Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Adv Nutr. 2011 Sep;2(5):428-39. doi: 10.3945/an.111.000703. Epub 2011 Sep 6.
Nutrition-related health issues have emerged as a major threat to public health since the rebirth of the economy in China starting in the 1980s. To meet this challenge, the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the Institute for Nutritional Sciences (INS) at Shanghai, China ≈ 8 y ago. The mission of the INS is to apply modern technologies and concepts in nutritional research to understand the molecular mechanism and provide means of intervention in the combat against nutrition-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and many types of cancers. Through diligent and orchestrated efforts by INS scientists, graduate students, and research staff in the past few years, the INS has become the leading institution in China in the areas of basic nutritional research and metabolic regulation. Scientists at the INS have made important progress in many areas, including the characterization of genetic and nutritional properties of the Chinese population, metabolic control associated with nutrient sensing, molecular mechanisms underlying glucose and lipid metabolism, regulation of metabolism by adipokines and inflammatory pathways, disease intervention using functional foods or extracts of Chinese herbs, and many biological studies related to carcinogenesis. The INS will continue its efforts in understanding the optimal nutritional needs for Chinese people and the molecular causes associated with metabolic diseases, thus paving the way for effective and individualized intervention in the future. This review highlights the major research endeavors undertaken by INS scientists in recent years.
自 20 世纪 80 年代中国经济复苏以来，营养相关的健康问题已成为公众健康的主要威胁。为应对这一挑战，中国科学院约 8 年前在中国上海成立了营养科学研究所（INS）。INS 的使命是应用营养研究中的现代技术和概念，了解分子机制，并提供干预营养相关疾病的手段，包括 2 型糖尿病、代谢综合征、肥胖、心血管疾病和多种癌症。通过 INS 科学家、研究生和研究人员在过去几年中的勤奋协作，INS 已成为中国基础营养研究和代谢调控的领先机构。INS 的科学家在许多领域取得了重要进展，包括中国人群遗传和营养特性的描述、与营养感应相关的代谢控制、葡萄糖和脂质代谢的分子机制、脂肪因子和炎症途径对代谢的调节、功能性食品或中草药提取物对疾病的干预以及许多与致癌作用相关的生物学研究。INS 将继续努力了解中国人的最佳营养需求以及与代谢性疾病相关的分子原因，从而为未来的有效和个体化干预铺平道路。本文综述了 INS 科学家近年来开展的主要研究工作。
