Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Weng et al. demonstrate that colchicine’s well-known anti-inflammatory effects are not due its direct action on immune cells but are indirect effects, mediated by hepatokines such as GDF15, which are released as a result of colchicine action in the liver.
Shamsi et al. identify vascular smooth muscle cells marked by expression of Trpv1 as a part of the cellular lineage of brown and beige fat. Cold stimulates the expansion and differentiation of Trpv1-expressing progenitors to highly thermogenic adipocytes.
Wyatt et al. explore glycaemic responses after a standardized meal and find that postprandial glycaemic dip is a predictor of hunger and subsequent energy intake.
NADPH exists in separate cellular pools within the cytosol and mitochondria. Tran et al. find that mitochondrial NADPH is essential to enable proline biosynthesis during cell growth.
Using whole-exome sequencing data, Gorelick et al. identify lineage-specific somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA that affect cancer progression and patient prognosis.
The Drosophila white mutant has been used extensively for genetics studies. Sasaki et al. show a metabolic role of white, which is found to regulate intestinal stem cell proliferation during ageing through folate metabolism.
Ludwig et al. map transcription and chromatin accessibility in single cells across the brainstem dorsal vagal complex, thereby identifying neuronal populations, including some that control feeding.
Cho et al. show regulation of mitophagy, and thereby energy expenditure, in adipocytes by the Hippo pathway kinases STK3 and STK4, independently of classical Hippo signalling. Genetic inactivation of Stk3 and Stk4 is shown to protect mice from the adverse metabolic effects of diet-induced obesity.
Kim et al. reveal that TFEB expression is protective in the setting of diet-induced obesity by activating the expression of GDF15 in adipose tissue macrophages in mice and humans.
Rare variants in the gene encoding PHGDH, the rate-limiting enzyme in de novo serine biosynthesis, are identified as responsible for serine deficiency associated with the macular degenerative disease MacTel.
Jin et al. show that astrocytic ALDH2 metabolizes ethanol in the brain, thereby attributing behavioural effects of alcohol to metabolites produced in the brain rather than the liver.
Elevated hepatic alanine catabolism is shown to promote hyperglycaemia and reduce skeletal muscle protein synthesis, thereby linking sarcopenia with hyperglycaemia in the context of type 2 diabetes.
Zhao et al. use genetic lineage tracing to demonstrate that pancreatic endocrine and exocrine progenitor cells do not generate new beta cells, thus arguing against beta-cell neogenesis in the adult mouse pancreas.
Insulin stimulates TUG cleavage to translocate GLUT4 and enhance glucose uptake. Here Bogan and colleagues show that the TUG cleavage product regulates thermogenic gene transcription, thereby coupling glucose uptake to organismal energy expenditure.
Newman et al. explore the origins of myofibroblasts in atherosclerotic fibrous caps, finding that while composed of cells from multiple origins, smooth muscle cells predominate and are required for long-term plaque stability.
Choi et al. highlight the centrality of glycolysis in squamous cell carcinoma, revealing the glycolysis-dampening tumour suppressor role of Sirt6, and identifying a subset of highly glycolytic tumour-propagating cells with elevated antioxidant capacity.
Not all individuals with obesity develop cardiometabolic complications. Huang et al. use genome-wide meta-analysis to identify genetic loci associated with lower cardiometabolic risk despite increased adiposity.
Bosch-Queralt et al. find that diet-induced obesity impairs restoration of CNS demyelination through increased TGFβ-mediated suppression of cholesterol efflux.
The cap-binding protein eIF4E is a master regulator of mRNA translation. Conn et al. identify a specific subset of mRNAs governing lipid metabolism and storage that require eIF4E for translation in the liver during obesity.