PhD defence and trial lecture: Adnan Hussain Gora

Thesis title​​​:

Insights from a zebrafish model to combat dyslipidemia using microbe-derived bioactive compounds

Trial lecture topic:

The validity of zebrafish and mouse models to study hyperlipidemia (and cardiovascular disease) in humans

Evaluation Committee​:

• Professor Knut Tomas Dalen, University of Oslo
• Researcher Paulo Jorge Travessa Gavaia, Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR) / University of Algarve, Portugal
• Associate Professor Marit Bjørnevik, Nord University

Supervisory Committee:

• Main supervisor: Professor Kiron Viswanath, Nord University
• Co-supervisor: Professor Jorge Fernandes, Nord University
• Co-supervisor: Professor Pål Olsvikt, Nord University
  

About the thesis​:

Every year approximately 18 million people die from heart diseases, making them the most common non-communicable disease. Long-term consumption of fatty foods can alter the normal blood lipid profile by increasing ‘bad cholesterol’ levels and reducing ‘good cholesterol’ levels in the blood, a condition known as dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for the development of heart diseases. Although several drugs have been developed to prevent dyslipidemia, they are often associated with side effects. The search for diet-based approaches to controlling dyslipidemia has therefore attracted the interest of researchers. The objective of the research presented in this PhD thesis was to determine whether two dietary compounds, microbial β-glucans and microbial oil, are effective in preventing the development of dyslipidemia. To explore this, two microbe-derived bioactive compounds were fed to zebrafish, which, like humans, can develop dyslipidemia and fatty liver through the consumption of a cholesterol-rich diet.

The results indicated that both microbial β-glucans and microbial oil can reduce the ‘bad cholesterol’ level and raise the ‘good cholesterol’ level in the blood. Furthermore, microbe-derived β-glucans and oils can reduce the fat droplets in the liver and shape the lipid profile during dyslipidemia.

Thus, this PhD project provides interesting information about the suitability of zebrafish as a research model for studying the efficacy of bioactive compounds in preventing non-communicable diseases. The findings presented in this thesis are quite interesting, so it is expected that the generated knowledge will be used to develop new treatments and preventative measures.