医学创新论坛

（第015期）

Title:  The Neural Regulation of Energy and Nutrient Homeostasis in Flies and Mice

Speaker: Liming Wang（王立铭）

Dr. Wang is currently a senior investigator and deputy director in the Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory. Dr. Wang obtained his BS from Peking University in 2005 and PhD from California Institute of Technology in 2011. Before joining Shenzhen Bay Laboratory in 2022, he was a Bowes Research Fellow in UC Berkeley from 2011 to 2013, a consultant in BCG Shanghai Office from 2013 to 2014, and a professor in Zhejiang University from 2014 to 2022 (tenure promotion in 2019). Dr. Liming Wang holds a long interest in understanding the crosstalk between the nervous system and organismal metabolism. His lab also studies the neural substrates underlying the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases. Besides research work, Dr. Wang is also an enthusiastic science writer and a venture capitalist with a special focus on the biotech industry.  He has directed a number of early stage investments in biotech startups in both China and US.

Host: Lin Mei

         Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing

Time: 10:00 am Feb. 23, 2024 (Friday)

Location: Room 1322, North Tower, Basic Research Building, Capital Medical University (首都医科大学基础科研楼北楼1322会议室)

Abstract：

In the past 10 years, the research interest of my lab has mainly focused on the neural regulatory mechanisms of organismal energy and nutrient homeostasis.

As strict heterotroph, the survival, reproduction, and well-being of animals rely on a precisely maintained balance between energy intake and expenditure. Numerous peripheral organs, such as adipose tissue, liver, gastrointestinal system, and the skeletal muscle, are involved in the maintenance of such balance. Besides these organs, the CNS plays a crucial role in maintaining energy homeostasis. The CNS detects the fluctuations of the internal energy state and initiates or terminates various behaviors to fulfill the requirement of energy and nutrient intake, such as food seeking and exploitation, food consumption, food storage, food preference, etc. Similarly, animal species rely on the adequate and balanced intake of several types of vital nutrients, such as essential amino acids, lipids, vitamins, and minerals. Following the same rationale, the CNS should be able to detect the internal storage of these different types of vital nutrients and modulate food intake behaviors accordingly to maintain the homeostasis of vital nutrients.

Despite its striking accuracy, however, the ability of the CNS to regulate energy and nutrient homeostasis can be disrupted by sustained lifestyle challenges, including high fat/sugar diet, sleep loss, and stress, which contributes to the pathogenesis of prevailing metabolic disorders in post-industrialized societies, such as eating disorders, obesity, and type II diabetes. It is therefore of both scientific and clinical interest to elucidate the mechanism underlying the regulation of energy and nutrient homeostasis by the CNS.

My lab mainly used fruit flies as the model system to investigate the above scientific problems and in the past two years in SZBL we have extended our research program to rodent models. A common research scheme in the lab starts with the development of novel and quantitative behavioral assays to measure different aspects of energy and nutrient intake. By using these quantitative behavioral assays, my lab conducted systematic neuronal/RNAi screens to identify key genes and neuronal populations involved in the regulation of these behaviors. Once we identified a neuronal subset, we usually tried to map out the whole neural circuitry underlying, especially the very upstream that directly sensed internal energy/nutrient states, and the very downstream that directly linked to specific behavioral output. Moreover, we were also interested in understanding how such neural circuitry was affected by changes in lifestyles.

Looking into the next 5-10 years, my lab will continue to dissect neural circuitry of behaviors important for energy and nutrient homeostasis in flies and mice and to investigate how such circuitry interact with other innate behaviors. In addition, we are specifically interested in identifying and understanding novel nutrient sensors in the CNS at the molecular and cellular levels. We are also interested in understanding how the CNS interacts with various peripheral organs to coordinate metabolic remodeling upon sustained metabolic challenges.