Cardiovascular Immunometabolism
Alexander Bartelt
Obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis form a cluster of closely related chronic inflammatory diseases of metabolism. Our lab is dedicated to understanding the basic molecular and cellular principles of metabolic adaptation and how maladaptative derangements of these pathways contribute to metabolic disease.
For each cell, organ and whole organism it is critical to respond to increased metabolic demand, fine-tune metabolic rates but also to regenerate, heal or dispose of damaged cellular components in order to maintain homeostasis. In metabolic disease, this delicate homeostatic balance is disturbed by excess nutrients and accumulation of cellular waste, leading to a stress response that emanates from inside the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and lipid droplets and is linked to the activation of inflammatory pathways. Our goal is to identify novel pathways of metabolic homeostasis and determine their relevance for obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. We are using cell models, transgenic mice and in cooperation with our clinical partners explore the translational relevance of our basic research for human metabolism.
