Research Areas

We demonstrated the role of IL23 signaling in the regulation of microbiota and atherosclerosis (Fatkhullina, et al, Immunity, 2018). Now, we are interested in further investigating the role of cell type-specific cytokine signaling in the control of microbiota homeostasis and atherosclerosis development (using sophisticated tissue-specific mouse models now available in the lab). We will study how cytokines could affect microbiota-dependent metabolism and its effect on immune cells both with mature and bone marrow precursors. We think that this work will help to gain insight into the connection between cytokine signaling, dietary manipulated microbiome, inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

We extend our research to the area of adipose tissue inflammation and its pathogenic role in both cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Perivascular fat is a fourth layer of any major blood vessel, including large arteria prone to atherosclerosis and AAA development. Obesity, adiposity and lipid-driven inflammation are also major and emerging risk factors for cancer progression, which could act locally (breast, liver) or systemically (many other types of cancer). We will enter this exciting field by elucidating the role of cytokine signaling in the regulation of adipocytes activation and determine the contribution of adipose tissue inflammation into the progression of atherosclerosis, abdominal aortic aneurysm and liver cancer.