The Leitinger laboratory studies the regulation of immune cell-mediated inflammatory and metabolic responses in infectious and chronic progressive diseases including atherosclerosis, heart failure, diabetes and fatty liver disease. We are particularly interested in how tissue damage is translated into chronic inflammation and tissue fibrosis, and how oxidized phospholipids and other danger signals such as ATP or heme contribute to these processes. We use mass spectrometry and metabolomics to identify and characterize novel danger-associated molecules that can be used as biomarkers of disease progression. The overall goal of our research is to identify mechanisms that drive pathologies in chronic progressive diseases and to devise therapeutic strategies that either halt the progression to fibrosis and/or lead to resolution of the inflammatory response.