Markus Michael Bachschmid, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Direct Contact: bach@bu.edu
Dr. Bachschmid is a leading expert in redox and oxidative stress biology. His laboratory comprehensively studies redox mechanisms ranging from oxidant chemistry to human pathology. Current projects are using cell and animal models to investigate redox processes that lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NIH/NIDDK funded) and metabolic cardiovascular disease (AHA funded).
Oxidants are increased in metabolic diseases, altering cell physiology and signaling through oxidative protein modifications such as protein glutathione adducts. In metabolic syndrome, protein glutathione adducts that are normally removed by the thioltransferase glutaredoxin-1 accumulate in liver and cardiovascular tissues. Accordingly, glutaredoxin-1 knockout mice have increased protein glutathione adducts and develop obesity, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, and cardiovascular disease. The Bachschmid lab has identified the metabolic master regulator Sirtuin-1 as a target of glutaredoxin-1. Namely, glutathione adducts inhibit the deacetylase activity of Sirtuin-1, increasing hepatic lipid biosynthesis. Perturbed hepatic lipid metabolism then causes dyslipidemia and cardiovascular complications. Expressing a non-oxidizable Sirtuin-1 mutant, developed in the Bachschmid lab, by gene delivery to the liver normalized hepatic lipid metabolism. Additionally, using a novel isotope coded multiplex proteomics platform and systems biology, new target proteins of glutaredoxin-1 are being identified and studied in heart and liver.