Metabolism Meets Epigenetics: Chemical Biology in Translational Discovery
** Lecture will be given in English**
Abstract:
The epigenetic regulation of DNA-templated processes plays a fundamental role in shaping cell identity and fate. Disruption of these regulatory networks contributes to numerous diseases, including cancer, viral infection, neuronal function and immune dysfunction. Many of these pathologies are accompanied
by profound alterations in genome organization, including the formation of non-canonical chromatin structures. Our work has uncovered the epigenetic regulation of several such structures, including micronuclei (Nature, 2023), extracellular vesicle-associated chromatin (Nature Cancer, 2024), and the
chromatinized genome of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) (Cell, 2025). By investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, we identified cellular metabolism as a major regulator of chromatin function. We found that intrinsic metabolic programs, as well as environmental influences such
as nutrition and diabetes, directly reshape the chromatin landscape through chemical modifications , thereby altering gene expression and cell fate (Nature Communications, 2019; Nature Communications, 2020 .)In this talk, I will present our latest discoveries defining this metabolism-epigenetics axis and
discuss how metabolic stress reprograms chromatin to regulate T cell function. I will also highlight how these mechanistic insights are being translated into the development of a new generation of CAR T cells with enhanced therapeutic potential. Together, these studies illustrate how fundamental discoveries in
chemical biology and epigenetics can reveal unexpected mechanisms of disease and inspire innovative therapeutic strategies.
