Salt

Dominik Müller investigates how lifestyle affects the molecular regulation processes in the body – such as how a high-sodium diet impacts the immune system and cardiovascular health. In doing so, he deliberately transcends the boundaries between disciplines.

Regulatory T cells ensure that immune responses happen in a controlled way. But eating too much salt weakens these cells’ energy supply, thus rendering them dysfunctional for a while. This may have implications for autoimmunity, an international team – including Dominik Müller – reports in “Cell Metabolism.”

Biochemist Sabrina Geisberger researches the effects of salt consumption on our health at the Max Delbrück Center. We asked her five questions.

For the first time ever, the Forschungsverbund Berlin confers the Marthe Vogt Award on not one but two young female scientists: biochemist Dr. Sabrina Geisberger of the MDC and physicist Dr. Vittoria Sposini.

Small changes of sodium in the blood reduce the amount of energy produced in the mitochondria – the power plants of our cells. This has consequences for immune cells. An international research team has discovered the mechanism behind this phenomenon and published their findings in the journal "Circulation".

When water intake is low, humans and other higher organisms produce very small quantities of urine....

Common salt reduces the number of certain lactic acid bacteria in the gut of mice and humans according to a study published in Nature by Berlin’s Max Delbrück Center and Charité. This has an impact on immune cells which are partly responsible for autoimmune diseases and hypertension. Probiotics ameliorate the symptoms of disease in mice.

New studies show that salty food diminishes thirst while increasing hunger, due to a higher need for energy

Increased dietary salt intake can induce a group of aggressive immune cells that are involved in triggering and sustaining autoimmune diseases.