Fat

PGC-1α molecules are important for our muscles to respond and adapt to exercise training programs. Mouse studies have indicated that finding ways to keep high PGC-1α levels in muscle, fat, or brain could be beneficial for many diseases. Here we report the discovery of several chemical compounds that increase PGC-1α levels in fat cell cultures in the lab, and increase their energy expenditure. They could be further developed to be active in live animals and in different tissues

Exercise training is well known for increasing the energy our muscles use, reducing how much our adipose tissues stores, but also for changing our immune system. In this paper we found that during exercise, muscle secretes into circulation a small molecule (kynurenic acid) that activates a cell surface receptor (GPR35) in both fat cells and certain immune cells that reside in the adipose tissue. The result of this inter-organ communication is higher energy expenditure, and an anti-inflammatory state of the adipose tissue

How nerves communicate to metabolic tissues such as muscle and fat. This project aims to understand how metabolic disease or exercise adaptation affect our sensory nerves.

Communication amongst organ systems is vital to keep everything in balance—sensory neurons and adipose tissue (fat) are no different. We think that the communication between sensory neurons and adipose tissue in obesity and diabetes is not working properly, and thus contributing to the metabolic dysfunction seen in these patients.