Research Program
Mouse Genetics
and
Obesity-associated Cancer
The incidence of certain types of cancer increases under the low-grade inflammatory state associated with obesity. Of special interest is the formation and progression of liver- and colon-cancer during the course of obesity. The lab focuses on the molecular mechanism leading to these diseases by dissecting important inflammatory and metabolic signaling pathways using Cre/loxP-mediated conditional loss and gain of function approaches in the mouse. In particular, we are interested which cell types and signaling pathways are affected by high fat diet, thus leading to the increased risk to develop the formerly mentioned cancer entities. To address this, we are genetically modifying signaling pathways not only in cell types which give rise to tumor tissue, but also in cell types that contribute to the tumor microenvironment such as inflammatory macrophages and T lymphocytes. Major funding of the group is obtained from the Leibniz award of Jens Brüning and the excellence cluster CECAD.