Research group Eduardo Villablanca
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a manifestation of an inappropriate inflammatory response to intestinal microorganisms in genetically susceptible individuals. IBD is a multifactorial complex disease, which is believed to originate from anomalous balance between tolerogenic and inflammatory immune responses against “self” antigens. Although substantial progress has been made over the last decade in defining the genetic architecture
Associate professor, Research group leader
Eduardo Villablanca
Principal researcherResearch interests
Mucosal Immunology, Oral tolerance, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Introduction
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a manifestation of an inappropriate inflammatory response to intestinal microorganisms in genetically susceptible individuals. IBD is a multifactorial complex disease, which is believed to originate from anomalous balance between tolerogenic and inflammatory immune responses against “self” antigens. Although substantial progress has been made over the last decade in defining the genetic architecture of IBD, there is currently no cure likely due to a yet incomplete understanding of the causes leading to IBD.
Research focus
Our lab that lies at the interface of immunology, human health, biological engineering, and systems biology, is seeking to define the complex dynamics of host-environment interactions required to sustain intestinal homeostasis, how breakdown in these interactions may lead to intestinal inflammatory disorders, and how we can promote mucosal healing to reverse the intestinal damage caused by inflammation. The main focus of our lab is to gain insights into the mechanisms that underlie the initiation and resolution of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to eventually develop therapeutics to treat intestinal autoimmune diseases.To accomplish these goals, we have built an interdisciplinary research program that combines the generation of novel experimental models of IBD (zebrafish and mouse), traditional molecular and cellular approaches (e.g. ex vivoimmune cell- intestinal organoid co-culture), cutting-edge technologies (scRNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics), systems biology, and the use of clinical samples. Thus, we are working to provide insights that may lead to novel, rational-based strategies to prevent the initiation of IBD by intervening during its preclinical phase and/or to accelerate and promote tissue regeneration upon damage.
Group members
Srustidhar Das, PhD / Senior researcher (2015- )
Camilla Engblom, Assistant Professor (2023- )
Rodrigo Morales, PhD / Postdoc (2018- )
Xinxin Luo, PhD student (2020- )
Katja Selin, PhD student (2020- )
Gustavo A. Monasterio Ocares, DDS, PhD / Postdoc (2020- )
Jennifer Fransson, Bioinformatician 2020- )
Bianca Kern, PhD student (2022- )
Ning He, PhD student (2022- )
Mohammad Ali Okhovat, PhD student (2022- )
Francisca Castillo, PhD student (2022- )
Past
Sara Fernandez, Research tech (2015)
Paulo Czarnewski, PhD / Postdoc (2015)
Suvi Karvinen, Master student (2017)
Muksheed Shaik, Research tech (2017)
Anders Appelblom, Master student (2017)
Shuangjia Xue, Master student (2017)
Cristian Doñas, PhD / Postdoc (2019)
Martina Parigi, PhD student (2020)
Annika Frede, PhD / Postdoc (2020)
Roham Parsa, PhD / Postdoc (2020)
Santoshnisikranth Inampudi, Research tech (2020)
Oscar Diaz Perez, PhD student (2016- )
Kumar P. Tripathi, PhD / Postdoc (2018- )
Chiara Sorini, PhD / Postdoc (2016- )
Francisca Castillo, Research assistant (2020- )
Chira Zagami, Student (2020- )
Sanghita Benerjee, Postdoc (2020- )
Group picture Villablanca lab 2021.
Group picture Villablanca lab 2019.
Left to right: Srustidhar Das, Martina Parigi, Eduardo J. Villablanca, Chiara Sorini, Oscar Perez, Paulo Czarnewski.
Video link
Link to all publications on PubMed here.
Metagenomic and single-cell RNA-Seq survey of the Helicobacter pylori-infected stomach in asymptomatic individuals.
Chiara Sorini 1 2, Kumar P Tripathi 1 2, Shengru Wu 3, Shawn M Higdon 3, Jing Wang 3, Liqin Cheng 3, Sanghita Banerjee 1 2, Annika Reinhardt 1 2, Taras Kreslavsky 1 2, Anders Thorell 4, Lars Engstrand 3, Juan Du 3, Eduardo J Villablanca 1 2
B cell expansion hinders the stroma-epithelium regenerative cross talk during mucosal healing.
Frede A., Czarnewski P., Monsaterio G., Tripathi KP., Bejarano, D., Ramirez Flores RO, Sorini C., Larsson L., Luo X., Geerlings L., Novella-Rausell C., Zagami C., Kuiper R., Morales RA., Castillo F., Hunt M., Lacerda-Mariano L., Hu YOO., Engblom C., Lennon-Dumenil AM., Mittenzwei R., Westendorf AM., Hövelmeyer N., Lundeberg J., Saez-Rodriguez J., Schlitzer A., Das S.
Interleukin-10 regulates goblet cell numbers through Notch signaling in the developing zebrafish intestine.
Morales RA, Rabahi S, Diaz OE, Salloum Y, Kern BC, Westling M, Luo X, Parigi SM, Monasterio G, Das S, Hernández PP, Villablanca EJ
Mucosal Immunol 2022 May;15(5):940-951
Scalable in situ single-cell profiling by electrophoretic capture of mRNA using EEL FISH.
Borm LE, Mossi Albiach A, Mannens CCA, Janusauskas J, Özgün C, Fernández-García D, Hodge R, Castillo F, Hedin CRH, Villablanca EJ, Uhlén P, Lein ES, Codeluppi S, Linnarsson S
Nat Biotechnol 2023 Feb;41(2):222-231
The spatial transcriptomic landscape of the healing mouse intestine following damage.
