• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Cellular stress in the brain may contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 25, 2017
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2017) — Disruptions in a protein folding process occurring in the brain, known as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, may cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, independent of other factors. A research team at the George Washington University (GW) published their results in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight.

"Nearly 75 percent of obese adults experience non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, its underlying causes are unclear," said Colin Young, Ph.D., senior author and assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. "Recent findings have pointed to ER stress as central to its development. What our research shows is that ER stress in the brain is a key contributor."

As the primary site of cellular protein folding, the ER plays a critical role in maintaining cellular function. When there is nutritional excess, the protein load exceeds the ER folding capacity and a collection of conserved signaling pathways, termed the unfolded protein response (UPR), are activated to preserve ER function. While beneficial in the short-term, chronic UPR activation, known as ER stress, is a major pathological mechanism in metabolic disease, such as obesity.

Young's research team demonstrated that UPR activation in the brain, specifically in the forebrain, is causally linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Also known as hepatic steatosis, the research shows that brain ER stress can cause the disease independent of changes in body weight, food intake, and other factors.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease impairs normal liver function and is linked to other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The next step is to determine how and why ER stress occurs in the brain and how it causes fat build up in the liver.

"Further research may give us another possible avenue for targeting fatty liver disease," said Young. "The field has been focused on how we can improve the liver, for example, by developing drugs that target the liver. Our research suggests that we may also need to think about targeting the brain to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease."

###

The study, "Obesity-induced Hepatic Steatosis is Mediated by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Subfornical Organ of the Brain," published by the Journal of Clinical Investigation can be found at http://insight.jci.org/articles/view/90170.

Media: To interview Dr. Young, please contact Ashley Rizzardo at [email protected] or 202-994-8679.

About the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences:

Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation's capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation's capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities. smhs.gwu.edu

Media Contact

Ashley Rizzardo
[email protected]
202-994-8679
@GWtweets

http://www.gwu.edu

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

AAV Boosts STC-1, Eases Neuroinflammation, Saves Vision

September 2, 2025

Evaluating Mindfulness Intervention for Self-Injury Recovery

September 2, 2025

New Isoquinoline Derivatives Show Promise as Antifungal Agents

September 2, 2025

Protein Lipoylation: Key to Cancer Metabolic Therapy

September 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    154 shares
    Share 62 Tweet 39
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    143 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    117 shares
    Share 47 Tweet 29
  • Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?

    112 shares
    Share 45 Tweet 28
>

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

AAV Boosts STC-1, Eases Neuroinflammation, Saves Vision

MASL Alters OSCC Cells: Growth, Motility, Morphology Changes

Herbal Extracts Enhance Antibiotic Effects on Resistant Pathogens

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.