Dr. Hirschey presented today his current work on mitochondrial protein acylation and its regulation of metabolism at the 72nd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association. Read More...

Tags: ada, presentation, data, acetylation, pdf

Tags: obesity, presentation, seminar, video

With a pair of papers describing the role for SIRT3 in diabetes and the metabolic syndrome published in the last week, a summary of these follows. The metabolic syndrome refers to a collection of metabolic abnormalities, including obesity, diabetes, increased blood lipids, and high blood pressure. The number of people with the metabolic syndrome is rising in the developed world and will lead to future increases in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Sedentary lifestyles and high-fat “Western” diets contribute to the metabolic syndrome, however the cause is not fully understood. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms that cause it is critical public health problem. A genetic component is likely, and several genes have been implicated. Read More...

Tags: metabolism, metabolic syndrome, SIRT3, summary

New Target for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes Identified

BOSTON—August 22, 2011 -- Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that an enzyme found in the mitochondria of cells is decreased in the skeletal muscle of those with diabetes, a finding that could lead to the development of drugs to boost the activity of this enzyme in an effort to fight the disease.

A paper in published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the enzyme, Sirt3, is decreased in the skeletal muscle of humans and animals with diabetes by at least half, compared to those without diabetes and that this may contribute to development of insulin resistance, one of the earliest manifestations of the disease. Sirt3 is found in the mitochondria, the power producers of cells that convert energy into usable forms.

DUKE SCIENTISTS HELP TO IDENTIFY KEY PROTEIN REGULATING DIABETES

DURHAM—August 18, 2011 -- With obesity and diabetes epidemic in the developed world, a better understanding of how metabolism is regulated is crucial. One of the key metabolic pathways regulating metabolism is the oxidation of fat. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center and the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center, in collaboration with the Gladstone Institute and the University of California – San Francisco, helped to discover a new mechanism that governs this pathway and in the process identified a novel potential therapeutic target for controlling diabetes and obesity. The target is a protein from the mitochondria, or the “power plants” of every cell that are responsible for processing oxygen and converting substances from the foods we eat into energy for essential cell functions.

Tags: SIRT3, energy, metabolism, acetylation, high-fat diet

While I liked the original web design of the Hirschey Lab website, it was time for a refresh. Out goes classy, in comes modern; out goes formal, in comes playful.
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Tags: Website, update

Synthetic PPARg ligands (such as TZDs) are currently the most powerful insulin sensitizers in the treatment of type 2 diabetes in clinics. Of two TZD-based medicines (rosiglitazone and pioglitazone), rosiglitazone was withdrawn in the European market last year and will be removed from pharmacy stores in US by this November. The rosiglitazone-associated heart failure is responsible for the end of its market performance in Europe and US. A potential side effect in bladder cancer is another threat to the value of TZD-based medicines for type 2 diabetes. Do scientist have any new leads towards drug targets/candidates to replace TZD-based medicines?
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Tags: metabolism, TZD, obesity, diabetes, hdac, science

In her State of the School address last month, Dean Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, called Matthew D. Hirschey, PhD, an expert in metabolism currently with the Gladstone Institutes at UCSF, a “rapidly rising star.”

Hirschey, who will join the Duke faculty May 1, is one of the first faculty recruits to be hired under a School of Medicine program that supports partnership hires of faculty members who bridge disciplines or fill interstices between disciplines. (Watch video of Dean Andrews discussing the program: http://insidedukemedicine.org/news/dean-andrews-state-of-the-school-address-basic-and-clinical-discoveries/)

Dean Andrews’ State of the School address

DURHAM, NC—February 22, 2010—The Duke University Medical Center Department of Medicine today announced that Matthew Hirschey, Ph.D., has joined the Faculty. Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the School of Medicine, gave the news in her 2011 State of the School address.