Inflammatory Memory in Epithelia: organ imprint and cancer

Cells in our body can remember previous damage or inflammation. This so-called inflammatory memory is stored through epigenetic markers on the cells genetic material (DNA) and influences how strongly the body reacts to new challenges later on. Chronic inflammation in epithelia the surface cells that line our organs and body plays a major role in the development of malignant tumors that arise from these cells and are responsible for about 80 percent of cancer deaths worldwide. We know that different organs (such as the skin, stomach, intestine, lungs, or liver) shape the properties of their cells in different ways. However, we still understand very little about how exactly an organs environment influences the long-lasting memory that cells develop after inflammation. This is where the work of the special research program EpiFlaMe comes in: EpiFlaMe is a consortium formed by seven researchers, which is funded as a Special Research Area, a prestigious funding scheme of the Austrian Science Fund. The project focuses on understanding epithelial inflammatory memory, and cancer development. Using multi-omics profiling, innovative organoid cell cultures and in-vivo models and computational modeling the research team will create the first systematic molecular map of inflammatory memory in epithelial cells across multiple organs. To achieve this, the consortium brings together experts from the University of Salzburg, the University of Linz and the Medical University of Vienna, working in immunology, microbiology, cancer research, and computational systems biology. Together, the team will systematically study how organ-specific inflammatory memory forms in epithelial cells and how it affects inflammation and cancer development. The goal of the EpiFlaMe research program is to lay the foundation for future therapies that can treat chronic inflammatory diseases and help prevent tumor formation in an organ-specific way.