Mission Statement

“Establishing innate and innate-like lymphocytes as therapeutic targets in immune-mediated kidney diseases”

— Jan-Eric Turner, MD

Team Members

PhD Student

Nikhat Shaikh

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PhD Student

Lena Henneken

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Clinician Scientist

Malte Wunderlich

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Technician

Virginia Adamiak

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MD Student

Nick Rosenkranz

Research

©Jan-Eric Turner

Lymphocytes of the innate and adaptive immune system are central regulators of the immune response in homeostasis and immune-mediated diseases. Recent studies have shown that specialized populations of innate lymphocytes and “innate-like” T cells, that display features of both innate and adaptive immunity, reside in the kidney where they contribute to production of cytokines and regulation of the local immune response. The contribution of these innate and innate-like lymphocyte populations to kidney injury and repair in immune-mediated renal diseases is still incompletely understood.

In the lab we use preclinical models of glomerulonephritis to study the function of kidney-resident innate and innate-like lymphocyte populations in kidney inflammation. These functional studies are complemented by a systems biology approach, in which we perform high dimensional analysis of the molecular interactions of innate and innate-like lymphocytes with renal parenchymal cells in the healthy human kidney and in patients with glomerulonephritis.

Our studies are aimed at elucidating the role of innate and innate-like lymphocyte subsets in the renal immune response with a special focus on how these cells can be employed for targeted treatment approaches in patients with immune-mediated kidney diseases.

Jan-Eric Turner, MD

Managing Consulant, III. Department of Medicine
Principle Investigator

III. Department of Medicine & Hamburg Center for Translational Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
Martinistr. 52
20246 Hamburg, Germany

CV

Current Position
since 2020 - 2020

Managing Consulant, III. Department of Medicine, UKEE

since 2020

Board member, Hamburg Center for Translational Medicine, UKE

since 2016

Consultant (Nephrology), III. Department of Medicine, UKE

since 2015

Principle Investigator “Innate Immune Regulation” Group, III. Department of Medicine, UKE

University Training
1998 - 2005

Study of Medicine, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany

Academic qualifications
2016 - 2020

Habilitation and Venia Legendi for Internal Medicine and Nephrology, University of Hamburg

2015 - 2021

Principle Investigator of the Emmy-Noether-Research Group “Innate Lymphoid Cells in Renal Inflammation”, UKE

2011 - 2013

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK (Head: Dr. Brigitta Stockinger)

2009 - 2012

Co Principle Investigator, Clinical Research Unit 228, UKE

2006 - 2011

Clinician Scientist, III. Department of Medicine, UKE

2001 - 2006

MD Thesis, European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Germany

Previous professional career

Clinical postgraduate education:

2021

Additional Training in Immunology (certified by the Chamber of Physicians Hamburg)

2014

Clinical Specialisation in Internal Medicine and Nephrology (certified by the Chamber of Physicians Hamburg)

Scientific postgraduate education:

2011 - 2013

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK (Head: Dr. Brigitta Stockinger)

2006 - 2011

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, III. Department of Medicine, UKE

Selected awards and honors
2018 - 2020

Hans U. Zollinger Award for Immunologial Research in Nephrology, German Society of Nephrology

2015 - 2021

Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation

2013

Walter Hörl Fellowship of the German Kidney Foundation

2011 - 2013

Research Fellowship of the German Research Foundation

Selected publications

1.

Conventional NK cells and ILC1s do not influence pathogenesis of experimental glomerulonephritis.
Rickassel C, Gnirck AC, Shaikh N, Adamiak V, Waterhölter A, Tanriver Y, Neumann V, Huber TB, Gasteiger G, Panzer U, Turner JE. J Immunol. 2022 Apr 1;208(7):1585-1594. 

2.

Clonal expansion and activation of tissue-resident memory-like Th17 cells expressing GM-CSF in the lungs of severe COVID-19 patients.
Zhao Y*, Kilian C *, Turner JE*, Bosurgi L*, Roedl K*, Bartsch P, Gnirck AC, Cortesi F, Schultheiß C, Hellmig M, Enk LUB, Hausmann F, Borchers A, Wong MN, Paust HJ, Siracusa F, Scheibel N, Herrmann M, Rosati E, Bacher P, Kylies D, Jarczak D, Lütgehetmann D, Pfefferle S, Steurer S, Schulze-zur-Wiesch J, Puelles VG, Sperhake JP, Addo MM, Lohse AW, Binder M, Huber S, Huber TB, Kluge S, Bonn S, Panzer U, Gagliani N, Krebs CF. Sci Immunol. 2021 Feb 23;6(56):eabf6692. *contributed equally.

