Korea University · 医学
Professor Nan Hee Kim's research lab focuses on the intersection of circadian biology, metabolic health, and aging, with a particular emphasis on how circadian rhythms influence metabolic disorders such as diabetes, sarcopenia, and metabolic syndrome. The lab investigates the role of key regulators like melatonin, fetuin-A (FETUA), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and vascular dysfunction. Using both clinical and in vitro models, the lab explores molecular mechanisms involving protein kinase C (PKC) and insulin signaling pathways to understand and potentially treat age-related metabolic diseases. Their work also highlights the clinical relevance of anthropometric markers like the waist-to-waist index (WWI) and phenotypic profiles such as MHO and MONW in predicting long-term outcomes in older adults.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
At the population level, evening chronotype was independently associated with diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and sarcopenia. These results support the importance of circadian rhythms in metabolic regulation.
WWI is an anthropometric index positively associated with fat mass and negatively associated with muscle mass in older adults.
In contrast to MHO subjects, elderly individuals with the MONW phenotype exhibited greater all-cause mortality during 10 years of follow-up.
Depression in elderly Koreans is associated with low body mass and sarcopenia, especially in men.
Diabetic nephropathy associated with hyperglycemia is characterized by glomerular hyperfiltration and endothelial dysfunction. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be primarily involved in neoangiogenesis and increased endothelial permeability. The purpose of this study was to investigate VEGF expression in response to high glucose in rat cultured mesangial cells and to identify its signal pathway via protein kinase C (PKC). Rat mesangial cells were cultured with different conce
Melatonin plays an important role in regulating circadian rhythms. It also acts as a potent antioxidant and regulates glucose and lipid metabolism, although the exact action mechanism is not clear. The α2-HS-glycoprotein gene (AHSG) and its protein, fetuin-A (FETUA), are one of the hepatokines and are known to be associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine whether melatonin improves hepatic insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in a FETUA-dep
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