News
Leveraging macrophage metabolism for anticancer therapy: opportunities and pitfalls
Piyal comprehensively reviews how to leverage macrophage metabolism for anticancer therapy. What are the opportunities and which pitfalls need to be overcome? Published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences. (03/2024)
Not just sugar: Metabolic control of neutrophil development and effector functions
Paul reviews the role of the cellular metabolism for neutrophil development and function. He also describes several examples of hereditary diseases, where mutations in metabolic enzymes validate their critical role for neutrophil function! Published in Journal of Leukocyte Biology. (03/2024)
Efficacy and safety of mTOR inhibition in cutaneous sarcoidosis: a single-centre trial
New therapeutic approach by targeting mTORC1 for the treatment of sarcoidosis published in Lancet Rheumatology! The lab of Georg Stary successfully evaluated in a clincial trial the mTOR inhibitor sirolimus for treatment of cutaneous sarcoidosis! The trial was based on our previous findings published in 2017 in Nature Immunology, where we found that mTOR is active in chronic granulomatous lesions in sarcoidosis patients. Thanks to Georg and Anna and the whole team for pulling this off! (02/2024)
Metabolic support by macrophages sustains colonic epithelial homeostasis
Stephi from the lab found that macrophages in the colon can act as “metabolic commensals”! They provide the metabolites spermidine and spermine to epithelial cells, which support their proliferation. A great collaborative project of the SFB Immunometabolism. Published in Cell Metabolism with a nice Preview from Jan Van den Bossche. (10/23)
An mTORC1-Dependent Mouse Model for Cardiac Sarcoidosis.
Clarice together with Carlos Bueni-Beti from Angeliki Asimaki's lab at St. George's University of London describe the first in vivo model of cardiac sarcoidosis. Patients with cardiac sarcoidosis have mTOR activation as well! Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. (09/23)
Tissue-resident macrophages — early passengers or drivers in the tumor niche?
Andrea reviews the role of tissue-resident macrophages for tumor development and covers the many open questions that remain to be explored! Published in Current Opinion in Biotechnology. (08/23)
New Sarcoidosis Research Grant awarded
We are gratefule to the Ann Theodore Foundation, who supports research on our sarcoidosis mouse model through their Breakthrough Sarcoidosis Initiative! (07/2023)
Duodenal macrophages control dietary iron absorption via local degradation of transferrin
New Finding from Nima in the lab: She and her colleagues identified a novel pathway regulating iron metabolism, demonstrating that mTORC1 controls macrophages in the lamina propria to induce local degradation of transferrin, thus limiting iron transfer from intestinal epithelial cells to the iron transport molecule transferrin. Published as cover image article in Blood with a nice commentary from Kostas Pantopoulos (06/2023)!
ÖGP Science Promotion Award for Clarice
Clarice Lim won the Science Promotion Award of the Austrian Society of Pneumology (ÖGP). Her project on genetic predisposition in sarcoidosis is funded with an amount of € 15.000. Congratulations! (11/2022)
Oral Presentation awards for Hannah and Nima
Hannah Mayr and Nyamdelger Sukhbaatar both won an Oral Presentation Award at the 17th YSA PhD Symposium of the Medical University of Vienna. Congratulations! (06/2022)
Thomas Weichhart Lab at the Medical University of Vienna, Center for Pathobiochemistry & Genetics, Vienna, Austria