The uncharacterized transcript confers a cachexic phenotype on cancer cells.

Patients with cancer cachexia have a poor prognosis and impaired quality of life. Numerous studies using preclinical models have shown that inflammatory cytokines play an important role in the development of cancer cachexia; however, no clinical trial targeting cytokines has been successful. Therefore, it is essential to identify molecular mechanisms to develop anti-cachexia therapies.

Muscle-specific deletion of causes metabolic changes in skeletal muscle that affect adipose tissue and liver.

Emerging evidence suggests that AT-Rich Interaction Domain 5b (Arid5b) may play a role in energy metabolism in various tissues. To study the metabolic function of Arid5b in skeletal muscle, we generated skeletal muscle-specific knockout (Arid5b MKO) mice. We found that Arid5b MKO skeletal muscles preferentially utilized fatty acids for energy generation with a corresponding increase in FABP4 expression.