Profile - Claire Bastie
Claire Bastie
TITLEAssistant Professor CONTACT
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RESEARCH PROFILEThe Bastie laboratory is focused on dissecting the molecular basis of obesity and diabetes utilizing both whole animal physiology with genetically modified animal models (conventional knockouts, tissue-specific knockouts and over-expressing models) and explant cultures coupled with advanced molecular and cellular biology tools. The main interests of our laboratory are concentrated on: 1) characterizing Fyn kinase, a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, as a novel element of the nutrient-sensor system that regulates whole body energy homeostasis in conditions of either excess (obesity) or deprivation (caloric restriction) of nutrient availability and 2) characterizing Fyn kinase as a core enzyme co-ordinating a number of key processes associated with aging. Recently, we identified that Fyn deficient animals are lean and display enhanced insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, low fasting glucose levels and improved lipid profiles (1). Additionally, pharmacological inhibition of Fyn kinase recapitulates some of the metabolic effects observed in the Fyn deficient mice and results in loss of fat mass (2). We are currently a) examining the upstream and downstream pathways regulating Fyn function, focusing on the cross-talk between Fyn kinase and AMPK in adipose tissue and muscle; b) determining the metabolic events leading to this weight loss, using peripheral and central injections of Fyn inhibitors in different animals models, specifically looking at the control of food intake; c) dissecting the hepatic control of glucose production after a long fast and how Fyn kinase regulates this process. Another aspect of our research aims at determining the role of Fyn kinase in diet-induced obesity, particularly focusing on the molecular mechanisms involved in adipose tissue inflammatory processes. The latest project of the Bastie Laboratory focuses on identifying new targets that are regulated by Fyn kinase using RNA high sequencing in muscle, that are involved in autophagy and sarcopenia. 1. Bastie, C. C., Zong, H., Xu, J., Busa, B., Judex, S., Kurland, I. J., and Pessin, J. E. (2007) Integrative metabolic regulation of peripheral tissue fatty acid oxidation by the SRC kinase family member Fyn. Cell Metab 5, 371-381 2. Yamada, E., Pessin, J. E., Kurland, I. J., Schwartz, G. J., and Bastie, C. C. Fyn-dependent regulation of energy expenditure and body weight is mediated by tyrosine phosphorylation of LKB1. Cell Metab 11, 113-124 |
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
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My Profile last updated: 12/12/2012 |