Tune H. Pers

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen

Prioritizing brain cell types for obesity using human genetics and single-cell transcriptomics

Identifying brain cell populations and genes etiologic to weight regulation remains a key in obesity research.  The arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus is a known appetite regulating brain area and it was recently shown that an approved weight-loss drug, liraglutide (a Glp-1 analogue), may exert its effect through a set of yet to be determined cells within this part of the brain.  We used large-scale droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing to construct transcriptional atlases of mouse arcuate nucleus cell populations to (a) identify the feasibility to expression profile single cell transcriptomes of adult mice brain areas and (b) to identify genes and cell populations responding to high-fat diet and Glp-1 treatment.  During the talk I will present preliminary results and experiences gained from this work.