Grant: Project Grant

Exercise has profound effects on virtually every organ and tissue y and profoundly influences how the body utilizes carbohydrate and fats. The wide-ranging effects of exercise are mediated, at least in part, by signaling factors secreted from different tissues, such as muscle, liver and fat tissue. A recently identified signaling factor that increases with exercise is GDF15. This molecule signals to the brain and regulates food intake. In addition, we have found that GDF15 also increases the utilization of fat in the liver and the production of molecules called ketone bodies that can be taken up and used as a fuel source by other tissues like the heart and muscle. The purpose of the current project is to determine how GDF15 increases the production of ketone bodies, and then investigate if GDF15 regulates the effects of exercise on these processes. It is our hope that identifying how GDF15 controls sugar and fat metabolism and the role that it plays in exercise, will lend insight into potential new avenues to treat conditions of altered sugar metabolism such as those seen in type 2 diabetes.