PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Fly study uncovers molecular link between obesity and heart disease

2010-11-03
(Press-News.org) VIDEO: Researchers show that obesity-induced heart disease can be prevented by reducing the activity of TOR, a nutrient-sensing protein that regulates molecular circuits involved in growth, metabolism and lifespan.
Click here for more information.

LA JOLLA, Calif., November 2, 2010 – It's no secret that obesity is hard on the heart. More than 30 percent of Americans are obese, and many of them are also at increased risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. However, there are numerous causes of obesity and other risk factors for each of these conditions, making it difficult to tease them apart. At Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), a team led by Sean Oldham, Ph.D., and Rolf Bodmer, Ph.D., recently created a simple model to link high-fat diet, obesity and heart dysfunction. Using fruit flies, they discovered that a protein called TOR influences fat accumulation in the heart. Their study, published November 3 in the journal Cell Metabolism, also demonstrates that manipulating TOR protects the hearts of obese flies from damage caused by high-fat diets.

"We noticed previously that reducing TOR had a large number of beneficial effects on aging," explained Dr. Oldham, co-senior author of the study. "We next wanted to look at TOR activity in obesity-related heart disease, but we didn't have a good system. In this study, we establish the fruit fly as a model for obesity caused by a high-fat diet."

The fruit fly model is ideal for studying the heart because most of the basic molecular mechanisms controlling its development are surprisingly similar to those in vertebrates – even somewhat interchangeable. What's more, it's relatively easy to delete individual genes in the fly, allowing researchers to specifically map out each one's role in heart development and function.

In this study, flies fed a high-fat diet of coconut oil became obese and exhibited many of the same secondary symptoms as obese humans, including heart dysfunction. Then, to determine how TOR regulates the effects of fat on the heart, Dr. Oldham and colleagues generated flies that lowered this protein's activity. TOR normally keeps a damper on an enzyme that breaks down fats. By inhibiting TOR (or boosting the fat-digesting enzyme), the researchers reduced fat accumulation in the heart and improved the cardiac health of otherwise obese flies. The heart-protective results were the same whether TOR was blocked in the whole fly, just in fat tissue or just in heart cells.

According to Dr. Bodmer, co-senior author of the study and professor and director of the Development and Aging Program, "These results open the possibility that we can intervene with the effects of obesity by targeting TOR and other proteins it regulates – either directly in fat or in a specific organ like the heart."

This fruit fly model will now allow researchers to answer many other questions about diet, obesity and the heart. "One thing we'd like to know next is if fats themselves are toxic to the heart, or is it the byproducts of their metabolism that are harmful?" said Dr. Birse, post-doctoral researcher and first/lead author of the study. "One good thing about using fruit flies is that, in theory, we could feed them whatever we want to screen – different fatty acids, molecules, drugs, etc. – to observe their effects on the heart or other systems."

### The study was funded by the American Heart Association (AHA), the Ellison Medical Foundation, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Support for this project was also provided by the Sanford Children's Health Research Center at Sanford-Burnham. For more information about Sanford-Burnham research, visit http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org.

Original paper Birse RT, Choi J, Reardon K, Rodriguez J, Graham S, Diop S, Ocorr K, Bodmer R, Oldham S. High fat diet-induced obesity and heart dysfunction is regulated by the TOR pathway in Drosophila. Cell Metabolism. November 3, 2010.

About Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute is dedicated to discovering the fundamental molecular causes of disease and devising the innovative therapies of tomorrow. Sanford-Burnham, with operations in California and Florida, is one of the fastest-growing research institutes in the country. The Institute ranks among the top independent research institutions nationally for NIH grant funding and among the top organizations worldwide for its research impact. From 1999 – 2009, Sanford-Burnham ranked #1 worldwide among all types of organizations in the fields of biology and biochemistry for the impact of its research publications, defined by citations per publication, according to the Institute for Scientific Information. According to government statistics, Sanford-Burnham ranks #2 nationally among all organizations in capital efficiency of generating patents, defined by the number of patents issued per grant dollars awarded.

Sanford-Burnham utilizes a unique, collaborative approach to medical research and has established major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and infectious, inflammatory, and childhood diseases. The Institute is especially known for its world-class capabilities in stem cell research and drug discovery technologies. Sanford-Burnham is a nonprofit public benefit corporation. For more information, please visit www.sanfordburnham.org.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Colorectal cancer survival advantage in MUTYH-associated polyposis

2010-11-03
Survival for colorectal cancer patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis was statistically significantly better than for patients with colorectal cancer from the general population, according to a recent study published online November 2 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. People who inherit a mutation in the MUTYH gene have nearly a 100% risk for developing colon cancer at some point in their lifetimes. But it is unknown whether specific histological and molecular genetic features of cancer associated with this genotype influence tumor behavior and survival. ...

NIH researchers identify genetic elements influencing the risk of type 2 diabetes

2010-11-03
A team led by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has captured the most comprehensive snapshot to date of DNA regions that regulate genes in human pancreatic islet cells, a subset of which produces insulin. The study highlights the importance of genome regulatory sequences in human health and disease, particularly type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 20 million people in the United States and 200 million people worldwide. The findings appear Nov. 3 in Cell Metabolism. "This study applies ...

