Dean’s Seminar Series featuring Gökhan Hotamisligil, MD, PhD – “Foundations of Immunometabolism and Implications for Metabolic Health and Disease”
***CME/CE credit is being offered for this seminar***
Speaker:
Gökhan S. Hotamışlıgil, MD, PhD
James S. Simmons Chair of Genetics & Metabolism,
Director, Sabri Ülker Center for Metabolic Research
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
Department of Molecular Metabolism,
Assoc. Member, Harvard-MIT Broad Institute,
Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center
Title:
“Foundations of Immunometabolism and Implications for Metabolic Health and Disease”
Abstract:
The field of immunometabolism encompasses investigation of the regulatory pathways which control interactions between immune and metabolic responses as critical drivers of chronic disease. In the last three decades it has become clear that overlapping and redundant inflammatory pathways play pleiotropic and important roles in metabolism, and that the metabolic state is a critical determinant of immune function. Additionally, components of both the innate and adaptive immune system modulate metabolism. This is highly relevant in the context of the obesity pandemic, as obesity has been shown to drive the production of many abnormal immune mediators, and also modify the regulation of immune response signaling.
Adipocytes have been a key focus of research in this field. Studies have shown that adipocytes produce and regulate many metabolic and hormonal signals, with profound effects on systemic endocrine equilibrium. In the setting of metabolic stress and during obesity, metabolically active cells exhibit an inflammatory response which is key to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and diabetes. Molecular mechanisms underlying the link between inflammatory responses and hormone action include obesity-related activation of the serine/threonine kinases such as JNK, PKC and CaMK and other stress signaling cascades as well as changes in cellular calcium fluxes, endoplasmic reticulum structure and function. In this lecture, I will present the molecular mechanisms involved in integration of stress responses and how they impact metabolic homeostasis and how these mechanisms can be utilized for novel preventive and treatment approaches to the management of obesity, diabetes and related pathologies.