NCBS-Max Planck Lipid Centre, a joint initiative of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru and the Max Planck Centre for Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany is continuing its work on lipids including genetic models of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

While the initial funding for the research came in from the Max Planck Society, Germany and NCBS, there is need for additional financial resources which NCBS is looking to source from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Department of Science & Technology (DST). The researchers are now engaged in viewing the function of lipids in normal cells as well as in specific human diseases such as diabetes, obesity, retinal degeneration and host-parasite interactions, Dr Raghu Padinjat, associate professor, NCBS told Pharmabiz in an email interaction.

The Centre which kicked off its operations on September 22, 2011, was initially funded from the German-based Max Planck Society for the research groups working on lipid biology. At the Indian end grants for the early research were made by NCBS from its core funds. However, the Centre will be looking for additional funding from national agencies such as the DBT and DST, he added.

The Lipid Centre was set up to advance collaborative research activity between scientists at NCBS and the Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden-Germany in understanding the function of lipids, specific chemical components of living cells. The key objective is to perform a systematic analysis of the lipidome in a set of 'model' living organisms.

The researchers will also identify biochemical pathways leading to the production and degradation of lipids. Further efforts would also be to identify the role of particular lipids, function of the membrane of sub-cellular compartments, cells, tissues and an organism as a whole. From NCBS there are four scientists engaged in the research of lipids. They are Dr Satyajit Mayor, Dr Raghu Padinjat, Dr Gaiti Hasan and Dr Madan Rao.

According to NCBS, lipids are essential components of living systems. These are key chemical constituents of cells. At a sub-cellular level, the vast majority of lipids are associated with membranes where they have a well-recognized structural role. In addition, lipids also occur in the form of droplets and serve as a key storage reservoir for cellular energy substrates. The qualitative and quantitative changes in the levels of various lipids have been implicated in disease states; these include well-recognized monogenic lipid storage disorders like obesity, type II diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis.

The future focus area of the Centre is to continue its work on lipid biology using model organisms such as Drosophila and C.elegans. It is also likely to expand its activities to include work on mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) as well as jhost-pathogen interactions, said Dr Padinjat.