Submitted by Sona Kang on
Obesity and diabetes have become critical global health crises, posing significant challenges to both individual health and healthcare systems worldwide. In this context, brown adipose tissue (BAT) has emerged as a key area of investigation due to its unique capacity for adaptive thermogenesis and its role in systemic metabolic regulation. Our research focuses on the metabolic role of a protein in BAT thermogenesis, energy homeostasis, and whole-body metabolism. We have discovered that BAT levels of this protein respond dynamically to energy status: increasing in states of reduced energy expenditure (e.g., obesity, thermoneutrality) and decreasing during periods of increased energy expenditure (e.g., exercise, cold exposure, cAMP stimulation, fasting).
Our ongoing studies reveal that this protein functions as a negative regulator of brown fat thermoregulation, likely by aggravating the production of reactive oxygen species. Notably, BAT-targeted disruption of this protein improves whole-body metabolism and increases energy expenditure. Interestingly, we have also found that this protein is highly regulated in skeletal muscle in response to various metabolic and physiological perturbations.
Building on these findings, we aim to investigate whether this protein in skeletal muscle plays a regulatory role in exercise performance and metabolic regulation. Specifically, we will assess exercise performance and metabolism in animal models with gain- or loss-of-function alterations of this protein, targeting the quadriceps muscles.
Undergraduate researchers from SPUR program are expected to participate in wet-lab research experiment under guidance from post-doctoral researcher(s), which will primarily involve mouse work.
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