University of Gothenburg
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Hanns-Ulrich Marschall

Seniorforskare

Department of Molecular and Clinical
Medicine
Mail
hanns-ulrich.marschall@gu.se
Visiting address
Blå stråket 5 B Wallenberglab/SU
41345 Göteborg
Postal address
SU Sahlgrenska
41345 Göteborg

About Hanns-Ulrich Marschall

Hanns-Ulrich Marschall, MD, PhD, MSc, is since 2010 Professor of Clinical Hepatology at Gothenburg University. He was Professor of Medical Gastroentology and Hepatology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm 2007-2010. He is a leading expert in bile acid metabolism and his research involves animal and human studies with focus on the interaction between bile acids and the gut microbiota at the Wallenberg Laboratory. He is also actively involved in a large number of sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical trials focusing on the development of new treatment options for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis and cholestatic liver diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and in particular, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).

Main research

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear transcription factor that is activated by bile acids and feedback-regulates bile acid and lipid metabolism. Extensive research over the past decade has placed specific FXR activation at the center of promising novel treatment options for cholestatic liver disorders and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and, in particular, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

To date, FXR activation studies have been conducted in animal models of cholestatic and fatty liver diseases and only subsequently translated into models of human relevance, mainly ex vivo/in vitro human cell systems. However, this strategy might miss important mechanistic insights since bile acid species (i.e. potential FXR ligands) differ profoundly between humans and mice. Moreover, bile acids activate several other FXR-independent metabolic signaling pathways and some might even act as FXR antagonists.

Furthermore, the gut microbiota regulates species-specific secondary bile acid metabolism. Thus, changes in FXR-activated feedback loops might be differently translated between humans and rodents and depend on specific gut microbiota. We aim to improve the translation of animal model studies on FXR activation to human diseases by identifying specific differences in FXR-dependent regulatory pathways between mice and humans and by comparing global DNA binding sites of FXR in mouse and human liver genomes. Our ultimate goal is to develop new treatment options for human cholestatic and fatty liver diseases.

Group Members

  • Annika Wahlström, PhD, Researcher
  • Johan Waern, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Samer Al-Dury, MD, PhD student
  • Niclas Björnfot, Registered Study Nurse
  • Olivia Jungstrand, Administrator

Key publications