Lennard Ostendorf

Immunological Changes:
* Mature plasma cell depleted from peripheral blood
* CD38+ T cells vanish from the blood, but their clonal frequencies are unchanged > lose CD38, show reduced dysfunction-associated transcriptional profile
* NK cells are depleted, otherwise stable cell counts
5/

Results Efficacy
* median SLEDAI dropped from 12 to 4 at week 12
* SRI-4 of 100% at week 12 (not other timepoints)
* at week 36 (last visit) SRI-4 still 70%, median SLEDAI still 4, 3 flares

Safety:
* 5/10 patients had IgG < 5g/l triggering IVIG repletion
* no severe AEs/infections occured
4/

Results – Primary Endpoint:
The primary endpoint (dsDNA antibody reduction at week 12) was met with a median dsDNA of 166.3 IU/ml at baseline to 61.1 IU/ml at week 12.
Vaccine-induced tetanus toxoid antibodies and total IgG were similarly reduced.
3/

10 patients with refractory SLE (cSLEDAI > 3, failure of 2+ immunosuppressants) treated with 1800mg daratumumab (+dexamethasone for injection reaction prevention) 1/week for 8 weeks.
Primary EP: reduction in dsDNA antibodies at week 12
Secondary EP: clinical effect, safety, immunology
2/

Daratumumab in lupus 🦋 – results of our single-arm trial:
10 patients 8x daratumumab (1/week) at week 12:
☑️ reduced dsDNA antibodies
☑️ Median SLEDAI 12 > 4
☑️ SRI-4 at 12 weeks 100%
☑️ immunology improved*

out now at @nature.com Communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#medsky #nephsky 🧪 1/

Great episode! One question I had listening – how much are we contributing to the EPA/DHA deficiency in dialysis patients with our nutritional recommendations?
(My impression is that the evidence for these is not great and that we might do some harm here, but I don't know the literature too well)

YouTube video by BBC Radio 1 Radio 1’s Essential Mix with Barry Can't Swim at The Warehouse Project

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2Pw...

I love the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mixes.

Our case report of a patient developing drug-induced systemic sclerosis after bleomycin exposure – still showing antibodies after 5 years. Nicely done Philipp 🎉 #rheumsky

authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Join us at Charité University and the IMPRS-IDI Graduate Program in Berlin to unravel NK cell clonality and memory! We are looking for motivated PhD candidates who are passionate about immunology. @romagnanilab.bsky.social
@timorckert.bsky.social
Apply now 👉 www.imprs-idi.org/home/

The specialty that brought you the 6 pills of bicarb a day 🙈😄

Our paper on the second Berlin patient came out in Nature today and I’m really happy we can share this story on World AIDS Day. I want to thank everyone on the team and all co-authors for their work over the years.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are live

The @theisn.org launches a new journal

www.sciencedirect.com/journal/kidn...

YouTube video by Erased Tapes Rival Consoles - Untravel (Official Music Video)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxxI...

So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵

INCREDIBLE CURVES

A fluorescent embryo on black text, with the words Halfway to I2K: Virtual Tutorials on Image Analysis November 17-19, 2025 Virtual Conference for beginners to developers i2kconference.org Image Credit - "Sweet Embryo",Travis D. Carney, BINA Image Contest 2024

Just 4 days until the start of I2K and its 33 totally free image analysis tutorials and events! Please share with your "home networks", especially early career researchers - the videos will be amazing and high-impact no matter how many people attend live, BUT (1/x)

Workflow of EBV-seq

Adapting the 10x workflow to detect EBV reads, Younis et al show that EBV-transcribing B cells are increased in SLE patients, especially among CD27+CD21low B cells. They have autoreactive BCRs and are more poised for antigen-presentation.

2025 Sci Transl Med 🧪 ⑂
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

YouTube video by Fred again . . Fred again.., Ezra Collective, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso - Beto’s Horns, Ezra Remix (London, 25th June)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOtC...
🔥

induction of a proinflammatory myeloid cell state. These produce tissue-damaging proteases like MMP9 and CXCR3 ligands thereby recruiting even more inflammatory cells.

First manuscript of my postdoc at @mgbresearch.bsky.social and a great teamwork with Alvin, Sophia, Kevin, Shruti and all others

The strongest transcriptional signal in ICI-AIN is a IFNg response signature. Interestingly, the IFNg is mostly produced by CD8 T cells that have a more exhausted/tissue-resident phenotype.
Likely consequences of IFNg include reduced OxPhos in tubules and ... 4/n

We identify different types of immune infiltrates that are structured by different chemokine/receptor axes: Infiltrates with proinflammatory myeloid cells show strong CXCR3/CXCL9+10+11 signalling, while tertiary lymphoid structures show stronger CXCR5/CXCL13 signaling. 3/n

A niche based approach identifies parts of the nephron and immune infiltration

Using the Xenium 5K panel, we used the tessera package to define cellular neighbourhoods. These nicely correspond to the different parts of the nephron, but also show (unsurprisingly) immune cell infiltration. 2/n

CD8 T cells produce IFNg and CXCL13 in TLS

What mechanisms drive checkpoint inhibitor-associated interstitial nephritis (ICI-AIN)?
In our preprint, we identify CD8 T cells as a central player, inducing a proinflammatory myeloid cell state by IFNg and structuring lymphoid aggregates by CXCL13.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/n
#Nephsky 🧪

science is a TEAM SPORT

there is no ISOLEUCINE in THREONINE GLUTAMATE ALANINE METHIONINE

YouTube video by Thylacine THYLACINE - Live session 2024 @ Intuitive Studio

Thylacine – very cool multi-instrumental electronic session #musicsky
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM51...

🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!

We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵

Ubiquitinylation is more complex than just a signal for proteasomal degradation: Linear ubiquitinylation of Methionine-1 is important for NFkB signalling.
LOF of the Deubiquitinylase OTULIN leads to an autoinflammatory disease with a TNF positive feedback loop.
🧪 ⑂
1/2

Tregs in the skin reduce the activation of sensory neurons by producing encephalins. This inhibits secondary proinflammatory effects by neurons.

Tregs in the skin reduce the activation of sensory neurons by producing enkephalin. This inhibits secondary inflammatory changes mediated by the neurons. (in 🐭)
🧪 ⑂

Mendoza et al 2025 in Science Immunology
www.science.org/doi/full/10....

HLA matching or CRISPR editing HLA-I/II enables engraftment & function of allo human Treg therapy in a humanized mouse transplantation model @natcomms.nature.com @dlwagner.bsky.social @bcmhouston.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Figure 3 from the paper showing the experimental setup and top hits of Th1 regulators

CRISPR screening factors influencing Th1 vs Th2 differentiation, RAMP3 which forms part of a CGRP receptor is a positive regulator of Th1 differention. CGRP acts by increasing intracellular cAMP and ultimately ATF3 activity it induces STAT1 and thereby Th1 differentiation. in 🐭
🧪 ⑂ 1/2