
Department of Environmental Immunology
The incidence of allergies and other chronic inflammatory diseases has increased dramatically over the last years. This is attributed at least in part to environmental factors which contribute to defective regulation of important signal pathways and may thereby contribute to disease. The pre- and perinatal period is extremely sensitive for environmental cues. The identification of potentially dangerous environmental factors, the window of exposure related to disease outcome, the extent of their impact and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In our Department, we seek to find answers to these highly relevant question with special focus in immune cells.
The time in the maternal womb is a critical stage for the development of an individuum and the placenta plays a superordinate role during this period. This unique organ of fetal origin represents the feto-maternal symbiosis. It transports blood and nutrients from the mother to the fetus and secretes hormones that support pregnancy and modulate the maternal immune system to tolerate the semiallogeneic fetus and support fetal well-being. The maternal adaptive immune system is essential for the development of tolerance towards the fetus during pregnancy and for maintaining the immunological balance between mother and child. The maternal innate immune system primarily overtakes tasks in the tissue remodelling and angiogenesis so that the placenta can work at its maximal potential and thus supply the fetus with sufficient nutrients. Not only the placenta is a target for environmental chemicals acting as a depot for substances that can be further passed through the fetus but also both arms of the immune system can be negatively affected by environmental chemicals, further leading to dysregulations and deviations of normal development. The effects of these dysregulations can be seen years later, even in adulthood. We address the impact of environmental stressors including environmental chemicals in sensitive time windows by means of population-based cohort studies, in vitro and in vivo models. Our population-based cohort studies are LISAplus Study, a multicentric German birth cohort, and the LINA Study, our own Mother-Child-cohort. Using samples and information obtained from these cohorts, we establish associations between environmental exposure and disease outcomes. If there are indications from the cohort studies of disease risks caused by certain chemicals or pollutants, cell-based, complex vitro models are further designed and employed to confirm the association, elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms and to identify dysregulated signal pathways. In addition, we use state-of-the-art ´in vivo models to investigate the effects of environmental factors alone and in combination with other stressors and how they contribute to disease pathogenesis.
The identification of unhealthy environmental impacts and the understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that contribute to disease onset or perpetuation build the scientific basis for the development of new, more efficient diagnostic and therapeutic approaches as well as individual based prevention strategies. Our focus on how environmental chemicals affect health, we support the UFZ strategy of an integrated chemical risk assessment regarding risks for humans and the ecosystem.
Latest publications
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2022 (20)You could use our publication index for further requests.
2022 (20)
- Amici, F., Röder, S., Kiess, W., Borte, M., Zenclussen, A.C., Widdig, A., Herberth, G., (2022):
Maternal stress, child behavior and the promotive role of older siblings
BMC Public Health 22 , art. 863
full text (doi) - Busse, M., Langwisch, S., Tedford, K., Fischer, K.-D., Zenclussen, A.C., (2022):
Maternal B cell signaling orchestrates fetal development in mice
Development 149 (8), dev.199783
full text (doi) - Busse, M., Scharm, M., Oettel, A., Redlich, A., Costa, S.-D., Zenclussen, A.C., (2022):
Enhanced S100B expression in T and B lymphocytes in spontaneous preterm birth and preeclampsia
J. Perinat. Med. 50 (2), 157 - 166
full text (doi) - Fraser, R., Zenclussen, A.C., (2022):
Killer timing: The temporal uterine Natural killer cell differentiation pathway and implications for female reproductive healthn
Front. Endocrinol. 13 , art. 904744
full text (doi) - Greimel, E., Adams, L., Zsigo, C., Berdel, D., von Berg, A., Koletzko, S., Bauer, C.-P., Schikowski, T., Herberth, G., Heinrich, J., Schulte-Körne, G., Standl, M., (2022):
Psychopathological symptoms as precursors of depressive symptoms in adolescence: a prospective analysis of the GINIplus and LISA birth cohort studies
Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol.
