Alan Saltiel

About

Alan Saltiel is a Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego, specializing in endocrinology and metabolic research. His research activities focus on hormonal regulation of LDL receptor trafficking, energy expenditure in adipose tissue, inflammation and hepatic lipid metabolism, and adipose tissue plasticity in health and disease. He has contributed to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying insulin action, glycogen metabolism, and thermogenic remodeling of white adipocytes. His work also explores the regulation of glucose homeostasis, mitochondrial dynamics in adipocytes, and the metabolic benefits of various signaling pathways. Saltiel's research is funded by multiple NIH grants, and he has made significant contributions to the field of metabolic biology through his investigations into obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic disorders.

Research topics

• Endocrinology
• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Chemistry
• Cell biology
• Cancer research
• Genetics
• Neuroscience

Selected publications

• An AMPK–caspase-6 axis controls liver damage in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

  Science · 2020 · 313 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Liver cell death has an essential role in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The activity of the energy sensor adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is repressed in NASH. Liver-specific AMPK knockout aggravated liver damage in mouse NASH models. AMPK phosphorylated proapoptotic caspase-6 protein to inhibit its activation, keeping hepatocyte apoptosis in check. Suppression of AMPK activity relieved this inhibition, rendering caspase-6 activated in human and mouse NASH. A…

  DOI

• Insulin signaling in health and disease

  Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2021 · 185 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  The molecular mechanisms of cellular insulin action have been the focus of much investigation since the discovery of the hormone 100 years ago. Insulin action is impaired in metabolic syndrome, a condition known as insulin resistance. The actions of the hormone are initiated by binding to its receptor on the surface of target cells. The receptor is an α2β2 heterodimer that binds to insulin with high affinity, resulting in the activation of its tyrosine kinase activity. Once activated, the recept…

  DOI

• Obesity causes mitochondrial fragmentation and dysfunction in white adipocytes due to RalA activation

  Nature Metabolism · 2024-01-29 · 134 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Mitochondrial dysfunction is a characteristic trait of human and rodent obesity, insulin resistance and fatty liver disease. Here we show that high-fat diet (HFD) feeding causes mitochondrial fragmentation in inguinal white adipocytes from male mice, leading to reduced oxidative capacity by a process dependent on the small GTPase RalA. RalA expression and activity are increased in white adipocytes after HFD. Targeted deletion of RalA in white adipocytes prevents fragmentation of mitochondria and…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• TANK-Binding Kinase 1 Regulates the Localization of Acyl-CoA Synthetase ACSL1 to Control Hepatic Fatty Acid Oxidation

  Cell Metabolism · 2020 · 123 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Diet and feeding pattern modulate diurnal dynamics of the ileal microbiome and transcriptome

  Cell Reports · 2022 · 104 citations

  Compositional oscillations of the gut microbiome are essential for normal peripheral circadian rhythms, both of which are disrupted in diet-induced obesity (DIO). Although time-restricted feeding (TRF) maintains circadian synchrony and protects against DIO, its impact on the dynamics of the cecal gut microbiome is modest. Thus, other regions of the gut, particularly the ileum, the nexus for incretin and bile acid signaling, may play an important role in entraining peripheral circadian rhythms. W…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01DK076906

  NIH · $4.6M · 2020

• NIH Grant R21DK098776

  NIH · $415k · 2016

• NIH Grant R23AM033804

  NIH · $58k · 1987

Frequent coauthors

• Dave Bridges

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  61 shared

• Shannon M. Reilly

  59 shared

• Jeffrey E. Pessin

  40 shared

• Peng Zhao

  The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

  31 shared

• Jerrold M. Olefsky

  University of California, San Diego

  30 shared

• Christopher Liddle

  University of Sydney

  29 shared

• Louise Chang

  Michigan United

  28 shared

• Frank W. Sellke

  Brown University

  25 shared

Labs

• Saltiel LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Molecular and Cell Biology

  University of California, San Diego

  1987

• B.S., Biology

  University of California, San Diego

  1982

Similar researchers at University of California, San Diego

• Michael (Geoff) Rosenfeldh-224
• Joseph Witztumh-181
• Wolfgang Dillmannh-82