1) Name – Title of the research project in CCHD
Thomas M. Stulnig – Mechanisms of obesity-induced adipose tissue inflammation
2) Coordinates of the Faculty Member
Clinical Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; phone: +43 1 40400 4368; fax +43 1 40400 7790; e-mail thomas.stulnig@meduniwien.ac.at
3) Keywords
Obesity, adipose tissue, inflammation, macrophages, osteopontin, monocyte chemoattractant protein, insulin resistance, signal transduction
4) Research interest of the Faculty Member
Dr. Stulnig is interested in molecular mechanisms underlying interactions of lipid metabolism and immune function. In recent years he has put particular emphasis on molecular mechanisms underlying obesity-associated adipose tissue inflammation that crucially contributes to insulin resistance and diabetes development. Dr. Stulnig has made important contributions to the field and has been invited to speak at international conferences. Dr. Stulnig’s lab applies a wide variety of lipid and protein biochemical as well as molecular biology approaches including studies in mice and humans. Dr. Stulnig coordinates the European collaboration project TOBI – Targeting OBesity-driven Inflammation (no. 201608, FP7; http://www.tobi-project.eu/).
5) Collaborations within CCHD
Dr. Stulnig collaborates with O. Wagner’s lab on several issues: the role of HO-1 in adipose tissue inflammation, characterization of the gene Carkl, microarray analyses, as well as sharing of human and murine fat biopsies. Recently, collaboration was established with D. Kerjaschki on the impact of lymphatic endothelium in obese adipose tissue; while general interest on mechanisms of chronic inflammatory diseases is shared with H. Lassmann. Active immunisation experiments have been performed in collaboration with E. Jensen-Jarolim. In addition, T. Stulnig holds long-standing collaborations with H. Stockinger on lipid raft signaling and shares with G. Superti-Furga his interest on innate immune cell signaling including application of "-omic" techniques. Detailed analyses of adipose tissue macrophage signaling will be enhanced by the availabioity of pull-down techniques in M. Freissmuth’s lab. Concerning the newly adopted faculty members, T. Stulnig is particularly linked to H. Esterbauer on thematic and technical issues of adipose tissue inflammation and to S. Knapp regarding the signaling studies in adipose tissue macrophages.
6) Collaborating research groups where PhD Students can perform their research stay
Susanne Neschen, Institute for Experimental Genetics, Helmhotz-Zentrum München (HMGU), Munich, Germany
Jens Brüning, Department of Mouse Genetics and Metabolism, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Rudolf Zechner, Institute for Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
7) Industrial partners (if applicable)
Prof. Dr. Herman Mascher, pharm-analyt GmbH, Baden, Austria
8) Know-how and infrastructure of the research group
Animal models of obesity, metabolic testing in vivo, adipocyte differentiation, macrophages, signal transduction, lipid biochemistry by GC-MS (fatty acid profiles etc.), protein biochemistry, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, quantitative real-time PCR an other standard molecular biology techniques.
