SFB 1052:  Obesity Mechanisms

• Subject Area: Medicine ; Biology
• Term: from 2013 to 2024
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 209933838

The prevalence of obesity (in Germany: 24%) has increased worldwide by pandemic dimensions in recent decades, and it represents a major health challenge to many societies. Besides musculoskeletal or lung disorders caused by being overweight, obesity as a metabolic disorder also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and some types of cancer, thereby contributing to a decline in quality of life and life expectancy. Obesity is a multifactorial disorder influenced by a combination of genetic, behavioral, life style and environmental factors, including control of appetite, satiety and energy expenditure, availability and nutritional content of food. Because the factors (and their interaction) causing obesity are only incompletely understood, weight loss strategies may not address the underlying causes of energy imbalance. Therefore, the ultimate long-term aim of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1052: “Obesity Mechanisms” is to define novel targets and mechanisms for future therapeutic approaches in the treatment of obesity. There are several questions about the unresolved, pathogenic mechanisms of obesity and its comorbid disorders, three of which are central and unifying to this Collaborative Research Centre:1. What are the central mechanisms for overeating in the development of obesity?2. How does overeating lead to adverse fat deposition and adipose tissue inflammation?3. Which fat-derived “signals” (adipokines) contribute to obesity-related diseases?In three main research areas, we aim to unravel complex mechanisms in the control of energy homeostasis by the central nervous system (A, Overeating), the determination of adverse fat deposition and its associated adipose tissue dysfunction and inflammation (B, Fat Deposition and Inflammation), and the regulation and effects of altered adipokine secretion in obesity (C, Adipokines).

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• International Connection: Israel

Current projects

• A01 - Targeting the brain through the gut: bottom-up mechanisms of eating behavior (Project Heads Stumvoll, Michael ;  Villringer, Arno ;  Witte, Veronica )
• A03 - Targeting of central peptide receptors via nasal ligand application to modulate food intake (Project Heads Bechmann, Ingo ;  Beck-Sickinger, Annette G. ;  Klöting-Blüher, Nora ;  Schulz, Angela )
• A09 - Obesity-driven microglial activation – functional role of cerebral sterol metabolism (Project Heads Bechmann, Ingo ;  Ceglarek, Uta )
• B01 - How do xenobiotics affect adipose tissue function and distribution? (Project Heads von Bergen, Martin ;  Blüher, Ph.D., Matthias )
• B02 - The miRNA and single cell perspectives of the E2F1/inflammation/autophagy network in human adipose tissue (Project Head Rudich, Assaf )
• B03 - Relationship of leaky gut-derived bacterial translocation and genetic regulation of body fat distribution (Project Head Kovacs, Peter )
• B04 - Targeted delivery of drugs into adipocytes by peptide-mediated shuttling in a new obesity mouse model (Project Heads Beck-Sickinger, Annette G. ;  Klöting-Blüher, Nora )
• B06 - Mechano-sensitive adhesion GPCR in adipose tissue (Project Heads Huster, Daniel ;  Liebscher, Ines ;  Schiller, Jürgen ;  Schöneberg, Torsten )
• B09 - Role of macrophages in adipocyte degradation – a live-imaging approach (Project Heads Bechmann, Ingo ;  Gericke, Martin )
• B10 - Lipid accumulation mechanisms and their modulation (Project Heads Garten, Antje ;  Kiess, Wieland ;  Le Duc, Gabriela-Diana )
• B11 - Identification of molecular classifiers and casual drivers determining the personal response to dietary intervention trials (Project Heads Scholz, Markus ;  Shai, Iris )
• B12 - Hormonal regulators of adipose tissue plasticity (Project Head Krause, Kerstin )
• C05 - Predictors of childhood obesity with progressive cardiometabolic dysfunction (Project Heads Erbs, Sandra ;  Körner, Antje )
• C06 - Adipokines as modulators of cardiovascular function (Project Heads Fasshauer, Mathias ;  Laufs, Ulrich ;  Tönjes, Anke )
• C07 - Molecular mechanisms of the vaspin-KLK7 axis in obesity and diabetes (Project Head Heiker, John )
• C08 - Development of modulators at the chemokine-like receptor to elucidate its role in obesity (Project Heads Beck-Sickinger, Annette G. ;  Meiler, Jens )
• C09 - Clinical and functional characterization of a novel monogenic obesity trait (Project Heads Körner, Antje ;  Landgraf, Ph.D., Kathrin )
• C10 - Glial leptin signaling in peripheral neuropathy (Project Heads Fledrich, Robert ;  Stassart, Ruth Martha )
• Z01 - Integrated Research Training Group (Project Heads Körner, Antje ;  Schöneberg, Torsten )
• Z02 - Central Task of the Collaborative Research Center (Project Head Blüher, Ph.D., Matthias )
• Z03 - Proteome and lipidome analysis by mass spectrometry and NMR (Project Heads von Bergen, Martin ;  Schiller, Jürgen )
• Z04 - Bioinformatic support for the CRC (Project Head Stadler, Peter Florian )
• Z06 - Identification of molecular mechanisms and druggable targets for the treatment of obesity (Project Heads Meiler, Jens ;  Sträter, Norbert )

Completed projects

• A02 - Evolutionary Aspects of Metabolism- and Obesity-Associated Genes in Primates (Project Head Kelso, Ph.D., Janet )
• A04 - Innervation of Adipose Tissue: Identifying Players and Their Functions (Project Heads Bechmann, Ingo ;  Eilers, Jens-Karl )
• A05 - Neurocognitive Models of Behavioral Control in Obesity (Project Heads Horstmann, Annette ;  Neumann, Jane )
• A06 - Combining Real-Time Brain Imaging with Neurofeedback to Modulate the Desire for Food (Project Head Pleger, Burkhard )
• A07 - Endocannabinoid Signaling in the Hypothalamic Arcuate Nucleus: Identification of Novel Players and Mechanisms Controlling Energy Homeostasis (Project Head Koch, Marco )
• A08 - Reversal of Hypothalamic/Midbrain Inflammation and Restoration of Central Leptin Sensitivity as a Driver of Sustained Weight Loss (Project Heads Fenske, Wiebke Kristin ;  Hankir, Ph.D., Mohamed )
• B05 - Psoriasis as a Model to Study Adipokine Effects on Inflammation (Project Heads Saalbach, Anja ;  Simon, Jan-Christoph )
• B07 - Role of Trib1 in Obesity and Metabolism – Tissue Specific Effects and Target Molecules (Project Heads Burkhardt, Ralph ;  Thiery, Joachim )
• C01 - Genetic Modulators of Serum Adipokine Concentrations (Project Heads Stumvoll, Michael ;  Tönjes, Anke )
• C04 - Structural Studies on Adipokines and Other Proteins Related to Obesity (Project Head Sträter, Norbert )
• Z05 - Molecular Mechanisms of Action of Adipokines (Project Head Beck-Sickinger, Annette G. )

• Applicant Institution: Universität Leipzig
• Participating Institution: Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt; Helmholtz-Institut für Metabolismus-, Adipositas- und Gefäßforschung (HI-MAG); Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ); Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften
• Participating University: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• Spokesperson: Professor Matthias Blüher, Ph.D.