Tuesday 6 October, 14:00 – 15:00 BST

 

Organised by Pete Aldiss, University of Edinburgh, UK and Jo Lewis, University of Cambridge, UK

 

Adipose tissue acts as an endocrine organ, releasing factors that regulate diverse processes such as appetite, energy expenditure, glucose homeostasis and inflammation. These are often altered in obesity.

 

Adipocyte-derived exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) are regulatory non-coding RNAs that are shared between cells primarily through exosomes. Evidence suggests they play a role in metabolic regulation when secreted. Upregulation of the type III endoribonuclease DICER in adipose tissue results in an increase of miRNAs, and the miRNA-203-3p inhibits glucose utilization by fat cells supporting substrate availability to muscle during exercise. Bruna Brandao (Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA) will discuss further.

 

Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing adipogenesis offers the potential to restore metabolic health in obesity. Maude Giroud (Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany) recently demonstrated that heart- and neural crest derivatives-expressed protein 2 (HAND2) is an obesity-linked adipocyte transcription factor regulated by glucocorticoids and is required for adipocyte differentiation in vitro. Whilst in a large cohort of humans with obesity, WAT HAND2 expression is correlated with BMI.

 

This is part of the ‘Physiology of Obesity: From Mechanisms to Medicine’ series.

 

This webinar is free to attend and is open to all.

 

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