Lab personnel
- Kaj Kamstra PhD student
- Dr Mohammed Rizwan Research Fellow
- Nathan Skinner PhD Student
- Associate Professor Alexander Tups Associate Professor
Research interests
- Neuroendocrine regulation of metabolism; in particular, understanding how the adiposity signals, leptin and insulin interact in the hypothalamus to maintain energy homeostasis
- Identification of novel pathways that are involved in the neuroendocrine control of glucose metabolism.
- Neuroendocrinology of nutrition related diseases: What is the link between type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease?
Keywords
Gene therapy, nutritional interventions, obesity, metabolic disorders
Current funding
Previous funding
- 2008–2013 German Ministry of Education and Research
- 2003–2005 Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds
Selected publications
Boucsein, A., Kamstra, K., & Tups, A. (2021). Central signalling cross-talk between insulin and leptin in glucose and energy homeostasis [Invited]. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, e12944. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/jne.12944
Loehfelm, A., Rizwan, M. Z., & Tups, A. (2021). A New Zealand green-lipped mussel oil-enriched high-fat diet exhibits beneficial effects on body weight and metabolism in mice. British Journal of Nutrition, 125(9), 972-982. doi: 10.1017/s0007114520002342
Kamstra, K., Horsfield, J. A., & Tups, A. (2020). The effects of leptin mutations and diet-induced obesity on glucose homeostasis in the zebrafish. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1527), (pp. 129). Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Pretz, D., Le Foll, C., Rizwan, M. Z., Lutz, T. A., & Tups, A. (2020). Hyperleptinemia as a contributing factor for the impairment of glucose intolerance in obesity. FASEB Journal. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1096/fj.202001147R
Loehfelm, A., Elder, M. K., Boucsein, A., Jones, P. P., Williams, J. M., & Tups, A. (2020). Docosahexaenoic acid prevents palmitate-induced insulin-dependent impairments of neuronal health. FASEB Journal, 34, 4635-4652. doi: 10.1096/fj.201902517R
Rizwan, M. Z., Shepherd, P. R., Tups, A., & Grattan, D. R. (2019, August-September). Region-specific deletion of β-catenin leads to impaired glucose tolerance and increased bodyweight. Poster session presented at the Queenstown Molecular Biology (QMB) Meetings, Queenstown, New Zealand.
Kamstra, K., Horsfield, J. A., & Tups, A. (2019, August-September). The effects of leptin mutations and diet-induced weight gain on glucose homeostasis in the zebrafish. Poster session presented at the Queenstown Molecular Biology (QMB) Meetings, Queenstown, New Zealand.
Pretz, D., Lutz, T., & Tups, A. (2019, August-September). Beneficial effects of leptin antagonism on glucose homeostasis in DIO mice. Verbal presentation at the Queenstown Molecular Biology (QMB) Meetings, Queenstown, New Zealand.
Boucsein, A., Rizwan, M. Z., & Tups, A. (2019, August-September). Hypothalamic leptin sensitivity and health benefits of time-restricted feeding are dependent on the time of day in male mice. Verbal presentation at the Queenstown Molecular Biology (QMB) Meetings, Queenstown, New Zealand.
Pretz, D., Lutz, T., & Tups, A. (2019, July). Beneficial effects of leptin antagonism on glucose homeostasis in diet-induced obese mice. Poster session presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) 27th Annual Meeting, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Kamstra, K., Horsfield, J. A., & Tups, A. (2019, July). The effects of leptin mutations and diet-induced obesity on glucose homeostasis in the zebrafish. Poster session presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) 27th Annual Meeting, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Boucsein, A., Rizwan, M. Z., & Tups, A. (2019, July). Time of day-dependent action of hypothalamic leptin signalling. Poster session presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) 27th Annual Meeting, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Boucsein, A., Rizwan, M. Z., & Tups, A. (2019). Hypothalamic leptin sensitivity and health benefits of time-restricted feeding are dependent on the time of day in male mice. FASEB Journal, 33, 12175-12187. doi: 10.1096/fj.201901004R
Skinner, N. J., Rizwan, M. Z., Grattan, D. R., & Tups, A. (2019). Chronic light cycle disruption alters central insulin and leptin signaling as well as metabolic markers in male mice. Endocrinology, 160(10), 2257-2270. doi: 10.1210/en.2018-00935
Benzler, M., Benzler, J., Stoehr, S., Hempp, C., Rizwan, M. Z., Heyward, P., & Tups, A. (2019). "Insulin-like" effects of palmitate compromise insulin signalling in hypothalamic neurons. Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 189(3-4), 413-424. doi: 10.1007/s00360-019-01220-0
Loehfelm, A., Boucsein, A., Pretz, D., & Tups, A. (2019). Timing matters: Circadian effects on energy homeostasis and Alzheimer's disease. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 30(2), 132-143. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2018.12.001
Boucsein, A., Rizwan, M., & Tups, A. (2018, February). Circadian regulation of leptin action. Verbal presentation at the 9th Swiss Winter Conference on Ingestive Behavior, St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Kerbus, R., Rizwan, M., & Tups, A. (2018, August). Dose dependent central insulin resistance in response to high fat diet. Poster session presented at the Medical Sciences Congress (MedSci), Queenstown, New Zealand.
Sergi, D., Campbell, F. M., Grant, C., Morris, A. C., Bachmair, E.-M., Koch, C., … Tups, A., & Williams, L. M. (2018). SerpinA3N is a novel hypothalamic gene upregulated by a high-fat diet and leptin in mice 06 Biological Sciences 0604 Genetics. Genes & Nutrition, 13, 28. doi: 10.1186/s12263-018-0619-1
Rizwan, M. Z., Shepherd, P., Tups, A., & Grattan, D. (2018). Stabilization of beta-catenin in mouse hypothalamic cell lines. Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN). (pp. 348-349). Retrieved from http://www.icn2018.org/
Loehfelm, A., & Tups, A. (2018). Effects of the saturated fatty acid palmitate on neuronal morphology and function. Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN). (pp. 211). Retrieved from http://www.icn2018.org/
Tups, A. (2018, June). Brain inflammation and its role in obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].
McEwen, H. J. L., Cognard, E., Ladyman, S. R., Khant-Aung, Z., Tups, A., Shepherd, P. R., & Grattan, D. R. (2018). Feeding and GLP-1 receptor activation stabilize beta-catenin in specific hypothalamic nuclei in male rats. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 30(6), e12607, 1-10. doi: 10.1111/jne.12607
Tups, A. (2017, September). Does it matter at what time of day we eat? Verbal presentation at the Medical Sciences Congress (MedSci), Queenstown, New Zealand.
Skinner, N., Rizwan, M. Z., & Tups, A. (2017, September). Effect of circadian rhythms on leptin and insulin sensitivity. Poster session presented at the Medical Sciences Congress (MedSci), Queenstown, New Zealand.
