Selected Publications

2023

Maternal antibodies induced by a live attenuated vaccine protect neonatal mice from cytomegalovirus

Le-Trilling VTK, Jagnjić A, Brizić I, Eilbrecht M, Wohlgemuth K, Rožmanić C, Herdman A, Hoffmann K, Westendorf AM, Hengel H, Jonjić S, Trilling M. Maternal antibodies induced by a live attenuated vaccine protect neonatal mice from cytomegalovirus. NPJ Vaccines. 2023 Feb 3;8(1):8. doi: 10.1038/s41541-023-00602-4. PMID: 36737485; PMCID: PMC9898546

2022

Cell-intrinsic ceramides determine T cell function during melanoma progression

Matthias Hose, Anne Günther, Eyad Naser, Fabian Schumacher, Tina Schönberger, Julia Falkenstein, Athanasios Papadamakis, Burkhard Kleuser, Katrin Anne Becker, Erich Gulbins, Adriana Haimovitz-Friedman, Jan Buer, Astrid M Westendorf, Wiebke Hansen (2022) Cell-intrinsic ceramides determine T cell function during melanoma progression eLife 11:e83073 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.83073

 

CD47 restricts antiviral function of alveolar macrophages during influenza virus infection

Christina Wenzek, Philine Steinbach, Florian Wirsdörfer, Kathrin Sutter, Julia D. Boehme, Robert Geffers, Robert Klopfleisch, Dunja Bruder, Verena Jendrossek, Jan Buer, Astrid M. Westendorf, Torben Knuschke, CD47 restricts antiviral function of alveolar macrophages during influenza virus infection, iScience, Volume 25, Issue 12, 2022, 105540, ISSN 2589-0042, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105540.
 

Acute cytomegalovirus infection modulates the intestinal microbiota and targets intestinal epithelial cells

Le-Trilling, V.T.K., Ebel, J.-F., Baier, F., Wohlgemuth, K., Pfeifer, K.R., Mookhoek, A., Krebs, P., Determann, M., Katschinski, B., Adamczyk, A., Lange, E., Klopfleisch, R., Lange, C.M., Sokolova, V., Trilling, M. and Westendorf, A.M. (2023), Acute cytomegalovirus infection modulates the intestinal microbiota and targets intestinal epithelial cells. Eur. J. Immunol., 53: 2249940. https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.202249940

Superior antiviral activity of IFNb in genital HSV-1 infection

Schmitz Y, Schwerdtfeger M, Westmeier J, Littwitz-Salomon E, Alt M, Brochhagen L, Krawczyk A and Sutter K (2022) Superior antiviral activity of IFNb in genital HSV-1 infection. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 12:949036. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.949036

Adjusted COVID-19 booster schedules balance age-dependent differences in antibody titers benefitting risk populations

Müller L, Andrée M, Moskorz W, Drexler I, Hauka S, Ptok J, Walotka L, Grothmann R, Hillebrandt J, Ritchie A, Peter L, Walker A, Timm J, Adams O and Schaal H (2022), Adjusted COVID-19 booster schedules balance age-dependent differences in antibody titers benefitting risk populations. Front. Aging 3:1027885. doi: 10.3389/fragi.2022.1027885

TLR2-induced CD8+ T-cell deactivation shapes dendritic cell differentiation in the bone marrow during sepsis

Antoni A-C, Pylaeva E, Budeus B, Jablonska J, Klein-Hitpaß L, Dudda M and Flohé SB (2022) TLR2-induced CD8+ T-cell deactivation shapes dendritic cell differentiation in the bone marrow during sepsis. Front. Immunol. 13:945409. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.945409

Distinct type I Interferon Subtypes Differentially Stimulate T Cell Responses in HIV-1-Infected Individuals

Karakoese Z, Schwerdtfeger M, Karsten CB, Esser S, Dittmer U and Sutter K (2022) Distinct type I Interferon Subtypes Differentially Stimulate T Cell Responses in HIV-1-Infected Individuals. Front. Immunol. 13:936918. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.936918

The SARS-CoV-2 accessory factor ORF7a downregulates MHC class I surface expression

Shuxuan Zheng, Hendrik de Buhr, Patrique Praest, Anouk Evers, Ingrid Brak-Boer, Mariëlle van Grinsven, Ylenia Longo, Liset de Vries, Wilco Nijenhuis, Lukas C. Kapitein, Jeffrey M. Beekman, Monique Nijhuis, Ingo Drexler, Emmanuel J. H. J. Wiertz, Robert Jan Lebbink, The SARS-CoV-2 accessory factor ORF7a downregulates MHC class I surface expression, bioRxiv 2022.05.29.493850; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.29.493850

