Alexander Jais

I reread this over and over again and this absolutely breaks my brain

Portrait of Dr Alexander Jais, recipient of the EFSD research award, affiliated with the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolism, Obesity and Vascular Research. Text overlay reads 'Recipient Research Portrait' and 'Doctor Alexander Jais'

Research summary text describing Dr Alexander Jais’ study on sucrose-responsive hypothalamic neurons and their role in controlling glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, highlighting potential implications for understanding the brain’s role in diabetes.

Promotional graphic for EFSD/Novo Nordisk Foundation Future Leaders Award with the EFSD logo, text 'Apply for research grants and fellowships', and the website europeandiabetesfoundation.org

🧠Meet Dr Alexander Jais ( @www.helmholtz-munich.de ), #EFSD/@novonordiskfond Future Leaders Awardee.

Don't miss his presentation on sucrose-responsive neurons & glucose metabolism at the EFSD/NNF Future Leaders Symposium at #EASD2025:

📅Thurs, 18 Sept 2025 | 🕛12:45 CEST

📖 doi.org/10.1016/j.is...

Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease Nature - Lithium has an essential role in the brain and is deficient early in Alzheimer’s disease, which can be recapitulated in mice and treated with a novel lithium salt that restores the...

Brain lithium levels drop early in AD before symptoms fully emerge

When gut fibroblasts feed epithelial cells to death Nature Metabolism, Published online: 26 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s42255-025-01315-9Epithelial cell death driven by oxidative stress is a hallmark of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the upstream triggers are unclear. A new study reveals that fibroblast-derived lipids enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids induce epithelial ferroptosis. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of fibroblast ACSL4 alleviates intestinal inflammation and injury in IBD models.

ICYMI:

B cell-derived nociceptin/orphanin FQ contributes to impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in obesity Biological sciences; Endocrinology; Natural sciences; Physiology

Congratulations 🎉
New iScience paper by PhD student Stephanie Puente‑Ruiz:
The non-classical opioid peptide N/OFQ promotes macrophage recruitment and metabolic inflammation
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Examining the biological causes of eating disorders to inform treatment strategies - Nature Reviews Neuroscience Recent years have seen a growth in our understanding of the biological drivers of eating disorders and their interactions with environmental and psychosocial factors. Foldi and Griffiths consider how ...

The biology of eating disorders www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A simple action reduces high-fat diet intake and obesity in mice Diets that are high in fat cause overeating and weight gain in multiple species of animals, suggesting that high dietary fat is sufficient to cause ob…

This was a really fun project: We blocked obesity in mice by making them do a tiny bit of work for their food. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Astrocytes, hidden puppet masters of the brain Astrocyte signaling pathways influence neuronal networks and behavioral responses to neuromodulators

Astrocytes as regulators of neuromodulatory signaling
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Based on studies in mice selective, durable AgRP neuron inhibition may prove an attractive strategy for the future treatment of T2D in humans www.jci.org/articles/vie...

Tierversuche: Warum sich mehr als 110 Forschende zu den Experimenten bekennen Aus Deutschland sprechen sich 110 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler öffentlich für Tierversuche aus. Frank Kirchhoff, Initiator der Aktion, sagt, warum Experimente an Mäusen, Ratten und Fischen immer noch sein müssen.

Aus Deutschland sprechen sich 110 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler öffentlich für Tierversuche aus. Frank Kirchhoff, Initiator der Aktion, sagt, warum Experimente an Mäusen, Ratten und Fischen immer noch sein müssen.

Check out the roadmap to the first consensus atlas of human and mouse #adiposetissue.
Great initiative by the adipose bionetwork of #humancellatlas!

@humancellatlas.org @humancellatlas.bsky.social

The Physiology of Hunger | NEJM To the Editor: The review article by Fasano (Jan. 23 issue)1 concerning human nutrition and hunger regulation omits the crucial role of autophagy, a cellular recycling process vital for maintaining...

