Assassi Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2025

Interferon Regulatory Factor 7 Links Interferon Pathway Activation to the Exaggerates Fibrotic Response in Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc-scleroderma) is a multisystem autoimmune, fibrotic disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. Progress in the development of effective therapies for SSc has been hampered by a fragmented understanding of its pathogenesis. Although abundant evidence implicates dysregulated immunity in SSc, the mechanisms by which the immune system influences fibroblast function are not well-understood. We propose herein a multifaceted approach to elucidate the role of interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) in dermal fibroblasts as a pathologic bridge between immune dysregulation and fibrosis in SSc. An interferon (IFN) gene expression signature is the most prominent…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.