While we need to consume salt, too much can be harmful and is in fact directly linked to ~5% of deaths annually in Australia. We have identified a system in the brain that regulates salt intake. Going forwards we will fully elucidate the pathway(s) implicated in regulation of salt intake, thereby identifying strategies to reduce excessive salt consumption.
The Role Of Gastric Vagal Afferents In The Food Intake Reducing Effect Of Oestradiol
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$317,739.00
Summary
Regulation of food intake is paramount for maintaining health. Nerves from the stomach serve as important regulators of food intake. These nerves can be modulated by chemical substances; however the importance of this modulation is not well defined. The sex steroid, oestradiol, has potent food intake reducing effects, but the mechanism for this is poorly understood. Thus, this fellowship will examine the role that oestradiol has in regulating food intake by acting on nerves within the stomach.
Cooperative Motor Control Of The Pyloric Junction By Myogenic And Neuronal Mechanisms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$271,527.00
Summary
The coordinated muscle movement in the junction between the stomach and small intestine is an essential mechanism for controlling the speed of gastric content moving into the intestine for further digestion. The muscle movement determines the gastric emptying at an optimal rate and prevents intestinal contents reflux to the stomach. Failure of this coordination is likely to be involved in a variety of clinical conditions including accelerated or delayed gastric emptying. Up to date, little infor ....The coordinated muscle movement in the junction between the stomach and small intestine is an essential mechanism for controlling the speed of gastric content moving into the intestine for further digestion. The muscle movement determines the gastric emptying at an optimal rate and prevents intestinal contents reflux to the stomach. Failure of this coordination is likely to be involved in a variety of clinical conditions including accelerated or delayed gastric emptying. Up to date, little information is available about the interaction between nerve, muscle and pacemaker cells during this coordinated movement. In this project, we will investigate how the nerve, muscle and pacemaker cells work together to control this coordinated movement. We will study this mechanism at both cellular and organ levels and try to establish the patterns of muscle movement and their coordination between the stomach and the small intestine. The interaction between the nerve and pacemaker cells will be characterised in these studies. Our work will provide structural evidence for this activity. It includes identification of the nerve pathways connecting between the small intestine and stomach and determination of whether the pacemaker cell network is an uniform continuous or a discontinuous or a transitional structure across the junction. These studies will reveal the correlation between pacemaker cell mediated activity and the density of these cells in each junctional region. We will also determine whether the difference in propagation activity across the junction is due to differences in the number of cells for signal conduction or electrical connections between the cells. This study will advance our knowledge for understanding how the nerve, muscle and pacemaker cells work in concert in this junction, which is an important step for further clinical investigation of related disease.Read moreRead less
Dissecting The Host X Diet X Microbiota Interactions Supporting Sustainable Weight Loss In Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$252,305.00
Summary
There is increasing evidence that the gut microbiome plays an important part in predisposing to obesity. This project seeks to identify whether such an obesogenic microbiota may also influence our ability to maintain weight loss after a period of caloric restriction. Further, we investigate whether dietary fibre can be used to reshape gut microbial population structure and function so as to support sustained weight loss on return to a normal dietary regimen using an obesogenic rat model.
Identifying Why Some People Consume Excess Dietary Fat. A Twin Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,462.00
Summary
Obesity is a significant public health problem, yet some individuals are less susceptible to the development of obesity. High fat eating patterns are commonly associated with overweight/obesity. The taste system is the gatekeeper of digestion and the sense of taste responds to fat, and that the fat taste response is associated with obesity. Using twins as subjects to disentangle the influences of 'nature and nuture', in this project we will identify the mechanisms responsible for linking fat tas ....Obesity is a significant public health problem, yet some individuals are less susceptible to the development of obesity. High fat eating patterns are commonly associated with overweight/obesity. The taste system is the gatekeeper of digestion and the sense of taste responds to fat, and that the fat taste response is associated with obesity. Using twins as subjects to disentangle the influences of 'nature and nuture', in this project we will identify the mechanisms responsible for linking fat taste response to development of obesity.Read moreRead less
The Effect Of Overexpression And Underexpression Of Beacon In Transgenic Mice
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,540.00
Summary
Overweight and Obesity are very prevalent in our society. Obesity is the cause of many medical problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, sleep apnoea, arthritis and some cancers. The idea that individuals can freely choose whether they eat or not eat is only true in the short term. Recent work has clearly shown that the desire to eat (hunger) and the decision to stop eating (satiety) are determined by the net level of many chemicals (neurotransmitters) in an area ....Overweight and Obesity are very prevalent in our society. Obesity is the cause of many medical problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, sleep apnoea, arthritis and some cancers. The idea that individuals can freely choose whether they eat or not eat is only true in the short term. Recent work has clearly shown that the desire to eat (hunger) and the decision to stop eating (satiety) are determined by the net level of many chemicals (neurotransmitters) in an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. Malfunction in some of these neurotransmitters has been shown to cause severe obesity in both animals and humans. A clear understanding of how the hypothalamus regulates body weight may lead to treatments for both severe obesity and anorexia. This project deals with investigating the role of a new hypothalamic protein in body weight regulation. This protein called beacon was discovered by one of the chief investigators (GC) who has shown that when it is injected in the brain it causes rats to overeat and put on excess weight. The aim of this project is to produce mice in which the amount of beacon is increased in the brain and other mice who do not have beacon and then to study the impact onthe regulation of body weight.Read moreRead less
The Role Of The NPY System In The Regulation Of Appetite And Satiety
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,088,384.00
Summary
Eating disorders that have a causative role in the development of obesity and anorexia present massive health care problems for which current preventive methods and therapies are unsatisfactory. The studies proposed here combine sophisticated molecular techniques with state-of-the-art biochemical and physiological analyses. By utilising a panel of unique mouse models (many of which are only available to us), missing or overproducing key factors in the regulation of appetite and satiety this rese ....Eating disorders that have a causative role in the development of obesity and anorexia present massive health care problems for which current preventive methods and therapies are unsatisfactory. The studies proposed here combine sophisticated molecular techniques with state-of-the-art biochemical and physiological analyses. By utilising a panel of unique mouse models (many of which are only available to us), missing or overproducing key factors in the regulation of appetite and satiety this research will make highly original and internationally competitive contributions to the understanding of these disorders. The results will have a significant impact on the development of novel diagnostics and potential treatments for obesity and anorexia. In addition, funding provided through this grant would not only help to find answers to these important questions but will also provide the basis for the generation of several novel mouse models. These animal models will also be beneficial tools for the wider scientific community here in Australia and worldwide. We have a proven record in the generation and comprehensive analysis of transgenic and knockout mice models making this proposal not only feasible but also highly likely to succeed and provide great new insight into extremely important health problems.Read moreRead less