Identification of sphingolipid metabolites that induce obesity via misregulation of appetite, caloric intake and fat storage in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Obesity is defined by excessive lipid accumulation. However, the active mechanistic roles that lipids play in its progression are not understood. Accumulation of ceramide, the metabolic hub of sphingolipid metabolism, has been associated with metabolic syndrome and obesity in humans and model systems. Here, we use Drosophila genetic manipulations to cause accumulation or depletion of ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) intermediates. Sphingolipidomic profiles were characterized across mutants for various sphingolipid metabolic genes using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectroscopy. Biochemical assays and microscopy were used to assess classic hallmarks of obesity including elevated fat stores, increased body weight, resistance to starvation induced death,

SUBMITTER: Walls SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3854795 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature