Although only distantly related to humans, many aspects of energy homeostasis are conserved in Drosophila melanogaster. Previous results suggested that synphilin-1 (SP1), a cytoplasmic protein enriched in neurons, can regulate metabolic homeostasis in mice. Liu et al. further investigated the function of this protein using Drosophila as a tool, and report that transgenic expression of human SP1 in neurons, but not in the periphery, results in increased fat accumulation. SP1 expression in dopaminergic neurons induced modest increases in the body weight of adult flies, and doubled the size of the fat body (the functional equivalent of adipose tissue) and lipid droplets in larvae. The results of additional assays attributed these changes to increased food intake, rather than decreased energy expenditure. This study validates Drosophila for studying neuronal control of metabolic homeostasis and suggests a newly identified function of SP1 in control of energy balance.
Development/DMM Virtual Meeting 2021
Welcoming new Editors to DMM
Editor-in-Chief Liz Patton wants DMM to strengthen its presence in the field of translational biology and to focus on the importance of disease mechanisms, just as much as models. To implement this vision, we are pleased to welcome new Editors Sally Dunwoodie (Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Australia), Monkol Lek (Yale School of Medicine, USA) and Rickie Patani (Francis Crick Institute, London, UK) to the team.
Roles of the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer development
Going hand-in-hand, a new Perspective by Foegeding et al. explores the Western diet as a driver of dysbiosis in colorectal cancer while a new Review by Wang et al. focuses on microbiota-driven mechanisms that initiate sporadic colorectal cancer.
preLights – the latest disease modelling preprints
Head over to preLights for the digests of the latest preprints:
Erin McGregor highlights work by Nowicka et al. that suggests a potential connection between mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration.
Emma Wilson discusses work by Dagra et al., which highlights D2 receptors as a potential target that could be used to alleviate alpha-Synuclein pathology in Parkinson’s disease.
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