Project Grant F30DK149444

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc. $108,968 on February 17, 2027, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to investigate neural mechanisms governing resting metabolic rate and cardiovascular function.

The research focuses on cardiometabolic control by angiotensin II type 1 receptor-expressing agouti-related peptide neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. The project examines how diet-induced obesity causes a G protein signaling switch in these neurons, altering angiotensin II signaling from inhibitory to stimulatory, and tests the hypothesis that this obesity-induced plasticity represents a maladaptive mechanism contributing to impaired metabolic homeostasis and dysregulation of both resting metabolic rate and blood pressure. Two specific aims address the contribution of type 1 agouti-related peptide neurons to cardiometabolic control in lean animals and the functional consequences of obesity-induced signaling plasticity in this neuronal population.

Performance occurs in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The award runs through August 31, 2030. This project grant supports basic and clinical biomedical research under the National Institutes of Health's program to improve understanding of mechanisms underlying diabetes, digestive, and kidney diseases and to advance prevention, diagnosis, and treatment approaches.