@article{KellerCatalaLehnenHuebneretal.2014, author = {Keller, Johannes and Catala-Lehnen, Philip and Huebner, Antje K. and Jeschke, Anke and Heckt, Timo and Lueth, Anja and Krause, Matthias and Koehne, Till and Albers, Joachim and Schulze, Jochen and Schilling, Sarah and Haberland, Michael and Denninger, Hannah and Neven, Mona and Hermans-Borgmeyer, Irm and Streichert, Thomas and Breer, Stefan and Barvencik, Florian and Levkau, Bodo and Rathkolb, Birgit and Wolf, Eckhard and Calzada-Wack, Julia and Neff, Frauke and Gailus-Durner, Valerie and Fuchs, Helmut and de Angelis, Martin Hrabe and Klutmann, Susanne and Tsourdi, Elena and Hofbauer, Lorenz C. and Kleuser, Burkhard and Chun, Jerold and Schinke, Thorsten and Amling, Michael}, title = {Calcitonin controls bone formation by inhibiting the release of sphingosine 1-phosphate from osteoclasts}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {5}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms6215}, pages = {13}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The hormone calcitonin (CT) is primarily known for its pharmacologic action as an inhibitor of bone resorption, yet CT-deficient mice display increased bone formation. These findings raised the question about the underlying cellular and molecular mechanism of CT action. Here we show that either ubiquitous or osteoclast-specific inactivation of the murine CT receptor (CTR) causes increased bone formation. CT negatively regulates the osteoclast expression of Spns2 gene, which encodes a transporter for the signalling lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). CTR-deficient mice show increased S1P levels, and their skeletal phenotype is normalized by deletion of the S1P receptor S1P(3). Finally, pharmacologic treatment with the nonselective S1P receptor agonist FTY720 causes increased bone formation in wild-type, but not in S1P(3)-deficient mice. This study redefines the role of CT in skeletal biology, confirms that S1P acts as an osteoanabolic molecule in vivo and provides evidence for a pharmacologically exploitable crosstalk between osteoclasts and osteoblasts.}, language = {en} } @article{WeitkunatBishopWittmuessetal.2021, author = {Weitkunat, Karolin and Bishop, Christopher Allen and Wittm{\"u}ss, Maria and Machate, Tina and Schifelbein, Tina and Schulze, Matthias Bernd and Klaus, Susanne}, title = {Effect of microbial status on hepatic odd-chain fatty acids is diet-dependent}, series = {Nutrients / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)}, volume = {13}, journal = {Nutrients / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)}, number = {5}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2072-6643}, doi = {10.3390/nu13051546}, pages = {15}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Odd-chain fatty acids (OCFA) are inversely associated with type-2-diabetes in epidemiological studies. They are considered as a biomarker for dairy intake because fermentation in ruminants yields high amounts of propionate, which is used as the primer for lipogenesis. Recently, we demonstrated endogenous OCFA synthesis from propionate in humans and mice, but how this is affected by microbial colonization is still unexplored. Here, we investigated the effect of increasing microbiota complexity on hepatic lipid metabolism and OCFA levels in different dietary settings. Germ-free (GF), gnotobiotic (SIH, simplified human microbiota) or conventional (CONV) C3H/HeOuJ-mice were fed a CHOW or high-fat diet with inulin (HFI) to induce microbial fermentation. We found that hepatic lipogenesis was increased with increasing microbiota complexity, independently of diet. In contrast, OCFA formation was affected by diet as well as microbiota. On CHOW, hepatic OCFA and intestinal gluconeogenesis decreased with increasing microbiota complexity (GF > SIH > CONV), while cecal propionate showed a negative correlation with hepatic OCFA. On HFI, OCFA levels were highest in SIH and positively correlated with cecal propionate. The propionate content in the CHOW diet was 10 times higher than that of HFI. We conclude that bacterial propionate production affects hepatic OCFA formation, unless this effect is masked by dietary propionate intake.}, language = {en} } @article{BishopSchulzeKlausetal.2020, author = {Bishop, Christopher Allen and Schulze, Matthias Bernd and Klaus, Susanne and Weitkunat, Karolin}, title = {The branched-chain amino acids valine and leucine have differential effects on hepatic lipid metabolism}, series = {The FASEB journal : the official journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology}, volume = {34}, journal = {The FASEB journal : the official journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0892-6638}, doi = {10.1096/fj.202000195R}, pages = {9727 -- 9739}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Dairy intake, as a source of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), has been linked to a lower incidence of type-2-diabetes and increased circulating odd-chain fatty acids (OCFA). To