Grant: Project Grant

Obesity is a global health epidemic and a major risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other pathologies such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) involves chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. The cause of IBD is unknown, but the leading theory is that microbial and/or environmental factors activate the gut immune response in genetically susceptible individuals leading to inflammation. Previous research suggests that both of these diseases may share some common disease mechanisms, however, the molecular details behind this link is unknown. Previous findings suggest that a novel protein called DUPD1 might be a risk factor for IBD and obesity-related inflammatory diseases. Currently, the function of the DUPD1 gene is unknown. DUPD1 is expressed largely in skeletal muscle. We tested whether mice that are deficient in this protein are resistant to IBD and obesity. Indeed, our results show that mice deficient in DUPD1 are resistant to IBD and to obesity-related inflammatory diseases. This research proposal will examine this new protein and how it promotes obesity, IBD, as well as other inflammatory diseases. Our findings suggest that targeting DUPD1 may relieve inflammation in patients with IBD, obesity-related inflammatory diseases, and possibly other inflammatory diseases.