Hodson Group: Human in vivo and in vitro lipid metabolism

Our research investigates the metabolic consequences that specific diets have on the regulation of major metabolic organs in individuals with different phenotypes and genotypes, to understand how this influences their risk of cardiometabolic diseases, including fatty liver disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

We work to understand how dietary components regulate specific metabolic pathways that may impact on liver, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle health and function. Our research has helped to define the role of specific metabolic pathways in the pathogenesis of metabolic disease and has contributed to a paradigm shift away the effect of total dietary calories to focussing on the macronutrient composition of the diet in a weight neutral setting. Although we focus primarily on lifestyle factors we also have an interest in understanding the effect that some therapeutic medications have on metabolic pathways and how they may alter disease risk.

We take the observations of our in vivo human work forward into in vitro cellular models to gain insight into the potential mechanisms underpinning these observations. We deliver a translational program of research; our aim is to understand the molecular mechanisms by which dietary nutrients modulate metabolic phenotype including lipid and carbohydrate metabolism as well as insulin signalling and action in liver, adipose tissue and muscle. The group uses in vitro cell culture models, and translates these findings through to state-of-the-art metabolic clinical studies in individuals across a range of phenotypes and genotypes. My group, is one of the few worldwide to use stable-isotope tracers to investigate human fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism to probe metabolic pathways of interest in vivo in humans and in vitro in cells.

Collaborators

• Fredrik Karpe, RDM
• Jeremy Tomlinson, RDM
• Hannele Yki-Jarvinen, University of Helsinki
• Javier Gonzalez, University of Bath
• Soren Nielsen, Aarhus University
• Michael O'Reilly, Dublin

Funders

British Heart Foundation

NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford