Epigenetic and transcriptional adaptation across inflammatory and tumor microenvironments

Chronic inflammation and cancer are both characterized by profound remodeling of the tissue microenvironment. Cells within these environments are exposed to persistent immune signaling, metabolic stress, and altered cell–cell interactions that reshape their functional states. Increasing evidence shows that these changes are driven not only by genetic alterations but also by dynamic epigenetic and transcriptional programs that enable immune, stromal, and parenchymal cells to adapt to inflammatory or tumor-associated conditions. While the tumor microenvironment has been extensively studied, similar epigenetic and transcriptional adaptations in inflammatory microenvironments, as well as the mechanisms that drive the transition from inflammatory states to tumor development, remain less well understood. Understanding these regulatory mechanisms is essential for explaining how chronic inflammation persists, how tissues remodel during disease, and how tumors evade immune control.This Research Topic aims to highlight how epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms enable cells to adapt to inflammatory and tumor microenvironments affecting the immune response. Persistent inflammatory signaling and chronic tissue stress can drive large scale transcriptional rewiring, altering cellular identity, immune responses, and tissue homeostasis. However, the regulatory mechanisms linking inflammatory microenvironments to tumor development remain poorly understood. This collection will bring together studies examining how chromatin remodeling, transcription factor networks, and epigenetic regulation shape tumor-associated inflammation and immune response, with the goal of identifying shared regulatory principles that govern the immune mechanisms relevant for disease progression and microenvironmental adaptation of tumors to the immune response.This Research Topic welcomes studies examining epigenetic and transcriptional regulation linking inflammatory and tumor microenvironments, with particular interest in mechanisms that enable cellular adaptation and transitions between chronic inflammation and tumor development. We encourage contributions that investigate how microenvironmental signals reshape the interaction between inflammation and tumors through chromatin remodeling and gene regulatory networks. Topics of interest include:• Chromatin remodeling and DNA methylation dynamics in inflamed tissues.• Transcription factor networks controlling immune and stromal cell plasticity.• Epigenetic regulation of immune evasion and inflammatory persistence.• Lineage plasticity and cell state transitions during inflammation and inflammation-associated tumorigenesis.• Spatial and single-cell approaches for studying the inflammatory microenvironment.• Computational integration of transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets analyzing the bidirectional interaction between the immune-inflammatory response and tumor growth.We welcome original research articles and reviews that advance understanding of microenvironment-driven epigenetic and transcriptional adaptation. Studies on tumor cells that are unrelated to inflammation and immunity are out of scope for this section.Please note that Dr. Bat-Erdene Jugder is an employee of AstraZeneca. Topic editors: Bat-Erdene Jugder, MD PhD MBA, Ge Zheng, Praveen Papareddy Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80975/epigenetic-and-transcriptional-adaptation-across-inflammatory-and-tumor-microenvironments