title: Unraveling the Role of Ataxin-2 in Metabolism.
abstract: Ataxin-2 is a polyglutamine protein implicated in several biological processes such as RNA metabolism and cytoskeleton reorganization. Ataxin-2 is highly expressed in various tissues including the hypothalamus, a brain region that controls food intake and energy balance. Ataxin-2 expression is influenced by nutritional status. Emerging studies discussed here now show that ataxin-2 deficiency correlates with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, an action mediated via the mTOR pathway, suggesting that ataxin-2 might play key roles in metabolic homeostasis including body weight regulation, insulin sensitivity, and cellular stress responses. In this review we also discuss the relevance of ataxin-2 in the hypothalamic regulation of energy balance, and its potential as a therapeutic target in metabolic disorders such as obesity.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carmo-Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, Center for Biomedical Research (CBMR), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Clevio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nobrega
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pereira de Almeida
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: ccavadas@uc.pt.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavadas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000067698:Ataxin-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000067698:Ataxin-2; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: ataxin-2; hypothalamus; mTOR; obesity; stress granules