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ADIPOSE TISSUE METABOLISM

Hippo STK kinases drive metabolic derangement

Nature Metabolism volume 3, pages 295–296 (2021)Cite this article

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Obesity is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and chronic metabolic derailment. Cho et al. report that elevated adipose expression of the Hippo kinases STK3 and STK4 (STK3/4) in obesity and type 2 diabetes decreases the mass and oxidative capacity of adipocyte mitochondria. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of STK3/4 restores mitochondrial mass and function in adipocytes and improves glucose homeostasis in mice with diet-induced obesity. These findings support STK3/4 as new targets for obesity-related diseases.

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Fig. 1: Inhibition of the Hippo kinases STK3/4 in therapy for metabolic disease.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and JDRF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Kathrin Maedler & Amin Ardestani

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Amin Ardestani

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  1. Kathrin Maedler
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  2. Amin Ardestani
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Correspondence to Kathrin Maedler or Amin Ardestani.

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The authors hold the shared patent WO2016210345A1: Composition and methods for inhibiting mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1.

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Maedler, K., Ardestani, A. Hippo STK kinases drive metabolic derangement. Nat Metab 3, 295–296 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00370-2

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