Institut for Fødevarer

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PhD project: Fasting induced adipose factor (FIAF)
- Identification of a FIAF inducing component/fraction, its stability and variation in bovine milk

Background

Obesity with its associated diseases has become a serious concern in our modern society, and there is an increasing interest in the regulation of energy metabolism. Even though milk contains a high nutritional content, a negative correlation between milk intake and obesity indicates that milk contains components of weight regulation.

Very recent experiments have shown that human epithelial cells exposed to milk up-regulate expression of the FIAF gene. FIAF is an adipokine also known as PPARγ angiopoietin-related protein, angiopoietin-like protein 4 (Angptl4).

The exact role of FIAF is not clear, but it’s known to inhibit lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which is an enzyme that hydrolyses the triglycerides in circulating lipoproteins to release fatty acids for uptake by the surrounding tissue. In addition to lipid metabolism, FIAF may also decrease plasma glucose levels and improve glucose tolerance.

Aim

Identify and characterise FIAF-inducing milk components (FIAF-IMC) in bovine milk. To identify the distribution of FIAF-IMC in the different phases of the milk and establish the stability of FIAF-IMC during different technological treatments (heat, acid, or enzymatic treatments).

Research Outline

Different milk fractions and further purified FIAF-IMC will be produced with different chromatographic tools (size exclusion or ion exchange chromatography). The FIAF-inducing ability of these fractions and purified components will be investigated with a human epithelial cell line (HCT 116) and possible other cells lines. Culturing conditions are optimized for exposure time and concentrations. The extent of FIAF-gene induction is followed by differential mRNA regulation determined by RT-qPCR. Investigation of the stability of FIAF-IMC towards different processing steps will be conducted as will the effect of different cow breeds (SDM and Jersey) on FIAF-IMC concentration in milk.