Prof. Yaxiong Tao from Auburn University paid a visit to IHB on May 30th, 2016.

Prof. Yaxiong Tao from Auburn University paid a visit to Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB) on May 30th, 2016. During his visit, he gave a lecture with the title of  “Mutations in Melanocortin-4 Receptor: From Fish to Men” for IHB researchers and students.  

Obesity is one of the most important disease which increases the risk of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. In his lecture, Prof. Tao first introduced the molecular mechanism and significance of the MC4R in regulating metabolism and energy balance. Then he illustrated the reasons why different loci of mutations in MC4R lead to obesity in human.  

Prof. Tao used the molecular chaperone and performed large-scale screen of a series of specific small molecular drugs for the obesity caused by different type of MC4R mutations. He also introduced the importance of nature mutations of cavefish MC4R in the evolution, which makes it survive and thrive in the unique nutrient-poor environment. In the end, Prof. Tao show the functional differences of MC4R between human and fish. 

After the lecture, scientists and students communicated with Prof. Tao regarding issues related to fish metabolism.