understand this connection, we aimed to investigate differences in BCAA metabolism of leucine and valine, a possible source of OCFA, and their role in hepatic metabolism. Male mice were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with leucine and valine for 1 week and phenotypically characterized with a focus on lipid metabolism. Mouse primary hepatocytes were treated with the BCAA or a Ppar alpha activator WY-14643 to systematically examine direct hepatic effects and their mechanisms. Here, we show that only valine supplementation was able to increase hepatic and circulating OCFA levels via two pathways; a PPAR alpha-dependent induction of alpha-oxidation and an increased supply of propionyl-CoA for de novo lipogenesis. Meanwhile, we were able to confirm leucine-mediated effects on the inhibition of food intake and transport of fatty acids, as well as induction of S6 ribosomal protein phosphorylation. Taken together, these data illustrate differential roles of the BCAA in lipid metabolism and provide preliminary evidence that exclusively valine contributes to the endogenous formation of OCFA which is important for a better understanding of these metabolites in metabolic health.}, language = {en} } @article{EichelmannSellemWittenbecheretal.2022, author = {Eichelmann, Fabian and Sellem, Laury and Wittenbecher, Clemens and J{\"a}ger, Susanne and Kuxhaus, Olga and Prada, Marcela and Cuadrat, Rafael and Jackson, Kim G. and Lovegrove, Julie A. and Schulze, Matthias Bernd}, title = {Deep lipidomics in human plasma: cardiometabolic disease risk and effect of dietary fat modulation}, series = {Circulation}, volume = {146}, journal = {Circulation}, number = {1}, publisher = {Lippincott Williams \& Wilkins}, address = {Philadelphia}, issn = {0009-7322}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056805}, pages = {21 -- 35}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: In blood and tissues, dietary and endogenously generated fatty acids (FAs) occur in free form or as part of complex lipid molecules that collectively represent the lipidome of the respective tissue. We assessed associations of plasma lipids derived from high-resolution lipidomics with incident cardiometabolic diseases and subsequently tested if the identified risk-associated lipids were sensitive to dietary fat modification. Methods: The EPIC Potsdam cohort study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) comprises 27 548 participants recruited within an age range of 35 to 65 years from the general population around Potsdam, Germany. We generated 2 disease-specific case cohorts on the basis of a fixed random subsample (n=1262) and all respective cohort-wide identified incident primary cardiovascular disease (composite of fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke; n=551) and type 2 diabetes (n=775) cases. We estimated the associations of baseline plasma concentrations of 282 class-specific FA abundances (calculated from 940 distinct molecular species across 15 lipid classes) with the outcomes in multivariable-adjusted Cox models. We tested the effect of an isoenergetic dietary fat modification on risk-associated lipids in the DIVAS randomized controlled trial (Dietary Intervention and Vascular Function; n=113). Participants consumed either a diet rich in saturated FAs (control), monounsaturated FAs, or a mixture of monounsaturated and n-6 polyunsaturated FAs for 16 weeks. Results: Sixty-nine lipids associated (false discovery rate<0.05) with at least 1 outcome (both, 8; only cardiovascular disease, 49; only type 2 diabetes, 12). In brief, several monoacylglycerols and FA16:0 and FA18:0 in diacylglycerols were associated with both outcomes; cholesteryl esters, free fatty acids, and sphingolipids were largely cardiovascular disease specific; and several (glycero)phospholipids were type 2 diabetes specific. In addition, 19 risk-associated lipids were affected (false discovery rate<0.05) by the diets rich in unsaturated dietary FAs compared with the saturated fat diet (17 in a direction consistent with a potential beneficial effect on long-term cardiometabolic risk). For example, the monounsaturated FA-rich diet decreased diacylglycerol(FA16:0) by 0.4 (95\% CI, 0.5-0.3) SD units and increased triacylglycerol(FA22:1) by 0.5 (95\% CI, 0.4-0.7) SD units. Conclusions: We identified several lipids associated with cardiometabolic disease risk. A subset was beneficially altered by a dietary fat intervention that supports the substitution of dietary saturated FAs with unsaturated FAs as a potential tool for primary disease prevention.