Martin Valdearcos, PhD

Assistant Adjunct Professor
Diabetes Center
+1 415 476-9847

Microglia are emerging as critical regulators of brain homeostasis with an expanding array of functions beyond their established roles as immune sentinels such as synaptic remodeling, neuronal excitability, and myelin plasticity. These highly dynamic cells continuously monitor their microenvironment for alterations, and distinct populations and activation states have been identified based on brain anatomical location, sex, and age. While microglia can respond to both local cues and peripheral factors, the complete repertoire of signals and transduction cascades governing their function remains to be elucidated. We recently showed that microglia are involved in the hypothalamic regulation of energy and glucose homeostasis. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which microglial dysfunction contributes to metabolic disease are poorly understood. Our laboratory is dedicated to unraveling the functional heterogeneity of microglia, exploring their regulation by nutritional and metabolic signals, and understanding their interactions with other glial cells and neurons in the control of metabolic function

Publications: 

Microglia mediate the early-life programming of adult glucose control.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Valdearcos M, McGrath ER, Brown Mayfield SM, Folick A, Cheang RT, Li L, Bachor TP, Lippert RN, Xu AW, Koliwad SK

Identification of AgRP cells in the murine hindbrain that drive feeding.

Molecular metabolism

Bachor TP, Hwang E, Yulyaningsih E, Attal K, Mifsud F, Pham V, Vagena E, Huarcaya R, Valdearcos M, Vaisse C, Williams KW, Emmerson PJ, Xu AW

Stress and Microglia: A Double-edged Relationship.

Advances in neurobiology

Delpech JC, Valdearcos M, Nadjar A

Obesity-associated microglial inflammatory activation paradoxically improves glucose tolerance.

Cell metabolism

Douglass JD, Ness KM, Valdearcos M, Wyse-Jackson A, Dorfman MD, Frey JM, Fasnacht RD, Santiago OD, Niraula A, Banerjee J, Robblee M, Koliwad SK, Thaler JP

ASB4 modulates central melanocortinergic neurons and calcitonin signaling to control satiety and glucose homeostasis.

Science signaling

Vagena E, Crneta J, Engström P, He L, Yulyaningsih E, Korpel NL, Cheang RT, Bachor TP, Huang A, Michel G, Attal K, Berrios DI, Valdearcos M, Koliwad SK, Olson DP, Yi CX, Xu AW

Metabolic factors in the regulation of hypothalamic innate immune responses in obesity.

Experimental & molecular medicine

Folick A, Cheang RT, Valdearcos M, Koliwad SK

Microglial Lipid Biology in the Hypothalamic Regulation of Metabolic Homeostasis.

Frontiers in endocrinology

Folick A, Koliwad SK, Valdearcos M

Blocking Kv1.3 potassium channels prevents postoperative neuroinflammation and cognitive decline without impairing wound healing in mice.

British journal of anaesthesia

Lai IK, Valdearcos M, Morioka K, Saxena S, Feng X, Li R, Uchida Y, Lijun A, Li W, Pan J, Koliwad S, Marcucio R, Wulff H, Maze M

mTORC1 to AMPK switching underlies β-cell metabolic plasticity during maturation and diabetes.

The Journal of clinical investigation

Jaafar R, Tran S, Shah AN, Sun G, Valdearcos M, Marchetti P, Masini M, Swisa A, Giacometti S, Bernal-Mizrachi E, Matveyenko A, Hebrok M, Dor Y, Rutter GA, Koliwad SK, Bhushan A

Hypothalamic microglia as potential regulators of metabolic physiology.

Nature metabolism

Valdearcos M, Myers MG, Koliwad SK

Microglial Inflammatory Signaling Orchestrates the Hypothalamic Immune Response to Dietary Excess and Mediates Obesity Susceptibility.

Cell metabolism

Valdearcos M, Douglass JD, Robblee MM, Dorfman MD, Stifler DR, Bennett ML, Gerritse I, Fasnacht R, Barres BA, Thaler JP, Koliwad SK

Interleukin-6 is both necessary and sufficient to produce perioperative neurocognitive disorder in mice.

British journal of anaesthesia

Hu J, Feng X, Valdearcos M, Lutrin D, Uchida Y, Koliwad SK, Maze M

Microglial Inflammatory Signaling Orchestrates the Hypothalamic Immune Response to Dietary Excess and Mediates Obesity Susceptibility.

Cell metabolism

Valdearcos M, Douglass JD, Robblee MM, Dorfman MD, Stifler DR, Bennett ML, Gerritse I, Fasnacht R, Barres BA, Thaler JP, Koliwad SK

Acute Lesioning and Rapid Repair of Hypothalamic Neurons outside the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Cell reports

Yulyaningsih E, Rudenko IA, Valdearcos M, Dahlén E, Vagena E, Chan A, Alvarez-Buylla A, Vaisse C, Koliwad SK, Xu AW

Microglia mediate postoperative hippocampal inflammation and cognitive decline in mice.

JCI insight

Feng X, Valdearcos M, Uchida Y, Lutrin D, Maze M, Koliwad SK

Critical role for cytosolic group IVA phospholipase A2 in early adipocyte differentiation and obesity.

Biochimica et biophysica acta

Peña L, Meana C, Astudillo AM, Lordén G, Valdearcos M, Sato H, Murakami M, Balsinde J, Balboa MA

Saturated Fatty Acids Engage an IRE1α-Dependent Pathway to Activate the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Myeloid Cells.

Cell reports

Robblee MM, Kim CC, Porter Abate J, Valdearcos M, Sandlund KL, Shenoy MK, Volmer R, Iwawaki T, Koliwad SK

Leptin potentiates astrogenesis in the developing hypothalamus.

Molecular metabolism

Rottkamp DM, Rudenko IA, Maier MT, Roshanbin S, Yulyaningsih E, Perez L, Valdearcos M, Chua S, Koliwad SK, Xu AW

Hypothalamic inflammation in the control of metabolic function.

Annual review of physiology

Valdearcos M, Xu AW, Koliwad SK

Microglia dictate the impact of saturated fat consumption on hypothalamic inflammation and neuronal function.

Cell reports

Valdearcos M, Robblee MM, Benjamin DI, Nomura DK, Xu AW, Koliwad SK

Lipin-1 integrates lipid synthesis with proinflammatory responses during TLR activation in macrophages.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Meana C, Peña L, Lordén G, Esquinas E, Guijas C, Valdearcos M, Balsinde J, Balboa MA

Lipin-2 reduces proinflammatory signaling induced by saturated fatty acids in macrophages.

The Journal of biological chemistry

Valdearcos M, Esquinas E, Meana C, Peña L, Gil-de-Gómez L, Balsinde J, Balboa MA

Subcellular localization and role of lipin-1 in human macrophages.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Valdearcos M, Esquinas E, Meana C, Gil-de-Gómez L, Guijas C, Balsinde J, Balboa MA

Requirement of JNK-mediated phosphorylation for translocation of group IVA phospholipase A2 to phagosomes in human macrophages.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Casas J, Meana C, Esquinas E, Valdearcos M, Pindado J, Balsinde J, Balboa MA

Research Area: 
Central Regulation