2026 Comer Undergraduate Seminar: “Central Mechanisms of Nausea and Emesis” by Tito Borner (University of Southern California)

Please join us October 15, 2026 at 12:30pm in ARC 241 for the 2026 Comer Undergraduate Seminar!  This year's event will feature "Central Mechanisms of Nausea and Emesis" by Dr. Tito Borner (University of Southern California)

Borner Lab

Host: Mitch Roitman

Abstract: Nausea and vomiting are protective responses that limit exposure to potentially harmful substances, but they can also become major clinical problems, particularly as adverse effects of cancer therapies and medications used to treat metabolic diseases. Despite their clinical importance, the central mechanisms that mediate nausea, emesis, and loss of appetite remain incompletely understood. My laboratory seeks to address this gap by using preclinical models to define the neural and molecular mechanisms that generate and modulate these responses.

In this talk, I will discuss two emerging signaling systems that act in the hindbrain to regulate nausea, emesis, and hypophagia: the cytokine growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and the incretin glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). GDF15 is strongly elevated in response to a variety of physiological and pathological stressors, including chemotherapy. Acting through its receptor GFRAL, whose expression is highly restricted to the caudal hindbrain, GDF15 engages neural circuits that contribute to chemotherapy-induced anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. GIP has historically been characterized for its role in glucose regulation. However, more recent work has revealed an additional function for GIP receptor signaling in the modulation of nausea and emesis. In particular, activation of GIP receptors can suppress behavioral responses to emetic stimuli, suggesting that this system may act within hindbrain circuits to limit malaise.

Together, these findings highlight the hindbrain as a critical hub for integrating peripheral signals related to malaise and demonstrate how understanding the neural circuitry of nausea and vomiting may reveal new approaches for improving the tolerability of cancer therapies and other pharmacological treatments.