The Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine (CFGM), based at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, is a world-class research facility set up primarily to tackle the twin epidemics of diabetes and obesity, known as "diabesity".

 

The following research projects are currently underway within the Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine:

Novel Biomarkers in Diabesity

Serum biomarkers are proteins that exist in the blood which can be measured and used as a predictor of disease, diagnosis and prognosis.

They are being actively used in cancer medicine, but to date there has been little application in the diabesity area.

The CFGM aims to find biomarkers for diabesity in the hope of being able to use them to help in the diagnosis of diabetes and predict a person's risk of developing the condition or experiencing complications.

With the commissioning of new high quality proteomics equipment provided by Lotterywest and managed by Proteomics International, the Centre's researchers have the capacity to perform high throughput detection of serum biomarkers in relevant cohorts of clinical patients with diabetes and obesity from several different hospitals across Perth.

Outcomes from other research programs will be integrated into subsequent studies to assess relevance and impact, for example, the effect of a particular diet or the impact of metabolic changes on biomarker levels.

Outcomes:

  1. Identification of novel biomarkers for diabesity in different subject groups.
  2. Improved diagnosis, management and prognosis of subjects with diabesity.
  3. Commercialisation of novel biomarkers in diagnostic test kits, and as potential new drug targets.

Principle Investigator:

  • Dr Richard Lipsombe - Proteomics International

Mitochondrial Biology - Understanding Pathways of Energy Regulation

Our focus is to understand the functional role of some new genes in the control of energy and metabolism. These include novel RNA-binding coregulator proteins that regulate nuclear receptor signaling activity, and which may play a role in the regulation of glucose uptake and energy balance. The cancer gene HLS5 will also be further probed to reveal its role in regulating thyroid hormone function, therefore, changing metabolic activity.

Outcomes:

  1. Characterisation of novel molecules regulating glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and mitochondrial biogenesis.
  2. Characterisation of one or more of these as potential biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets in diabetes/obesity.
  3. Demonstration that HLS5 regulates thyroid hormone function and, as a consequence, alters metabolic activity in the body.
  4. Identification of new RNA-binding molecules involved in mitochondrial biogenesis that may play a key role in generation of the diabetic phenotype.

Principle Investigator:

  • Prof Peter Leedman - UWA, Centre for Medical Research

Genetics of Diet-Related Obesity and Diabetes

The "Western diet" (together with decreasing physical activity levels) is driving the present epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the Australian community. Gene-environment interactions are causing this problem, but identifying these genes in humans is notoriously difficult. We will address the issue of gene-diet interactions in diabesity by addressing two questions using laboratory-based models - what genes contribute to diet-induced metabolic changes and can we modify diet to prevent obesity in genetically prone individuals and what genes control this effect.

Outcomes:

  1. Identification in obese and normal mice of traits affected by dietary modifications.
  2. Mapping of genes controlling these traits in "normal" mice (BXD strains).
  3. Mapping of genes controlling these traits in obesity-prone mice.

Principle Investigator:

  • Prof Grant Morahan - UWA, Centre for Medical Research

Clinical Trials & Allergenicity

Lupin kernel flour (LKF) is rich in protein (~45% by weight) and fibre (~30%) and contains negligible carbohydrate. It can be incorporated into food products including bread at up to 40% wheat flour replacement with no change in product acceptability. In the proposed studies, we will investigate the effect of regular consumption of LKF enriched foods.

Allergenicity to lupin in the population is believed to be similar to other legumes, but solid data is unavailable. Food companies require more knowledge to develop appropriate risk management strategies before commercialising lupin food products, therefore this project will;

Study:

  1. Effects of regular consumption of lupin kernel flour-enriched foods on body weight, body composition and risk factors for heart disease.
  2. Effects of regular consumption of lupin kernel flour-enriched foods on the long-term maintenance of weight loss in overweight individuals.
  3. Comparison of the acute effects of lupin kernel flour constituents on satiety, energy intake and biochemistry.
  4. The population incidence of lupin allergy.

Principle Investigators:

  • Dr Jonathan Hodgson - University of Western Australia
  • Dr Trevor Mori - University of Western Australia
  • Prof Ian Puddey - The University of Western Australia
  • Prof Susan Prescott - The University of Western Australia

Lupin Based Novel Health Foods

Lupin is a grain legume with characteristics similar to soybean, being high in protein and dietary fibre content, but low in fat content with essentially no starch with a low GI value. It is also a non-GM crop. Although health benefits of lupin due to high fibre and protein have been documented, limited or insufficient information is available on the components that are responsible for this. The benefits could be attributed to proteins, fibre, and/or other components, or their combined effects.

Development of commercially viable food products with high consumer acceptance is paramount in developing novel healthy food products. A range of lupin enriched baked (bread, muffins), extruded (breakfast cereals, snacks) and other products (noodles, pasta, etc) will be developed.

Outcomes:

  1. Product formulations for a range of lupin based novel healthy foods including baked, extruded, noodles and pasta products.
  2. Production techniques and methods in the manufacture of the identified food items.
  3. Ingredient delivery levels and techniques in the manufacture of the identified food items.
  4. Nutritional information on the lupin enriched foods.

Principle Investigator:

  • Prof Vijay Jayasena - Curtin University of Technology

Novel Health Attributes Added to Milled Flour

This particular component of the Centre will run at the Department of Agriculture laboratories (based at Murdoch University) and is closely integrated with projects at Curtin University of Technology (CUT). The plan will be to pursue studies that will:

  • Establish a suite of chemically well-defined wheat flours that have different lupin flour substitutes.
  • Investigate the ways in which the properties of food products made from substituted wheat flours can be readily measured, to complement the human trials carried out elsewhere in the Diabesity Research Program.
  • Provide a Quality Assurance standard using proteomic analyses to standardise doses of different bioactive components administered in human trials.

Outcomes:

  1. Identification of biomarkers for components of lupin flour suitable for further marketing.
  2. New formulations for refining the health attributes of products.
  3. New opportunities for marketing lupin in the human health area.

Principle Investigator:

  • Prof Rudi Appels - Murdoch University

Using Genomic Approaches to Characterise the Lupin Grain

Seed storage proteins (SSP) are very likely to be the major constituents of the lupin grain responsible for satiety and related dietary benefits, as well as potentially contributing to problems associated with allergenicity. To determine which groups of genes are important for the dietary benefits of lupins and which are contributing to allergenicity problems, we need to identify and characterise the SSP complement in lupins.

In a complementary approach, we will raise antibodies against the major lupin SSPs and also initiate metabolite profiling of alkaloids in lupin grains which are likely to contribute to undesirable dietary aspects of lupin grains. In the long term, the work conducted here will lay the platform for conventional and molecular breeding efforts to select for desirable and reduce undesirable end products in grains and in fractions used for food ingredients.

Outcomes:

  1. Characterisation of lupin SSP gene families, including expression analysis at the RNA and protein level in seeds.
  2. Genomic tools for further characterisation of the lupin seed, including BAC library, expression profiling and antibodies for localisation, proteomic and allergenicity research.
  3. Metabolite profiling of N-containing metabolites in lupin seeds with a focus on alkaloids.

Principle Investigators:

  • Dr Karam Singh - CSIRO
  • Prof Craig Atkins - University of Western Australia