Contribution of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) to energy metabolism

• Grant number: 16/24898-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2017
• End date: February 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - General Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Helena Coutinho Franco de Oliveira
• Grantee: Júlia Zago Castelli
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increasing of the obesity epidemic indicates that the study of the physiological and molecular mechanisms can be useful in the identification of targets to fight it. Several proteins have been directly or indirectly associated with adipogenesis. CETP, a protein that promotes the exchange of neutral lipids, classically known for its role in reverse cholesterol transport, has been studied by our research group, suggesting a new role in reducing adiposity. Unpublished data show that CETP expression increases lipolysis (50%) and oxygen consumption (10%), reducing adiposity (30%) and leptinemia (40%) of transgenic mice. Such processes must be due to increased gene expression (ATGL, HSL, B3AR, UCP1) and key proteins (HSL, B3AR) for lipolysis and thermogenesis. More recent experiments have failed to prove increased protein expression of UCP1 and UCP1 activity per mitochondrial unit, indicating that respiration of other tissues may be contributing to the higher energy expenditure of animals expressing CETP. Thus, this project proposes to investigate mechanisms by which CETP contributes in the increase of corporal energy expenditure. (AU)