The team focused on the so-called Kupffer cells. These are macrophages – so-called ‘big eaters’ – that help protect the body as part of the innate immune system. During embryonic development, they migrate into the liver, where they take up permanent residence. There, they fight off pathogens and break down aging or damaged cells.
“But these Kupffer cells also act as conductors,” explains Prof. Dr. Elvira Mass from the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn. “They instruct the surrounding liver cells on what to do. In this way, they help ensure that the liver, as a central metabolic organ, performs its many tasks correctly.”
Changing the tune: From Beethoven to Vivaldi
It appears, however, that it is this conducting function that is changed by obesity. This is what mouse experiments carried out by Mass in cooperation with other research groups at the University of Bonn suggest. “We were able to show that ...