full text (doi) - Junge, K.M., Buchenauer, L., Strunz, S., Seiwert, B., Thürmann, L., Rolle-Kampczyk, U.E., Röder, S., Borte, M., Kiess, W., von Bergen, M., Simon, J.C., Zenclussen, A.C., Schöneberg, T., Stangl, G.I., Herberth, G., Lehmann, I., Reemtsma, T., Polte, T., (2022):
Effects of exposure to single and multiple parabens on asthma development in an experimental mouse model and a prospective cohort study
Sci. Total Environ. 814 , art. 152676
full text (doi) - Juskiene, I., Prokopciuk, N., Franck, U., Valiulis, A., Valskys, V., Mesceriakova, V., Kvedariene, V., Valiulyte, I., Poluzioroviene, E., Sauliene, I., Valiulis, A., (2022):
Indoor air pollution effects on pediatric asthma are submicron aerosol particle–dependent
Eur. J. Pediatr. 181 (6), 2469 - 2480
full text (doi) - Krause, J.L., Engelmann, B., Nunes da Rocha, U., Pierzchalski, A., Chang, H.D., Zenclussen, A.C., von Bergen, M., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., Herberth, G., (2022):
MAIT cell activation is reduced by direct and microbiota-mediated exposure to bisphenols
Environ. Int. 158 , art. 106985
full text (doi) - Kretschmer, T., Turnwald, E.-M., Janoschek, R., Wohlfarth, M., Handwerk, M., Dötsch, J., Hucklenbruch-Rother, E., Appel, S., (2022):
Treatment of high fat diet‐induced obese pregnant mice with IL‐6 receptor antibody does not ameliorate placental function and fetal growth restriction
Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. , e13564
full text (doi) - Lokossou, G.A.G., Kouakanou, L., Schumacher, A., Zenclussen, A.C., (2022):
Human breast milk: From food to active immune response with disease protection in infants and mothers
Front. Immunol. 13 , art. 849012
full text (doi) - Marb, A., Libuda, L., Standl, M., Koletzko, S., Bauer, C.-P., Schikowski, T., Berdel, D., von Berg, A., Herberth, G., Bühlmeier, J., Harris, C.P., (2022):
Obesogenic eating behaviour and dietary intake in German children and adolescents: results from the GINIplus and LISA birth cohort studies
Eur. J. Clin. Nutr.
full text (doi) - Markevych, I., Astell-Burt, T., Altug, H., Triebner, K., Standl, M., Flexeder, C., Heinrich, J., Schikowski, T., Koletzko, S., Herberth, G., Bauer, C.-P., von Berg, A., Berdel, D., Feng, X., (2022):
Residential green space and age at menarche in German and Australian adolescent girls: A longitudinal study
Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health. 240 , 113917
full text (doi) - Meijer, M., Klein, M., Caramaschi, D., Mulder, R., Cosin, M., Lu, X., Zhang, Y., Röder, S., Zilich, L., Huels, A., Hartman, C., Snieder, H., Bustamante, M., Herberth, G., Franke, B., Copeland, B., Aberg, K., van den Oord, E., (2022):
Meta-analysis of cell type-sSpecific DNA methylation of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms
Biol. Psychiatry 91 (9 (Suppl.)), S111 - S112
full text (doi) - Schicketanz, J., Röder, S., Herberth, G., Kabisch, S., Lakes, T., (2022):
On foot or by car: what determines children’s active school travel?
Child. Geogr. 20 (2), 174 - 188
full text (doi) - Schmitz, K., Turnwald, E.-M., Kretschmer, T., Janoschek, R., Bae-Gartz, I., Voßbrecher, K., Kammerer, M.D., Köninger, A., Gellhaus, A., Handwerk, M., Wohlfarth, M., Gründemann, D., Hucklenbruch-Rother, E., Dötsch, J., Appel, S., (2022):
Metformin prevents key mechanisms of obesity-related complications in visceral white adipose tissue of obese pregnant mice
Nutrients 14 (11), art. 2288
full text (doi) - Scholz, S., Brack, W., Escher, B.I., Hackermüller, J., Liess, M., von Bergen, M., Wick, L.Y., Zenclussen, A.C., Altenburger, R., (2022):
The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability: an opportunity to develop new approaches for hazard and risk assessment
Arch. Toxicol. 96 (8), 2381 - 2386
full text (doi) - Schütte, O., Bachmann, L., Shivappa, N., Hebert, J.R., Felix, J.F., Röder, S.W., Sack, U., Borte, M., Kiess, W., Zenclussen, A.C., Stangl, G.I., Herberth, G., Junge, K.M., (2022):
Pro-inflammatory diet pictured in children with atopic dermatitis or food allergy: nutritional data of the LiNA cohort
Front. Nutr. 9 , art. 868872
full text (doi) - Stojanovska, V., Voss, H., Fest, S., Zenclussen, A.C., (2022):
P45: Characterization of 3D trophoblast spheroids as a model of placenta functionality
Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. 87 (S1), 98 - 99
full text (doi) - Wang, J., Tischer, C., Standl, M., Weidinger, S., von Berg, A., Herberth, G., Yew, Y.W., Heinrich, J., Schmitt, J., Apfelbacher, C., (2022):
Lifetime prevalence and determinants of hand eczema in an adolescent population in Germany: 15-year follow-up of the LISA cohort study
J. Eur. Acad. Dermatol. Venereol. 36 (4), 547 - 556
full text (doi) - Zhang, N., Schumacher, A., Fink, B., Bauer, M., Zenclussen, A.C., Meyer, N., (2022):
Insights into early-pregnancy mechanisms: Mast cells and chymase CMA1 shape the phenotype and modulate the functionality of human trophoblast cells, vascular smooth-muscle cells and endothelial cells
Cells 11 (7), art. 1158
full text (doi)