Karim El Dana
Pronouns: He/Him
Research Mentor(s): Hadla Hariri
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Molecular and integrative physiology / Medicine
Program:
Authors: Karim El Dana, Hiroyuki Mori, Hadla Hariri, Ormond MacDougald
Session: Session 3: 11:00 am – 11: 50 am
Poster: 7
Abstract
Over the last decade, our knowledge and understanding of adipose tissue biology has dramatically increased. Adipose tissues are connective tissues that are linked together throughout the body, and are a major source of fatty acids in the body. Previous studies have provided a general context for the contribution of De Novo Lipogenesis (DNL) to pro- and anti- inflammatory responses in adipose tissues. We have previously shown that housing mice at cool temperatures (22°C) promotes de novo lipogenesis and inhibits inflammatory gene expression. We hypothesize that the synthesis of fatty acids suppresses inflammatory responses in adipose tissues. To test our hypothesis, we will investigate the relationship between DNL and inflammation at different temperatures by using wild type mice housed at 30°C (thermoneutrality) versus 22°C (cool temperature), which will be analyzed at different time points over a period of 6 weeks of cold exposure. We will run western blots against DNL enzymes and inflammation markers on protein samples isolated from different adipose tissue depots, which include subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT), gonadal white adipose tissues (gWAT), and brown adipose tissues (BAT). Our work will help uncover a deeper understanding of the true relationship between DNL and inflammation in different fat depots, and allow us to determine how cold exposure affects inflammatory responses in vivo. The results of this study will help improve therapeutic intervention in multiple lipogenesis-driven pathologies such as: obesity and diabetes.