}, language = {en} } @article{BirukovPolemitiJaegeretal.2022, author = {Birukov, Anna and Polemiti, Elli and Jaeger, Susanne and Stefan, Norbert and Schulze, Matthias Bernd}, title = {Fetuin-A and risk of diabetes-related vascular complications}, series = {Cardiovascular diabetology}, volume = {21}, journal = {Cardiovascular diabetology}, number = {1}, publisher = {BMC}, address = {London}, issn = {1475-2840}, doi = {10.1186/s12933-021-01439-8}, pages = {11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Fetuin-A is a hepatokine which has the capacity to prevent vascular calcification. Moreover, it is linked to the induction of metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance and associated with increased risk of diabetes. It has not been clarified whether fetuin-A associates with risk of vascular, specifically microvascular, complications in patients with diabetes. We aimed to investigate whether pre-diagnostic plasma fetuin-A is associated with risk of complications once diabetes develops. Methods Participants with incident type 2 diabetes and free of micro- and macrovascular disease from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam cohort (n = 587) were followed for microvascular and macrovascular complications (n = 203 and n = 60, respectively, median follow-up: 13 years). Plasma fetuin-A was measured approximately 4 years prior to diabetes diagnosis. Prospective associations between baseline fetuin-A and risk of complications were assessed with Cox regression. Results In multivariable models, fetuin-A was linearly inversely associated with incident total and microvascular complications, hazard ratio (HR, 95\% CI) per standard deviation (SD) increase: 0.86 (0.74; 0.99) for total, 0.84 (0.71; 0.98) for microvascular and 0.92 (0.68; 1.24) for macrovascular complications. After additional adjustment for cardiometabolic plasma biomarkers, including triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein, the associations were slightly attenuated: 0.88 (0.75; 1.02) for total, 0.85 (0.72; 1.01) for microvascular and 0.95 (0.67; 1.34) for macrovascular complications. No interaction by sex could be observed (p > 0.10 for all endpoints). Conclusions Our data show that lower plasma fetuin-A levels measured prior to the diagnosis of diabetes may be etiologically implicated in the development of diabetes-associated microvascular disease.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulzeMerzThieretal.2022, author = {Schulze, Susanne and Merz, Sibille and Thier, Anne and Tallarek, Marie and K{\"o}nig, Franziska and Uhlenbrock, Greta and N{\"u}bling, Matthias and Lincke, Hans-Joachim and Rapp, Michael A. and Spallek, Jacob and Holmberg, Christine}, title = {Psychosocial burden in nurses working in nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic}, series = {BMC health services research}, volume = {22}, journal = {BMC health services research}, number = {1}, publisher = {BMC}, address = {London}, issn = {1472-6963}, doi = {10.1186/s12913-022-08333-3}, pages = {13}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background The Covid-19 pandemic led to increased work-related strain and psychosocial burden in nurses worldwide, resulting in high prevalences of mental health problems. Nurses in long-term care facilities seem to be especially affected by the pandemic. Nevertheless, there are few findings indicating possible positive changes for health care workers. Therefore, we investigated which psychosocial burdens and potential positive aspects nurses working in long-term care facilities experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study among nurses and nursing assistants working in nursing homes in Germany. The survey contained the third German version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III). Using Welch's t-tests, we compared the COPSOQ results of our sample against a pre-pandemic reference group of geriatric nurses from Germany. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured interviews with geriatric nurses with a special focus on psychosocial stress, to reach a deeper understanding of their experiences on work-related changes and burdens during the pandemic. Data were analysed using thematic coding (Braun and Clarke). Results Our survey sample (n = 177) differed significantly from the pre-pandemic reference group in 14 out of 31 COPSOQ scales. Almost all of these differences indicated negative changes. Our sample scored significantly worse regarding the scales 'quantitative demands', 'hiding emotions', 'work-privacy conflicts', 'role conflicts', 'quality of leadership', 'support at work', 'recognition', 'physical demands', 'intention to leave profession', 'burnout', 'presenteeism' and 'inability to relax'. The interviews (n = 15) revealed six main themes related to nurses' psychosocial stress: 'overall working conditions', 'concern for residents', 'management of relatives', 'inability to provide terminal care', 'tensions between being infected and infecting others' and 'technicisation of care'. 'Enhanced community cohesion' (interviews), 'meaning of work' and 'quantity of social relations' (COPSOQ III) were identified as positive effects of the pandemic. Conclusions Results clearly illustrate an aggravation of geriatric nurses' situation and psychosocial burden and only few positive changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre-existing hardships seem to have further deteriorated and new stressors added to nurses' strain. The perceived erosion of care, due to an overemphasis of the technical in relation to the social and emotional dimensions of care, seems to be especially burdensome to geriatric nurses.