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Helmholtz Munich | © Ismael Gonzalez-Garcia

Helmholtz Diabetes Center Institute for Diabetes and Obesity (IDO)

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

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

Our Research Groups

Helmholtz Munich | Haggenmüller
Müller Lab

Molecular Pharmacology

Matthias Tunger Photodesign
Ussar Lab

Adipocytes and Metabolism

Helmholtz Munich | ©Michael Haggenmueller
García Cáceres Lab

Astrocyte-Neuron Networks

Matthias Tunger Photodesign
Pfluger Lab

(NBD) Neurobiology of Diabetes

©Michael Haggenmueller
Perocchi Lab

Functional Genomics of Mitochondria

Helmholtz Munich | ©Michael Haggenmueller
Krahmer Lab

Cellular Proteomics and Metabolic Signaling

Helmholtz Munich | © Michael Haggenmüller
Cebrian Serrano Lab

Genetics

Matthias Tunger Photodesign
Dr. Dominik Lutter

Computational Discovery Research

Helmholtz Munich | ©Michael Haggenmüller
Dr. Günter Müller

Biochemistry

Helmholtz Munich | Haggenmüller
Dr. Timo Müller, Director (acting) / Head of Research Unit

Animal Administration

Helmholtz Munich | © Michael Haggenmüller
Dr. Maryna Bondarava / Head of Research Management

IDO Management

View team

Our staff

Institute: Scientists at IDO

Prof. Dr. Fabiana Perocchi

Group Leader (W3 Associate Professor)

Dr. Günter Müller

Group Leader

Dr. Sonja Schriever

Deputy Head

Marion Konheiser

IDO Administration

Philipp Melander

Koordinator Budget & Personal

Dr. Katharina Haas

Scientist

Verena Schöler

Scientist

Daniela Heine

Lab manager

Daniel Brandt

Technician

Dr. Gandhari Maity Kumar

Postdoc

Dr. Khanh Vo

Lingru Kang

Chenxi Wang

Saskia Stenzel

Robert Gutgesell

Postdoc

Peggy Dörfelt

Technician

Dr. Cahuê De Bernardis Murat

Postdoc

Edward Milbank

Postdoc

Noémi Mallet

Technician

Cristina Mencias

PhD Student

Michael Bauer

PhD Student

Ekta Pathak

Postdoc

Daniel Haas

PhD Student

Irem Altun

PhD Student

Dr. Beata Legutko

Senior Scientist

Marlene Kilian

Technician

Lara Fetzer

Technician

Andrea Machmüller

PhD Student

Amare Wolide

PhD Student

Clarita Layritz

Technician

Dr. Gerald Grandl

Postdoc

Lisa Ständer

PhD Student

Wenjie Lu

Sneha Prakash

PhD Student

Özum Sehnaz Caliskan

PhD Student

Nicole Klas

Technician

Felix Klingelhuber

PhD Student

Samira Zamani

Technician

Andreas Israel

Technician

Melanie Huber

PhD Student

Dr. Daniela Liśkiewicz

Postdoc

Anna Molenaar

PhD Student

Franziska Lechner

PhD Student

Dr. Seun Akindehin

PhD Student (HDC School)

Dr. Callum Coupland

PhD Student

Meri De Angelis

Postdoc

Sara Ribičić

Research Scientist

Miriam Krekel

Technician

Inderjeet Singh

PhD student

Alina Blenninger

Technician

Dr. Ophélia Le Thuc

Postdoc

Fabian Seebacher

PhD Student

Cassie Hollemann

Technician

Dr. Yanjun Xu

Postdoc

Margarita Chudenkova

Michael Sheng-Fu Feng

PhD Student

Li Jiang

PhD Student (parental leave)

Dr. Denis Vecellio Reane

Postdoc

Safal Walia

Dr. Ismael González García

Postdoc

Balma Carcia Colomer

Technician

Xenia Leonhardt

Technician

Konxhe Kulaj

PhD Student

Liu Xue

PhD Student

Xiaocheng Yan

PhD Student

Dr. Alberto Cebrian Serrano

Group Leader

Aaron Novikoff

PhD Student

Songül Sahin

Lab technician

Dr. Arkadiusz Liśkiewicz

Postdoc

Elena Garcia Clave

PhD Student (HDC)

Eva Trautmann

PhD Student

Dr. José Manuel Monroy Kuhn

Postdoc

Hilda Carolina Delgado De la Herrán

PhD Student

Natalia Prudente de Mello

PhD Student

Miriam Bernecker

PhD Student (HDC)

Dr. Yiming Cheng

Senior Bioinformatician/Scientist

Recent Publication Highlights

See all

2022 Nat Metab.

Gruber T, García-Cáceres C.

