Lipid hydrolases are key enzymes involved in cell growth and proliferation, cell signaling, and energy metabolism. Accordingly, lipid hydrolases are essential for all organisms and cause multiple morbidities if they do not function properly. Thorough understanding of the structure, function, and physiological impact of lipid hydrolases is of utmost importance to reveal new principles of pathogenesis and discover novel treatment strategies. The involvement of lipid hydrolases in metabolic pathways is multifaceted, complex, and to a large extent unknown. In fact, to date the physiological functions of the majority of the enzymes has not been identi-fied. The SFB Lipid Hydrolysis unites the strongest possible research groups in Austria to maximize its research capacity for the investigation of the biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology of hydrolytic lipid degradation pathways.

Nine established laboratories will join forces within the SFB Lipid Hydrolysis to (1) discover and characterize so far unknown lipid hydrolases, (2) elucidate the functions of known and newly discovered lipid hydrolases, (3) quantitatively describe the complex reaction mecha-nisms of lipolysis, and (4) explore the role of lipid hydrolases in human disease. The ex-pected results will reveal how distinct lipid hydrolases and their mediators contribute to the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis, and cancer. The long-term goal of the SFB Lipid Hydrolysis is to dis-cover new treatment opportunities for these most prevalent diseases.