Research for the Environment

Department of Metabolomics

Department of Metabolomics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Martin von Bergen
Office:
Christine Becher

Tel +49 341 235-1264
Fax +49 341 235-1786

Permoserstraße 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany

Humans are constantly exposed to environmental factors, some of which, for example pollutants, have a harmful effect on human health. When harmful substances enter the body, a metabolic process often takes place, i.e. biochemical conversion by enzymes. To understand the impact of chemicals, researchers need to identify not only the original substances, but also their metabolites and the reactions to the metabolism.

In order to gain a better understanding of the processes involved, scientists from the Department of Metabolomics conduct epidemiological studies to identify chemicals - especially volatile organic chemicals found indoors - and metabolites of harmful substances in blood serum and urine samples. These are used as exposure markers.

The way cells react to environmental pollutants is controlled by signalling pathways, which, alongside changes at transcriptome and protein level, give a particularly sensitive measurement of cellular metabolism. The primary method used by the researchers from the Department of Metabolomics is mass spectrometry, which is an effective method of measuring the metabolome (the complete set of all metabolites). As well as identifying the individual metabolites, the researchers measure the levels of metabolites present. The aim of the research is to reach a more comprehensive understanding, on a systems biology level, of molecular reactions of in-vitro systems. To achieve this, researchers combine the metabolome measurements with gene and protein expression data and produce models based on the data. Using in-vitro experiments on the effects of one harmful substance, the models can help make predictions about the impact of other harmful substances.

Publications

2013 (5)

  • Baumann, S., Kalkhof, S., Hackermüller, J., Otto, W., Tomm, J.M., Wissenbach, D.K., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M., (2013):
    Requirements and perspectives for integrating metabolomics with other omics data
    Current Metabolomics 1 (1), 15 - 27
  • Holdt, L.M., von Delft, A., Nicolaou, A., Baumann, S., Kostrzewa, M., Thiery, J., Teupser, D., (2013):
    Quantitative trait loci mapping of the mouse plasma proteome (pQTL)
    Genetics 193 (2), 601 - 608
    full text (url)
  • Markle, J.G.M., Frank, D.N., Mortin-Toth, S., Robertson, C.E., Feazel, L. M. , Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M., McCoy, C.D., Macpherson, A.J., Danska, J.S., (2013):
    Sex differences in the gut microbiome drive hormone-dependent regulation of autoimmunity
    Science 339 (6123 ), 1084 - 1088
    full text (url)
  • Murugaiyan, J., Rockstroh, M., Wagner, J., Baumann, S., Schorsch, K., Trump, S., Lehmann, I., von Bergen, M., Tomm, J.M., (2013):
    Benzo[a]pyrene affects Jurkat T cells in the activated state via the antioxidant response element dependent Nrf2 pathway leading to decreased IL-2 secretion and redirecting glutamine metabolism
    Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 269 (3), 307 - 316
    full text (url)
  • Weisse, K., Winkler, S., Hirche, F., Herberth, G., Hinz, D., Bauer, M., Roeder, S., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M., Olek, S., Richter, T., Diez, U., Borte, M., Stangl, G.I., Lehmann, I., (2013):
    Maternal and newborn vitamin D status and its impact on food allergy development in the German LINA cohort study
    Allergy 68 (2), 220 - 228
    full text (url)

2012 (3)

  • Kermer, R., Hedrich, S., Taubert, M., Baumann, S., Schlömann, M., Johnson, D.B., Seifert, J., (2012):
    Elucidation of carbon transfer in a mixed culture of Acidiphilium cryptum and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans using protein-based stable isotope probing
    Journal of Integrated OMICS 2 (1), 37 - 45
    full text (url)
  • Peters, F.T., Wissenbach, D.K., (2012):
    Systematic toxicological analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: techniques and inter-instrument reproducibility of mass spectra/Systematisch-toxikologische Analyse mittels Hochleistungsflüssigchromatographie-Massenspektrometrie: Techniken und Reproduzierbarkeit von Massenspektren zwischen Instrumenten
    LaboratoriumsMedizin 36 (2), 89 - 97
    full text (url)
  • Weisse, K., Winkler, S., Stangl, G.I., Hirche, F., Herberth, G., Hinz, D., Bauer, M., Röder, S., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen-Tomm, M., Olek, S., Sack, U., Borte, M., Richter, T., Lehmann, I., (2012):
    Maternal and newborn vitamin D status and its impact on fetal regulatory T cell development and children's atopy risk in the German LINA cohort study
    J. Reprod. Immunol. 94 (1), 53 - 54
    full text (url)

2011 (7)

