Leo Joosten

Leo Joosten characterized the metabolic pathways underlying trained immunity induction, demonstrating that shifts in the tricarboxylic acid cycle including fumarate and succinate accumulation drive epigenetic modifications that sustain enhanced monocyte and macrophage anti-tumor cytokine production for months after initial training stimulus. His work on IL-1beta as both a mediator and inducer of trained immunity revealed autocrine amplification loops that maintain the trained state in tumor-associated macrophages. He investigates metabolite-based approaches to induce trained immunity for cancer prevention and therapy.