Impact on hepatic transcriptional regulation by the environment
Many differentiated tissues possess striking transcriptional plasticity in response to metabolic changes. E.g. circadian reprogramming of the hepatic transcriptome. The ability to adapt to the environment is essential for the organism; however, adaptation is often linked to pathophysiology of disease such as obesity and diabetes.
In the Grøntved group, we aim to understand mechanisms controlling differential gene expression involved in cellular response to the constantly changing microenvironment in tissues such as the liver. We are particularly interested in the mechanism controlling access to gene regulatory regions of chromatin in response to acute feeding and the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
We primarily use mouse liver tissue as model system and advanced functional genomics technology to study the structural organization of chromatin. Using mechanistic insights from these studies, we aim to understand how the liver respond to various physiological and pathophysiologic situations such as fast-feeding transitions and diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Collectively, these aims are covered in three main projects: