Liver section from a mouse with a compromized hormone status due to a genetic defect: The cells accumulate abnormal amounts of fat (red)
Our group is studying the molecular causes of severe metabolic disorders such as type II diabetes and cachexia, a state of fatigue and loss of vitality as commonly associated with advanced cancer.
The main causes of these metabolic disorders are believed to be hormonal malfunctions which lead to a change of activity of genes regulating our metabolism.
By analyzing the activity of such hormone-dependent genes we hope to identify disease-causing malfunctions in glucose and fat metabolism. We ultimately aim to identify genes and gene products which increase the susceptibility to metabolic diseases and test their potential to serve as novel targets for drugs.
So far we have found three candidate genes, all of which serve as blueprints for proteins that work like molecular switches regulating the activity of target genes. Flawed blueprints for these proteins may lead to diseases like diabetes or cachexia.