ZMB Research Program Immunology, Infectious Diseases and Transplantation

ZMB Research Program
Immunology, Infectious Diseases and Transplantation

Immunology, Infectious Diseases and Transplantation

The immune system responds to various pathogens including viruses and bacteria in different ways to prevent severe disease and persistence in the host. Many pathogens, however, have developed mechanisms to evade immune defence.

The molecular and cellular interactions of pathogens with the immune system are studied within this program. The objective is to gain a fundamental understanding of the mutual interaction of pathogens and the immune system, which can be used for developing strategies for immunotherapy and vaccination.

In the field of transplantation immunogenetic research and diagnostic is performed in order to avoid rejection and to optimize donor and recipient finding.

Moreover, differentiation of lymphocytes is studied in several groups. Thus, the participating research groups carry out basic scientific and clinical approaches.

Current Selected Publications since 2025

    Journal articles

  • Christ, Theresa Charlotte; Friebus-Kardash, Justa; Bergerhausen, Michael; Elwy, Abdelrahman; Abdelrahman, Hossam; Holnsteiner, Lisa; Tertel, Tobias; Wiebeck, Elisa; Geuer, Ilka; Gerbaulet, Alexander; Lang, Philipp Alexander; Lang, Karl S.
    Accumulation of free nuclei denotes defective phagocytic capacity of macrophages and occurs after infection with Listeria monocytogenes and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
    In: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 16, 2026, 1621608
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Peng, JuanFei; Yang, JiaJin; Antonopoulou, Georgia; Fang, Rui; Adhikari, Bikash; Vogt, Markus; Wolf, Elmar; Sun, Chong; Du, Shangce; Godfrey, Laura; Gupta, Aayush; Trajkovic-Arsic, Marija; Teichmann, Nicole; Grünwald, Barbara T.; Krebs, Niklas; Steiger, Katja; Mogler, Carolin; Althoff, Kristina; Wang, Xin; Giglio, Giovanni; Liffers, Sven-Thorsten; Savvatakis, Konstantinos; Braren, Rickmer; Lawlor, Rita T.; Scarpa, Aldo; Behrens, Diana; Lang, Karl S.; Cheung, Phyllis F.; Siveke, Jens T.
    Combined targeted and epigenetic-based therapy enhances antitumor immunity by stabilizing GATA6-dependent MHCI expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 17, 2026, Nr. 1, 1476
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Hölzenbein, Julian; Schramm, Sabine; Heinemann, Falko M.; Heinold, Andreas; Gäckler, Anja; Reinold, Johanna; Wilde, Benjamin; Busch, Yannik; Gruenen, Nina; Peter, Wolfgang; Horn, Peter Alexander; Witzke, Oliver; Rohn, Hana; Rebmann, Vera
    Genetic variants of the HLA-G/LILRB1 ligand-receptor axis in donors or recipients are prognostic covariates for rejection after living kidney transplantation
    In: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 16, 2026, 1697839
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Hu, Zhongwen; Abdelrahman, Hossam; Elwy, Abdelrahman; Kuang, Fei; Dhiman, Swati; Ali, Shafaqat; Marson, Marcel; Holnsteiner, Lisa; Hamdan, Thamer A.; Friebus-Kardash, Justa; Wiebeck, Elisa; Hansen, Wiebke; Scheu, Stefanie; Gulbins, Erich; Lang, Philipp Alexander; Lang, Karl S.; Lang, Judith
    Acid ceramidase regulates CD8+ T-cell exhaustion via type I interferon-mediated upregulation of PD-L1
    In: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 16, 2025, 1638403
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Xavier, Serene; Nguyen, Vivian; Khairnar, Vishal; Phan, An; Yang, Lu; Nelson, Michael S.; Shukla, Ravi P.; Wang, Jinhui; Li, Aimin; Geng, Huimin; Lee, Jaewoong; Sadras, Teresa; Pham, Lan V.; Weisenburger, Dennis D.; Chan, Wing C.; Lang, Karl S.; Shouse, Geoffrey P.; Danilov, Alexey V.; Song, Joo Y.; Parekh, Samir; Müschen, Markus; Ngo, Vu N.
    CEACAM1 as a mediator of B-cell receptor signaling in mantle cell lymphoma
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 4967
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Ronnacker, Julian; Grau, Michael; Klasmeier, Maximilian; Klesse, Christian; Baldauf, Henning; Abert, Stefan; Berdel, Andrew F.; Füsser, Friederike T.; Sandmann, Sarah; Albring, Jörn; Reicherts, Christian; Call, Simon; Marx, Julia; Floeth, Matthias; Eßeling, Eva; Kolloch, Lina; Berning, Philipp; Scheller, Annika; Wethmar, Klaus; Schmidt, Hartmut; Schlüter, Bernhard; Berdel, Wolfgang E.; Ostendorf, Benjamin N.; Tavazoie, Sohail F.; Mikesch, Jan-Henrik; Lenz, Georg; Fleischhauer, Katharina; Schetelig, Johannes; Stelljes, Matthias; Schliemann, Christoph
    Common hereditary variants of the APOE gene and posttransplant outcome in acute myeloid leukemia
    In: Blood, Vol. 145, 2025, Nr. 17, pp. 1943 – 1956
    DOI
  • Wojtakowski, Thea; van de Sand, Lukas; Helmer, Lorena; Mokanis, Mona; Witzke, Oliver; Horn, Peter; Krawczyk, Adalbert; Sondermann, Wiebke; Lindemann, Monika
    Evaluation of T-Cell Responses Following Sequential Vaccination with PCV13 and PPSV23 Against Streptococcus pneumoniae in Patients with Psoriasis
