Brain on food: The neuroepigenetics of nutrition

Nutrigenomic Regulation of Sensory Plasticity

“…However, the molecular mechanisms and consequences of this type of nutrient sensing are still poorly understood. In particular, how nutrigenomic signals are integrated with cellular contexts to drive specific outcomes has remained hard to define due to the lack of mechanistic nutrigenomic models (Müller and Kersten, 2003; Vaziri and Dus, 2021). In this work, we exploited the conserved phenomenon of diet-induced taste plasticity and the genetic tools of the D. melanogaster fly to answer these questions.…”

“…The levels and types of dietary nutrients play an essential role in cellular processes such as growth, division, and differentiation by providing fuel and biomass. However, nutrients can also affect these aspects of cell physiology by influencing, and often orchestrating, gene expression programs (Dai et al, 2020; Vaziri and Dus, 2021). These effects are mediated through nutrient-sensitive modifications to DNA, RNA, and proteins, as well as changes to the activity, binding, and localization of enzymes and signaling factors (Huang et al, 2015; Katada et al, 2012).…”

“…A significant challenge of the field has been to explain how global variations in the nutrient environment lead to specific changes in cell physiology. To overcome these challenges, we have developed an experimental system where the contributions of nutrients to physiology can be studied mechanistically and in vivo (Vaziri and Dus, 2021) . Here we use this model to characterize how cell-specific signals are integrated with broad changes in metabolism to drive adaptations to the dietary environment.…”

Crème de la Créature: Dietary Influences on Behavior in Animal Models

“…Indeed, most metabolites are used as cofactors for DNA, RNA, and protein modifying enzymes, or can modulate their activity or association to DNA, chromatin, and RNA. Variations in metabolite levels because of diet can sculpt cells’ responses to the environment and these effects can be long-lasting and persist even after the dietary environment has dissipated; they can also reshape or weaken the identity of cells (Vaziri and Dus, 2021 ). Changes in nutrient levels can also influence the abundance and secretion of neurochemicals, as most neurotransmitters are byproducts of central or amino acid metabolism (Dai et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The responses of the AgRP neurons to food were also blunted by consumption of a high fat diet, and these phenotypes persisted even after animals were switched to a diet of normal chow and lost the excess weight (Beutler et al, 2020); of note, a high fat diet also altered the extrinsic and intrinsic excitability of these neurons (Vernia et al, 2016;Paeger et al, 2017;Korgan et al, 2021). Further, the number of cells expressing the anorexigenic cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcripts (CART) and the mRNA levels of the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the hypothalamus were also decreased (Huang et al, 2003;Tian et al, 2004); neuroepigenetics changes in response to caloriedense food environments were recently reviewed in Vaziri and Dus (2021).…”