Parigi SM, Larsson L, Das S, Ramirez Flores RO, Frede A, Tripathi KP, Diaz OE, Selin K, Morales RA, Luo X, Monasterio G, Engblom C, Gagliani N, Saez-Rodriguez J, Lundeberg J, Villablanca EJ
Nat Commun 2022 Feb;13(1):828
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid modulates barrier function and systemic T-cell homeostasis during intestinal inflammation.
Diaz OE, Sorini C, Morales RA, Luo X, Frede A, Krais AM, Chávez MN, Wincent E, Das S, Villablanca EJ
Dis Model Mech 2021 Dec;14(12):
Epithelial colonization by gut dendritic cells promotes their functional diversification.
Rivera CA, Randrian V, Richer W, Gerber-Ferder Y, Delgado MG, Chikina AS, Frede A, Sorini C, Maurin M, Kammoun-Chaari H, Parigi SM, Goudot C, Cabeza-Cabrerizo M, Baulande S, Lameiras S, Guermonprez P, Reis e Sousa C, Lecuit M, Moreau HD, Helft J, Vignjevic DM, Villablanca EJ, Lennon-Duménil AM
Immunity 2022 Jan;55(1):129-144.e8
Distinct developmental pathways from blood monocytes generate human lung macrophage diversity.
Evren E, Ringqvist E, Tripathi KP, Sleiers N, Rives IC, Alisjahbana A, Gao Y, Sarhan D, Halle T, Sorini C, Lepzien R, Marquardt N, Michaëlsson J, Smed-Sörensen A, Botling J, Karlsson MCI, Villablanca EJ, Willinger T
Immunity 2021 Feb;54(2):259-275.e7
Liver X receptor regulates Th17 and RORγt+ Treg cells by distinct mechanisms.
Parigi SM, Das S, Frede A, Cardoso RF, Tripathi KP, Doñas C, Hu YOO, Antonson P, Engstrand L, Gustafsson JÅ, Villablanca EJ Mucosal Immunol 2021 Mar;14(2):411-419
Conserved transcriptomic profile between mouse and human colitis allows unsupervised patient stratification.
Czarnewski P, Parigi SM, Sorini C, Diaz OE, Das S, Gagliani N, Villablanca EJ
Nat Commun 2019 Jun;10(1):2892
Tumor-mediated liver X receptor-alpha activation inhibits CC chemokine receptor-7 expression on dendritic cells and dampens antitumor responses.
Villablanca EJ, Raccosta L, Zhou D, Fontana R, Maggioni D, Negro A, et al
Nat. Med. 2010 Jan;16(1):98-105
Gut-tropic T cells that express integrin α4β7 and CCR9 are required for induction of oral immune tolerance in mice.
Cassani B, Villablanca EJ, Quintana FJ, Love PE, Lacy-Hulbert A, Blaner WS, et al
Gastroenterology 2011 Dec;141(6):2109-18
Gut immune maturation depends on colonization with a host-specific microbiota.
Chung H, Pamp SJ, Hill JA, Surana NK, Edelman SM, Troy EB, et al
Cell 2012 Jun;149(7):1578-93
MyD88 and retinoic acid signaling pathways interact to modulate gastrointestinal activities of dendritic cells.
Villablanca EJ, Wang S, de Calisto J, Gomes DC, Kane MA, Napoli JL, et al
Gastroenterology 2011 Jul;141(1):176-85
Vitamin A and immune regulation: role of retinoic acid in gut-associated dendritic cell education, immune protection and tolerance.
Cassani B, Villablanca EJ, De Calisto J, Wang S, Mora JR
Mol. Aspects Med. 2012 Feb;33(1):63-76
β7 integrins are required to give rise to intestinal mononuclear phagocytes with tolerogenic potential.
Villablanca EJ, De Calisto J, Torregrosa Paredes P, Cassani B, Nguyen DD, Gabrielsson S,
et al Gut 2014 Sep;63(9):1431-40
Breast Milk and Solid Food Shaping Intestinal Immunity.
Parigi SM, Eldh M, Larssen P, Gabrielsson S, Villablanca EJ
Front Immunol 2015 ;6():415
Mechanisms of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Peloquin JM, Goel G, Villablanca EJ, Xavier RJ
Annu. Rev. Immunol. 2016 05;34():31-64
Intestinal epithelial cell-specific RARα depletion results in aberrant epithelial cell homeostasis and underdeveloped immune system.
Jijon HB, Suarez-Lopez L, Diaz OE, Das S, De Calisto J, Parada-kusz M, et al
Mucosal Immunol 2018 05;11(3):703-715
Flt3 ligand expands bona fide innate lymphoid cell precursors in vivo.
Parigi SM, Czarnewski P, Das S, Steeg C, Brockmann L, Fernandez-Gaitero S, et al
Sci Rep 2018 01;8(1):154
β7 integrins contribute to intestinal tumor growth in mice.
Das S, Doñas C, Akeus P, Quiding-Järbrink M, Mora JR, Villablanca EJ
PLoS ONE 2018 ;13(9):e0204181
Commensal Bacteria-Specific CD4+ T Cell Responses in Health and Disease.
Sorini C, Cardoso RF, Gagliani N, Villablanca EJ
Front Immunol 2018 ;9():2667
Molecular and functional heterogeneity of IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells.
Brockmann L, Soukou S, Steglich B, Czarnewski P, Zhao L, Wende S, et al
Nat Commun 2018 12;9(1):5457
Conserved transcriptomic profile between mouse and human colitis allows unsupervised patient stratification.
Czarnewski P, Parigi SM, Sorini C, Diaz OE, Das S, Gagliani N, et al
Nat Commun 2019 Jun;10(1):2892
Open positions
We always want to get in touch with highly motivated students and potential post-docs. If you are interested in doing research within our group please contact the group leader Eduardo Villablanca.