A look back at the 15th Scientific Day: spotlight on metabolism

On November 7, the Research Centre held its 15th Scientific Day, a large annual gathering of the scientific community, centred around the theme "Metabolism: science in action."

This exciting event saw over 300 people in attendance to hear eight inspiring players in health research and three postdoctoral fellows speak about their recent scientific advancements. It was a resounding success!

It’s a matter of genetics... and music

Giles Yeo, Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge and program leader at the Medical Research Council’s Metabolic Diseases Unit, opened the morning’s conference sessions.

With passion and humour, he discussed the influence of genes on feeding behaviour and weight.

Recently, he and his team discovered a new gene, nicknamed the “bassoon” due to its shape, which when mutated is associated with a significant increase (4 points) in body mass index among the population.

Associated solely with adult obesity and not childhood obesity, this gene has the most significant effect ever studied on body weight in the general population. Nearly one in 6,500 adults is affected.

A variant of the APBA1 gene was also associated with this increased risk of obesity, says Yeo.

A fight against your own biology

Have you ever heard of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children conducted by scientists at the University of Bristol on over 5,700 people born between 1990 and 1991? No? Regardless, Yeo brilliantly explained the scientific facts to the group in attendance.

In the United Kingdom, there are 200,000 people who may be carriers of a disruptive mutation in the MC4R gene linked to early-onset obesity.

This mutation causes the brain to think that they have less fat than they actually have, leading to increased eating and childhood weight gain.

The consequences of genetic defects are significant: carriers of the mutated gene weigh an average of 17 kg more than non-carriers at age 18.

Metabolism in all its states

Throughout the day, we were also able to discuss metabolism through different lenses. Dr. Alain Dagher (Montreal Neurological Institute), specialized in functional brain imaging techniques, gave a presentation on obesity as a current leading risk factor for Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

Dr. Gillian Booth (University of Toronto) is primarily focused on the influence of socio-economic and environmental factors on the risks of diabetes and its complications. Her presentation served to show that access to green spaces and walkable urban zones reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Other conference attendees presented their recent research projects: Julie St-Pierre (Metabolic vulnerabilities in advanced breast cancer—University of Ottawa), Matthew Hill (Endocannabinoids, cannabis and feeding behaviour—University of Calgary), Dr. Marc Bilodeau (Rewiring a busy metabolic network: the case of hepatocellular carcinoma—CRCHUM), Thierry Alquier (Neuronal lipid droplets in the central control of energy homeostasis—CRCHUM) and John Stagg (Targeting the adenosine immune checkpoint in cancer: is our model correct?—CRCHUM).

Three CRCHUM postdoctoral fellows also had the opportunity to present their work: Yousef Maali (Two transcriptionally and functionally distinct waves of neutrophils during mouse acute liver injury—laboratory of Naglaa Shoukry), Manon Duquenne (Glucocorticoid receptors in astrocytes: Star players in energy homeostasis—laboratories of Thierry Alquier and Ciaran Murphy-Royal) and David Allard (The CD73 immune checkpoint promotes tumour cell metabolic fitness—laboratory of John Stagg).

Finally, Thierry Alquier moderated a panel consisting of Giles Yeo, Matthew Hill, Patrick Malenfant (Novo Nordisk) and Dr. Alain Dagher to cover key scientific advances that have marked the past 30 years since the discovery of leptin.

CRCHUM management would like to thank the event’s organizing committee and all the participants for their presence and engagement.