Drs. Zahner and Lu Funded to Study Obesity Hormones

Dr. Matthew Zahner and Dr. Yongke Lu, Assistant Professors in the Department of Health Sciences of the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, have received a Major Grant award from the Research Development Committee for their study, Obesity-induced Hypertension; Hormones of Obesity that Activate Metabolic and Cardiovascular Centers within the brain. 

Obesity causes many unwanted cardiovascular effects, some of which can be attributed to the central nervous system. Leptin is a protein released from fat cells which reduces appetite and increases metabolism by activating specific areas of the brain. A main site of action for leptin within the brain is the hypothalamus, which contains cells that control both metabolism and cardiovascular activity. 

Leptin levels are increased in obesity, and although leptin increases metabolism and curbs appetite, it also increases blood pressure. Since a main goal of obesity treatments is to diminish the cardiovascular related co-morbidities, elevated blood pressure is an unacceptable side effect for potential treatments. 

They hypothesize that leptin activates both cardiovascular-related as well as metabolic-related neurons within the hypothalamus. To test this hypothesis, they will use mice that they specifically bred to have cells within the brain that respond to leptin fluoresce red. The team will then perform anatomical tracing studies to turn hypothalamic “metabolic-related neurons” green and “cardiovascular-related” neurons orange.  When activated by leptin these neurons turn magenta.  

The proposed study will provide much needed information on how the brain regulates metabolism and blood pressure through the nervous system and may lead to important therapeutic interventions to mitigate obesity and metabolic diseases.