}, language = {en} } @article{TschornSchulzeFoerstneretal.2022, author = {Tschorn, Mira and Schulze, Susanne and F{\"o}rstner, Bernd Rainer and Holmberg, Christine and Spallek, Jacob and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael A.}, title = {Predictors and prevalence of hazardous alcohol use in middle-late to late adulthood in Europe}, series = {Aging \& mental health}, volume = {27}, journal = {Aging \& mental health}, number = {5}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1360-7863}, doi = {10.1080/13607863.2022.2076208}, pages = {1001 -- 1010}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Objectives: Even low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption can have detrimental health consequences, especially in older adults (OA). Although many studies report an increase in the proportion of drinkers among OA, there are regional variations. Therefore, we examined alcohol consumption and the prevalence of hazardous alcohol use (HAU) among men and women aged 50+ years in four European regions and investigated predictors of HAU. Methods: We analyzed data of N = 35,042 participants of the European SHARE study. We investigated differences in alcohol consumption (units last week) according to gender, age and EU-region using ANOVAs. Furthermore, logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of income, education, marital status, history of a low-quality parent-child relationship and smoking on HAU, also stratified for gender and EU-region. HAU was operationalized as binge drinking or risky drinking (<12.5 units of 10 ml alcohol/week). Results: Overall, past week alcohol consumption was 5.0 units (+/- 7.8), prevalence of HAU was 25.4\% within our sample of European adults aged 50+ years. Male gender, younger age and living in Western Europe were linked to both higher alcohol consumption and higher risks of HAU. Income, education, smoking, a low-quality parent-child relationship, living in Northern and especially Eastern Europe were positively associated with HAU. Stratified analyses revealed differences by region and gender. Conclusions: HAU was highly prevalent within this European sample of OA. Alcohol consumption and determinants of HAU differed between EU-regions, hinting to a necessity of risk-stratified population-level strategies to prevent HAU and subsequent alcohol use disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{WittenbecherCuadratJohnstonetal.2022, author = {Wittenbecher, Clemens and Cuadrat, Rafael and Johnston, Luke and Eichelmann, Fabian and J{\"a}ger, Susanne and Kuxhaus, Olga and Prada, Marcela and Del Greco, Fabiola M. and Hicks, Andrew A. and Hoffman, Per and Krumsiek, Jan and Hu, Frank B. and Schulze, Matthias B.}, title = {Dihydroceramide- and ceramide-profiling provides insights into human cardiometabolic disease etiology}, series = {Nature communications}, volume = {13}, journal = {Nature communications}, publisher = {Nature Research}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-022-28496-1}, pages = {13}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Metabolic alterations precede cardiometabolic disease onset. Here we present ceramide- and dihydroceramide-profiling data from a nested case-cohort (type 2 diabetes [T2D, n = 775]; cardiovascular disease [CVD, n = 551]; random subcohort [n = 1137]) in the prospective EPIC-Potsdam study. We apply the novel NetCoupler-algorithm to link a data-driven (dihydro)ceramide network to T2D and CVD risk. Controlling for confounding by other (dihydro)ceramides, ceramides C18:0 and C22:0 and dihydroceramides C20:0 and C22:2 are associated with higher and ceramide C20:0 and dihydroceramide C26:1 with lower T2D risk. Ceramide C16:0 and dihydroceramide C22:2 are associated with higher CVD risk. Genome-wide association studies and Mendelian randomization analyses support a role of ceramide C22:0 in T2D etiology. Our results also suggest that (dh)ceramides partly mediate the putative adverse effect of high red meat consumption and benefits of coffee consumption on T2D risk. Thus, (dihydro)ceramides may play a critical role in linking genetic predisposition and dietary habits to cardiometabolic disease risk.