A role for brain-specific homeobox factor Bsx in the control of hyperphagia and locomotory behavior.

Food intake and activity-induced thermogenesis are important components of energy balance regulation. The molecular mechanism underlying the coordination of food intake with locomotory behavior to maintain energy homeostasis is unclear. We report that the brain-specific homeobox transcription factor Bsx is required for locomotory behavior, hyperphagia, and expression of the hypothalamic neuropeptides Npy and Agrp, which regulate feeding behavior and body weight.

Purine and folate metabolism as a potential target of sex-specific nutrient allocation in Drosophila and its implication for lifespan-reproduction tradeoff.

The reallocation of metabolic resources is important for survival during periods of limited nutrient intake. This has an influence on diverse physiological processes, including reproduction, repair, and aging. One important aspect of resource allocation is the difference between males and females in response to nutrient stress.

Linking nutrition to genomics.

The new scientific field of nutrigenomics utilizes genomic tools, like microarrays, to analyze metabolic adaptations induced by variations in nutritional status. Here we describe how transcriptional regulation patterns caused by nutritional changes can be identified using gene expression profiling. This includes technical remarks on microarray analysis and data processing, as well as giving biological meaning to statistically solid data.

Starvation response in mouse liver shows strong correlation with life-span-prolonging processes.

We have monitored global changes in gene expression in mouse liver in response to fasting and sugar-fed conditions using high-density microarrays. From approximately 20,000 different genes, the significantly regulated ones were grouped into specific signaling and metabolic pathways. Striking changes in lipid signaling cascade, insulin and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) hormonal pathways, urea cycle and S-adenosylmethionine-based methyl transfer systems, and cell apoptosis regulators were observed.