  • Bauer, S., Krumbiegel, P., Richter, M., Richter, T., Röder, S., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Herbarth, P., (2011):
    Influence of sociodemographic factors on Helicobacter pylori prevalence variability among schoolchildren in Leipzig, Germany. A long-term follow-up study
    Cent.Eur.J.Public Health 19 (1), 42 - 45
    full text (url)
  • Kuntze, K., Kiefer, P., Baumann, S., Seifert, J., von Bergen, M., Vorholt, J.A., Boll, M., (2011):
    Enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of meta-substituted halobenzoates
    Mol. Microbiol. 82 (3), 758 - 769
    full text (url)
  • Mögel, I., Baumann, S., Böhme, A., Kohajda, T., von Bergen, M., Simon, J.-C., Lehmann, I., (2011):
    The aromatic volatile organic compounds toluene, benzene and styrene induce COX-2 and prostaglandins in human lung epithelial cells via oxidative stress and p38 MAPK activation
    Toxicology 289 (1), 28 - 37
    full text (url)
  • Oberbach, A., Bluher, M., Wirth, H., Till, H., Kovacs, P., Kullnick, Y., Schlichting, N., Tomm, J.M., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Murugaiyan, J., Binder, H., Dietrich, A., von Bergen, M., (2011):
    Combined proteomic and metabolomic profiling of serum reveals association of the complement system with obesity and identifies novel markers of body fat mass changes
    J. Proteome Res. 10 (10), 4769 - 4788
    full text (url)
  • Taubert, M., Baumann, S., von Bergen, M., Seifert, J., (2011):
    Exploring the limits of robust detection of incorporation of 13C by mass spectrometry in protein-based stable isotope probing (protein-SIP)
    Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 401 (6), 1975 - 1982
    full text (url)
  • Thiel, U.J., Feltens, R., Adryan, B., Gieringer, R., Brochhausen, C., Schuon, R., Fillies, T., Grus, F., Mann, W.J., Brieger, J., (2011):
    Analysis of differentially expressed proteins in oral squamous cell carcinoma by MALDI-TOF MS
    J. Oral Pathol. Med. 40 (5), 369 - 379
    full text (url)
  • Weisse, K., Lehmann, I., Herberth, G., Kohajda, T., Roeder, S., Borte, M., Heroux, A., Denburg, J., (2011):
    Circulating eosinophil/basophil (Eo/B) progenitors at one year of age positively correlate with atopic eczema and indoor chemical exposure in the LINA Study
    J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 127 (2), AB146 - AB146
    full text (url)

2010 (7)

  • Feltens, R., Mögel, I., Röder-Stolinski, C., Simon, J.-C., Herberth, G., Lehmann, I., (2010):
    Chlorobenzene induces oxidative stress in human lung epithelial cells in vitro
    Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 242 (1), 100 - 108
    full text (url)
  • Müller, S.A., Kohajda, T., Findeiß, S., Stadler, P.F., Washietl, S., Kellis, M., von Bergen, M., Kalkhof, S., (2010):
    Optimization of parameters for coverage of low molecular weight proteins
    Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 398 (7-8), 2867 - 2881
    full text (url)
  • Rzehak, P., Scherag, A., Grallert, H., Sausenthaler, S., Koletzko, S., Bauer, C.P., Schaaf, B., von Berg, A., Berdel, D., Borte, M., Herbarth, O., Krämer, U., Illig, T., Wichmann, H.E., Hebebrand, J., Heinrich, J., Schoetzau, A., Popescu, M., Mosetter, M., Schindler, J., Franke, K., Laubereau, B., Thaqi, A., Zirngibl, A., Zutavern, A., Filipiak, B., Gehring, U., Albrecht, B., Baumgart, A., Bollrath, C., Büttner, S., Diekamp, S., Gross, I., Jakob, T., Klemke, K.K., Kurpiun, K.S., Möllermann, M., Neusüss, J., Varhelyi, A., Zorn, C., Reinhard, D., Weigand, H., Antonie, I., Bäumler-Merl, B., Tasch, C., Göhlert, R., Sönnichsen, C., Grübl, A., Bartels, P., Brockow, I., Hoffmann, U., Lötzbeyer, F., Mayrl, R., Negele, K., Schill, E.M., Wolf, B., Link, E., Sugiri, D., Ranft, U., Bolte, G., Belcredi, P., Jacob, B., Schoetznau, A., Höhnke, A., Schulz, R., Sierig, G., Mirow, K., Gebauer, C., Schulze, B., Hainich, J., Sack, U., Emmrich, F., Scholten, C., Diez, U., Rehwagen, M., Schlink, U., Franck, U., Jorks, A., Röder, S., Lehmann, I., Herberth, G., Daegelmann, C., Weiss, M., Albert, M., Fahlbusch, B., Bischof, W., Koch, A., Schins, R., Ring, J., Grosch, J., Weidinger, S., (2010):
    Associations between BMI and the FTO gene are age dependent: results from the GINI and LISA birth cohort studies up to age 6 years
    Obes. Facts 3 (3), 173 - 180
    full text (url)
  • Schlink, U., Thiem, A., Kohajda, T., Richter, M., Strebel, K., (2010):
    Quantile regression of indoor air concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC)
    Sci. Total Environ. 408 (18), 3840 - 3851
    full text (url)
  • Selesi, D., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Schmidt, F., Rattei, T., Tischler, P., Lueders, T., Meckenstock, R.U., (2010):
    Combined genomic and proteomic approaches identify gene clusters involved in anaerobic 2-methylnaphthalene degradation in the dulfate-reducing enrichment culture N47
    J. Bacteriol. 192 (1), 295 - 306
    full text (url)
  • Sträuber, H., Hübschmann, T., Jehmlich, N., Schmidt, F., von Bergen, M., Harms, H., Müller, S., (2010):
    NBDT (3-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-3-toluene) - A novel fluorescent dye for studying mechanisms of toluene uptake into vital bacteria
    Cytom. Part A 77A (2), 113 - 120
    full text (url)
  • Strebel, K., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Richter, M., Kindler, A., Richter, T., Schlink, U., (2010):
    A rigorous small area modelling-study for the helicobacter pylori epidemiology
    Sci. Total Environ. 408 (18), 3931 - 3942
    full text (url)

