight gain in HFD mice [red] vs. HFD + helminth infected) and also results in relative preservation of insulin sensitivity. Compared to helminth-infected mice on HFD, control mice on HFD show significantly higher amounts of gonadal and subcutaneous adipose tissue, as well as increased liver fat (see … Read More »
Categories: Featured News, Publications Tags: Harvard Medical SchoolDiet, Genetics, and the Gut Microbiome Drive Dynamic Changes in Plasma Metabolites
Summary: Intestinal microbes use various dietary components to produce energy and metabolites. Many of these metabolites are absorbed into the host bloodstream where they may have harmful or beneficial effects on host metabolism. To explore the effect of diet, genetics, and gut microbiome on plasma metabolites and insulin resistance, Fujisaka and colleagues exposed three different genetic strains of mice with varying propensities to obesity and diabetes to high fat diet (HFD) with or without concomitant antibiotic treatment (vancomycin or metronidazole). HFD and antibiotic treatment substantially modified intestinal microbiome composition, and these effects varied by genetic strain. Changes in the gut … Read More »
Categories: Featured News, News, Publications Tags: Harvard Medical SchoolUNC Nutrition Research Institute Seminar Series
Anorexia nervosa and the intestinal microbiota: do gut microbes influence weight gain and behavior during clinical re-nourishment? Date and Time: Thursday, April 12, 2018 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Speaker: Ian Carroll, PhD (Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Abstract: Abstract: Anorexia nervosa (AN), a psychiatric disorder characterized by extreme weight dysregulation commonly presents with comorbid anxiety. AN carries the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses and relapse is frequent. Therapeutic re-nourishment in AN is based primarily on clinical opinion and guidelines, and does not address the underlying etiology of the disorder. … Read More »
Categories: Blogs, Featured News, News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillBoston NORC Obesity Research Club
Inaugural Meeting of the NORC Obesity Research Club at Boston University.
Categories: Blogs, Featured News Tags: BostonGenetic Evidence That Carbohydrate-Stimulated Insulin Secretion Leads to Obesity
Summary: The carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity postulates that increased insulin secretion in response to a high glycemic load diet drives excess weight gain. Because of the close interrelationship between obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperinsulinism, however, investigating this hypothesis is often complicated by possibilities of confounding and reverse causation. Dr. Jose Florez and colleagues avoided these issues by using a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study to test the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity. They assessed (1) whether a set of genetic variants associated with increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion predict obesity and (2) whether a separate set of genetic variants associated with obesity predict … Read More »
Categories: Blogs, Featured News, Publications Tags: Harvard Medical SchoolA Short Course on Nutrigenetics, Nutrigenomics and Precision Nutrition
Designed for graduate students, health professionals and nutrition scientists from academia and industry Presented by UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) and the UNC Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) Short Course Focus This workshop-style course will provide the fundamental concepts of nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics and personalized nutrition through cutting edge presentations and hands-on experiences. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a personal DNA test and examine their own nutrigenetic data. Click here for more information and to register. Rates General – $800.00 Graduate Student – $350.00 Postdoctoral Fellow – $450.00 All-inclusive Registration On top of the great short-course content and … Read More »
Categories: Blogs, Featured News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillDefining Precision Nutrition Symposium
Presented By UNC Nutrition Research Institute Kannapolis, North Carolina Symposium Focus the genetic, epigenetic, microbiome, and environmental sources of human metabolic variability how these variabilities are related to different requirements for, and responses to, nutrients methods used to assess the above Speakers Keynote: Jeremy Nicholson, PhD, Imperial College London Understanding Gene-Environment-Diet and Lifestyle Interactions in Human Health: A Molecular Phenomic Approach Lorraine Brennan, PhD, University College Dublin Metabotyping for Optimal Nutrition Ahmed El-Sohemy, PhD, University of Toronto Genetic Testing for Personalized Nutrition Eric Martens, PhD, University of Michigan Molecular Mechanisms of Gut Bacteria and Metabolism of Glycans Susan Sumner, PhD, … Read More »
Categories: Blogs, Featured News, News Tags: University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center – Social Media Update
New diet says limit hours spent eating instead of calories. https://www.norc.uab.edu/resources/social_media
Categories: Blogs, Featured News, News Tags: University of Alabama at Birmingham19th Annual Harvard Nutrition and Obesity Symposium
Save The Date! Registration opening soon in 2018! Stay Tuned.
Categories: Featured News, News Tags: Harvard Medical Schoolp40phox-Deficient Mice Exhibit Impaired Bacterial Clearance and Enhanced Pro-Inflammatory Responses during Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Infection
Summary: In humans, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is an important cause of acute gastroenteritis. A critical step in host defense is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from NADPH oxidase. NADPH oxidase has multiple subunits, and mutations in various subunits may contributed to increased susceptibility to infection. Dr. Hai Ning Shi and colleagues, with the assistance of the Genomics and Cell Biology Core, elucidated the importance of the p40phox subunit of NADPH oxidase, demonstrating that mice lacking p40phox are more susceptible to infection with S. Typhimurium, as evidenced by bacterial dissemination to the liver and spleen … Read More »
Categories: Featured News, Publications Tags: Harvard Medical School