# Elucidating the role of MeCP2 in the pathophysiology of obesity

> **NIH NIH SC1** · TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $295,450

## Abstract

Project summary
Obesity is a severely debilitating disease state that afflicts 650 million people worldwide. The increased
prevalence of obesity is associated with a number of other diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
and hypertension. Given its implications for health care, it is now considered a global epidemic by the World
Health Organization. These alarming statistics call for a need to understand neurobiological mechanisms that
underlie the development of obesity. The goal of the current proposal is to understand the role that methyl-
CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) plays in the etiology of obesity. Recent studies implicate a role of this
neuroepigenetic regulator in precipitating obesity in mouse models and in children diagnosed with Prader-Willi
Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperphagia and marked obesity. The current
proposal will utilize transgenic mouse models in which Mecp2 is knocked out in order to understand the
neurobiological consequences of Cre-lox mediated knock out of this epigenetic factor in hypothalamic pro-
opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. Another goal of this proposal is to understand how POMC-specific
knockout of Mecp2 can alter behavioral responses to food. The data from this proposal will elucidate the role
that MeCP2 plays on the development of obesity and may ultimately lead to therapeutic strategies with which
to combat the obesity epidemic.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10334111
- **Project number:** 1SC1GM144190-01
- **Recipient organization:** TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elisa S Na
- **Activity code:** SC1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $295,450
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-08 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10334111

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10334111, Elucidating the role of MeCP2 in the pathophysiology of obesity (1SC1GM144190-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10334111. Licensed CC0.

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