2009 (12)

  • Benndorf, D., Vogt, C., Jehmlich, N., Schmidt, Y., Thomas, H., Woffendin, G., Shevchenko, A., Richnow, H.H., von Bergen, M., (2009):
    Improving protein extraction and separation methods for investigating the metaproteome of anaerobic benzene communities within sediments
    Biodegradation 20 (6), 737 - 750
    full text (url)
  • Bruegel, M., Planert, M., Baumann, S., Focke, A., Bergh, F.T., Leichtle, A., Ceglarek, U., Thiery, J., Fiedler, G.M., (2009):
    Standardized peptidome profiling of human cerebrospinal fluid by magnetic bead separation and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry
    J. Proteomics 72 (4), 608 - 615
    full text (url)
  • Fiedler, G.M., Leichtle, A.B., Kase, J., Baumann, S., Ceglarek, U., Felix, K., Conrad, T., Witzigmann, H., Weimann, A., Schütte, C., Hauss, J., Büchler, M., Thiery, J., (2009):
    Serum peptidome profiling revealed platelet factor 4 as a potential discriminating peptide associated with pancreatic cancer
    Clin. Cancer Res. 15 (11), 3812 - 3819
    full text (url)
  • Heine, F., Stahl, F., Sträuber, H., Wiacek, C., Benndorf, D., Repenning, C., Schmidt, F., Scheper, T., von Bergen, M., Harms, H., Müller, S., (2009):
    Prediction of flocculation ability of brewing yeast inoculates by flow cytometry, proteome analysis, and mRNA profiling
    Cytom. Part A 75A (2), 140 - 147
    full text (url)
  • Jehmlich, N., Schmidt, F., Taubert, M., Seifert, J., von Bergen, M., Richnow, H.H., Vogt, C., (2009):
    Comparison of methods for simultaneous identification of bacterial species and determination of metabolic activity by protein-based stable isotope probing (Protein-SIP) experiments
    Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 23 (12), 1871 - 1878
    full text (url)
  • Matysik, S., Matysik, F.M., (2009):
    Microextraction by packed sorbent coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: application to the determination of metabolites of monoterpenes in small volumes of human urine
    Microchim. Acta 166 (1-2), 109 - 114
    full text (url)
  • Mörbt, N., Mögel, I., Kalkhof, S., Feltens, R., Röder-Stolinski, C., Zheng, J., Vogt, C., Lehmann, I., von Bergen, M., (2009):
    Proteome changes in human bronchoalveolar cells following styrene exposure indicate involvement of oxidative stress in the molecular-response mechanism
    Proteomics 9 (21), 4909 - 4933
    full text (url)
  • Rehders, D., Classen, B., Redecke, L., Buschke, A., Reibe, C., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Betzel, A., Meyer, B., (2009):
    Peptide NMHRYPNQ of the Cellular Prion Protein (PrPC) Inhibits Aggregation and Is a Potential Key for Understanding Prion-Prion Interactions
    J. Mol. Biol. 392 (1), 198 - 207
    full text (url)
  • Risch, M., Georgieva, D., von Bergen, M., Jehmlich, N., Genov, N., Arni, R.K., Betzel, C., (2009):
    Snake venomics of the Siamese Russell's viper (Daboia russelli siamensis) - Relation to pharmacological activities
    J. Proteomics 72 (2), 256 - 269
    full text (url)
  • Seifert, J., Jehmlich, N., Schmidt, F., Taubert, M., von Bergen, M., Richnow, H.H., Vogt, C., (2009):
    Protein-stable isotope probing (Protein-SIP) for simultaneous identification of bacterial species and determination of metabolic activity
    Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73 (Suppl. 13), A1191 - A1191
    full text (url)
  • von Bergen, M., Eidner, A., Schmidt, F., Murugaiyan, J., Wirth, H., Binder, H., Maier, T., Roesler, U., (2009):
    Identification of harmless and pathogenic algae of the genus Prototheca by MALDI-MS
    Proteom. Clin. Appl. 3 (7), 774 - 787
    full text (url)
  • Wischgoll, S., Taubert, M., Peters, F., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Boll, M., (2009):
    Decarboxylating and nondecarboxylating glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenases in the aromatic metabolism of obligately anaerobic bacteria
    J. Bacteriol. 191 (13), 4401 - 4409
    full text (url)