Dissecting the role of epithelial inflammasome activation in regulating immune responses in colitis
Project Summary
The microbiota plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this project, we investigate how microbiota-dependent activation of the inflammasome in intestinal epithelial cells contributes to intestinal homeostasis and shapes the differentiation and effector function of mucosal T cells in the context of intestinal inflammation. Using gnotobiotic animal models, we aim to determine how defined bacterial strains and the primary microbiota of IBD patients regulate inflammasome activity and T cell function during the onset and persistence of intestinal inflammation.
Selected project-relevant publications
Cases M, Ritter N, Rincon-Arevalo H, Kroh S, Adam A, Kirchner M, Moradian H, Gossen M, Dzamukova M, Manukyan A, Landthaler M, Kressler C, Hauser AE, Depledge DP, Polansky JK, Chang HD.
Novel non-coding FOXP3 transcript isoform associated to potential transcriptional interference in human regulatory T cells.
RNA Biol. 2025 Dec;22(1):1-20. doi: 10.1080/15476286.2025.2502719. Epub 2025 Jul 2. PMID: 40605177; PMCID: PMC12233831.
Mooser C, Ronchi F, Limenitakis JP, Kalbermatter C, Christensen S, de Agüero MG, Fuhrer T, Sauer U, Macpherson AJ, Ganal-Vonarburg SC.
Diet-derived LPS determines intestinal IgA induction and repertoire characteristics independently of the microbiota.
Immunity. 2025 Jul 8;58(7):1778-1793.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2025.05.024. Epub 2025 Jun 26. PMID: 40578363.
Budzinski L, Kang GU, Riedel R, Sempert T, Lietz L, Maier R, Büttner J, Bochow B, Tordai MT, Shah A, Abbas A, Momtaz T, Krause JL, Kempkens R, Lehman K, Heinz GA, Benken AE, Bartsch S, Necke K, Hoffmann U, Mashreghi MF, Biesen R, Kallinich T, Alexander T, Jessen B, Weidinger C, Siegmund B, Radbruch A, Schirbel A, Moser B, Chang HD.
Single-cell microbiota phenotyping reveals distinct disease and therapy-associated signatures in Crohn’s disease.
Gut Microbes. 2025 Dec;17(1):2452250. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2025.2452250. Epub 2025 Jan 15. PMID: 39815413; PMCID: PMC11740678.
Budzinski L, Sempert T, Lietz L, Maier R, Kang GU, von Stuckrad ASL, Goetzke CC, Roth M, Shah A, Abbas A, Lehman K, Necke K, Bartsch S, Hoffmann U, Mashreghi MF, Biesen R, Kallinich T, Chang HD.
Age-stratification reveals age-specific intestinal microbiota signatures in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Mol Cell Pediatr. 2024 Dec 10;11(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s40348-024-00186-6. PMID: 39653980; PMCID: PMC11628465.
Biniaris-Georgallis SI, Aschman T, Stergioula K, Schreiber F, Jafari V, Taranko A, Karmalkar T, Kasapi A, Lenac Rovis T, Jelencic V, Bejarano DA, Fabry L, Papacharalampous M, Mattiola I, Molgora M, Hou J, Hublitz KW, Heinrich F, Guerra GM, Durek P, Patone G, Lindberg EL, Maatz H, Hölsken O, Krönke G, Mortha A, Voll RE, Clarke AJ, Hauser AE, Colonna M, Thurley K, Schlitzer A, Schneider C, Stamatiades EG, Mashreghi MF, Jonjic S, Hübner N, Diefenbach A, Kanda M, Triantafyllopoulou A.
Amplification of autoimmune organ damage by NKp46-activated ILC1s.
Nature. 2024 Oct;634(8035):952-960. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07907-x. Epub 2024 Aug 13. PMID: 39137897.
Krause JL, Engelmann B, Lallinger DJD, Rolle-Kampczyk U, von Bergen M, Chang HD.
Multi-Omics Analysis Unravels the Impact of Stool Sample Logistics on Metabolites and Microbial Composition.
Microorganisms. 2024 Sep 30;12(10):1998. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12101998. PMID: 39458307; PMCID: PMC11509235.