Liver-derived Indian hedgehog (Ihh) couples fast-feed transition to thermogenic and metabolic homeostasis
Ihh is a liver-derived, epigenetically regulated hepatokine that links nutrient timing to systemic metabolic control by stimulating thermogenesis and promoting glucose homeostasis. These findings identify Ihh as a key inter-organ signal coupling hepatic chromatin dynamics to energy balance. The age-related decline in circulating Ihh and its strong association with metabolic health suggest that enhancing Ihh signaling may represent a novel therapeutic avenue for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Authors
- Steffen Heyne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9497-7538)
- Raffaele Teperino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8815-1409)
- Shefa’ Muneer Aljabali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6235-562X)
- Adelheid Lempradl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2621-9532)
- Madlen Matz‐Soja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5929-3704)
- Raffaele Gerlini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0852-5621)
- M. Felicia Basilicata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1111-9459)
- Shruta Sandesh Pai
- Erwin Schleicher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3565-3733)
- Marketa Adamová
- Hans-Ulrich Häring
- Rolf Gebhardt
- Irene Paez-Perez
- Martin Hrabě de Angelis
Institutions
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Helmholtz Zentrum München (DE)
- University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- University Hospital Leipzig (DE)
- Deutsches Diabetes-Zentrum e.V. (DE)
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DE)
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (DE)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- University of Tübingen (DE)
- Leipzig University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Molecular Metabolism
- Published
- 2026-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2026.102339
- Primary Topic
- Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00