Biography

Kepeng worked on the role of inflammation in cancer development and found that disrupted epithelial barrier mechanism in early colorectal tumor cells results in infiltration of gut bacteria and their products into tumor stroma, leading to tumor elicited inflammation and up-regulation of IL-23 in tumor associated macrophages. IL-23 in turn promotes the development and progression of colorectal cancer by controlling the production of inflammatory cytokines including IL-6 and IL-17. IL-17 signals directly on tumor cells to promote the growth of early aberrant foci by activating cell growth and survival. IL-17 also inhibits tumor immunity by downregulating the production of CXCL9/10 chemokines and inhibiting subsequent attraction of CD8 T cells to tumors. Kepeng lab is currently working on the role of inflammatory cytokines and innate/adaptive immunity in cancer development and immunotherapy.