3.

Interleukin-9 protects from early podocyte injury and progressive glomerulosclerosis in Adriamycin-induced nephropathy.
Xiong T, Attar M, Gnirck AC, Wunderlich M, Becker M, Rickassel C, Puelles VG, Meyer-Schwesinger C, Wiech T, Nies JF, Divivier M, Fuchs T, Schulze Zur Wiesch J, Taipaleenmäki H, Hoxha E, Wirtz S, Huber TB, Panzer U, Turner JE. Kidney Int. 2020 Sep;98(3):615-629. 

4.

Endogenous IL-22 is dispensable for experimental glomerulonephritis.
Gnirck AC, Wunderlich M, Becker M, Xiong T, Weinert E, Meyer-Schwesinger C, Dumoutier L, Renauld JC, Huber S, Panzer U, Turner JE. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2019 Apr 1;316(4):F712-F722. 

5.

T cell-derived IFN-γ downregulates protective group 2 innate lymphoid cells in murine lupus erythematosus
Düster M, Becker M, Gnirck AC, Wunderlich M, Panzer U, Turner JE. Eur J Immunol. 2018 Aug;48(8):1364-1375. 

6.

IL-33-mediated expansion of type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells protects from progressive glomerulosclerosis
Riedel JH, Becker M, Kopp K, Düster M, Brix SR, Meyer-Schwesinger C, Kluth LA, Gnirck AC, Attar M, Krohn S, Fehse B, Stahl RA, Panzer U, Turner JE. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2017 Jul;28(7):2068-2080. 

7.

Autoimmune Renal Disease Is Exacerbated by S1P-Receptor-1-Dependent Intestinal Th17 Cell Migration to the Kidney
Krebs CF, Paust HJ, Krohn S, Koyro T, Brix SR, Riedel JH, Bartsch P, Wiech T, Meyer-Schwesinger C, Huang J, Fischer N, Busch P, Mittrucker HW, Steinhoff U, Stockinger B, Perez LG, Wenzel UO, Janneck M, Steinmetz OM, Gagliani N, Stahl RA, Huber S, Turner JE, Panzer U. Immunity. 2016 Nov 15;45(5):1078-1092. 

8.

IL-9-mediated survival of type 2 innate lymphoid cells promotes damage control in helminth-induced lung inflammation
Turner JE, Morrison PJ, Wilhelm C, Wilson M, Ahlfors H, Renauld JC, Panzer U, Helmby H, Stockinger B. J Exp Med. 2013 Dec 16;210(13):2951-65. 

9.

Plasticity of TH17 cells in Peyer's patches is responsible for the induction of T cell-dependent IgA responses
Hirota K, Turner JE, Villa M, Duarte JH, Demengeot J, Steinmetz OM, Stockinger B. Nat Immunol. 2013 Apr;14(4):372-9. 

10.

IL-17A production by renal gammadelta T cells promotes kidney injury in crescentic GN
Turner JE, Krebs C, Tittel AP, Paust HJ, Meyer-Schwesinger C, Bennstein SB, Steinmetz OM, Prinz I, Magnus T, Korn T, Stahl RA, Kurts C, Panzer U. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2012 Sep;23(9):1486-95.

Funding

News

November 2023 | News

Great success for kidney research at the UKE: Approval of the third funding period of the SFB 1192

The Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1192 "Immune-Mediated Glomerular Diseases" of the ...

November 28, 2023 | Lecture, Prof. Dr. Ulf Panzer

Role of T cells and cytokines in (renal) autoimmunity

August 2023 | New Publication

An integrated organoid omics map extends modeling potential of kidney disease

UKE Paper of the Month (PoM) September 2023 

Martinistraße 52
Campus Research N27
20246 Hamburg Germany
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University Medical Center Hamburg - Eppendorf