Alina Mehdi
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Alison Affinati
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Internal Medicine / Medicine
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors: Alina Mehdi, Jiaao Su, Alison Affinati
Abstract
Diabetes is a prevalent issue in the United States in which the lack of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood glucose levels, causes high glucose levels in the blood and in the long term can lead to many complications. Previous literature identifies the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) in the brain as having an impact in the homeostatic mechanism regulating blood glucose levels. Our project aims to find the specific class of neurons in the VMH that regulate glucose levels. We have identified a unique population of neurons in the VMH marked by Vglut3 which may be involved in glucose metabolism. To determine if Vglut3-containing neurons in the VMH regulate glucose levels, we optogenetically activatedo Vglut-3 neurons and measured blood glucose levels. There was no difference in blood glucose levels in between mice with activated Vglut3 neurons and controls. To confirm that we correctly activated the neurons optogenetically, we stain for c-Fos, a genetic marker for neuronal activation, however very little c-Fos was present in Vglut3 neurons following optogenetic stimulation, indicating that the lack of effect in blood glucose levels may be related to inadequate neuronal activation. Future studies will focus on optimization of optogenetic stimulation time and intensity, as well as using neuronal silencing studies for further evaluate the function of these neurons. Finding the specific neurons pertaining to glucose regulation will open up another option for diabetes treatment.