Bees reveal nature-nuture secrets

2010-11-03
The nature-nurture debate is a "giant step" closer to being resolved after scientists studying bees documented how environmental inputs can modify our genetic hardware. The researchers uncovered extensive molecular differences in the brains of worker bees and queen bees which develop along very different paths when put on different diets The research was led by Professor Ryszard Maleszka of The Australian National University's College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, working with colleagues from the German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg, Germany and will be published ...

How some brain cells hook up surprises researchers

2010-11-03
Immune cells known as microglia, long thought to be activated in the brain only when fighting infection or injury, are constantly active and likely play a central role in one of the most basic, central phenomena in the brain – the creation and elimination of synapses. The findings, publishing next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, catapult the humble microglia cell from its well-recognized duty of protecting the brain to direct involvement in creating the cellular networks at the core of brain behavior. Its apparent role as an architect of synapses – ...

Fossil finger records key to ancestors' behavior

2010-11-03
Scientists, in collaboration with researchers at the universities of Southampton and Calgary, used finger ratios from fossilised skeletal remains of early apes and extinct hominins, as indicators of the levels of exposure species had to prenatal androgens – a group of hormones that is important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and promiscuity. It is thought that androgens, such as testosterone, affect finger length during development in the womb. High levels of the hormones increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the ...

Parental infertility and cerebral palsy in children born spontaneously or after IVF/ICSI

2010-11-03
Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism associated with couples' underlying infertility. Now, new research published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1] today (Wednesday 3 November) indicates that underlying infertility is not ...

Global map of the sickle cell gene supports 'malaria hypothesis'

Global map of the sickle cell gene supports malaria hypothesis
2010-11-03
At a global scale, the sickle cell gene is most commonly found in areas with historically high levels of malaria, adding geographical support to the hypothesis that the gene, whilst potentially deadly, avoids disappearing through natural selection by providing protection against malaria. In a study funded by the Wellcome Trust, geographers, biologists and statisticians at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues from the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Programme in Kenya, have produced the first detailed global map showing the distribution of the sickle cell gene. The ...

Aging with grace: Health care delivery model yields improved outcomes and lower costs

Aging with grace: Health care delivery model yields improved outcomes and lower costs
2010-11-03
INDIANAPOLIS – A model program developed at Indiana University to provide care to low-income older adults in their homes has earned recognition for its effective approach and cost-saving benefits in a leading national medical journal. A paper published in the Nov. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association praises a team approach developed by researchers from Indiana University and the Regenstrief Institute as one of three models with the greatest potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the complex primary health care of older adults. "Health-care ...

Black raspberries may prevent colon cancer, study finds

2010-11-03
Black raspberries are highly effective in preventing colorectal tumors in two mouse models of the disease, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study. The findings are published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute. Building on previous research that found black raspberries have antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory properties, ...

Workers hold key to power in nature's oldest societies

Workers hold key to power in natures oldest societies
2010-11-03
A new study analysing how complex, highly-evolved societies are organised in nature has found that it is workers that play a pivotal role in creating well-ordered societies where conflict is minimised. For when it comes to determining who reproduces in ants, University of Leicester biologists have found the humble worker is queenmaker – it is they who choose their queen. This information is key to understanding the evolution of complex interdependent societies - over 100 millions years old - that have evolved mechanisms ensuring stable cohabitation and conflict resolution. What ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Study unravels another piece of the puzzle in how cancer cells may be targeted by the immune system

Long-sought structure of powerful anticancer natural product solved by integrated approach

World’s oldest lizard wins fossil fight

Simple secret to living a longer life

Same plant, different tactic: Habitat determines response to climate

Drinking plenty of water may actually be good for you

Men at high risk of cardiovascular disease face brain health decline 10 years earlier than women

Irregular sleep-wake cycle linked to heightened risk of major cardiovascular events

Depression can cause period pain, new study suggests

Wistar Institute scientists identify important factor in neural development

New imaging platform developed by Rice researchers revolutionizes 3D visualization of cellular structures

To catch financial rats, a better mousetrap

Mapping the world's climate danger zones

Emory heart team implants new blood-pumping device for first time in U.S.

Congenital heart defects caused by problems with placenta

Schlechter named Cancer Moonshot Scholar

Two-way water transfers can ensure reliability, save money for urban and agricultural users during drought in Western U.S., new study shows

New issue of advances in dental research explores the role of women in dental, clinical, and translational research

Team unlocks new insights on pulsar signals

Great apes visually track subject-object relationships like humans do

Recovery of testing for heart disease risk factors post-COVID remains patchy

Final data and undiscovered images from NASA’s NEOWISE

Nucleoporin93: A silent protector in vascular health

Can we avert the looming food crisis of climate change?

Alcohol use and antiobesity medication treatment

Study reveals cause of common cancer immunotherapy side effect

New era in amphibian biology

Harbor service, VAST Data provide boost for NCSA systems

New prognostic model enhances survival prediction in liver failure

China focuses on improving air quality via the coordinated control of fine particles and ozone

[Press-News.org] Fly study uncovers molecular link between obesity and heart disease