IDO

The Institute for Diabetes and Obesity (IDO) investigates the diseases of metabolic syndrome by means of systems biological and translational approaches on the basis of cellular systems, genetically modified mouse models and clinical intervention studies.

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Our objective is to discover, validate and target novel pathomechanisms and molecular signals for the development of personalized preventive and therapeutic strategies for diabetes, obesity and co-morbidities such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

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Prof. Dr. Timo Müller

Institute Director

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Prof. Dr. Cristina García Cáceres

Deputy Director (acting), Group Leader

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Prof. Dr. Paul Pfluger

Head of Research Unit

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Prof. Dr. Fabiana Perocchi

Group Leader (W3 Associate Professor)

Dr. Dominik Lutter

Group Leader

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Dr. Alberto Cebrian Serrano

Group Leader

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Dr. Natalie Krahmer

Emmy Noether Group Leader

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A new tool developed by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research and the University of Bonn makes spatial proteomics and lipidomics easier to use – no coding required. C-COMPASS allows scientists to profile where proteins and…

The medical treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes is currently undergoing a significant transformation. Innovative drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide – often referred to as "weight-loss injections" – mimic the action of specific gut…

Drugs that bind to and activate the receptors for the hormones GLP-1 and GIP are effective in the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Surprisingly, active substances are currently being developed that not only activate the GIP receptor (agonists) but…

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on Clinical Obesity

A new report of the Commission on Clinical Obesity, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology and endorsed by over 75 medical organizations, has introduced a transformative framework that addresses the limitations of traditional BMI-based…

Every year on October 3rd, the German broadcaster WDR organizes the event "Doors Open with The Mouse." This year, 770 companies and research institutions across Germany participated, welcoming children and parents under the theme "Working Together."…

Recent research underscores the critical role of adipocytes in storing fat, vital for organismal survival. Dysfunctional adipocytes can lead to metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, highlighting the importance of…

Research targeting the insulin-inhibitory receptor, called inceptor, unveils promising avenues for beta cell protection, offering hope for causal diabetes therapy. A novel study in mice with diet-induced obesity demonstrates that the knock-out of…

Sex-Specific Research

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2023 has changed the way we treat obesity. A new class of drugs, mimicking a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), is reshaping medicine and improving many people’s lives globally. GLP-1 drugs do not only induce significant weight loss,…

The increasing amount of patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes benefit greatly from the recently developed GIPR:GLP-1R co-agonists. These novel compounds lead to substantial weight loss, offering a revolutionary approach to patients worldwide.…

Matthias Tschöp receives Heinrich Wieland Price 2023

Heinrich Wieland Prize for Matthias Tschöp: Breakthrough in the battle against obesity and diabetes

Diabetes researcher Dr. Timo Müller was honored with the 58th Minkowski Prize awarded by the EASD for his distinction manifested by publications that contribute to the advancement of knowledge concerning diabetes.

For major breakthroughs, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) awards its highest honor, the Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement named after the nobel laureate and discoverer of insulin, Frederick Banting. Former CEO at Helmholtz Munich and…

Tirzepatide is a recently approved treatment for type-2 diabetes. Treatment with tirzepatide decreases body weight while improving glucose metabolism in patients with obesity and type-2 diabetes. Although the drug is designed to activate receptors…

Timo Müller Werner-Creutzfeldt-Preis 190523_DMD_12268

The German Diabetes Society (DDG) awards this year's Werner Creutzfeldt Prize to Helmholtz Munich scientist PD Dr Timo Müller for his exceptional work in the research field of Incretin-based diabetes and obesity. This is already the second time in a…

Sex differences exist in the regulation of energy homeostasis, the organism’s mechanism to keep a stable body weight. Current studies indicate for instance that female mammals, including humans, are better protected against metabolic diseases during…

Identification of a previously unknown function of adipose tissue in insulin secretion.

