A balance of lipid-sensing mechanisms in the brain and liver.

Caspi, Liora; Wang, Penny Y T; Lam, Tony K T · Cell Metab · 2007

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Abstract

Recent work has cast a spotlight on the brain as a nutrient-sensing organ that regulates the body's metabolic processes. Here we discuss the physiological and molecular mechanisms of brain lipid sensing and compare these mechanisms to liver lipid sensing. A direct comparison between the lipid-sensing mechanisms in the brain and liver reveals similar biochemical/molecular but opposing physiological mechanisms in operation. We propose that an imbalance between the lipid-sensing mechanisms in the brain and liver may contribute to obesity-associated type 2 diabetes.

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