Astroglial clean-up of satiety synapses

Until now, the BDNF–TrkB signalling pathway was thought to be exclusively regulated by neurons. Ameroso et al. show that astrocytic TrkB.T1 is a critical substrate of BDNF in the regulation of energy balance and that its defective signalling in hypothalamic circuits leads to obesity.

2022 Nature Metabolism

Carmelo Quarta et al.

GLP-1-mediated delivery of tesaglitazar improves obesity and glucose metabolism in male mice

Dual agonists activating the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha and gamma (PPARɑ/ɣ) have beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes, but their development was discontinued due to potential adverse effects. Here we report the design and preclinical evaluation of a molecule that covalently links the PPARɑ/ɣ dual-agonist tesaglitazar to a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) to allow for GLP-1R-dependent cellular delivery of tesaglitazar. GLP-1RA/tesaglitazar does not differ from the pharmacokinetically matched GLP-1RA in GLP-1R signalling, but shows GLP-1R-dependent PPARɣ-retinoic acid receptor heterodimerization and enhanced improvements of body weight, food intake and glucose metabolism relative to the GLP-1RA or tesaglitazar alone in obese male mice. The conjugate fails to affect body weight and glucose metabolism in GLP-1R knockout mice and shows preserved effects in obese mice at subthreshold doses for the GLP-1RA and tesaglitazar. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry-based proteomics identified PPAR regulated proteins in the hypothalamus that are acutely upregulated by GLP-1RA/tesaglitazar. Our data show that GLP-1RA/tesaglitazar improves glucose control with superior efficacy to the GLP-1RA or tesaglitazar alone and suggest that this conjugate might hold therapeutic value to acutely treat hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance.

2022 Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

Timo D Müller, Matthias Blüher, Matthias H Tschöp, Richard D DiMarchi

Anti-obesity drug discovery: advances and challenges

Enormous progress has been made in the last half-century in the management of diseases closely integrated with excess body weight, such as hypertension, adult-onset diabetes and elevated cholesterol. However, the treatment of obesity itself has proven largely resistant to therapy, with anti-obesity medications (AOMs) often delivering insufficient efficacy and dubious safety. Here, we provide an overview of the history of AOM development, focusing on lessons learned and ongoing obstacles. Recent advances, including increased understanding of the molecular gut-brain communication, are inspiring the pursuit of next-generation AOMs that appear capable of safely achieving sizeable and sustained body weight loss.

2022 Allergy

Karlina R. et al.

Differential effects of lung inflammation on insulin resistance in humans and mice

Background: The rates of obesity, its associated diseases, and allergies are raising at alarming rates in most countries. House dust mites (HDM) are highly allergenic and exposure often associates with an urban sedentary indoor lifestyle, also resulting in obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological association and physiological impact of lung inflammation on obesity and glucose homeostasis. Methods: Epidemiological data from 2207 adults of the population-based KORA FF4 cohort were used to test associations between asthma and rhinitis with metrics of body weight and insulin sensitivity. To obtain functional insights, C57BL/6J mice were intranasally sensitized and challenged with HDM and simultaneously fed with either low-fat or high-fat diet for 12 weeks followed by a detailed metabolic and biochemical phenotyping of the lung, liver, and adipose tissues. Results: We found a direct association of asthma with insulin resistance but not body weight in humans. In mice, co-development of obesity and HDM-induced lung inflammation attenuated inflammation in lung and perigonadal fat, with little impact on body weight, but small shifts in the composition of gut microbiota. Exposure to HDM improved glucose tolerance, reduced hepatosteatosis, and increased energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate. These effects associate with increased activity of thermogenic adipose tissues independent of uncoupling protein 1. Conclusions: Asthma associates with insulin resistance in humans, but HDM challenge results in opposing effects on glucose homeostasis in mice due to increased energy expenditure, reduced adipose inflammation, and hepatosteatosis. Keywords: allergy; house dust mites; inflammation; insulin sensitivity; obesity.

Our Networks and Affiliations

Contact

Marion Konheiser

IDO Administration

3620 / 242a