Dr. Chris Morrison , John S. McIlhenny Endowed Professor in Nutritional Neuroscience and Associate Executive Director for Basic Science at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, was awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 research grant totaling up to $2 million to investigate the hormone FGF21 and the detection of dietary protein restriction.
The four-year grant from the NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases will support research into how the brain detects changes in protein intake and how reduced protein intake drives adaptive changes in metabolism and food intake.
“Dietary protein plays a critical role in metabolism and overall health, and our brain monitors our nutritional state and responds when protein intake is reduced,” said Dr. Morrison. “We have identified a unique population of neurons that help regulate both metabolism and food choice when protein intake is reduced. By understanding how these neurons coordinate these changes, we hope to gain new insight into how the brain shapes what we eat based on our nutritional status.”
When dietary protein is limited, the body must adapt to this altered nutritional environment. Research from the Morrison laboratory has shown that a hormone produced by the liver, called FGF21, acts as an important signal of protein restriction, communicating changes in nutritional status to the brain. In response to protein restriction, animals increase their motivation to seek and consume protein while also changing how the body uses energy.
Previous research from the Neurosignaling Laboratory has shown that disrupting FGF21 signaling prevents many of these adaptations. Low-protein diets normally increase energy expenditure and alter fat tissue, but these responses are largely eliminated when FGF21 or its key brain receptor, beta-Klotho, is removed.
This new research will focus on a specific population of neurons in the hindbrain that respond to FGF21. Researchers have found that removing these neurons also prevents the normal changes in energy expenditure and food intake that occur when dietary protein is restricted. By studying how these neurons influence metabolism and feeding behavior, the project aims to better understand how the brain detects changes in nutritional status and coordinates the body’s response to a low-protein diet.
“Congratulations to Dr. Morrison and his team on this important NIH award,” said Dr. Jennifer Rood, Interim Senior Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical. “Dr. Morrison has been a pioneer in advancing our understanding of how the body detects and responds to changes in dietary protein, including his work identifying FGF21 as an endocrine signal of protein restriction. We are proud to see his innovative research continue to advance our understanding of the complex relationship between nutrition and health.”
Dr. Morrison’s research has helped establish FGF21 as an important link between dietary protein intake, the brain, and metabolic adaptation. His laboratory is now working to understand how this signaling system coordinates changes in metabolism and feeding behavior when protein intake is reduced.
The NIH R01 grant is the agency's flagship mechanism for supporting investigator-initiated research and is among the most competitive forms of federal biomedical research funding.
The project is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases , part of the National Institutes of Health, and provides up to $2,013,180 over four years, contingent upon available funding and satisfactory research progress.
About LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center
The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. Pennington Biomedical has the vision to lead the world in promoting nutrition and metabolic health and eliminating metabolic disease through scientific discoveries that create solutions from cells to society. The Center conducts basic, clinical and population research, and is a campus in the LSU System.
The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes over 600 employees within a network of 44 clinics and research laboratories, and 16 highly specialized core service facilities. Its scientists and physician-scientists are supported by research trainees, lab technicians, nurses, dietitians and other support personnel. Pennington Biomedical is a globally recognized state-of-the-art research institution in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information, see www.pbrc.edu .