Our goal is to discover new mechanisms involved in our cells’ delicate balancing act with respect to cholesterol levels. Understanding how production of cholesterol is controlled in our cells is key to developing new drugs aimed at preventing its excessive accumulation. This will have long-term benefits for health considering that a cellular imbalance in cholesterol is involved in two of the most common conditions threatening the health of Australians, namely heart disease and Alzheimer’s diseas ....Our goal is to discover new mechanisms involved in our cells’ delicate balancing act with respect to cholesterol levels. Understanding how production of cholesterol is controlled in our cells is key to developing new drugs aimed at preventing its excessive accumulation. This will have long-term benefits for health considering that a cellular imbalance in cholesterol is involved in two of the most common conditions threatening the health of Australians, namely heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.Read moreRead less
Brain Angiotensin: Generation, Localisation And Physiological Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$209,250.00
Summary
The renin angiotensin system is one of the major homonal systems of the body that regulate the cardiovascular system and bodily salt and water balance. Drugs that inhibit the function of this system by reducing the blood level of the hormone angiotensin II or blocking the receptors at which it acts are in the forefront of treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure. It has been proposed that a separate brain renin angiotensin system exists that is not influenced by angiotensin II in the b ....The renin angiotensin system is one of the major homonal systems of the body that regulate the cardiovascular system and bodily salt and water balance. Drugs that inhibit the function of this system by reducing the blood level of the hormone angiotensin II or blocking the receptors at which it acts are in the forefront of treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure. It has been proposed that a separate brain renin angiotensin system exists that is not influenced by angiotensin II in the blood stream because of the blood-brain barrier. Strains of mice in which the genes that code for two components of this system - angiotensin converting enzyme (the enzyme responsible for generating angiotensin II) and angiotensinogen (the protein which gives rise to angiotensin II) provide excellent tools to elucidate this system in the brain. By studying these mice we will be able to determine whether angiotensin converting enzyme is necessary in the brain for foreming angiotensin II, and we will be able to determine the sites in the brain where authentic angiotensin peptides exist. We will also determine whether angiotensin II transmits information between neurons in the brain that play a role in control of the cardiovascular system and body fluid balance.Read moreRead less
Intermittent Fasting Versus Daily Energy Restriction For Improved Human Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$987,048.00
Summary
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a nutritional strategy consisting of a period where food is freely available, followed by periods where food is withheld. This proposal will build on our past findings and assess the long term effects of IF on metabolic health, and weight in individuals with pre-diabetes. This study will have significant implications for informing current dietary practice, and provide a legitimate strategy to managing the metabolic sequelae of obesity.
Regulation Of Growth Hormone Profile By Metabolic Balance: Neuronal, Neuroendocrinal And Molecular Mechanism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,257.00
Summary
Obesity is associated with a reduction in growth hormone secretion. As growth hormone maintains muscle mass at the expense of fat this may further promote the obese condition. This project will determine the physiological role of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger, in maintaining growth hormone secretion under normal, fasting and obese conditions. Clarification of the role of ghrelin in regulating growth hormone secretion may aid in the development of pharmacological agents to assist and mai ....Obesity is associated with a reduction in growth hormone secretion. As growth hormone maintains muscle mass at the expense of fat this may further promote the obese condition. This project will determine the physiological role of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger, in maintaining growth hormone secretion under normal, fasting and obese conditions. Clarification of the role of ghrelin in regulating growth hormone secretion may aid in the development of pharmacological agents to assist and maintain weight loss.Read moreRead less
Proton translocating ATPases are central to biological energy conversion, one of the most fundamental biological processes on earth whose elucidation has already led to several Nobel prizes. Synthesis of the universal biological energy carrier ATP takes place in the well-characterised soluble domain. The focus of this study is to understand the unknown function of the proton-driven transmembrane motor, which will give fundamental new insights into biological energy conversion and its regulation.
Hormonal Regulation Of NPY Neurons In The Arcuate Nucleus Of The Hypothalamus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,677.00
Summary
Obesity is a serious medical concern affecting the social, medical and economic capabilities within Australia. This proposal examines the hormonal regulation of cells in the brain inducing appetite. By understanding how these hormones influence appetite-inducing cells, we hope to identify effective targets to treat food intake and body weight gain.
To study the genetic alterations that give rise to cancer. In particular, exploring how too little death of cells can lead to a tumour. If too few cells in a tissue die, a tumour may develop there. The team is exploring how the cell death process is normally controlled. They plan to characterise the molecules inside cells that determine whether a cell lives or dies and hope that better understanding of those molecules will help to explain how tumours arise. It could also lead to new drugs that c ....To study the genetic alterations that give rise to cancer. In particular, exploring how too little death of cells can lead to a tumour. If too few cells in a tissue die, a tumour may develop there. The team is exploring how the cell death process is normally controlled. They plan to characterise the molecules inside cells that determine whether a cell lives or dies and hope that better understanding of those molecules will help to explain how tumours arise. It could also lead to new drugs that can kill tumour cells more effectively by directly triggering the normal death switch of the cell.Read moreRead less