CD Laboratory for Metabolic crosstalk

Typical Western diets lead to an increase in obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The CD Laboratory is researching the cellular and systemic effects of potentially harmful diets in order to derive therapeutic approaches.

Western eating habits, typically characterised by a diet high in cholesterol, fat and sucrose, are spreading to more and more parts of the world. This is leading to a dramatic increase in obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus worldwide. In 2013, the global prevalence of diabetes was 382 million people (8.3% of the population aged 20-79) and the prevalence of people with impaired glucose tolerance was 316 million (6.9% of 20-79 year olds).

Although the consequences of high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets are clinically similar, different factors are responsible for the development of the glucose metabolism disorder depending on the composition of the diet. This means that the pathophysiological mechanisms of diet-induced insulin resistance differ depending on the type of diet and diet-specific effects influence the interaction between the tissues and organs involved.

The aim of this study is to investigate the cellular and systemic consequences of potentially harmful diets and to analyse the interaction of organs and tissues in the development of insulin resistance. In a mouse model for diet-induced obesity, the effects of a high-fat, high-fructose diet and a cholesterol-enriched, combined high-fat and high-saccharose diet on various organs important in glucose metabolism will be investigated.

In addition to morphological and functional investigations of skeletal muscle, liver, intestine and pancreas, the studies will focus in particular on diet-induced changes in adipose tissue: the roles of apolipoprotein A5 and dipeptidyl peptidase IV in the intracellular storage of lipids and the differentiation of adipocytes will be investigated. Future studies aim to characterise a metabolically favourable or harmful adipocyte phenotype and to identify possible influencing factors.

The results of this basic research should enable the identification of new therapeutic approaches for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus and, subsequently, individualised treatment for affected patients.