The role of IL-38 in shaping tumor-promoting versus protective inflammation in colorectal cancer (P08)

• Subject Area: Immunology ; Gastroenterology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 540805631

IL-38 is a member of the IL-1 family that confers important functions in the resolution of inflammatory processes. The project will evaluate the notion that targeting IL-38 could be a valuable approach to enhance anti-tumor immunity in CRC potentially also sensitizing for immunotherapy. While various cell types in the colorectal TME upregulate IL-38 expression, their exact contribution and the respective downstream signaling events in IL-38 responsive cells are only partially understood. To identify the relevant target cells, cytotoxic lymphocytes will be analyzed by Phenoptics multispectral imaging and multicolor flow cytometry.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 417: Cellular Communication in the Stroma of Colorectal Cancer: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Translation
• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Andreas Weigert