Metabolic pre- and reprogramming at the epigenetic level, and how this affects aging and age-related diseases

Mechanistic and functional principles, environmental cues, microbiome-driven processes and genetic as well as epigenetic determinants of both proper and dysfunctional pre- and reprogramming in pre-natal and adult life, respectively, remain largely unknown and represent a new and not-yet well explored area of research.

We will ask:

• What are the key epigenetic marks and chromatin modification pathways that transmit parental environmental signals to the pre-natal organism and thereby determine post-natal/adulthood disease susceptibility and resilience?
• Based on pre-natal determination, which genetic and environmental factors as well as microbiome components act in a combinatorial fashion to re-program cellular and systemic metabolism in the adult, leading to aberrant organ function and disease comorbidities?
• Can we define unifying metabolic escape principles that would be suitable to reset metabolism as a means to prevent and cure severe metabolic disorders?