}, language = {en} } @article{PolemitiBaudryKuxhausetal.2021, author = {Polemiti, Elli and Baudry, Julia and Kuxhaus, Olga and J{\"a}ger, Susanne and Bergmann, Manuela and Weikert, Cornelia and Schulze, Matthias Bernd}, title = {BMI and BMI change following incident type 2 diabetes and risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications}, series = {Diabetologia : journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)}, volume = {64}, journal = {Diabetologia : journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin ; Heidelberg}, issn = {0012-186X}, doi = {10.1007/s00125-020-05362-7}, pages = {814 -- 825}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Aims/hypothesis Studies suggest decreased mortality risk among people who are overweight or obese compared with individuals with normal weight in type 2 diabetes (obesity paradox). However, the relationship between body weight or weight change and microvascular vs macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes remains unresolved. We investigated the association between BMI and BMI change with long-term risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes in a prospective cohort study. Methods We studied participants with incident type 2 diabetes from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam cohort, who were free of cancer, cardiovascular disease and microvascular disease at diagnosis (n = 1083). Pre-diagnosis BMI and relative annual change between pre- and post-diagnosis BMI were evaluated in multivariable-adjusted Cox models. Results There were 85 macrovascular (myocardial infarction and stroke) and 347 microvascular events (kidney disease, neuropathy and retinopathy) over a median follow-up of 10.8 years. Median pre-diagnosis BMI was 29.9 kg/m(2) (IQR 27.4-33.2), and the median relative annual BMI change was -0.4\% (IQR -2.1 to 0.9). Higher pre-diagnosis BMI was positively associated with total microvascular complications (multivariable-adjusted HR per 5 kg/m(2) [95\% CI]: 1.21 [1.07, 1.36], kidney disease 1.39 [1.21, 1.60] and neuropathy 1.12 [0.96, 1.31]) but not with macrovascular complications (HR 1.05 [95\% CI 0.81, 1.36]). Analyses according to BMI categories corroborated these findings. Effect modification was not evident by sex, smoking status or age groups. In analyses according to BMI change categories, BMI loss of more than 1\% indicated a decreased risk of total microvascular complications (HR 0.62 [95\% CI 0.47, 0.80]), kidney disease (HR 0.57 [95\% CI 0.40, 0.81]) and neuropathy (HR 0.73 [95\% CI 0.52, 1.03]), compared with participants with a stable BMI; no clear association was observed for macrovascular complications (HR 1.04 [95\% CI 0.62, 1.74]). The associations between BMI gain compared with stable BMI and diabetes-related vascular complications were less apparent. Associations were consistent across strata of sex, age, pre-diagnosis BMI or medication but appeared to be stronger among never-smokers compared with current or former smokers. Conclusions/interpretation Among people with incident type 2 diabetes, pre-diagnosis BMI was positively associated with microvascular complications, while a reduced risk was observed with weight loss when compared with stable weight. The relationships with macrovascular disease were less clear.}, language = {en} } @article{BlockSchulzeDeekenetal.2021, author = {Block, Andrea and Schulze, Susanne and Deeken, Friederike and H{\"a}usler, Andreas and Rezo, Anna and Rapp, Michael A. and Wippert, Pia-Maria}, title = {Effects of inflammatory markers and biographical stress on treatment response in depression}, series = {Psychoneuroendocrinology : an international journal ; the official journal of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology}, volume = {131}, journal = {Psychoneuroendocrinology : an international journal ; the official journal of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology}, number = {Supplement}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0306-4530}, doi = {10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105535}, pages = {S24 -- S24}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Recent research emphasized the role of inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology of depression. Theories hypothesizes that life events (LE) can affect the immune system and trigger depressive symptoms. LE are also considered as one of the best predictors for the onset and course of depressive disorders. Methods Observational study across three treatment settings: n=208 depressive patients (75.5\%f, M 46.6 y) were examined on depression (BDI-II), life events (ILE) and inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP, fibrinogen, ICAM-1, TNF-alpha, E-selectin) at baseline (t0), 5-week(t1) and 5-month(t2) follow-up. Effects and interactions were analyzed with regression models. Results LE were associated with depressive symptoms at t0 (beta=.209; p=.002) and both follow-ups. Except for CRP, which was linked to depression symptoms at t2 (betai=-.190; p=.032), there were no effects of inflammatory markers on depressive symptoms. At t1, an interaction between CRP and LE in total (beta=-.249; p=.041) was found as well as for LE in the past five years (beta=-.122; p=.027). Similar interactions were found between cumulative LE and ICAM-1 (beta=-.197; p=.003) and IL-6 (beta=-.425; p=.001). Conclusion The cumulative burden of LE effects symptoms and treatment outcome in depressive patients. There is some evidence that inflammatory marker may have long-term effects on treatment outcome as they seem to weaken the determining relation between LE and depression.}, language = {en} }