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Alexander Pfeifer
Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer

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Affiliations
  • Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie
Research topics
  • cGMP signaling
  • G-protein-coupled receptors
  • metabolism
  • obesity
Our main research focus lies on signaling pathways and how they can be manipulated with pharmacological tools and drugs to treat diseases. We investigate mainly the cGMP pathway and G protein coupled receptors in metabolically relevant tissues (adipose tissue and muscle), vessels and in immune cells. We also develop therapeutic approaches using nanoparticles and viral vectors, A major focus of our work is energy homeostasis and obesity. Obesity is a global health problem and is linked with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. Obesity is caused by an imbalance of energy consumption and dissipation. We are especially interested in mechanisms of energy expenditure and how they can be used to treat metabolic diseases. , We apply state-of-the-art technologies including genetic tools like lentiviral vectors and transgenic mouse models and in vivo measurements especially of metabolism e.g using metabolic cages.
Selected publications

Klepac K, Kilić A, Gnad T, Brown LM, Herrmann B, Wilderman A, Balkow A, Glöde A, Simon K, Lidell ME, Betz MJ, Enerbäck S, Wess J, Freichel M, Blüher M, König G, Kostenis E, Insel PA, Pfeifer A. The Gq signalling pathway inhibits brown and beige adipose tissue. Nat Commun. 2016 Mar 9;7:10895. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10895.

Gnad T, Scheibler S, von Kügelgen I, Scheele C, Kilić A, Glöde A, Hoffmann LS, Reverte-Salisa L, Horn P, Mutlu S, El-Tayeb A, Kranz M, Deuther-Conrad W, Brust P, Lidell ME, Betz MJ, Enerbäck S, Schrader J, Yegutkin GG, Müller CE, Pfeifer A. Adenosine activates brown adipose tissue and recruits beige adipocytes via A2A receptors. Nature. 2014 Dec 18;516(7531):395-9.

Pfeifer A, Ikawa M, Dayn Y, Verma IM. Transgenesis by lentiviral vectors: Lack of gene silencing in mammalian embryonic stem cells and pre¬implantation embryos. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2002;99:2140-2145.

Pfeifer A, Aszódi A, Seidler U, Ruth P, Hofmann F, Fässler R. Intestinal secretory defects and dwarfism in mice lacking cGMP-dependent protein kinase II. , Science 1996;274: 2082-2086.

Alexander Pfeifer
Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer

Website

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