Integrative Lipid Sciences, Inflammation, and Chronic Diseases Training Program
Six Areas of Focus
- Functional Genomics of Lipids - Drs. Yu, Parks, Dawson, Weinberg, Sorci-Thomas, Shelness, Temel, Howard, Wagner, Rudel, Mishra, St. Clair
This area involves the investigation of functional consequences in cells or whole animals when genes involved in lipid metabolism, singly or in combination, are over- or under-expressed using transgenic and/or gene targeting methods, adenoviral-mediated gene transfer, and siRNA or anti-sense oligonucleotide gene silencing.
- In vivo Imaging of Lipid Deposition - Drs. Rudel, Carr
This area of focus involves quantifying factors responsible for modifying atherosclerotic lesion development in studies of atherosclerosis progression or regression. Noninvasive techniques, mainly CT scanning and MRI, are used in experimental animals (mice and monkeys) to evaluate body composition as well as artery wall thickness and degree of calcification. These modalities permit successive studies within individual animals to help determine rates of lesion growth or regression while monitoring alterations of muscularity or fat deposition in models of obesity and diabetes.
This area focuses on the determining the mechanisms by which botanical fatty acid supplements ameliorate the development of atherosclerosis and the symptoms of asthma. Research is designed to determine how different botanical fatty acids, in particular n-3 fatty acids, affect lipid metabolism and inflammation in normal and asthmatic humans and in mouse models of atherosclerosis.
This area applies biochemical, interfacial, and spectroscopic methods (quadrupole mass spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, computerized drop tensiometry, and surface monolayer apparatus) to study the protein-membrane and protein-lipid interactions required for cholesterol and lipid desorption from membranes and the assembly, remodeling, and metabolism of lipoprotein particles and other macromolecular lipid structures (vesicles and membranes). Particular focus is placed upon the manner in which binding of proteins to lipid affects their structure, stability and physiological function.
This area involves the study of transporters and pathways that underlie the movement of lipids both within cells and into and out of cells, particularly hepatocytes, intestinal epithelial cells, and macrophages. This area also encompasses studies of lipoprotein-mediated lipid transport in plasma, including movement of lipids among lipoproteins.
This area involves the study of bioactive lipids that act as ligands of transcription factors, such as LXR and PPAR, and as eicosanoid inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandins, prostacyclin, thromboxanes and leukotrienes.
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