Unraveling the Role of Stromal IL-36R Signaling in Colorectal Tumorigenesis

The IL-36 cytokine family is a pro-inflammatory member of the IL-1 family that plays a significant role in inflammatory bowel diseases and is predominantly expressed by immune cells and stromal cells. P09's goal is to understand how IL-36 receptor signaling affects cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and tumor-infiltrating T cells in the tumor microenvironment and thereby the project will determine the functional relevance of IL-36R signaling in vitro and in vivo. In particular, the project will take advantage of genetic mouse models and human tissue as well as a human tumor organoid co-culture model. This will help to determine whether IL-36 can limit tumor growth and whether IL-36 signaling can be targeted in colorectal carcinoma (CRC).