Shinichi Aizawa

TL;DR: A hitherto unpredicted role for PPARγ in high-fat diet–induced obesity due to adipocyte hypertrophy and insulin resistance, which requires both alleles of PPARα, is revealed.

TL;DR: The data suggest that mice homozygous for targeted disruption of the IRS-1 gene were born alive but were retarded in embryonal and postnatal growth and the exis-tence of both IRS- 1-dependent and IRS-2-independent pathways for signal transduction of insulin and IGFs is suggested.

TL;DR: It is shown that targeted disruption of the mouse εl subunit gene resulted in significant reduction of the NMDA receptor channel current and long-term potentiation at the hippocampal CA1 synapses, which supports the notion that the NMda receptor channel-dependent synaptic plasticity is the cellular basis of certain forms of learning.

TL;DR: A close relationship between synaptic plasticity and synapse formation in the cerebellum is suggested by analyses of the GluR delta 2 mutant mice, which reveal that the delta 2 subunit plays important roles in motor coordination, formation of parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses and climbing fiber- Purkinjecell synapses, and long-term depression of parallel Fiber-Purkinshire cell synaptic transmission.

TL;DR: It is shown that the transcription factor Otx2 is essential for retinal photoreceptor cell fate determination and development of the pineal gland and retroviral gene transfer of Otx1 steers retinal progenitor cells toward becoming photoreceptors.