Defining the role of hepatocellular carcinoma-related epigenetic alterations driving immune evasion (07)

• Subject Area: Gastroenterology
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 318346496

Epigenetic alterations frequently occur in liver cancer and significantly impair tumor-directed immune responses by both, facilitating resistance to the attack of cytotoxic immune cells while concomitantly modulating function and composition of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Based on the potential reversibility of epigenetic modifications and, thus, epigenetic driven immune escape mechanisms the characterization of these mechanisms might be of particular importance for the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Here, we will analyze the role of two HCC-associated key epigenetic regulators, DNMT1 and SIRT6, and their related modifications in tumor-directed immune responses

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1292: Targeting convergent mechanisms of inefficient immunity in tumors and chronic infections
• Applicant Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Jens U. Marquardt; Professorin Dr. Susanne Strand