Tag: Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Inside the Genomics Core at Pennington Biomedical
The Genomics Core Facility seeks to achieve high quality research data production through education of core facility users, optimal use of qPCR and RNA/DNA quality and quantity instrumentation, and quality Sanger sequencing, next-generation sequencing, robotics, and microarray services. Take a look at what this core has to offer!
Categories: Videos Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterPennington Biomedical Discovery Changes Way of Looking at Hormone Linked to Weight Loss
Researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center have discovered a new pathway that controls how our bodies respond to a diet that’s low in protein. This finding could improve treatments for obesity and diabetes. Data collected by Chris Morrison, PhD and his team of researchers at Pennington Biomedical provides a new explanation for why protein intake profoundly influences metabolism and body weight. They found that in both mice and humans the amount of protein in the diet affects a hormone known as FGF21. If protein consumption is restricted, the body increases production of FGF21. Mice lacking the FGF21 hormone did not … Read More »
Categories: News Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterFGF21 is an Endocrine Signal of Protein Restriction
Abstract Enhanced fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) production and circulation has been linked to the metabolic adaptation to starvation. We show that circulating FGF21 levels are increased by dietary protein restriction, but not energy restriction, via a mechanism that includes activation of the eIF2α kinase general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2). While protein restriction altered food intake, energy expenditure, and body weight gain in wildtype mice, FGF21-deficient animals did not exhibit these changes in response to a LP diet. These data demonstrate that reduced protein intake underlies the increase in circulating FGF21 in response to starvation, and that FGF21 is an … Read More »
Categories: Publications Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterCanonical Nlrp3 Inflammasome Links Systemic Low-Grade Inflammation to Functional Decline in Aging
Abstract This paper queries the causal links between systemic inflammation and aging, and details a mechanism by which the Nlrp3 inflammasome controls systemic low-grade age-related “sterile” inflammation. Ablation of Nlrp3 inflammasome protected mice from age-related increases in the innate immune activation, alterations in CNS transcriptome, astrogliosis, and improved glycemic control, and attenuated both bone loss and thymic demise. Citation Youm YH, Grant RW, McCabe LR, Albarado DC, Nguyen KY, Ravussin A, Pistell P, Newman S, Carter R, Laque A, Münzberg H, Rosen CJ, Ingram DK, Salbaum JM, Dixit VD. Canonical Nlrp3 inflammasome links systemic low-grade inflammation to functional decline in … Read More »
Categories: Publications Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterEffect of An Environmental School-Based Obesity Prevention Program on Changes in Body Fat and Body Weight
Abstract This study tested the efficacy of two school-based programs for prevention of body weight/fat gain in comparison to a control group, in all participants and in overweight children. The Louisiana (LA) Health study utilized a longitudinal, cluster randomized three-arm controlled design, with 28 months of follow-up. Children (N = 2,060; mean age = 10.5 years, SD = 1.2) from rural communities in grades 4-6 participated in the study. Seventeen school clusters (mean = 123 children/cluster) were randomly assigned to one of three prevention arms: (i) primary prevention (PP), an environmental modification (EM) program, (ii) primary + secondary prevention (PP+SP), … Read More »
Categories: Publications Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterMuscle-Specific Deletion of Carnitine Acetyltransferase Compromises Glucose Tolerance and Metabolic Flexibility
Abstract The concept of “metabolic inflexibility” was first introduced to describe the failure of insulin-resistant human subjects to appropriately adjust mitochondrial fuel selection in response to nutritional cues. This phenomenon has since gained increasing recognition as a key component of the metabolic syndrome, but the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. This study identifies an essential role for the mitochondrial matrix enzyme, carnitine acetyltransferase (CrAT), in regulating substrate switching and glucose tolerance. Key Findings Comprehensive metabolic profiling links CrAT to whole body glucose homeostasis Muscle-specific ablation of CrAT disrupts systemic glucose tolerance in mice CrAT deficiency disrupts nutrient control of PDH … Read More »
Categories: Publications Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterThe NLRP3 Inflammasome Instigates Obesity-Induced Inflammation and Insulin Resistance
Abstract This publication demonstrates that the Nlrp3 inflammasome senses obesity–associated ‘danger–signals’ and contributes to obesity–induced inflammation and insulin resistance. Citation Vandanmagsar B, Youm YH, Ravussin A, Galgani JE, Stadler K, Mynatt RL, Ravussin E, Stephens JM, Dixit VD. The NLRP3 inflammasome instigates obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. Nature Medicine 17:179-88. PMID: 21217695. PMCID: PMC3076025. Read More: Nature Medicine Research Details Research Center: Pennington Biomedical Research Center Related Research Grants: R01 DK090556, R01 AG31797, R00 DK083615, P20 RR021945 Center Contribution: The flow cytometry to analyze adipose tissue macrophages, resident effector T cells and regulatory T cells, documentation by microscopy, evaluation of … Read More »
Categories: Publications Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research CenterAltered Gene Expression and Spongiotrophoblast Differentiation in Placenta from a Mouse Model of Diabetes in Pregnancy
Abstract Pregnancies complicated by diabetes have a higher risk of adverse outcomes for mothers and children, including predisposition to disease later in life, e.g. metabolic syndrome and hypertension. This paper details the changes in the mouse placenta as a consequence of maternal diabetes during pregnancy. Citation Salbaum JM, Kruger C, Zhang X, Delahaye NA, Pavlinkova G, Burk DH, Kappen C. Altered gene expression and spongiotrophoblast differentiation in placenta from a mouse model of diabetes in pregnancy. Diabetologia. 2011 Jul;54(7):1909-20. PMCID: PMC3882064. Read More: Diabetologia Research Details Research Center: Pennington Biomedical Research Center Related Research Grants: R01 HD037804, R01 HD055528, P20 … Read More »
Categories: Publications Tags: Pennington Biomedical Research Center