Posted on | CategoriesBiochemistry / College of Health / Nutrition & Integrative Physiology / School of Medicine | PI: Jared P. Rutter, PhD & Kevin Hicks, PhD

Finding Inspiration for Drug Development in Metabolic Regulators

The metabolic pathways that shape how our bodies use nutrients and energy are under constant adjustment, with metabolites pay a key role in managing their function and activity. There are thousands of metabolites inside our cells, and surprisingly little is known about how most of them interact with other cellular components, even though when these interactions with proteins are disrupted, it can leave us more vulnerable to disease. Continue reading → Finding Inspiration for Drug Development in Metabolic Regulators
Posted on | CategoriesNutrition & Integrative Physiology | PI: J. David Symons, PhD & Sihem Boudina, PhD

Late-in-life Exercise Training Increases Intracellular Protein Recycling in the Heart

Heart cells (known as myocytes) work hard. Over a human lifetime, the heart beats approximately 2.5 billion times. As myocytes age, and especially in the presence of disease, they accumulate damaged intracellular components such as misfolded proteins. This build-up of damaged cellular material can cause cardiac dysfunction, diminish quality of life, and lead to premature death. Continue reading → Late-in-life Exercise Training Increases Intracellular Protein Recycling in the Heart
Posted on | CategoriesNutrition & Integrative Physiology | PI: William Holland, PhD

Glucagon Be-Gone: A Cure for Type 1 Diabetes?

University of Utah Health investigator William Holland, PhD, and colleagues found that blocking glucagon action in mice restored levels of both insulin and glucose, effectively curing type 1 diabetes. Their groundbreaking work, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that suppressing glucagon production or action may be a viable means of treating type 1 diabetes. Continue reading → Glucagon Be-Gone: A Cure for Type 1 Diabetes?
Posted on | CategoriesDiabetes and Metabolism / Nutrition & Integrative Physiology | PI: Scott Summers, PhD

Lipid Metabolism and Cardiometabolic Disease

Metabolic diseases such as diabetes, steatohepatitis, and coronary artery disease result from the delivery of nutrients that exceed a tissue’s energetic needs or storage capacity. The excess nutrients give rise to deleterious lipid species that impair cellular function. Summers and colleagues found that ceramides, a class of sphingolipids, alter the metabolism of liver and adipose tissue in a way that gives rise to cardiometabolic disease. Continue reading → Lipid Metabolism and Cardiometabolic Disease
Posted on | CategoriesDiabetes and Metabolism / Nutrition & Integrative Physiology | PI: Katsu Funai, PhD

Biological Consequences of Reduced Energy Flux and Inefficient Energy Generation

Energy transfer processes are never perfectly efficient. Funai and colleagues have discovered that the degree of inefficiency in cellular energy exchange, particularly during oxidative phosphorylation, has important biological implications. Continue reading → Biological Consequences of Reduced Energy Flux and Inefficient Energy Generation