As one of our largest organs, the skin is a vital barrier against environmental pressures and forms, together with the lung and gut, the hosts’ external frontier to the environment. The main challenge in the study of skin immunology is to understand the mechanisms that regulate the cross talk between the various host and microbial cellular components of the skin, and how a perturbation of this communication contributes to altered cutaneous immune responses and to the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases. Also, we are just beginning to understand how skin immune reactions affect – and are affected by - systemic immunity. The goal of this consortium, which is unique in its focus and composition worldwide, is to understand skin immunity in its complexity (as sensor, effector and orchestrator of skin and systemic immune reactions) to generate the basis for future therapies. To achieve this goal, dermatologists, immunologists, microbiologists, pharmacologists and biochemists work together in a unique consortium to gain a better understanding of the complexity of the skin immune system. The second funding period was used to consolidate and concentrate the joint research efforts by especially focussing on the skin microbiome, the interactions between the skin immune system and systemic immunity, as well as by concentrating on inflammatory disease models with a focus on psoriasis. This focus resulted in a considerable number of joint publications that were only made possible by the strong scientific interaction and collaboration within this transregional collaborative research center. It remains the twelve-year-long term vision of TRR156 to study and better understand complex skin immune reactions and to provide translational knowledge for improved therapies for our patients.
DFG Programme
CRC/Transregios
Current projects
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A01 - Microbiome-host interaction in skin homeostasis and inflammation
(Project Heads
Peschel, Andreas
;
Schittek, Birgit
)
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A02 - Microbiota-dependent expression of IL22 by group 3 innate lymphoid cells regulates skin mesenchymal and epithelial cell differentiation
(Project Heads
Diefenbach, Andreas
;
Wolz, Christiane
)
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B02 - Control of cytotoxic T cell responses in the skin by mononuclear phagocytes during primary viral infection and memory recall
(Project Heads
Probst, Hans Christian
;
Schild, Hansjörg
)
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B03 - The role of neutrophils during induction of tolerance in contact hypersensitivity reactions
(Project Head
Mahnke, Karsten
)
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B04 - Influencing skin inflammation by targeting keratinocyte-T cell interactions and costimulatory signals
(Project Head
Samstag, Yvonne
)
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B05 - Microbe and host RNA-mediated immune activation in the skin
(Project Heads
Dalpke, Alexander
;
Eigenbrod, Tatjana
;
Hartl, Dominik
;
Weber, Ph.D., Alexander
)
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B08 - The role of cellular metabolic pathways and the influence of the microbiome in the pathogenesis of psoriasis
(Project Heads
Sparwasser, Tim Dominik
;
Vieira-Silva, Ph.D., Sara
)
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B09 - Targeting CDK4/6 for the treatment of skin diseases
(Project Heads
Gehringer, Matthias
;
Hailfinger, Stephan
;
Kramer, Daniela
)
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B10 - Microenvironmental control of the Innate Lymphoid Cell reactivity in Contact Hypersensitivity
(Project Head
Cerwenka, Adelheid
)
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B11 - The role of CD18 and regulatory T cells in skin inflammation
(Project Heads
Bopp, Tobias
;
Grabbe, Stephan
)
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C04 - Role of T cell subsets in the pathogenesis of autoimmune blistering disease
(Project Heads
Enk, Alexander
;
Hadaschik, Eva
)
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C05 - Iron regulation and oxidative stress in systemic sclerosis
(Project Heads
Raker, Verena
;
Schuppan, Detlef
;
Steinbrink, Kerstin
)
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C07 - Coagulation receptors in models of cutaneous inflammation
(Project Head
Ruf, Wolfram
)
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C08 - Myeloid cell mediated vascular inflammation in psoriasis
(Project Heads
Karbach, Susanne Helena
;
Waisman, Ari
)
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C09 - Investigating the role of platelets in psoriasis in the context of systemic metabolic inflammation
(Project Head
Heikenwälder, Mathias
)
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C10 - Platelets as novel contributors to psoriasis skin autoinflammation
(Project Heads
Weber, Ph.D., Alexander
;
Weigelin, Bettina
)
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C11 - Immune cell crosstalk in barrier-defective skin driving systemic atopic disease
(Project Head
Roers, Axel
)
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INF - Data management and analysis for skin immunity research
(Project Heads
Dugas, Martin
;
Heuveline, Vincent
)
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KS02 - Defining therapeutic responsiveness in patients with bullous pemphigoid by immunophenotyping
(Project Heads
Enk, Alexander
;
Kommoss, Katharina
;
Ramcke, Torben
)
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Z01 - Central tasks
(Project Head
Enk, Alexander
)
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Z02 - 3D human skin models
(Project Head
Schittek, Birgit
)
Completed projects
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A03 - Orchestrating innate immune responses in leishmaniasis - the role of cutaneous DC subtypes
(Project Head
von Stebut-Borschitz, Ruth Esther
)
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A04 - Innate immune signals and their effect on adaptive hapten-specific immune responses
(Project Head
Steinbrink, Kerstin
)
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A05 - Transcutaneous immunization: Mechanisms of intercellular crosstalk in the skin
(Project Heads
Radsak, Markus P.
;
Stassen, Michael
)
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A06 - Regulation of Th17-mediated skin inflammation by heme oxygenase 1 and inflammasome activation
(Project Heads
Ghoreschi, Kamran
;
Yazdi, Amir Sadegh
)
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A07 - Impact of mast cell activation on T-helper polarization and adaptive immune responses in the skin
(Project Heads
Feyerabend, Thorsten
;
Rodewald, Hans-Reimer
)
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A08 - Consequences of formyl-peptide receptor activation to the skin
(Project Head
Kretschmer, Dorothee
)
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B01 - Functional relevance of the Rho signaling inhibitor Myosin 9B and downstream cytoskeletal proteins for cutaneous dendritic cell populations
(Project Heads
Bros, Matthias
;
Grabbe, Stephan
)
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B06 - The role of ATF3 in linking innate interleukin-1 activation and adaptive type I interferon responses
(Project Heads
Röcken, Martin
;
Yazdi, Amir Sadegh
)
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B07 - Effects of antipsoriatic therapies on aberrant IL-6/STAT3 signaling in psoriasis
(Project Heads
Eberle, Franziska
;
Ghoreschi, Kamran
)
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C01 - Targets and mediators of IL-17 in mouse models of psoriasis and skin infection
(Project Heads
Kurschus, Ph.D., Florian
;
Waisman, Ari
)
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C02 - Immune complex mediated and IgG Fc receptor-dependent recruitment of leukocytes into the skin
(Project Heads
Olaru, Florina
;
Schäkel, Knut
)
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C03 - Impact of noncanonical NF-κB signaling during hapten-induced skin inflammation
(Project Heads
Kneilling, Manfred
;
Pichler, Bernd
)
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C06 - Wnt-associated Dkk3 in inflammatory and fibrosing skin disease
(Project Heads
Nelson, Peter Jon
;
Sandhoff, Roger
)
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KS01 - Clinical Development of imiquimod based immunotherapy
(Project Head
Radsak, Markus P.
)
