scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

Heike Münzberg

Bio: Heike Münzberg is an academic researcher from Pennington Biomedical Research Center. The author has contributed to research in topics: Leptin & Energy homeostasis. The author has an hindex of 29, co-authored 66 publications receiving 4272 citations.


Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A consolidated view of the complexity and challenges of designing studies for measurement of energy metabolism in mouse models is presented, including a practical guide to the assessment of energy expenditure, energy intake and body composition and statistical analysis thereof.
Abstract: We present a consolidated view of the complexity and challenges of designing studies for measurement of energy metabolism in mouse models, including a practical guide to the assessment of energy expenditure, energy intake and body composition and statistical analysis thereof. We hope this guide will facilitate comparisons across studies and minimize spurious interpretations of data. We recommend that division of energy expenditure data by either body weight or lean body weight and that presentation of group effects as histograms should be replaced by plotting individual data and analyzing both group and body-composition effects using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

644 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Nlrp3 inflammasome is revealed as an upstream target that controls age-related inflammation and an innovative therapeutic strategy to lower NLRp3 activity to delay multiple age- related chronic diseases is offered.

469 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: FGF21 represents an endocrine signal of protein restriction, which acts to coordinate metabolism and growth during periods of reduced protein intake and that FGF21 is required for behavioral and metabolic responses to protein restriction.
Abstract: Enhanced fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) production and circulation has been linked to the metabolic adaptation to starvation. Here, we demonstrated that hepatic FGF21 expression is induced by dietary protein restriction, but not energy restriction. Circulating FGF21 was increased 10-fold in mice and rats fed a low-protein (LP) diet. In these animals, liver Fgf21 expression was increased within 24 hours of reduced protein intake. In humans, circulating FGF21 levels increased dramatically following 28 days on a LP diet. LP-induced increases in FGF21 were associated with increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) in the liver, and both baseline and LP-induced serum FGF21 levels were reduced in mice lacking the eIF2α kinase general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2). Finally, while protein restriction altered food intake, energy expenditure, and body weight gain in WT mice, FGF21-deficient animals did not exhibit these changes in response to a LP diet. These and other data demonstrate that reduced protein intake underlies the increase in circulating FGF21 in response to starvation and a ketogenic diet and that FGF21 is required for behavioral and metabolic responses to protein restriction. FGF21 therefore represents an endocrine signal of protein restriction, which acts to coordinate metabolism and growth during periods of reduced protein intake.

436 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review will highlight the current knowledge about the hormone leptin, its signaling pathways and its central actions to mediate distinct physiological functions.
Abstract: The cloning of leptin in 1994 was an important milestone in obesity research. In those days obesity was stigmatized as a condition caused by lack of character and self-control. Mutations in either leptin or its receptor were the first single gene mutations found to cause morbid obesity, and it is now appreciated that obesity is caused by a dysregulation of central neuronal circuits. From the first discovery of the leptin deficient obese mouse (ob/ob), to the cloning of leptin (ob aka lep) and leptin receptor (db aka lepr) genes, much has been learned about leptin and its action in the central nervous system. The initial high hopes that leptin would cure obesity were quickly dampened by the discovery that most obese humans have increased leptin levels and develop leptin resistance. Nevertheless, leptin target sites in the brain represent an excellent blueprint for distinct neuronal circuits that control energy homeostasis. A better understanding of the regulation and interconnection of these circuits will further guide and improve the development of safe and effective interventions to treat obesity. This review will highlight our current knowledge about the hormone leptin, its signaling pathways and its central actions to mediate distinct physiological functions.

320 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
15 Jan 2015-Cell
TL;DR: It is reported that insulin and leptin act together on hypothalamic neurons to promote WAT browning and weight loss, and a homeostatic mechanism for coordinating the status of energy stores, as relayed by insulin andptin, with the central control of WATbrowning is identified.

309 citations


Cited by
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
09 Mar 2017-Cell
TL;DR: Recent advances in understanding of mTOR function, regulation, and importance in mammalian physiology are reviewed and how the mTOR signaling network contributes to human disease is highlighted.

4,719 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The session on inflammation of the Advances in Gerosciences meeting held at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging in Bethesda on October 30 and 31, 2013 was aimed at defining these important unanswered questions about inflammaging.
Abstract: Human aging is characterized by a chronic, low-grade inflammation, and this phenomenon has been termed as "inflammaging." Inflammaging is a highly significant risk factor for both morbidity and mortality in the elderly people, as most if not all age-related diseases share an inflammatory pathogenesis. Nevertheless, the precise etiology of inflammaging and its potential causal role in contributing to adverse health outcomes remain largely unknown. The identification of pathways that control age-related inflammation across multiple systems is therefore important in order to understand whether treatments that modulate inflammaging may be beneficial in old people. The session on inflammation of the Advances in Gerosciences meeting held at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging in Bethesda on October 30 and 31, 2013 was aimed at defining these important unanswered questions about inflammaging. This article reports the main outcomes of this session.

2,514 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although obesity prevalence increased in every single country in the world, regional differences exist in both obesity prevalence and trends; understanding the drivers of these regional differences might help to provide guidance on which are the most promising intervention strategies.
Abstract: The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in the past ~50 years, reaching pandemic levels. Obesity represents a major health challenge because it substantially increases the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, dementia, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnoea and several cancers, thereby contributing to a decline in both quality of life and life expectancy. Obesity is also associated with unemployment, social disadvantages and reduced socio-economic productivity, thus increasingly creating an economic burden. Thus far, obesity prevention and treatment strategies - both at the individual and population level - have not been successful in the long term. Lifestyle and behavioural interventions aimed at reducing calorie intake and increasing energy expenditure have limited effectiveness because complex and persistent hormonal, metabolic and neurochemical adaptations defend against weight loss and promote weight regain. Reducing the obesity burden requires approaches that combine individual interventions with changes in the environment and society. Therefore, a better understanding of the remarkable regional differences in obesity prevalence and trends might help to identify societal causes of obesity and provide guidance on which are the most promising intervention strategies.

2,148 citations