The role of FHL2 in metabolism

The subject of this thesis is the versatile protein Four and a Half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) which is highly expressed in the heart and it is known to regulate cardiac hypertrophy. FHL2 is also a novel but well-established marker of aging and its expression increases with age in highly metabolic tissues, such as adipose tissue and pancreatic islets. The work described in this thesis unravels the role of FHL2 in the context of metabolism focusing on its function as a regulator of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which has not been studied before. We described that low levels of FHL2 are beneficial for the prevention of glucose intolerance and obesity, a major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. This poses FHL2 as a potential target for future treatments to combat obesity and type 2 diabetes.