Adiponectin paper background Flashcards
What did this paper focus on?
Inflammatory responses in skeletal muscle
What is adiponectin?
A hormone produced by adipocyte cells that is a normal regulator of the inflammatory response
What are 6 functions of adiponectin?
- Inhibits cells associated with perpetuating the inflammatory response
- Increases insulin sensitivity and reduces complications with diabetes
- Reduces severity of cardiovascular disease
- Regulates inflammation
- Alters the path of differentiation for monocytes
- Activate a lot of different signalling pathways
How does altering the path of differentiation by apidonectin reduce inflammation?
It changes the path so that more M2 macrophages are produced. These tend to produce more anti-inflammatory chemicals vs M1 macrophages that produce the inflammatory chemicals
What are miRNAs?
Small single stranded non-coding RNA molecules that cells normally use to repress gene expression
How do miRNAs work?
Bind to target mRNA molecules through complementary base pairing and lead to its degradation
Why are miRNAs important in immune cells for this paper’s topic?
They can target proteins involved in inflammatory pathways to modulate the magnitude of an immune response and of the inflammatory response
How are expression levels of miRNAs regulated?
Regulation of their transcription, or their processing into their active forms
How can the disregulation of miRNAs lead to disease?
Changes in the correct expression levels can increase the inflammatory response so that there is way too much (endotoxemia), or an inflammatory response that doesn’t shut off (chronic inflammation). It can also result in a reduced inflammatory response (immunodeficiency)
What should happen to the inflammatory response if everything is working properly?
Acute inflammation should activate when there is injury or a pathogen invasion, and it should stay active until the injury is repaired and the pathogens cleared. Then it should shut off
