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Aranza Jhosadara Espinosa-Flores

Aranza Jhosadara

PhD Student

Email: a.j.espinosa-flores@qmul.ac.uk

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Project Title: Assessing the role of MC4R in neurodegeneration using ZF as a model

Summary: Melanocortin system (MS) is a neuronal pathway involved in regulation of energy homeostasis and food intake; with this, the activation of the melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) is a novel therapy to weight control in obesity. Obesity by itself represents a low- grade inflammation stage and increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly. Within the MS, the expanded endocannabinoid system is involved in regulation of the inflammatory process in several tissues. Therefore, the overarching aim of this project is to test the hypothesis that perturbation of MC4R signalling leads to neuroinflammation and neuro-degeneration, and to explore the role of the endocannabinoid system in these processes. We shall characterize the expression of inflammatory biomakers and endocannabinoids during perturbation of the MC4R pathway , monitoring alteration of appetite, anxiety-like behaviours and cognition.

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