Stoffwechsel-Käfigsystem

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 454765876

Metabolic disturbances are causally involved in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), inflammatory diseases of the intestines and bones and various tumours. Current epidemiological studies show that more than half of the world population is now overweight, with the high number of obese children being a particular cause for concern. The economic consequences of this development are not yet foreseeable, so that new science-based strategies for the treatment of obesity-related diseases are urgently needed. With a positive energy balance, excess calories are stored as lipids in the white fat tissue, while the energy-consuming brown and beige fat cells form the so-called thermogenic fat tissue. This is activated in cold environments to protect humans and other mammals from a drop in body temperature. In addition, thermogenic fat cells have the potential to counteract obesity and metabolic diseases. The activity of these thermogenic fat cells, also in connection with immune cell activity, the processing of food in the intestine, exercise and regulation by the nervous system, can be determined by indirect calorimetry. Using this non-invasive method, metabolic activity can be determined by the very accurate measurement of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production, body temperature and activity in the day and night profile at different ambient temperatures in mice. New systems for the determination of these parameters enable a significantly higher sensitivity and resolution, so that changes in these elementary metabolic parameters can also be detected, e.g. in inflammatory changes or diseases of the skeletal system. The proposed system will thus enable cross-organ systematic analyses at the interface between metabolism and inflammation in order to better understand the significance of metabolic changes at different ambient temperatures and diets for the development of chronic inflammatory diseases in the fatty tissue, liver, bones, central nervous system and intestine. The studies are conducted by four different research groups within the framework of DFG-funded individual projects and collaborative research centres at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). The system for indirect calorimetry would thus support the designated UKE research focus on Immunology, Immunity, Infection (C3i). It is planned that the applicant will also offer the technology to other research groups as a core facility unit.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Stoffwechsel-Käfigsystem
• Instrumentation Group: 9910 Tierställe, Terrarien, Aquarien, Vogelkäfige
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hamburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Jörg Heeren