Yale Researchers Awarded $12M NIH Grant to Study Impact of FGF21 Protein on Aging - Yale School of Medicine

Researchers from Yale University, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center person been awarded a $12.4 million, five-year assistance from the National Institute connected Aging of the NIH to deploy their unsocial probe models and expertise successful a coordinated manner to make a caller people of gerontological research.

Vishwa Deep Dixit, DVM, PhD, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology and Professor of Immunobiology and Comparative Medicine and Director of the Yale Center for Research connected Aging (Y-Age), is Leader of the Program Project Grant (PPG). Yale Principal Investigators of the PPG see Tamas Horvath, DVM, PhD, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Comparative Medicine and Professor of Neuroscience and of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and Chair of Comparative Medicine, and Joseph Schlessinger, the William H. Prusoff Professor of Pharmacology and Co-Director of the Yale Cancer Biology Institute.

The squad has already demonstrated that Fibroblast maturation origin 21 (FGF21), a hormonal macromolecule encoded by the FGF21 gene, acts done an obligate co-receptor βKlotho (KLB) to power hallmarks of the aging process specified arsenic inflammation, immune-senescence, and impaired vigor metabolism. This task is based connected caller findings that adipose and thymus circumstantial overexpression of FGF21 controls organismal aging, and that FGF21, via AGRP-neuron mediated integration of hypothalamic and autonomic circuits, regulates aging.

“We volition trial the cardinal proposal that FGF21 is simply a cardinal gero-checkpoint that initiates a prolongevity molecular programme by integrating neural-metabolic and immune axes,” Dr. Dixit said. “The corollary is that pharmacological means to elevate FGF21 signaling by caller agonist FGF21 variants whitethorn service arsenic therapy to widen the healthspan and lifespan.”

The PPG involves 3 projects:

• Dr. Dixit volition trial the interaction of FGF21 connected immune-senescence
• Phillip Scherer, PhD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, UTSW, volition specify the relation of adipose insubstantial derived FGF21 connected aging and metabolic dysfunction
• Drs. Horvath and Schlessinger volition analyse the FGF21 hypothalamic AGRP neuron-driven awesome transduction to organismal aging

The PPG volition beryllium managed by the Y-Age probe squad and its core, which volition enactment the healthspan and lifespan studies.

“We foretell that palmy implementation of the projected goals volition pb to a procreation of caller cognition that volition let improvement of caller strategies to harness gero-protective effects of FGF21 against aging and chronic disease,” Dr. Dixit said.