AMPK tagged posts

Effects of hepatic Ago2-deficiency on MD-miRNA expression in the liver

New treatment for a major health problem? Obesity and its related ailments like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease pose a major global health burden, but researchers report in Nature Communications that blocking an RNA-silencing protein in the livers of mice keeps the animals from getting fat and diabetic conditions.

Takahisa Nakamura, PhD, and colleagues at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center genetically deleted a protein called Argonaute 2 (Ago2) from the livers of mice. Ago2 controls the silencing of RNA in cells, affecting energy metabolism in the body, according to the study...

Nischarin Inhibition Alters Energy Metabolism by Activating AMP-Activated Protein Kinase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2017; jbc.M117.784256 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M117.784256

Research has demonstrate protein Nischarin may treat or prevent metabolic diseases including obesity and diabetes. Nischarin is a novel protein discovered by the Alahari lab. The research team demonstrated that it functions as a molecular scaffold that holds and interacts with several protein partners in a number of biological processes. The lab’s earlier research found that Nischarin acts as a tumor suppressor that may inhibit the spread, or metastasis, of breast and other cancers.

The current research project, conducted in a knockout mouse model, found that Nischarin interacts with and controls the activity of a gen...

Highlights •Prolyl hydroxylase 3 (PHD3) hydroxylates and activates the metabolic enzyme ACC2 •During nutrient abundance, the PHD3/ACC2 axis represses fatty acid oxidation (FAO) •PHD3 is low in AML, fueling a reliance on fats that can be targeted with FAO inhibitors •Re-expressing PHD3 limits FAO via ACC2 and suppresses AML in culture and in vivo

A handful of cancers favor fat over sugar, a propensity that has long mystified scientists. Now, a study from Harvard Medical School reveals how certain tumors develop a taste for fat as their life-sustaining fuel. The findings show how a signaling pathway that normally keeps fat-burning in check goes awry in some cancers, revving up fat consumption and fueling tumor growth.

Specifically, the study found a protein called prolyl hydroxylase ...