Ava Freimark
Pronouns: She/Her
Research Mentor(s): Nadejda Bozadjieva Kramer
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Surgery / Medicine
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors: Ava Freimark, Sydney Spanbauer, Nadejda Kramer
Abstract
Due to an increase in obesity, interventions such as ketogenic diets and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) have become more common. These nutritional and surgical approaches are shown to promote ketogenesis, which stimulates weight loss. The main goal of this study is to determine what role intestinal ketogenesis plays in mediating energy balance and glucose tolerance during weight loss. To do so, two cohorts of control (WT) and gut specific Hmgcs2 knockout (Hmgcs2GUT-KO) mice were subjected to two dietary challenges: low fat diet (LFD) and keto diet (KD). Mice were fed the respective diets for 14 weeks. During the study, body weights, body composition, and glucose tolerance were assessed. Intestinal mucosa, liver, and plasma were also collected for subsequent RNA sequencing and metabolomics to identify the role of gut ketogenesis under various nutritional challenges on the transcriptome and metabolome. The results so far show that gut ketogenesis does not impact energy balance, as body weight, fat, and lean mass content were similar between control and (Hmgcs2GUT-KO) mice. This study is not expected to formulate solid conclusions about intestinal ketogenesis because it is very preliminary. Instead, it will lead to possible hypotheses for further research.
