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| Name |
Tontonoz, Peter |
| Location
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University of California, Los Angeles |
| Primary Field
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Medical Physiology and Metabolism |
| Secondary Field
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Cellular and Developmental Biology |
 Election Citation
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The Tontonoz laboratory studies the control of gene expression by lipids and the metabolic role of nuclear receptors to understand obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. |
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Research Interests
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The focus of Dr. Tontonoz's laboratory is the control of gene expression by lipids and the role of nuclear receptors in metabolism. Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies. The common thread that links these disorders is dysregulation of lipid metabolism. Dr. Tontonoz's work has helped to reveal fundamental mechanisms by which animals maintain cellular and whole-body lipid homeostasis and how these pathways are perturbed in the setting of diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes. By studying transcriptional networks controlled by lipid-activated transcription factors, Tontonoz has elucidated pathways governing lipid uptake, transport and efflux. His work has helped to define how nuclear receptors coordintate the removal of excess cholesterol from cells such as macrophages, and how changes in cellular cholesterol metabolism can alter the function of innate and acquired immune cells. He also identified the E3 ubiqutin ligase Idol as a regulator of LDL metabolism and uncovered the key role of the Aster proteins in nonvesicular plasma membrane to ER cholesterol transport. A better understanding of fundamental regulatory strategies in metabolism may identify opportunities for therapeutic intervention in human metabolic disease. |
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