Roles of Neudesin in high-fat diet induced obesity

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25460065
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Biological pharmacy
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Itoh Nobuyuki 京都大学, 薬学研究科(研究院), 名誉教授 (10110610)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KONISHI Morichika 神戸薬科大学, 薬学部, 教授 (00322165) ; OHTA Hiroya 神戸薬科大学, 薬学部, 研究員 (40638988)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 分泌性タンパク質 / マウス / 遺伝子欠損 / 肥満 / エネルギー代謝

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Some neurotrophic factors have recently been implicated in the control of energy balance by increasing energy expenditure. We previously identified neudesin as a novel neurotrophic factor with potential roles in the central nervous system. Although neudesin is also expressed in various peripheral tissues including adipose tissue, its physiological roles have not yet been elucidated. We found that neudesin knockout (KO) mice were resistant to high-fat diet-induced obesity and obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions. neudesin KO mice exhibited increased energy expenditure due to increased sympathetic activity, which resulted in increased heat production and fatty acid oxidation in brown adipose tissue and enhanced lipolysis in white adipose tissue. Thus, neudesin, which may be a negative regulator of sympathetic activity, could represent a novel regulator of the development of obesity and obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions.

Free Research Field

分子生物学