    In: Vaccines, Vol. 13, 2025, Nr. 9, 920
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Schmidt-Pogoda, A.; Ruck, T.; Strecker, J.K.; Hoppen, M.; Fazio, L.; Vinnenberg, L.; Maus, B.; Wachsmuth, L.; Cerina, M.; Diederich, K.; Lichtenberg, S.; Abberger, H.; Haertel, Lal; Schafflick, D.; Meyer Zu Hörste, G.; Herrmann, A.M.; Hundehege, P.; Narayanan, V.; Nelke, C.; Kruithoff, K.; Bosbach, J.; Vicari, E.; Ramcke, T.; Beuker, C.; Hadaschik, Eva; Budde, T.; Faber, C.; Wiendl, H.; Hansen, Wiebke; Meuth, S.G.; Minnerup, J.
    Exercise facilitates post-stroke recovery through mitigation of neuronal hyperexcitability via interleukin-10 signaling
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 8928
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Richter, Mathis; Diesterbeck, Eva; Pylaeva, Ekaterina; Labusek, Nicole; Köster, Christian; Nagel, Dennis; Karsch, Laura; Fischer, Alexa Josephine; Sous, Marah; Jung, Marcel; Chevre, Raphael; Hagemann, Nina; Andersson, Erik Axel; Ek, C. Joakim; Singh, Vikramjeet; Hermann, Dirk M.; Gunzer, Matthias; Jablonska, Jadwiga; Felderhoff-Müser, Ursula; Bendix, Ivo; Soehnlein, Oliver; Herz, Josephine
    Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal mice sequentially recruits neutrophils with dichotomous phenotype and function
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 9696
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Kim, Seung Hyeon; White, Zachary; Gainullina, Anastasiia; Kang, Soeun; Kim, Jiseon; Dominguez, Joseph R.; Choi, Yeonwoo; Cabrera, Ivan; Plaster, Madison; Takahama, Michihiro; Czepielewski, Rafael S.; Yeom, Jinki; Gunzer, Matthias; Hay, Nissim; David, Odile; Chevrier, Nicolas; Sano, Teruyuki; Kim, Ki-Wook
    IL-10 sensing by lung interstitial macrophages prevents bacterial dysbiosis-driven pulmonary inflammation and maintains immune homeostasis
    In: Immunity, Vol. 58, 2025, Nr. 5, pp. 1306 – 1326.e7
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Schimmer, Simone; Sridhar, Vaasudevan; Satan, Zelal; Grebe, Anton; Saad, Mohamed; Wagner, Bernd; Kahlert, Nele; Werner, Tanja; Richter, Dana; Dittmer, Ulf; Sutter, Kathrin; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth
    Iron improves the antiviral activity of NK cells
    In: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 15, 2025, 1526197
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Lindemann, Monika; Sammet, Stefanie; Maischack, Felix; Graf, Gabriela; Horn, Peter; Wiehler, Heidi; Wunderling, Jessica; Esser, Stefan
    Long-Term Follow-Up of T Cell Immunity Against Orthopoxviruses in People Living with HIV After Vaccination and Natural Monkeypox Virus Infection
    In: Vaccines, Vol. 13, 2025, Nr. 9, 975
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Müller, Marion; Schubert, Torben; Welke, Cornelius; Maske, Tibor; Patschkowski, Thomas; Donhauser, Elfi; Heinen-Weiler, Jacqueline; Hormann, Felix-Levin; Heiles, Sven; Schulz, Tina Johanna; Lengenfelder, Luisa Andrea; Landwehrjohann, Lucia; Vogt, Elisa Theres; Stratmann, Bernd; Hense, Jurek; Lüdtke, Simon; Düfer, Martina; Tolstik, Elena; Dierks, Johann; Lorenz, Kristina; Huxohl, Tamino; Reil, Jan-Christian; Sequeira, Vasco; Schopfer, Francisco Jose; Freeman, Bruce A.; Rudolph, Volker; Schlomann, Uwe; Klinke, Anna
    Nitro-oleic acid enhances mitochondrial metabolism and ameliorates heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in mice
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 3933
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Elwy, Abdelrahman; Dhiman, Swati; Abdelrahman, Hossam; Specht, Julia; Christ, Theresa Charlotte; Falkenstein, Julia; Kaur, Harpreet; Holnsteiner, Lisa; Lang, Judith; Mack, Matthias; Nimmerjahn, Falk; Hansen, Wiebke; Lang, Karl Sebastian
    Patrolling monocytes mediate virus neutralizing IgG effector functions : beyond neutralization capacity
    In: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 16, 2025, 1600056
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Falkenstein, Julia; Ninnemann, Anne; Hose, Matthias; Elwy, Abdelrahman; Lang, Karl S.; Matuschewski, Kai; Buer, Jan; Westendorf, Astrid M.; Hansen, Wiebke
    Red pulp macrophages clear parasites, while marginal metallophilic and marginal zone macrophages support CD4+ T cell activation during Plasmodium yoelii infection
    In: Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 16, 2025, 1607201
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Spangenberg, Philippa; Bessler, Sebastian; Widera, Lars; Bottek, Jenny; Richter, Mathis; Thiebes, Stephanie; Siemes, Devon; Krauß, Sascha D.; Migas, Lukasz G.; Kasarla, Siva Swapna; Phapale, Prasad; Kleesiek, Jens; Führer, Dagmar; Möller, Lars; Heuer, Heike; Van de Plas, Raf; Gunzer, Matthias; Soehnlein, Oliver; Soltwisch, Jens; Shevchuk, Olga; Dreisewerd, Klaus; Engel, Daniel R.
    msiFlow : automated workflows for reproducible and scalable multimodal mass spectrometry imaging and microscopy data analysis
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 1065
    DOI (Open Access)

