Rebecca Haeusler, PhD
Insulin affects how the body handles glucose, fat, and cholesterol. Individuals with diabetes experience changes in glucose, fat, and cholesterol metabolism, and these changes can increase a person’s risk of heart disease and liver disease. The Haeusler lab studies how insulin regulates metabolic pathways and how those metabolic effects contribute to disease progression.
The current research in the Haeusler laboratory includes studies on hepatic and intestinal lipid metabolism, with a particular focus on lipoproteins and bile acids. We are investigating mechanisms by which insulin regulates hepatic lipoprotein secretion, composition, and catabolism. In other studies in the lab, we have found that insulin signaling and insulin resistance regulate bile acid composition, and we are investigating the consequences of altered bile acid composition on cellular processes and integrated physiology.
Recent Publications
- Hepatic FoxOs link insulin signaling with plasma lipoprotein metabolism through an apolipoprotein M/sphingosine-1-phosphate pathway.
- Izquierdo MC, Shanmugarajah N, Lee SX, Kraakman MJ, Westerterp M, Kitamoto T, Harris M, Cook JR, Gusarova GA, Zhong K, Marbuary E, O-Sullivan I, Rasmus NF, Camastra S, Unterman T, Ferrannini E, Hurwitz BE, Haeusler RA. (2022) J Clin Invest 2022 Feb 1;e146219. doi: 10.1172/JCI146219 online ahead of print. PMID: 35104242 PMCID: in progress
- Cyp2c-deficiency depletes muricholic acids and protects against high fat diet-induced obesity in male mice but promotes liver damage.
- Oteng A-B, Higuchi S, Banks AS, Haeusler RA. (2021) Mol Metab 53: 101326 PMID: 34438105 PMCID: PMC8449133
- Bile acid composition regulates GPR119-dependent intestinal lipid sensing and food intake regulation in mice.
- Higuchi S, Ahmad TR, Argueta DA, Perez PA, Zhao C, Schwartz GJ, DiPatrizio NV, Haeusler RA. (2020) Gut 69: 1620-1628 PMID: 32111630 PMCID: PMC7423635
- FoxO transcription factors are required for hepatic HDL-cholesterol clearance.
- Lee SX, Heine M, Schlein C, Ramakrishnan R, Liu J, Belnavis G, Haimi I, Fischer AW, Ginsberg HN, Heeren J, Rinninger F, and Haeusler RA. (2018) J Clin Invest 128: 1615-1626 PMID: 29408809 PMCID: PMC5873864