The Mycotoxin Beauvericin Exhibits Immunostimulatory Effects on Dendritic Cells via Activating the TLR4 Signaling Pathway

Yang X, Ali S, Zhao M, Richter L, Schäfer V, Schliehe-Diecks J, Frank M, Qi J, Larsen P-K, Skerra J, Islam H, Wachtmeister T, Alter C, Huang A, Bhatia S, Köhrer K, Kirschning C, Weighardt H, Kalinke U, Kalscheuer R, Uhrberg M and Scheu S (2022) The Mycotoxin Beauvericin Exhibits Immunostimulatory Effects on Dendritic Cells via Activating the TLR4 Signaling Pathway. Front. Immunol. 13:856230. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.856230

The interplay of thyroid hormones and the immune system - where we stand and why we need to know about it

Wenzek C, Boelen A, Westendorf AM, Engel DR, Moeller LC, Führer D. The interplay of thyroid hormones and the immune system - where we stand and why we need to know about it. Eur J Endocrinol. 2022 Feb 1:EJE-21-1171. doi: 10.1530/EJE-21-1171. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35175936.

A Hybrid Soluble gp130/Spike-Nanobody Fusion Protein Simultaneously Blocks Interleukin-6 trans-Signaling and Cellular Infection with SARS-CoV-2

Julia Ettich, Julia Werner, Hendrik T. Weitz, Eva Mueller, Roland Schwarzer, Philipp A. Lang, Jürgen Scheller, Jens M. Moll, A Hybrid Soluble gp130/Spike-Nanobody Fusion Protein Simultaneously Blocks Interleukin-6 trans-Signaling and Cellular Infection with SARS-CoV-2, Journal Article, 2022, Journal of Virology, e01622-21, 96, 4, doi:10.1128/jvi.01622-21

Immunotherapy With Interferon α11, But Not Interferon Beta, Controls Persistent Retroviral Infection

Schwerdtfeger M, Dickow J, Schmitz Y, Francois S, Karakoese Z, Malyshkina A, Knuschke T, Dittmer U and Sutter K (2022) Immunotherapy With Interferon a11, But Not Interferon Beta, Controls Persistent Retroviral Infection. Front. Immunol. 12:809774. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.809774

2021

Peripheral blood iNKT cell activation correlates with liver damage during acute hepatitis C

Senff, T., C. Menne, C. Cosmovici, L. L. Lewis-Ximenez, J. Aneja, R. Broering, A. Y. Kim, A. M. Westendorf, U. Dittmer, N. Scherbaum, G. M. Lauer and J. Timm. "Peripheral blood iNKT cell activation correlates with liver damage during acute hepatitis C." JCI Insight (2021) https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.155432

Protein Signatures of NK Cell-Mediated Melanoma Killing Predict Response to Immunotherapies

Cappello S, Sung HM, Ickes C, Gibhardt CS, Vultur A, Bhat H, Hu Z, Brafford P, Denger A, Stejerean-Todoran I, Köhn RM, Lorenz V, Künzel N, Salinas G, Stanisz H, Legler T, Rehling P, Schön MP, Lang KS, Helms V, Herlyn M, Hoth M, Kummerow C, Bogeski I. Protein Signatures of NK Cell-Mediated Melanoma Killing Predict Response to Immunotherapies. Cancer Res. 2021 Nov 1;81(21):5540-5554. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-0164. Epub 2021 Sep 13. PMID: 34518212; PMCID: PMC8727679.

Neuropilin-1 Is Expressed on Highly Activated CD4 + Effector T Cells and Dysfunctional CD4 + Conventional T Cells from Naive Mice

Abberger, H., R. Barthel, J. Bahr, J. Thiel, S. Luppus, J. Buer, A. M. Westendorf and W. Hansen. (2021) "Neuropilin-1 Is Expressed on Highly Activated CD4 + Effector T Cells and Dysfunctional CD4 + Conventional T Cells from Naive Mice." The Journal of Immunology doi:10.4049/jimmunol.2100222

Nedd8-Activating Enzyme Is a Druggable Host Dependency Factor of Human and Mouse Cytomegalovirus

Flores-Martínez YA, Le-Trilling VTK, Trilling M. Nedd8-Activating Enzyme Is a Druggable Host Dependency Factor of Human and Mouse Cytomegalovirus. Viruses. 2021; 13(8):1610. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081610

