Research Topics and Financial Support

T Cell Function and Disease

We study post-transcriptional gene regulation during development, homeostasis and in adaptive immune responses. Specifically, we address how these molecular programs impact on T cell activation, metabolic programs, differentiation, apoptosis, survival and effector functions. Projects of our lab ask how T cells with dysregulation or loss-of-function of specific RBPs drive autoimmunity, induce tissue inflammation or neoplasia. Conversely, we investigate how the system can be used to harness T cells in anti-tumor responses.
Our mission is to connect the molecular mechanisms with T cell phenotypes and pathologies to enable future therapeutic intervention.

These aspects of our work receive funding from the DFG (Project 210592381) and Deutsche Krebshilfe (70113538).

Selected publications:

Tavernier, S. J. et al. Author Correction: A human immune dysregulation syndrome characterized by severe hyperinflammation with a homozygous nonsense Roquin-1 mutation. Nat Commun 10, 5337, doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13379-9 (2019).

Essig, K. et al. Roquin targets mRNAs in a 3'-UTR-specific manner by different modes of regulation. Nat Commun 9, 3810, doi:10.1038/s41467-018-06184-3 (2018).

Jeltsch, K. M. et al. Cleavage of roquin and regnase-1 by the paracaspase MALT1 releases their cooperatively repressed targets to promote T(H)17 differentiation. Nat Immunol 15, 1079-1089, doi:10.1038/ni.3008 (2014).

Vogel, K. U. et al. Roquin paralogs 1 and 2 redundantly repress the Icos and Ox40 costimulator mRNAs and control follicular helper T cell differentiation. Immunity 38, 655-668, doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2012.12.004 (2013).