People with mutations in ATGL, a gene involved in lipid catabolism, suffer from neutral lipid storage disease and often from cardiomyopathy. Rudolf Zechner and his colleagues now show in mice that Atgl activity in cardiac muscle produces key lipid ligands for PPAR-α, a transcription factor that regulates proper lipid metabolism and fuel burning in this tissue. These results may explain the mechanisms responsible for the cardiomyopathy and offer a potential target for treatment.
- Guenter Haemmerle
- Tarek Moustafa
- Rudolf Zechner
