What is it about?
This article reveals for the first time that three transcription factors, all belonging to the same family of zinc finger-containing proteins, are expressed in the Drosophila (fruitfly) heart and act in the heart to regulate systemic lipid homeostasis.
Featured Image
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This same group of transcription factors has recently been shown to regulate lipid metabolism in the mouse liver and adipose tissues in a tissue-autonomous manner. Our study shows that they also function in the heart to regulate lipid metabolism, but in a tissue non-autonomous manner influencing lipid homeostasis in other tissues and at the global level. Our study is therefore important in uncovering new aspects of lipid regulation by this group of transcription factors.
Perspectives
Our discovery of the systemic effect of this group of transcription factors in the heart on lipid homeostasis serves as the first step in a continuum of studies to elucidate the mechanism underlying the remote control by these transcription factors in the heart on lipid events in other tissues and at the systemic level. These studies will increase our understanding of the emerging important theme of the endocrine function of the heart in controlling obesity.
HUI-YING LIM
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Cardiac Snail family of transcription factors directs systemic lipid metabolism in Drosophila, PLoS Genetics, November 2019, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008487.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
