New regulator of liver metabolism discovered

Led by Prof. Dr. Michael Schupp, head of the Molecular Pharmacology and Metabolism Working Group at Charité's Institute of Pharmacology, the researchers showed that the enzyme retinol saturase plays a role in the adaptive processes found in liver cells. By studying levels of the enzyme in both slim and obese participants, the researchers found that levels increase in line with body weight. They also analyzed the cells' metabolic pathways and their metabolic adaptation to glucose levels after reducing the enzyme's abundance. The negative metabolic effects associated with excess exposure to glucose were significantly less pronounced in cells that had been modified in this way.

Discussing the results of the study, Prof. Schupp concludes: "The inactivation of retinol saturase activity may offer a new approach to the treatment of metabolic liver disease and its associated problems, such as fatty liver disease and dyslipidemia." As a next step, the researchers are planning to identify the mechanisms involved, and to test whether other cell types also need the enzyme to adapt to changing glucose levels.