Abstract
Obesity is a disease of global concern and the prevalence is rising at an alarming rate. The development of research tools combined with the utilization of model organisms, promises to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanistic basis underlying obesity and may lead to the identification of new drug leads. The current chapter reviews recent applications of the invertebrate model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to study the evolutionary conserved foundation of lipid metabolism, covering biological traits, anatomic characteristics and genetic networks linked to energy homeostasis. Classical laboratory techniques and state-of-art research approaches are compared, highlighting their advantages and shortfalls. This not only provides a framework to investigate obesity research from a worm's perspective but also aims to promote future steps in the continued effort to explore the utility of C. elegans in scientific research.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Animal Models for the Study of Human Disease: Second Edition |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 267-280 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780124158948 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780128094686 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 23 Jun 2017 |
Keywords
- C. elegans
- Invertebrates
- Lipids
- Nematodes
- Obesity