    • Prefaces/Postfaces

  • Gunzer, Matthias
    Good flatmates : immature neutrophils protect bone integrity
    In: Blood. Washington; New York, NY [u.a.]; Philadelphia, Pa.: American Society of Hematology, Vol. 146, 2025, Nr. 11, pp. 1259 – 1260
    DOI

    • Abstracts

  • Lu, Zhe; Stencel, Olivia; Liu, Wei; Vasileiou, Eleni; Xu, Haifeng Chris; Pandey, Piyush; Stachura, Pawel; Elwy, Abdelrahman; Tsombal, Anastassia; Mai, Ann-Sophie; Franziska, Auer; Morcos, Mina; Seidl, Maximilian; Elitzur, Sarah; Hartmann, Gunther; Lang, Karl Sebastian; Janssen, Stefan; Bhatia, Sanil; Lang, Philipp; Fischer, Ute; Hauer, Julia; Borkhardt, Arndt; Pandyra, Aleksandra A.
    Immune Training Enhances Anti-Viral Responses and Improves Outcomes in Pax5-/+ Mice Susceptible to Chronic Infection
    In: Blood. Washington; New York, NY [u.a.]; Philadelphia, Pa.: American Society of Hematology, Vol. 144, 2025, Nr. Suppl. 1, pp. 1160 – 1161
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Lantz, C.; McMurtrey, C.; Matias, G.; Lockhart, J.; Krawic, J.; Crivello, Pietro; Fleischhauer, Katharina; Tambur, A.
    Unconventional Pairing : Evidence for Functional HLA-DRα:DQβ Cross-Heterodimers in Antigen Presentation
    World Transplant Congress 2025, August 2-6, 2025, San Francisco, CA, USA,
    In: American Journal of Transplantation. Amsterdam: Elsevier, Vol. 25, 2025, Nr. 8, Supplement 1, pp. S310
    DOI
More Publications