Martina Muckenthaler
Head of Molecular Medicine | University of Heidelberg
Martina Muckenthaler’s research focuses on regulatory mechanisms of iron homeostasis and their impairment in common disorders of iron metabolism. Millions of patients worldwide suffer from either iron overload or iron deficiency. There are still large gaps in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms at the root of these disorders; consequently, effective treatment strategies are scarce. We focus on the regulatory mechanisms of systemic iron homeostasis, controlled by the iron-regulated hormone hepcidin and its receptor ferroportin. In order to successfully treat disorders of iron metabolism, we must prevent both excessive hepcidin expression, which causes iron deficiency anemia, and hepcidin deficiency, which leads to common iron overload disorders. To understand the regulation of hepcidin expression, we use system/network-based analyses and integrate data from transcriptome and proteome analyses with examinations of mouse model, as well as genome-wide functional RNAi screens. We expect our studies to contribute to clinical progress through methods such as drug repurposing or the identification of biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic relevance.
Principal Investigator
Further information
Research interest
Adaptation to life in the low-oxygen environment at high-altitude.
How do haemoglobin and iron levels change at high altitude
Field of Expertise
Iron metabolism, hematology
International experience
| since 2019 | President of International BioIron Society |
| 2018 | Chair of the Scientific program Committee of the European Hematology Association |
| since 2018 | Advisor for the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic |
| 2017 | Chair of the Scientific Committee of the American Society of Hematology, ‘Iron and Heme’ |
| 2015 – 2018 | Elected Executive Board Member of the European Hematology Association |
| 2014 – 2017 | Chair of the Fellowship and Grant Committee of the European Hematology Association |
| 2012 – 2016 | Scientific Committee member of the American Society of Hematology |
| 2012 – 2015 | Elected Board Member of the European Hematology Association |
| 2009 – 2013 | Elected Director of the International BioIron Society |
| since 2009 | GABBA PhD program on Basic and Applied Biology, Porto, Portugal |
Selected publications
- Vinchi, F., Porto, G., Simmelbauer, A., Altamura, S., Passos, S.T., Garbowski, M., Silva, A.M.N., Spaich, S., Seide, S.E., Sparla, R., Hentze, M.W., Muckenthaler, M.U. (2019). Atherosclerosis is aggravated by iron overload and ameliorated by dietary and pharmacological iron restriction. European heart journal, 2019 Mar 20. pii: ehz112. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehz112.
- Muckenthaler, M.U., Rivella, S., Hentze, M.W., Galy, B. (2017). A Red Carpet for Iron Metabolism. Cell 168, 344-361.
- Neves, J., Leitz, D., Kraut, S., Brandenberger, C., Agrawal, R., Weissmann, N., Mühlfeld, C., Mall, M.A., Altamura, S., Muckenthaler, M.U. (2017). Disruption of the Hepcidin/Ferroportin Regulatory System Causes Pulmonary Iron Overload and Restrictive Lung Disease. EBioMedicine 20, 230-239.
- Vinchi, F., Costa da Silva, M., Ingoglia, G., Petrillo, S., Brinkman, N., Zuercher, A., Cerwenka, A., Tolosano, E., Muckenthaler, M.U. (2016). Hemopexin therapy reverts heme-induced proinflammatory phenotypic switching of macrophages in a mouse model of sickle cell disease. Blood 127, 473-486.
- Muckenthaler, M., Roy, C.N., Custodio, A.O., Miñana, B., deGraaf, J., Montross, L.K., Andrews, N.C., Hentze, M.W. (2003). Regulatory defects in liver and intestine implicate abnormal hepcidin and Cybrd1 expression in mouse hemochromatosis. Nat Genet 34, 102-107.
Contact details
Address:
Klinik Kinderheilkunde III: Onkologie, Hämatologie, Immunologie und Pulmonologie
Im Neuenheimer Feld 350
69120 Heidelberg
Phone: +49 6221 56-6923
Email of assistant: Sylvia.Hulin@med.uni-heidelberg.de