Scientists at Helmholtz Munich and the University of Augsburg have made an important breakthrough in better understanding early processes in the development of…

Type 2 diabetes disease progression and successful intervention depend on individual’s unique clinical, genetic, genomic, and environmental information partly represented by gene expression patterns. An international team of researchers around…

Timo Müller and his team have been working for many years on the development of new therapeutic options for diabetes and obesity. Among other things, they decoded a brain receptor that plays a crucial role in the regulation of body weight and food…

Prof. Cristina García-Cáceres (second left) receives the DAG research award 2022 for her scientific contribution in the field of obesity research. The prize, she shares with Dr. Anne Lautenbach from the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, was…

A team of researchers from Helmholtz Munich, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and Novo Nordisk have developed a new hormone combination for the future treatment of type 2 diabetes. The scientists have combined the blood sugar-reducing…

Helmholtz Munich obtains two ERC Consolidator Grants: Timo Müller from the Institute for Diabetes and Obesity with "TRUSTED", and Ben Engel, formerly of the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, with "cryOcean". They are among the successful 12 percent to…

Helmholtz Zentrum München won two ERC Consolidator Grants for pioneering biomedical research in the fields of metabolic health and bioengineering. In 2020, the European Research Council (ERC) awarded the center with a total of eight ERC Grants. This…

Robert M. Gutgesell, Ahmed Khalil, Arkadiusz Liskiewicz, Gandhari Maity-Kumar, Aaron Novikoff, Gerald Grandl, Daniela Liskiewicz, Callum Coupland, Ezgi Karaoglu, Seun Akindehin, Russell Castelino, Fabiola Curion, Xue Liu, Cristina Garcia-Caceres, Alberto Cebrian-Serrano, Jonathan D. Douros, Patrick J. Knerr, Brian Finan, Richard D. DiMarchi, Kyle W. Sloop, Ricardo J. Samms, Fabian J. Theis, Matthias H. Tschöp, Timo D. Müller

GIPR agonism and antagonism decrease body weight and food intake via different mechanisms in male mice Agonists and antagonists of the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) enhance body weight loss induced by glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonism. However, while GIPR agonism decreases body weight and food intake in a GLP-1R-independent manner via GABAergic GIPR+ neurons, it remains unclear whether GIPR antagonism affects energy metabolism via a similar mechanism. Here we show that the body weight and food intake effects of GIPR antagonism are eliminated in mice with global loss of either Gipr or Glp-1r but are preserved in mice with loss of Gipr in either GABAergic neurons of the central nervous system or peripherin-expressing neurons of the peripheral nervous system. Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing shows opposing effects of GIPR agonism and antagonism in the dorsal vagal complex, with antagonism, but not agonism, closely resembling GLP-1R signalling. Additionally, GIPR antagonism and GLP-1R agonism both regulate genes implicated in synaptic plasticity. Collectively, we show that GIPR agonism and antagonism decrease body weight via different mechanisms, with GIPR antagonism, unlike agonism, depending on functional GLP-1R signalling.

Tim Gruber, Franziska Lechner, Jean-Philippe Krieger, Cristina García-Cáceres

Neuroendocrine gut–brain signaling in obesity The past decades have witnessed the rise and fall of several, largely unsuccessful, therapeutic attempts to bring the escalating obesity pandemic to a halt. Looking back to look ahead, the field has now put its highest hopes in translating insights from how the gastrointestinal (GI) tract communicates with the brain to calibrate behavior, physiology, and metabolism. A major focus of this review is to summarize the latest advances in comprehending the neuroendocrine aspects of this so-called ‘gut–brain axis’ and to explore novel concepts, cutting-edge technologies, and recent paradigm-shifting experiments. These exciting insights continue to refine our understanding of gut–brain crosstalk and are poised to promote the development of additional therapeutic avenues at the dawn of a new era of antiobesity therapeutics.

Cristina Garcia-Caceres

Advances in appetite regulation by the arcuate nucleus In 2024, new insights identified a cluster of leptin-targeted neurons and integrative networks that link sensory inputs (heat and food perception) with feeding centres and peripheral systems. Key findings revealed hypothalamic site-specific adaptive mechanisms, in which nutritional state-dependent remodelling of extracellular compounds and neuropeptide transmission calibrate appetite via the arcuate nucleus.