IL-33 Drives Expansion of Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells and Regulatory T Cells and Protects Mice From Severe, Acute Colitis

Ngo Thi Phuong N, Palmieri V, Adamczyk A, Klopfleisch R, Langhorst J, Hansen W, Westendorf AM and Pastille E (2021) IL-33 Drives Expansion of Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells and Regulatory T Cells and Protects Mice From Severe, Acute Colitis. Front. Immunol. 12:669787. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.669787

Inhibition of TLR4 Signaling Impedes Tumor Growth in Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer

Pastille E, Faßnacht T, Adamczyk A, Ngo Thi Phuong N, Buer J and Westendorf AM (2021) Inhibition of TLR4 Signaling Impedes Tumor Growth in Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer. Front. Immunol. 12:669747. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.669747

Deep Transfer Learning Approach for Automatic Recognition of Drug Toxicity and Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2

Werner, J.; Kronberg, R.M.; Stachura, P.; Ostermann, P.N.; Müller, L.; Schaal, H.; Bhatia, S.; Kather, J.N.; Borkhardt, A.; Pandyra, A.A.; Lang, K.S.; Lang, P.A. Deep Transfer Learning Approach for Automatic Recognition of Drug Toxicity and Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2. Viruses 2021, 13, 610. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13040610

Interleukin-33 signaling exacerbates experimental infectious colitis by enhancing gut permeability and inhibiting protective Th17 immunity

Palmieri, V., Ebel, JF., Ngo Thi Phuong, N. et al. Interleukin-33 signaling exacerbates experimental infectious colitis by enhancing gut permeability and inhibiting protective Th17 immunity. Mucosal Immunol 14, 923–936 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41385-021-00386-7

A Combination of Anti-PD-L1 Treatment and Therapeutic Vaccination Facilitates Improved Retroviral Clearance via Reactivation of Highly Exhausted T Cells

Hepatitis B virus particles activate B cells through the TLR2–MyD88–mTOR axis

Li Q, Wang J, Islam H, Kirschning C, Lu H, Hoffmann D, Dittmer U, Lu M. Hepatitis B virus particles activate B cells through the TLR2-MyD88-mTOR axis. Cell Death Dis. 2021 Jan 4;12(1):34. doi: 10.1038/s41419-020-03284-1. PMID: 33414473; PMCID: PMC7791069.

2020

Efficient Induction of Cytotoxic T Cells by Viral Vector Vaccination Requires STING-Dependent DC Functions

Barnowski C, Ciupka G, Tao R, Jin L, Busch DH, Tao S and Drexler I (2020) Efficient Induction of Cytotoxic T Cells by Viral Vector Vaccination Requires STING-Dependent DC Functions. Front. Immunol. 11:1458. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01458

Interplay between Cellular Autophagy and Hepatitis B Virus Replication: A Systematic Review

Lin Y, Zhao Z, Huang A, Lu M. Interplay between Cellular Autophagy and Hepatitis B Virus Replication: A Systematic Review. Cells. 2020; 9(9):2101. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells9092101

A Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Peptide Blocks Infection of Viruses by Binding to Phosphatidylserine in the Viral Envelope

Luteijn RD, Praest P, Thiele F, Sadasivam SM, Singethan K, Drijfhout JW, Bach C, de Boer SM, Lebbink RJ, Tao S, Helfer M, Bach NC, Protzer U, Costa AI, Killian JA, Drexler I, Wiertz EJHJ. A Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Peptide Blocks Infection of Viruses by Binding to Phosphatidylserine in the Viral Envelope. Cells. 2020; 9(9):1989. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells9091989

Efficient induction of cytotoxic T cells
by viral vector vaccination requires
STING-dependent DC functions

Barnowski C, Ciupka G, Tao R, Jin L, Busch DH, Tao S, and Drexler I. Efficient Induction of Cytotoxic T Cells by Viral Vector Vaccination Requires STING-Dependent DC Functions. Front. Immunol. 16 July 2020. doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01458.

An Inverse Relationship Between c-Kit/CD117 and mTOR Confers NK Cell Dysregulation Late After Severe Injury

Bösken B, Hepner-Schefczyk M, Vonderhagen S, Dudda M and Flohé SB (2020) An Inverse Relationship Between c-Kit/CD117 and mTOR Confers NK Cell Dysregulation Late After Severe Injury. Front. Immunol. 11:1200. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01200

CEACAM1 regulates CD8 + T Cell immunity and protects from severe pathology during Citrobacter rodentium induced colitis

Zöller J, Ebel J-F, Khairnar V, Schmitt V, Klopfleisch R, Meiners J, Seiffart V, Hansen W, Buer J, Singer BB, Lang KS, Westendorf AM. CEACAM1 regulates CD8 + T cell immunity and protects from severe pathology during Citrobacter rodentium induced colitis. Gut Microbes, 2020 Jun 10;1-16. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2020.1775464.

