BioGPS has become the valuable resource that it is because of the contributions from our wonderful user community. Thank you for contributing plugins, suggestions, and ideas–all of which have improved BioGPS for everyone. In order to celebrate the contributions of BioGPS users to the scientific research community, this series will feature publications and articles generated by BioGPS users. We sincerely hope you will join us in celebrating the fascinating work that YOU do.
PPARγ is popular. It was featured in the March 11th Featured Article, and it’s back in this week’s featured article from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Evaluation of the Synuclein-γ (SNCG) Gene as a PPARγ Target in Murine Adipocytes, Dorsal Root Ganglia Somatosensory Neurons, and Human Adipose Tissue by Tamara N. Dunn, Tasuku Akiyama, Hyun Woo Lee, Jae Bum Kim, Trina A. Knotts, Steven R. Smith, Dorothy D. Sears, Earl Carstens, Sean H. Adams.
Dr. Sean H Adams, the Center director at Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center, kindly answered our inquiries for this series.
- Who is the team behind the work that was published in Evaluation of the Synuclein-γ (SNCG) Gene as a PPARγ Target in Murine Adipocytes, Dorsal Root Ganglia Somatosensory Neurons, and Human Adipose Tissue?
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The team that tackled this study is the entire group listed in the authorship, with the primary driver being Dr. Tamara Dunn from the Adams lab group.
- What inspired the work published in Evaluation of the Synuclein-γ (SNCG) Gene as a PPARγ Target in Murine Adipocytes, Dorsal Root Ganglia Somatosensory Neurons, and Human Adipose Tissue?
This gene is, interestingly, highly-expressed in fat cells and we had suggestions from earlier studies that its expression would be regulated by metabolically-relevant signals.
- Please provide a brief summary of the findings reported in your article, Evaluation of the Synuclein-γ (SNCG) Gene as a PPARγ Target in Murine Adipocytes, Dorsal Root Ganglia Somatosensory Neurons, and Human Adipose Tissue.
This study confirmed that the gene promoter for murine SNCG is regulated by a PPARgamma response element, at least in fat cells where the gene is highly-expressed and implicated in fat storage. In addition, the work proved that the gene is co-regulated with the important metabolic hormone leptin.
- How did the team learn about BioGPS?
A colleague at UC Davis made me aware of BioGPS many years ago when the lab was characterizing a “new” gene that seemed to have very high expression in fat cells.
- How did your team utilize BioGPS in this research?
By using BioGPS, we learned—and were very surprised by—the unique co-expression of a gene called Tusc5 in both fat cells and peripheral neurons (dorsal root ganglia data). This led to many years of studies to confirm this using in situ hybridization in dorsal root ganglia. Furthermore, by using the correlation tool in BioGPS, we subsequently identified SNCG as a second gene with similar expression—this led to a variety of studies confirming a critical role for this protein in energy storage in fat cells.
Thanks again to Dr. Sean H Adams for taking the time to answer our questions. Click here to read their fascinating article. Have a look because these awesome researchers have made their compelling research open access so you can read the whole article for FREE.
Used BioGPS and cited it in your publication? Let us know! We would love to feature YOUR work, no matter how long ago it was published. BioGPS Featured Article Series only started recently, but we know your contributions to science is ongoing.