SFB 571:  Autoimmune Reactions: From Manifestations and Mechanisms to Therapy

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: from 2001 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5484447

Although much progress has been made in our understanding of autoimmunity, many fundamental questions remain unanswered. Likewise, the therapeutic options for the treatment of autoimmune diseases unfortunately remain limited. The collaborative research centre 571 aims at a better understanding of pathogenic autoimmune reactions and - based on such progress - the development of better therapies. The cooperating research groups (which together constitute the centre) contribute many state-of-the-art techniques that complement each other and are helping to achieve the overall research goals. The techniques include the functional expression of human ab und gd T-cell receptors in a mouse hybridoma cell line, micromanipulation and single-cell PCR analysis of inflammatory cells infiltrating human tissue, CDR3 spectratyping analysis of human T-cell repertoires, transgenic rats with primary instability of myelin of the central nervous system which help to imitate essentially all variant forms of human multiple sclerosis, knock-in mice with transgenic immunoglobulin heavy chain specific for the myelin autoantigen MOG, plus methods for protein design and rapid testing of biotechnological agents. The collaborative research centre is subdivided into four thematic sections: (A) Manifestations of autoimmune diseases and identification of autoantigens; (B) Induction and effector mechanisms in animal models; C) Activation and regulation of autoreactive immune cells; and D) Therapeutic strategies.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres

Completed projects

• A01 - Antigen recognition and presentation in target organs of neuroimmunological diseases (Project Heads Dornmair, Klaus ;  Hohlfeld, Reinhard )
• A02 - Characterization of the psoriatic autoantigens using recombinant T-cell receptor transfectants (Project Head Prinz, Jörg Christoph )
• A3 - Molekulare und funktionelle Charakterisierung klonal expandierter Plasmazellen im Liquor und im Hirngewebe von MS-Patienten (Project Head Goebels, Norbert )
• A04 - Pathogenic relevance of native and posttranslationally altered epitopes of PR3 in Wegener's granulomatosis (Project Head Jenne, Dieter E. )
• A05 - Characterisation of immune responses in horses with spontaneous recurrent uveitis (ERU) (Project Head Deeg, Cornelia )
• B1 - Myelindegeneration und deren Auswirkungen auf die Immunantwort im Zentralnervensystem (Project Head Bradl, Monika )
• B3 - Etablierung einer humanisierten, doppelt-transgenen Mauslinie als Krankheitsmodell für den Typ-I-Diabetes mellitus (Project Heads Endl, Josef ;  Kummer, Udo ;  Schendel, Ph.D., Dolores J. )
• B4 - Modulation of the autoimmune repertoire by dietary antigens (Project Head Linington, Christopher )
• B05 - On the role of cross-presenting Dendritic Cells in T cell tolerance induction (Project Head Brocker, Thomas )
• B06 - MOG specific T and B cell-autoimmunity (Project Heads Holz, Andreas ;  Kurschus, Ph.D., Florian ;  Wekerle, Hartmut )
• B07 - Molekulare und funktionelle Analysae der Expression aktivierender und inhibitiorscher NK-Rezeptoren auf peripheren und infiltrierenden T-Lymphozyten am Beispiel der Psoriasis vulgaris (Project Head Falk, Christine )
• B08 - Regulation of T cell responsesby autoantigen (Project Head Obst, Reinhard )
• B09 - A Phenotypic and molecular roadmap of regulatory T cell development (Project Head Klein, Ludger )
• B10 - Control of T cell tolerance and regulation through NFAT complex formation (Project Head Heissmeyer, Vigo )
• C01 - Regulation der Effektorfunktionen von Lymphozytenpopulationen durch Lektinty-NK-Rezeptoren und ihre pathogenetische Bedeutung für Autoimmunerkrankungen (Project Heads Ulbrecht, Matthias ;  Weiß, Elisabeth Helene )
• C02 - Analysis of regulatory pathways and target genes linked to progressive renal autoimmunopathies (Project Heads Cohen, Clemens David ;  Nelson, Peter Jon )
• C03 - Interactions between the immune system and the nervous system, the target tissue of multiple sclerosis (Project Head Meinl, Edgar )
• C4 - Function of the endothelial cell adhesion melecule MCAM CD146 in the development and manifestation of tissue specific autoimmune disease (Project Head Johnson, Judith P. )
• C05 - Antigen-unabhängige Regulation der Effektorfunktion von NKT-Zellen und CD8 T-Zellen durch die plasmazytoide dendritische Zelle (Project Head Hartmann, Gunther )
• C06 - Live analysis of encephalitogenic T cells within autoimmune central nervous system lesions (Project Heads Flügel, Alexander ;  Kawakami, Naoto ;  Wekerle, Hartmut )
• C07 - Regulation of mononuclear phagocyte migration, differentiation and effector function in autoimmune CNS disease (Project Head Kerschensteiner, Martin )
• D1 - Konstruktion von "Anticalinen" auf der Grundlage des Apolipoprotein D als neuartige therapeutische Agenzien zum selektiven Eingriff in immunologische "Anti-Selbst"-Reaktionen (Project Head Skerra, Ph.D., Arne )
• D03 - Antigen-specific Pathomechanisms and Regulation of Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis (EAU) in Lewis Rats (Project Head Wildner, Gerhild )
• D4 - Die B-Zell-vermittelte Induktion von protektiver Immuntoleranz in der Experimentellen Autoimmunen Enzephalitis (Project Head Iglesias, Ph.D., Antonio )
• D05 - Mechanisms of integrin activation - a process fundamental for the priming and transmigration of autoreactive T-cells in MS (Project Heads Brakebusch, Cord ;  Fässler, Reinhard ;  Moser, Markus )
• D07 - Pathogenese und Therapieansätze paraneoplastischer neurologischer Autoimmunerkrankungen (Project Head Voltz, Raymond )
• D08 - Autoimmune and environmental connections: Plasticity of helper T cell differentiation and immune modulation by helminth parasites (Project Head Vöhringer, David )
• D09 - Interleukin-4-mediated immunedysregulation in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (Project Head Schulze-Koops, Hendrik )
• D10 - Modulation of regulatory T cells by endogenous TLR ligands and DC (Project Head Krug, Anne )
• V - Central tasks of the Collaborative Research Centre: Administration of the SFB and Coordination of Activities (Project Head Hohlfeld, Reinhard )
• Z1 - Zentralsekretariat und zentrale Dienste (Project Head Hohlfeld, Reinhard )

• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Participating Institution: Helmholtz Zentrum München; Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt; Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie (MPIB); Max-Planck-Institut für Neurobiologie (MPIN) (aufgelöst)
• Participating University: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Reinhard Hohlfeld