Mouse Cytomegalovirus M34 encodes
a non-essential, nuclear, early-late
expressed protein required for efficient
viral replication

Eilbrecht M, Le-Trilling VTK, Trilling M. Mouse Cytomegalovirus M34 encodes a non-essential, nuclear, early-late expressed protein required for efficient viral replication. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 05 May 2020;10:171. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00171.

O-GlcNAc transferase promotes influenza A virus–induced cytokine storm by targeting interferon regulatory factor–5

Wang Q, Fang P, He R, Li M, Yu H, Zhou L, Yi Y, Wang F, Rong Y, Zhang Y, Chen A, Peng N, Lin Y, Lu M, Zhu Y, Peng G, Rao L, Liu S. O GlcNAc transferase promotes influenza A virus-induced cytokine storm by targeting interferon regulatory factor-5. Sci Adv. 2020 Apr 15;6(16):eaaz708

Immunotherapeutic blockade of CD47
inhibitory signaling enhances innate & adaptive immune responses to viral infection

Cham LB, Torrez Dulgeroff LB, Caspi Tal M, Adomati T, Li F, Bhat H, Huang A, Lang PA, Moreno ME, Rivera JM, Galkina SA, Kosikova G, Stoddart CA, McCune JM, Myers LM, Weissman IL, Lang KS, Hasenkrug KJ. Immunotherapeutic blockade of CD47 inhibitory signaling [...]. Cell Rep. 2020 Apr 14;31(2):107494. doi: 10.1016.

Combination immunotherapy with anti-PD-L1 antibody and depletion of regulatory T cells during acute viral infections results in improved virus control but lethal immunopathology

David P, Drabczyk-Pluta M, Pastille E, Knuschke T, Werner T, [...], Dittmer U, Zelinskyy G. Combination immunotherapy with anti-PD-L1 antibody [...]. PLoS Pathog. 2020 Mar 30;16(3):e1008340. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008340.

Current gaps in sepsis immunology: new opportunities for translational research

Ignacio Rubio, Marcin F Osuchowski, Manu Shankar-Hari, Tomasz Skirecki, Martin Sebastian Winkler, Gunnar Lachmann, Paul La Rosée, Guillaume Monneret, Fabienne Venet, Michael Bauer, Frank M Brunkhorst, Matthijs Kox, Jean-Marc Cavaillon, Florian Uhle, Markus A Weigand, Stefanie B Flohé, W Joost Wiersinga, Marta Martin-Fernandez, Raquel Almansa, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Antoni Torres, Evangelos J Giamarellos-Bourboulis, Massimo Girardis, Andrea Cossarizza, Mihai G Netea, Tom van der Poll, André Scherag, Christian Meisel, Joerg C Schefold, Jesús F Bermejo-Martín, Current gaps in sepsis immunology: new opportunities for translational research, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 19, Issue 12, 2019, Pages e422-e436, ISSN 1473-3099, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30567-5.

Targeting Autophagy in Innate Immune Cells: Angel or Demon During Infection and Vaccination?

Tao S and Drexler I (2020) Targeting Autophagy in Innate Immune Cells: Angel or Demon During Infection and Vaccination? Front. Immunol. 11:460. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00460

Dead cells induce innate anergy via Mertk after acute viral infection

Adomati T, Cham LB, Hamdan TA, Bhat H, Duhan V, Li F, Ali M, Lang E, Huang A, Naser E, Khairnar V, Friedrich SK, Lang J, Friebus-Kardash J, Bergerhausen M, Schiller M, Machlah YM, Lang F, Häussinger D, Ferencik S, Hardt C, Lang PA, Lang KS. Dead cells induce innate anergy via Mertk [...]. Cell Rep. 2020 Mar 17;30(11):3671-3681.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.101.

