Immunobiology and inflammatory mechanisms
Head: Prof. Dr. med. Gerhard Krönke
Research into the fundamentals of the immune response not only enables a better understanding of autoimmunity and inflammation, but is also the basis for the development of new and targeted therapeutic approaches for autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Therefore, our group investigates basal molecular regulatory and control mechanisms that govern the natural and adaptive immune response. This is done using mouse models as well as by clinical and molecular characterization of patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases or autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this way, we try to reduce the inflammatory
response, but also immune tolerance and autoimmune processes. In turn, insights gained enable the design of new therapeutic approaches for patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases (including the use of combined biologic therapies and CAR T cells), which are used directly at our clinic.
| Gerhard Krönke | Research group leader |
| Jochen Ackermann | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Jean-Philippe Auger | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Christina Böhm | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Maria Faas | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Katrin Palumbo-Zerr | Postdoctoral researcher |
| René Pfeifle | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Tobias Rothe | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Carina Scherbel | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Johan Verhagen | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Sebastian Böltz | Assistant physician |
| Jule Taubmann | Assistant physician |
| Max Zimmermann | Assistant physician |
| David Chambers | Scientific doctoral student |
| Hilal Garibagaoglu | Scientific doctoral student |
| Katharina Knab | Scientific doctoral student |
| Martin Stenzel | Scientific doctoral student |
| Arthur Wilhelm | Scientific doctoral student |
| Alexandra Correa Zamora | Medical technical assistant |
| Monica Pascual Mate | Biological technical assistant |
| Rosella Mancuso | Biological technical assistant |
| Cornelia Stoll | Biological technical assistant |
| Rita Weinkam | Biological technical assistant |
| Charlotte Grund | Medical doctoral student |
| Thea Hofmann | Medical doctoral student |
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
FOR 2886 - "PANDORA - Pathways triggering AutoimmuNity and Defining Onset of early Rheumatoid Arthritis" (Coordination funds) (2022-2025)
FOR 2886 - PANDORA "T cells in the regulation of autoantibody-mediated arthritis." (2019--2025)
FOR 2886 - PANDORA "Combined B-cell/T-cell therapy for re-induction of humoral immune tolerance. (TOLERA)" (2019-2022)
TRR 305 "Organ defense in metastatic colonization by shielding macrophages." (2019-2024)
GRK 2599 "Metabolic reprogramming of dendritic cells during tolerance maintenance." (2021-2023)
CRC 1181 "Alarmin-induced immunometabolic reprogramming during the resolution of inflammation." (2019-2023)
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
Interdisciplinary research networks musculoskeletal diseases
"MASCARA - Molecular Assessment of Signatures ChAracterizing the Remission of Arthritis.”
Subproject: "Immune-metabolic changes" (2020-2022)
Personalized Medicine, Module I: Research Consortia for Systems Medicine
"MelAutim - Systems medicine investigation of melanoma and autoimmunity in the context of immunotherapies." (2019-2022)
European Commission
ERC-Consolidator Grant "INSPIRE - IN-depth SPatiotemporal dissection of autoimmunity-induced Inflammation in RhEumatoid arthritis" (2021-2026)
IZKF, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen
J91 - "Macrophage reprogramming by glucocorticoids."(2022-2024)
A86 - "Characterization of synovial macrophages" (2020-2023)
Emerging Fields Initiative (EFI), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)
"MIRACLE - MR-based Immunometabolic Redefinition of Arthritis and MusCuloskeletaL DisEase" (2019-2022)
- Faas M, Ipseiz N, Ackermann J, Culemann S, Grüneboom A, Schröder F, Rothe T, Scholtysek C, Eberhardt M, Böttcher M, Kirchner P, Stoll C, Ekici A, Fuchs M, Kunz M, Weigmann B, Wirtz S, Lang R, Hofmann J, Vera J, Voehringer D, Michelucci A, Mougiakakos D, Uderhardt S, Schett G, Krönke G. (2021) IL-33-induced metabolic reprogramming controls the differentiation of alternatively activated macrophages and the resolution of inflammation. Immunity. 54(11):2531-2546.e5.
- Mougiakakos D, Krönke G, Völkl S, Kretschmann S, Aigner M, Kharboutli S, Böltz S, Manger B, Mackensen A, Schett G. (2021) CD19-Targeted CAR T Cells in Refractory Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. N Engl J Med. 385(6):567-569.
