Team Innate immune system in infection, inflammation and cancer

Our team studies the innate immune system in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases in children and adults.

The team’s focus

In our team, we integrate various advanced experimental approaches to investigate disease-specific subpopulations of myeloid cells in blood and tissues from patients and healthy individuals. Currently, the team focuses on characterizing the granulocyte subpopulations in psoriasis, Langerhans cell histiocytosis and in viral infections and understand how the granulocytes communicate with other cells contributing to disease pathology. Our goal is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Team leader

Profile image

Magdalini Lourda

Senior Research Specialist

Current projects

  • Granulocyte phenotype and function in guttate and plaque psoriasis, in Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and in COVID-19.
  • In-depth characterization of disease mechanisms in LCH.

Our research in media

News articles

Innate immune response may predict COVID-19 severity

Blodprov kan förutspå hur sjuk du blir i covid-19 (only in Swedish)

Main collaborators

LCH

Jan-Inge Henter, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

Tatiana von Bahr Greenwood, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

Daniel Hagey, PhD. Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Martin Jädersten, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

Psoriasis

Josefin Lysell, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

Avinash Padhi, PhD. Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Liv Eidsmo, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute, Stockholm and LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center, Copenhagen

Peter Bergman, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

COVID-19, inflammatory bowel disease, sepsis, tuberculosis

Petter Höglund, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

Mattias Svensson, PhD. Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Anna Norrby-Teglund, PhD. Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Susanna Brighenti, PhD. Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Henrik Arnell, MD-PhD. Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm

Research funding

  • The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund
  • Dr Åke Olsson foundation for haematological research 
  • Fredrik O Ingrid Thurings foundation
  • Märta and Gunnar V Philipsons foundation
  • Karolinska Institute Foundations & Donations
  • Karolinska Institute Doctoral funding

Open positions

We always want to get in touch with talented potential co-workers. If you are interested in doing research in our team, either as a student or post-doc, please contact the Team leader at: magdalini.lourda@ki.se.

Previous team members

  • David Fusté Vegas, Bachelor student. Erasmus+ traineeship.
  • Lara Antonia Kaland Thielcke, Bachelor student. Research assistant. 
  • Avinash Padhi, PhD. Postdoc. 
  • Mira Akber, MSc. Research trainee/research assistant.

Selected publications

Intestinal stroma guides monocyte differentiation to macrophages through GM-CSF.
Kvedaraite E, Lourda M, Mouratidou N, Düking T, Padhi A, Moll K, Czarnewski P, Sinha I, Xagoraris I, Kokkinou E, Damdimopoulos A, Weigel W, Hartwig O, Santos TE, Soini T, Van Acker A, Rahkonen N, Flodström Tullberg M, Ringqvist E, Buggert M, Jorns C, Lindforss U, Nordenvall C, Stamper CT, Unnersjö-Jess D, Akber M, Nadisauskaite R, Jansson J, Vandamme N, Sorini C, Grundeken ME, Rolandsdotter H, Rassidakis G, Villablanca EJ, Ideström M, Eulitz S, Arnell H, Mjösberg J, Henter JI, Svensson M
Nat Commun 2024 Feb;15(1):1752

Myeloid cells from Langerhans cell histiocytosis patients exhibit increased vesicle trafficking and an altered secretome capable of activating NK cells.
Hagey DW, Kvedaraite E, Akber M, Görgens A, Javadi J, Von Bahr Greenwood T, Björklund C, Åkefeldt SO, Hannegård-Hamrin T, Arnell H, Dobra K, Herold N, Svensson M, El Andaloussi S, Henter JI, Lourda M
Haematologica 2023 Sep;108(9):2422-2434

Multi-omics personalized network analyses highlight progressive disruption of central metabolism associated with COVID-19 severity.
Ambikan AT, Yang H, Krishnan S, Svensson Akusjärvi S, Gupta S, Lourda M, Sperk M, Arif M, Zhang C, Nordqvist H, Ponnan SM, Sönnerborg A, Treutiger CJ, O'Mahony L, Mardinoglu A, Benfeitas R, Neogi U
Cell Syst 2022 Aug;13(8):665-681.e4

Screening for neurodegeneration in Langerhans cell histiocytosis with neurofilament light in plasma.
Sveijer M, von Bahr Greenwood T, Jädersten M, Kvedaraite E, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Lourda M, Gavhed D, Henter JI
Br J Haematol 2022 Aug;198(4):721-728

High-dimensional profiling reveals phenotypic heterogeneity and disease-specific alterations of granulocytes in COVID-19.
Lourda M, Dzidic M, Hertwig L, Bergsten H, Palma Medina LM, Sinha I, Kvedaraite E, Chen P, Muvva JR, Gorin JB, Cornillet M, Emgård J, Moll K, García M, Maleki KT, Klingström J, Michaëlsson J, Flodström-Tullberg M, Brighenti S, Buggert M, Mjösberg J, Malmberg KJ, Sandberg JK, Henter JI, Folkesson E, Gredmark-Russ S, Sönnerborg A, Eriksson LI, Rooyackers O, Aleman S, Strålin K, Ljunggren HG, Björkström NK, Svensson M, Ponzetta A, Norrby-Teglund A, Chambers BJ, 
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Oct;118(40):

High prevalence of peripheral lymphopenia in Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
Lourda M, Widesköld S, Kvedaraite E, Gavhed D, Akber M, von Bahr Greenwood T, Svensson M, Olsson-Åkefeldt S, Henter JI
Br J Haematol 2020 Oct;191(1):115-119

Tissue-infiltrating neutrophils represent the main source of IL-23 in the colon of patients with IBD.
Kvedaraite E, Lourda M, Ideström M, Chen P, Olsson-Åkefeldt S, Forkel M, Gavhed D, Lindforss U, Mjösberg J, Henter JI, Svensson M
Gut 2016 Oct;65(10):1632-41

Adsorptive depletion of blood monocytes reduces the levels of circulating interleukin-17A in Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
Lourda M, Olsson-Åkefeldt S, Gavhed D, Axdorph Nygell U, Berlin G, Laurencikas E, von Bahr Greenwood T, Svensson M, Henter JI
Blood 2016 Sep;128(9):1302-5

Complete publication list