Effective Activation of Human Antigen-Presenting Cells and Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cells by a Calcium Phosphate-Based Nanoparticle Vaccine Delivery System

Scheffel F, Knuschke T, Otto L, Kollenda S, Sokolova V, Cosmovici C, Buer J, Timm J, Epple M, Westendorf AM. Effective Activation of Human Antigen-Presenting Cells and Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cells by a Calcium Phosphate-Based Nanoparticle Vaccine Delivery System. Vaccines. 2020; 8(1):110. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8010110

The human cytomegalovirus pUL145
isoforms act as viral DDB1-cullin-associated
factors to instruct host protein degradation
to impede innate immunity

Le-Trilling VTK, Becker T, Nachshon A, Stern-Ginossar N, Schöler L, Voigt S, Hengel H, Trilling M. The human CMV pUL145 isoforms act as viral DDB1-cullin-associated factors to instruct host protein degradation to impede innate immunity. Cell Rep. 2020 Feb 18;30(7):2248-2260.e5.

Map3k14 as a regulator of innate and
adaptive immune response during acute
viral infection

Hamdan TA, Bhat H, Cham LB, Adomati T, Lang J, Li F, Murtaza A, Hardt C, Lang PA, Duhan V, Lang KS. Map3k14 as a regulator of innate and adaptive immune response during acute viral infection. Pathogens. 2020 Feb 4;9(2). pii: E96. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9020096.

2019

2018

A mass spectrometry-based profiling of
interactomes of viral DDB1- and cullin
ubiquitin ligase-binding proteins reveals
NF-κB inhibitory activity of the HIV-2-encoded Vpx

Landsberg CD, Megger DA, Hotter D, Rückborn MU, Eilbrecht M, Rashidi-Alavijeh J, Howe S, Heinrichs S, Sauter D, Sitek B, Le-Trilling VTK, Trilling M. A mass spectrometry-based profiling [...] Front Immunol. 2018 Dec 19;9:2978.

CEACAM1 promotes CD8+ T cell
responses and improves control
of a chronic viral infection

Khairnar V, et al. CEACAM1 promotes CD8+ T cell responses [...] Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 2;9(1):2561. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04832-2.

2017

Sphingosine 1-phosphate- and C-C
chemokine receptor 2-dependent activation
of CD4+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells
in the bone marrow contributes to signs
of sepsis-induced immunosuppression

Smirnov A, et al. Sphingosine 1-phosphate- and CCR2-dependent activation [...] Front. Immunol. 2017 Nov 23; doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2017.01622.

Conventional CD11chigh dendritic cells are important for T cell priming during the initial phase of Plasmodium yoelii infection,
but are dispensable at later time points

Ueffing K, Abberger H, Westendorf AM, Matuschewski K, Buer J, Hansen W. Conventional CD11chigh dendritic cells are important for T cell priming [...]. Front Immunol. 2017 Oct 16; 8:1333. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01333. eCollection 2017.

Deciphering of the human interferon-regulated proteome by mass spectrometry-based quantitative analysis reveals extent and dynamics of protein induction
and repression

Megger DA, Philipp J, Khanh Le-Trilling VT, Sitek B, and Trilling M. Deciphering of the human interferon-regulated proteome [...]. Front. Immunol. 2017 Sep 14; 8:1139. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01139.

DC-derived IL-10 modulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production
and promotes induction of CD4+IL-10+
regulatory T cells during Plasmodium yoelii infection

Loevenich K, Ueffing K, Abel S, Hose M, Matuschewski K, Westendorf AM, Buer J, and Hansen W. DC-derived IL-10 modulates pro-inflammatory [...]. Front. Immunol. 2017 Feb 28; 8:152. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00152.

2016

Combination of nanoparticle-based
therapeutic vaccination and transient
ablation of regulatory T cells enhances
anti-viral immunity during chronic
retroviral infection

Knuschke T, et al. Combination of nanoparticle-based therapeutic vaccination [...]. Retrovirology. 2016 Apr 14;13(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s12977-016-0258-9.

2015

Modified vaccinia virus Ankara-infected
dendritic cells present CD4+ T-cell epitopes by endogenous major histocompatibility complex class II presentation pathways

Thiele F, Tao S, Zhang Y, Muschaweckh A, Zollmann T, Protzer U, Abele R, Drexler I. Modified vaccinia virus Ankara-infected dendritic cells [...]. J Virol. 2015 Mar; 89(5):2698-709. doi: 10.1128/JVI.03244-14.

Contact

Research Training Group 1949
Immune Response in
Infectious Diseases -
Regulation between Innate
and Adaptive Immunity

Spokesperson:
Prof. Dr. Astrid Westendorf

Deputy: Prof. Dr. Jörg Timm
Deputy: Prof. Dr. Mirko Trilling

Coordination: Dr. Eva van Well

Phone: +49 201 723 35 88
E-Mail: eva.van-well@uni-due.de