Metabolism, immune response and hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hypoxia in tumor microenvironment is important for cancer cell survival and proliferation as it activates hypoxia inducible factor (HIF1á) that triggers a plethora of processes including anti-apoptosis, angiogenesis, methabolic adaptation to limited food supply and others. Therefore reduction of tissue hypoxia would inhibit many of those processes and help the organism to battle the tumor. We and others have previously shown inhibition of tumor growth by induction of hyperoxia using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). In the current project we would like to better understand the biological effects of tumour oxygenation on the metabolisme and immunsystem.