The objectives of this Marie Skłodowska Curie Action (MSCA) were to (a) demonstrate the existence of a novel and liver-based form of thermogenesis; (b) determine the molecular mechanism underlying this hepatic heat production; (c) study the regulation of hepatic thermogenesis by the hepatic sympathetic nerve at the anatomical level and by the adrenergic receptor Adrb3 at the molecular level, and (d) translate these findings to humans by focusing on their relevance for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD). With funding from the European Commission, the Fellow carrying this research was able not only to demonstrate the existence of heat production in the liver but also to study its mechanisms of regulation. In particular, the Fellow could demonstrate the importance of the sympathetic nervous system, the fight-or-flight response system of our bodies, to turn on hepatic thermogenesis. To disseminate these two results, the two following manuscripts have been drafted and are currently being reviewed and refined:
Demagny H., Bresciani N., Sun Y., Pontanari F., Schoonjans K., Infrared-based thermal evidence of hepatic thermogenesis (under development)
Demagny H., Sun Y., Pontanari F., Schoonjans K., Control of hepatic thermogenesis by the sympathetic nervous system – axis (under development)
For the exploitation of the results, the demonstration that the sympathetic nervous system controls hepatis thermogenesis opens the possibility to develop liver-specific sympathetic mimicking compounds to trigger heat production, and thus energy expenditure, in the liver. The fellow has secured a collaboration with a Californian biotech company to exploit these results. The proof-of-concept work is currently on-going.
