Investigating novel endocrine signals of liver – white and brown adipose tissue cross talk in response to cold exposure and feeding cues (P03)

• Subject Area: Pharmacology ; Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolism
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 450149205

We recently identified the ligand-receptor FNDC4-GPR116 signaling pathway and demonstrated that it mediates a liver - WAT cross talk, controlling systemic glucose homeostasis. GPR116 was increased specifically in BAT in response to chronic cold exposure and our unpublished work revealed that GPR116 receptor expression positively correlated with mitochondrial respiration and ´browning´. In this project, we will a) clarify the role of the FNDC4-GPR116 axis in adaptive thermogenesis, and b) identify the mechanistic factors mediating the diverging tissue- and species-specific effects of FNDC4.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 333: Brown and Beige Fat – Organ Crosstalk, Signaling and Energetics (BATenergy)
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Project Heads: Dr.-Ing. Anastasia Georgiadi, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Stephan Herzig