Junior Research Group Dr. Maria Gabriella Raimondo
Laboratory for Inflammation Dynamics
Unraveling the interactions between tissues and cells in chronic inflammation: From onset to treatment
Immune cells are constantly on the move—and this mobility is crucial. It enables specialized cells to reach sites of tissue damage, where they coordinate with other immune and resident cells to drive inflammation and initiate repair processes. In autoimmune diseases, however, this process becomes dysregulated. Instead of subsiding, inflammation becomes chronic due to disrupted regulatory mechanisms both in target tissues such as the synovium and at the immune tolerance checkpoints in the lymph nodes. The result is persistent inflammation, ongoing tissue damage, and impaired healing.
Our research focuses on cell-cell interactions in target tissues, with a particular emphasis on two aspects. First, we investigate the migration of immune cells at the onset of inflammation—for example, along the skin-joint axis—to understand how communication between these tissues contributes to the progression from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis and promotes chronic joint inflammation. Second, we investigate how immunosuppressive treatments restore balance and evaluate whether they successfully halt chronicity and promote healing by modulating cell-cell interactions.
To achieve both of these goals, Dr. Raimondo has established a specialized clinical biopsy unit that focuses on minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided tissue sampling in patients with various rheumatic diseases. This unit serves both diagnostic and research purposes and enables us to investigate the dynamics of immune cells within the tissue microenvironment and to explore how these interactions influence disease progression and immune escape.
By longitudinally tracking these dynamics, we examine target tissues at different stages of disease progression. Using a multi-omics approach, we analyze the complex interactions—particularly between immune and mesenchymal cells—to gain deeper insights into the pathogenesis of the disease and the response to treatment.
05.2026 - current: Advanced Clinician Scientist Project, funded by BMFTR (Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space), title: “Lymph node stromal dynamics in autoimmune resolution following B-cell targeted therapies"
09.2023 - current: Junior Project (Erstantragstellerprogramm) funded by IZKF (Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Klinische Forschung), title “Tissue imprinting of skin-derived immune cells in psoriatic arthritis”
05.2023 - current: NOTICE Program, clinician scientist program, funded by DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft - German Research Fondation), title “Tissue imprinting of skin-derived immune cells in psoriatic arthritis”
06.2019 - 06.2020: ELAN Grant, funding from IZKF, Psoriatic arthritis, title “How inflammation spreads from the skin to the joint”
Raimondo MG, Mohammadian H, Rauber S, Alivernini S, Fedorchenko V, Rigau AR, Angeli MR, Fagni F, Corte G, Tascilar K, Labinsky H, Ramming AM, Roemer F, Rech J, Braeuer L, D'Agostino MA, Schett G, Pachowsky M, Kleyer A, Ramming A. Entheseal tissue signature in response to IL-17A inhibition in psoriatic arthritis: results from the EBIO entheseal biopsy study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2025 Oct 16:S0003-4967(25)04372-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ard.2025.08.032. Epub ahead of print.
Tur C, Eckstein M, Velden J, Rauber S, Bergmann C, Auth J, Bucci L, Corte G, Hagen M, Wirsching A, Grieshaber-Bouyer R, Reis P, Kittan N, Wacker J, Rius Rigau A, Ramming A, D'Agostino MA, Hartmann A, Müller F, Mackensen A, Bozec A, Schett G, Raimondo MG. (2024) CD19-CAR T-cell therapy induces deep tissue depletion of B cells. Ann Rheum Dis. 2024 Sep 11:ard-2024-226142. doi: 10.1136/ard-2024-226142.
Tur C, Eckstein M, Bucci L, Auth J, Bergmann C, Rauber S, Hagen M, Nöthling DM, Böltz S, Wirsching A, Tascilar K, Fagni F, Corte G, Rius Rigau A, Qin Y, Garantziotis P, Taubmann J, Wacker J, Ramming A, D Agostino MA, Rauch S, Hartmann A, Müller F, Mackensen A, Grieshaber-Bouyer R, Schett G, Bozec A, Raimondo MG. Effects of different B-cell-depleting strategies on the lymphatic tissue. Ann Rheum Dis. 2025 Jul 11:S0003-4967(25)04174-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ard.2025.06.2120. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40651933.
