Metabolic Pharmacology

Group leaders: professor Jukka Hakkola and docent Miia Turpeinen

Background and significance

Liver is a central metabolic organ. Liver plays a major role in carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism. For example liver is critical to maintain concentrations of blood glucose within a narrow, normal range. In metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes the regulatory control of liver metabolism is disturbed.

In addition to the intermediary metabolism liver is the main site of metabolism of xenobiotics including therapeutic drugs. Drug metabolism protects body from harmful effects of xenobiotics, but is also a major source of clinically important drug-drug interactions.

Future goals

We aim to identify and characterize mechanisms controlling liver energy metabolism in order to identify novel drug targets. We investigate cross talk of energy metabolism and other liver functions. We characterize genetic and environmental factors affecting drug metabolism and drug toxicity to enhance safer and personalized drug therapy.

Research funding

• The Academy of Finland
• EU, Marie Curie RTN (Nucsys)
• Sigrid Juselius Foudation
• Diabetes research foundation
• Emil Aaltonen Foundation 

Research group members

Post-doctoral researchers:

• Marcin Buler, PhD
• Olavi Pelkonen, Prof. emer.

PhD-students:

• Sanna-Mari Aatsinki, MSc

Other staff:

• Ritva Tauriainen, technician

Most important collaborators

• Docent Ari Tolonen, Admescope Ltd
• Dr Janne Hukkanen and Professor Markku Savolainen, University of Oulu
• Professor Klaus Olkkola, Turku University Hospital
• Docent Anna-Liisa Levonen, University of Eastern Finland
• Professors Ulrich Zanger and Matthias Schwab, Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Germany
• Professor Matti Lang, University Queensland, Australia