Prof. HUANG Xun from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences paid a visit to IHB on Sept. 26th, 2017.

Prof. HUANG Xun from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGDB) paid a visit to Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences on Sept. 26th, 2017. During his visit, he gave a lecture with the title of "Lipid Metabolism Regulation and Calcium Homeostasis ".   

Prof. Huang introduced that fat is an important component of the body. In addition to be the main element of the cell membrane, the lipid molecules are also involved in signal pathway regulation, energy storage, and affecting the individual growth and development as well as normal physiological function. Fat energy metabolism is closely related to a lot of human major diseases, such as birth defect, obesity, diabetes, neurodegeneration, sterility, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease and so on. The intracellular fat is mainly stored in lipid droplets, the size and dynamic regulation of lipid droplets are associated with cell function and metabolic status.  

Huang’s research was based on fat storage of different tissues in Drosophila. And then, different seipin gene mutants were constructed by using genetic operations in fat tissue. It was found that seipin plays an important role in the maintenance of calcium homeostasis of endoplasmic reticulum - mitochondrial axis by proteomics and metabolomics. Through the supplemental rescue experiment of calcium or citrate, it has been successfully revealed that seipin gene can affect the fat storage of Drosophila fat body by regulating the calcium homeostasis of organelle. 

Prof. Huang is the deputy director of Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research team is mainly engaged in studying fat metabolism regulation and development, focusing on using model animals (Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, mouse) to analyze the molecular mechanisms of fat metabolism regulation in different tissues and the impact of individual development systematically, which is of great reference value for the pathogenesis of human lipid metabolism.