Pachowsky ML*, Raimondo MG*, Xu C*, Rauber S, Tascilar K, Labinsky H, Vogg M, Aziz Saad MS, Simon D, Rech J, Soare A, Braeuer L, Kleyer A, Schett G, Ramming A. (2022) Concise report: a minimal-invasive method to retrieve and identify entheseal tissue from psoriatic arthritis patients. Ann Rheum Dis. 81(8):1131-1135.
Raimondo MG, Pericleous C, Radziszewska A, Borghi MO, Pierangeli SS, Meroni PL, Giles I, Rahman A and Ioannou Y (2017) Oxidation of β2-glycoprotein I associates with IgG antibodies to domain I in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome. PLoS One, 12 (10), e0186513.
Bucci L, Böltz S, Hagen M, Tur C, Nöthling DM, Rothe T, Wirsching A, Auth J, Wacker J, Eckstein M, Alivernini S, Bozec A, Bergmann C, D'Agostino MA, Munoz L, Rech J, Kihm L, Raimondo MG, Schett G, Grieshaber-Bouyer R. BCMA T-Cell Engager Therapy in Patients with Refractory Autoimmune Disease. N Engl J Med. 2025 Oct 16;393(15):1544-1547. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2506740. PMID: 41092336.
Hagen M, Bucci L, Böltz S, Nöthling DM, Rothe T, Anoshkin K, Raimondo MG, Tur C, Wirsching A, Wacker J, Düsing C, Distler JHW, Kuwert T, Bozec A, Ramming A, Schett G, Grieshaber-Bouyer R. (2024) BCMA-Targeted T-Cell-Engager Therapy for Autoimmune Disease. N Engl J Med. 5;391(9):867-869. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2408786.
Rauber S, Mohammadian H, Schmidkonz C, Atzinger A, Soare A, Treutlein C, Kemble S, Mahony CB, Geisthoff M, Angeli MR, Raimondo MG, Xu C, Yang KT, Lu L, Labinsky H, Saad MSA, Gwellem CA, Chang J, Huang K, Kampylafka E, Knitza J, Bilyy R, Distler JHW, Hanlon MM, Fearon U, Veale DJ, Roemer FW, Bäuerle T, Maric HM, Maschauer S, Ekici AB, Buckley CD, Croft AP, Kuwert T, Prante O, Cañete JD, Schett G, Ramming A. (2024) CD200+ fibroblasts form a pro-resolving mesenchymal network in arthritis. Nat Immunol. 25(4):682-692. doi: 10.1038/s41590-024-01774-4.
Bucci L, Hagen M, Rothe T, Raimondo MG, Fagni F, Tur C, Wirsching A, Wacker J, Wilhelm A, Auger JP, Pachowsky M, Eckstein M, Alivernini S, Zoli A, Krönke G, Uderhardt S, Bozec A, D'Agostino MA, Schett G, Grieshaber-Bouyer R. (2024) Bispecific T cell engager therapy for refractory rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Med. 30(6):1593-1601.
Müller F, Wirsching A, Hagen M, Völkl S, Tur C, Raimondo MG, Taubmann J, Bucci L, Zhang L, Kretschmann S, Aigner M, Eckstein M, Spörl S, Kharboutli S, Böltz S, Atzinger A, Munoz L, Schett G, Mackensen A, Grieshaber-Bouyer R. BCMA CAR T cells in a patient with relapsing idiopathic inflammatory myositis after initial and repeat therapy with CD19 CAR T cells. Nat Med. 2025 Jun;31(6):1793-1797. doi: 10.1038/s41591-025-03718-3. Epub 2025 Apr 17. PMID: 40245922; PMCID: PMC12176613.