- Culemann S, Grüneboom A, Nicolás-Ávila JÁ, Weidner D, Lämmle KF, Rothe T, Quintana JA, Kirchner P, Krljanac B, Eberhardt M, Ferrazzi F, Kretzschmar E, Schicht M, Fischer K, Gelse K, Faas M, Pfeifle R, Ackermann JA, Pachowsky M, Renner N, Simon D, Haseloff RF, Ekici AB, Bäuerle T, Blasig IE, Vera J, Voehringer D, Kleyer A, Paulsen F, Schett G, Hidalgo A, Krönke G. (2019) Locally renewing resident synovial macrophages provide a protective barrier for the joint. Nature. 572(7771):670-675.
- Uderhardt S, Ackermann JA, Fillep T, Hammond VJ, Willeit J, Santer P, Mayr M, Biburger M, Miller M, Zellner KR, Stark K, Zarbock A, Rossaint J, Schubert I, Mielenz D, Dietel B, Raaz-Schrauder D, Ay C, Gremmel T, Thaler J, Heim C, Herrmann M, Collins PW, Schabbauer G, Mackman N, Voehringer D, Nadler JL, Lee JJ, Massberg S, Rauh M, Kiechl S, Schett G, O'Donnell VB, Krönke G. (2017) Enzymatic lipid oxidation by eosinophils propagates coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombotic disease. J Exp Med. 214(7):2121-2138.
- Rothe T, Ipseiz N, Faas M, Lang S, Perez-Branguli F, Metzger D, Ichinose H, Winner B, Schett G, Krönke G. (2017) The nuclear receptor Nr4a1 acts as a microglia rheostat and serves as a therapeutic target in autoimmune-driven central nervous system inflammation. J Immunol. 198(10):3878-3885.
- Pfeifle R, Rothe T, Ipseiz N, Scherer HU, Culemann S, Harre U, Ackermann JA, Seefried M, Kleyer A, Uderhardt S, Haugg B, Hueber AJ, Daum P, Heidkamp GF, Ge C, Böhm S, Lux A, Schuh W, Magorivska I, Nandakumar KS, Lönnblom E, Becker C, Dudziak D, Wuhrer M, Rombouts Y, Koeleman CA, Toes R, Winkler TH, Holmdahl R, Herrmann M, Blüml S, Nimmerjahn F, Schett G, Krönke G. (2017) Regulation of autoantibody activity by the IL-23-TH17 axis determines the onset of autoimmune disease. Nat Immunol. 18(1):104-113.
- Rothe T, Gruber F, Uderhardt S, Ipseiz N, Rössner S, Oskolkova O, Blüml S, Leitinger N, Bicker W, Bochkov VN, Yamamoto M, Steinkasserer A, Schett G, Zinser E, Krönke G. (2015) 12/15-Lipoxygenase-mediated enzymatic lipid oxidation regulates DC maturation and function. J Clin Invest. 125(5):1944-54.
- Scholtysek C, Katzenbeisser J, Fu H, Uderhardt S, Ipseiz N, Stoll C, Zaiss MM, Stock M, Donhauser L, Böhm C, Kleyer A, Hess A, Engelke K, David JP, Djouad F, Tuckermann JP, Desvergne B, Schett G, Krönke G. (2013) PPARβ/δ governs Wnt signaling and bone turnover. Nat Med. 19(5):608-13.
- Uderhardt S, Herrmann M, Oskolkova OV, Aschermann S, Bicker W, Ipseiz N, Sarter K, Frey B, Rothe T, Voll R, Nimmerjahn F, Bochkov VN, Schett G, Krönke G. (2012) 12/15-lipoxygenase orchestrates the clearance of apoptotic cells and maintains immunologic tolerance. Immunity. 36(5):834-46.
- Krönke G, Katzenbeisser J, Uderhardt S, Zaiss MM, Scholtysek C, Schabbauer G, Zarbock A, Koenders MI, Axmann R, Zwerina J, Baenckler HW, van den Berg W, Voll RE, Kühn H, Joosten LA, Schett G. (2009) 12/15-lipoxygenase counteracts inflammation and tissue damage in arthritis. J Immunol. 183(5):3383-9.
PubMed publication list of Prof. Dr. Gerhard Krönke