Immune system in transition: Sex differences in immunological ontogeny

Project summary

The development of the human immune system begins during the intrauterine life and is not completed at birth. Studying sex differences in cord blood and in the following steps of childhood and adolescence leads to a deeper understanding of the immunological development in utero and to differentiate between genetically determined (prepubertal) and hormonally and epigenetically influenced (postpubertal) differences in the immune system of female and male individuals.

In our pediatric department, we take care of a large spectrum of patients - ranging from premature babies to adults. Our aim is to systematically investigate sex differences in the immunological development throughout early life. This question has hardly been investigated so far. Therefore, our project is of great importance and may leas to a gender-sensitive therapy in  everyday clinical practice.

Portraitfoto von Prof. Dr. Michael Zemlin

Project lead

Prof. Dr. Michael Zemlin

Saarland University Medical Center
Department of General Pediatrics and Neonatology

michael.zemlin(at)uks.eu
ORCID: 0000-0001-9528-7419

Curriculum Vitae

 

Team

Important publications

  1. Bous M.*, Schmitt C.*, Hans M., Weber R., Tenbruck S., Haj Hamoud B., Wagenpfeil G., Kaiser E., Solomeyer E.-F., Zemlin M., Goedicke-Fritz S.: Sex differences in B and T cell repertoires of human cord blood, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023.

  2. Fortmann MI*, Dirks J*, Goedicke-Fritz S*, Liese J, Zemlin M, Morbach H, Härtel C. Immunization of preterm infants: current evidence and future strategies to individualized approaches. Semin Immunopathol. 2022 Aug 3:1–18. doi: 10.1007/s00281-022-00957-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35922638; PMCID: PMC9362650.

  3. Bous M, Tutdibi E, Nourkami-Tutdibi N, Kaiser E, Stutz R, Meyer S, Baumbach JI, Zemlin M,Goedicke-Fritz S. Patterns of volatile organic compounds in excrements of preterm neonates. Eur J Clin Invest. 2023 Jan;53(1):e13868. doi: 10.1111/eci.13868. Epub 2022 Sep 15. PMID: 36062918.

  4. Kaiser E., Stutz R., Goedicke-Fritz S., Bous M., Zemlin M., Adams C.: Noise and Critical sound levels during non-invasive ventilation of a preterm infant in the incubator, Klinische Pädiatrie, 2022.

  5. Stutz R, Meyer C, Kaiser E, Goedicke-Fritz S, Schroeder HW Jr, Bals R, Haertel C, Rogosch T, Kerzel S, Zemlin M. Attenuated asthma phenotype in mice with a fetal-like antigen receptor repertoire. Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 9;11(1):14199. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93553-6.

  6. Schindler, T. I., Wagner, J.-J., Goedicke-Fritz, S., Rogosch, T., Coccejus, V., Laudenbach, V., Kerzel, S., Zemlin, M. (2017). Th17 cell frequency in peripheral blood is elevated in overweight children without chronic inflammatory diseases. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 1543.

  7. Goedicke-Fritz, S., Hartel, C., Krasteva-Christ, G., Kopp, M. V., Meyer, S., & Zemlin, M. (2017). Preterm Birth Affects the Risk of Developing Immune-Mediated Diseases. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 1266.