In Hwa Jang
PhD candidate
Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
X account: @inhwajang_
In Hwa Jang is a third-year graduate student in Dr. Christina Camell’s lab at the University of Minnesota, Institute on the Biology and Aging and Metabolism. Her research focuses on adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) and their role in dysregulated inflammatory responses during aging. Recently, GDF3, a TGFβ superfamily cytokine, was identified as a top-regulated gene by age and the NLRP3 inflammasome in ATMs. However, its role in the context of aging is unknown. By using a naturally aged GDF3-deficient mouse model, her work demonstrates that GDF3 promotes inflammatory ATMs through SMAD2/3 signaling axis, resulting in elevated inflammatory cytokine production and severe hypothermia in response to endotoxemia. Notably, GDF3-SMAD2/3 signaling axis shifts chromatin landscape of ATMs towards inflammatory phenotype upon aging. She also shows that GDF3-SMAD2/3 signaling axis can be targeted by pharmaceutical approaches to alleviate severe inflammatory responses in aged mice. Overall, this work underscores GDF3-SMAD2/3 signaling axis as a promising therapeutic target for inflammatory ATMs, thereby mitigating inflammation in the aged.
Cytokines 2024 Abstract Presentation (session TBD): “Age-dependent inflammation is promoted by GDF3-SMAD2/3 signaling axis in adipose tissue macrophages”
