Research Group Pilat

Our research combines basic science with clinical research to understand the basis of immunological tolerance and cellular/humoral immunity with special focus on transplantation immunology.

Our research combines basic science with clinical research to understand the basis of immunological tolerance and cellular/humoral immunity with special focus on transplantation immunology. The main research interest of my lab is the role and potency of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the induction and maintenance of transplantation tolerance to improve patient and graft survival in (heart) transplant patients. I particular we are investigating the potency of therapeutic Treg treatment in partially or fully mismatched murine models of skin and heart transplantation.

In a clinical-translational approach we aim to examine primary cardiac graft quality via tissue and circulating biomarker analyses in different preservation technologies in human heart transplant patients. The HTX research team seeks to improve current preservation strategies by assessing the effects of hypo- and normothermic pulsatile machine perfusion on donor heart function.

In the area of tumor immunology we aim to characterize immune cell infiltrates on a phenotypical and functional level with the goal to develop novel concepts in immunotherapy of cancer.  We are particularly interested in the role of γδ T cells in CRC microenviroment. Moreover, we are investigating the mechanisms and potency of autologous tumor vaccines for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.

• Preclinical animal models in transplantation: heterotopic cardiac transplantation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, skin transplantation, tolerance approaches (mixed chimerism, adoptive Treg cellular therapy, IL-2 based immunomodulation)
   
• Multicolor flow cytometry for immune monitoring, leucocyte subset analysis and cytokine detection, flow crossmatch
   
• State- of-the-art molecular and cellular biology techniques, human and murine cell culture, magnetic cell sorting, intracellular cytokine detection
   
• Regulatory T cells (in vivo expansion via IL- 2 complexes, in vitro expansion culture, retroviral gene transfer, TGFß induction): cell therapy, in vitro suppression assays
   
• Mouse model of orthotopic renal cell carcinoma and heterotopic flank models, autologous tumor vaccines
   
• γδ T cells in tumor microenviroment