Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles have recreated neurons in a dish to better analyze the brain’s role in obesity and to improve the development of personalized treatment. Findings were published in Cell Stem Cell.
The brain’s hypothalamus, which regulates hunger and temperature, could leave individuals more susceptible to obesity when these neurons malfunction and interrupt the signals saying an individual is “full.” In this study, researchers used stem-cell technology to recreate hypothalamus neurons outside of the body for a more in-depth analysis into their role in obesity.
"We have taken the first step in developing a great platform that potentially could be used to evaluate the effects of experimental therapeutics on specific patients," said Dhruv Sareen, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai. "Understanding how this signaling process works at the cellular level is important in providing much-needed clues for future treatment strategies for obesity. But the process is difficult to investigate because hypothalamus tissues from living patients are not readily accessible for direct examination."
Researchers collected blood and cells from five super-obese individuals and seven normal weighted individuals to compare the differences in hypothalamus neurons. After genetically reprogramming the cells into stem cells, researchers were able to recreate hypothalamus neurons that matched the genetic makeup of the individual they were taken from.
Results showed that the neurons taken from the super-obese individuals contained more genetic mutations than those from normal weighted individuals. They also responded abnormally to the hormones regulating hunger, satiety and metabolism.
"These findings showed that iPSC technology is a powerful method for studying obesity and how interactions between genes and the environment may influence its development," said Sareen, who directs the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Core Facility at the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. "We reliably and efficiently differentiated multiple iPSCs into hypothalamic neurons and, using sophisticated gene expression and statistical techniques, showed these neurons are similar to human hypothalamic tissues."
Cara joined TriMed Media in 2016 and is currently a Senior Writer for Clinical Innovation & Technology. Originating from Detroit, Michigan, she holds a Bachelors in Health Communications from Grand Valley State University.