Reseach

Body mass and composition are a direct consequence of the balance between energy intake and expenditure. A dominant contributor to energy expenditure is brown adipose tissue. As the central mammalian heater organ, its activity must be tightly controlled between no thermogenesis at all and an enormous turnover rate of nutrient chemical energy. This non-shivering thermogenic process can be the greatest single contributor to total metabolic rate and thus strongly tip energy balance.

Crucial points of control are located within or targeted at mitochondria, the cellular power plants. The Fromme group investigates molecular signals with the aim to identify novel targets to pharmacologically manipulate in the treatment of metabolic disease. To this end, we measure bioenergetic properties of mitochondria on all levels from individual organelles, cells and biopsies to the entire organism.