Lawrence Kazak spotlighted in Cell Metabolism’s 20th anniversary special edition

To mark its 20th anniversary, Cell Metabolism is spotlighting authors whose discoveries have helped define the field of metabolic research. Among the featured contributors is Lawrence Kazak, PhD, Principal Investigator at the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI), recognized for a study he conducted during his postdoctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.

Diet-induced thermogenesis is a mechanism by which cells generate heat in response to high calorie intake to increase the body’ energy use and prevent weight gain. Adipose tissue is a well-known site for diet-induced thermogenesis and has been extensively studied. What Professor Kazak and his colleagues discovered is how creatine metabolism, a molecule commonly associated with muscle energy, helps brown fat burn calories and produce heat.

To understand creatine’s role in this process, the researchers removed a key enzyme (Gatm) that enables fat cells to make creatine. They found that mice without this enzyme in fat cells produce significantly less heat and gain more weight than control group when fed a diet high in calories. These findings have potentially high implications for human health, as they point towards a new target for obesity treatment. Boosting creatine metabolism in fat cells might offer a way to increase energy expenditure and help prevent weight gain.

Pushing the boundaries

Building on this foundational work, Professor. Kazak and his team have continued to publish high-impact findings in Cell Metabolism. In a recent study, they uncover a parallel mechanism of adipocyte thermogenesis involving creatine kinase B (Ckb) and uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1). Their work demonstrates that both proteins contribute to energy dissipation in cold conditions and can compensate for each other. This challenges the long-held belief that UCP1 alone drives thermogenesis and shows that CKB helps maintain thermogenesis even when UCP1 is absent.

This evolving body of work firmly places Professor Kazak at the leading edge of adipose biology. With diet-induced obesity on the rise, his discoveries not only offer critical insights into metabolic regulation but also inform his broader research program at the GCI, which explores the links between adipose tissue function and diseases such as obesity-driven breast cancer.

Learn more about Dr. Lawrence Kazak’s research program

Attend the first Adipose Biology Conference in Montreal