Is increased hunger really a primary driver of obesity?
In this Letter to the Editor in @nejm.org, Thorkild Sørensen, Mark Friedman and I question the widespread idea that many develop obesity because they overeat 👇 1/5
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
@cbmr.science

Hypothalamic PNOC/NPY neurons constitute mediators of leptin-controlled energy homeostasis Activation of PNOCARC neurons promotes feeding. Here, Solheim et al. describe PNOC neurons in the murine ARC as mediators of leptin action in body weight maintenance. Moreover, they molecularly and fu...

GABAergic, Non-AgRP neurons are critical for the regulation of overnutrition 🍟🍔 - this new study shows that leptin exerts a substantial portion of its appetite- and body-weight-regulatory effects via PNOC/NPY-expressing neurons!
@cp-cell.bsky.social @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social

Reduced Notch signaling in hypothalamic endothelial cells mediates obesity-induced alterations in glucose uptake and insulin signaling Zhu et al. describe a rapid downregulation of Notch1 expression in hypothalamic blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelial cells after high-fat diet (HFD) feeding. Notch activation prevents HFD-induced red...

A critical role of Notch signalling in brain endothelial cells in the pleiotropic effects of short-term dietary transitions on blood brain barrier functionality @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Synergistic reduction in interfacial flexibility of TREM2R47H and ApoE4 may underlie AD pathology BACKGROUND The strongest genetic drivers of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) are apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) and TREM2R47H. Despite their critical roles, the mechanisms underlying their interaction.....

Trem2 is more flexible than we thought, and likes to bind to ApoE4! Congrats #EmmaLietzke and #KaylaSprenger on your work! It's a privilege to work with you!! @cuendocrinology.bsky.social alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

(5) This reveals a dual role for endothelial Notch signaling: it mitigates short-term glucose transport deficits but contributes to central insulin resistance over time. Here, we identify the hypothalamic Notch-Cav1 axis as a therapeutic target for addressing diet-induced metabolic disorders!

(4) However, sustained Notch1 activation suppresses caveolin-1 expression, reduces insulin transport across the BBB and impairs systemic insulin sensitivity. Our findings indicate that the molecular structure of the BBB adapts to dietary changes, influencing glucose and insulin transport differently

(3) We demonstrate that a high-fat diet (HFD) quickly reduces Notch1 signaling in hypothalamic brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), leading to impaired glucose uptake. Overexpressing the Notch intracellular domain in BMECs can maintain glucose uptake despite HFD exposure...

(2) By revealing the crucial role of endothelial Notch signaling in regulating glucose transporter expression, caveola formation, and BBB permeability, we identify a mechanism that explains how dietary signals influence brain insulin access and systemic insulin sensitivity.

Reduced Notch signaling in hypothalamic endothelial cells mediates obesity-induced alterations in glucose uptake and insulin signaling Short-term transition to high-fat diet (HFD) feeding causes rapid changes in the molecular architecture of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), BBB permeabi…

A thread 🧵: Our study redefines current concepts of insulin entry into the brain under conditions of nutritional excess.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

@www.helmholtz-munich.de @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social

Brain sensing of metabolic state regulates circulating monocytes Brain-initiated hunger signals control circulating monocyte dynamics.

Our latest study
@science.org #Immunology on perception of #hunger and #immunity.

#BrainBody #Melanocortin #AgRP #POMC neurons. #Brain-liver axis. Permissive action of #stress #hormones.

@ukri.org @fbmh-uom.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Reduced Notch signaling in hypothalamic endothelial cells mediates obesity-induced alterations in glucose uptake and insulin signaling Short-term transition to high-fat diet (HFD) feeding causes rapid changes in the molecular architecture of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), BBB permeabi…

Congratulations, Yiyi! 🎉
We find that high-fat diet rapidly reduces Notch signaling in the brain, affecting glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity. Our study also highlights the role of caveolae in blood-brain barrier permeability and insulin transport:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...