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Lech Lab - Regulation of Innate Immunity
Education and Academic Appointments
2020 Appointment as Associate Professor, Medical Faculty, LMU Munich
2016 - 2018 PI at Nephrology Department at TUM, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Germany.
2014 - 2017 PI at the Microbiology Department at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow
2013 - 2018 MBA, Life Science Management studies at the Technical University in Munich
2012 German Habilitation (Privatdozent, PD) in Experimental Medicine, Medical Faculty, LMU Munich
2008 - 2011 Postdoctoral Fellow at the LMU Hospital in Munich
2004 - 2008 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Clinical Biochemistry Institute, LMU Munich
2003 - 2004 Scientist at Institute of Physiological Chemistry at LMU Munich
1998 - 2003 Master of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology at Jagiellonian University in Cracow
Additional Qualifications, Awards and Activities
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Editorial Board member, Journal Cells (section Cellular Immunology) and Frontiers in Immunology
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Journal ad hoc reviewing: 20+ international peer-reviewed journals
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Grant reviewing/Scientific advisor: 10+ research grant councils
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Award for the best interdisciplinary publication 2014/2015 of the Association of Friends and Supporters of Helmholtz Zentrum München (VdFF)
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Dr. Werner Jackstädt-Forschungspreis (2015) der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Nephrologie
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Rainer-Greger-Promotionspreis (2009) der Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nephrologie
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ERASMUS/SOCRATES scholarship (2002-2003) at Immunology Institute at LMU in Munich
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Certificates: PL (Projektleiter) and responsible for biological safety in accordance with § 15 GenTSV; Good Clinical Practice (GCP); Advanced training certification in lab animal science, research animal testing (FELASAC)
Our Research Focus
We explore mechanisms of negative regulation of the immune system and inflammatory responses that balance homeostasis in tissues. These conserved mechanisms play a fundamental role in the training of the host immune system and the development of immune tolerance. The research of my group focuses largely on innate immunity mechanisms using in vitro and in vivo models that explore protein function, mechanisms of homeostasis, allostasis, and loss of tolerance.
Our Projects
The following aspects are of particular interest to our lab:
Regulation of inflammatory responses (homeostasis and allostasis) by negative regulators of diverse innate immune pattern recognition receptors
We study how the various negative regulators of innate immune receptors orchestrate the function of different immune cells and determine the outcome of inflammation. Every cell type can sense danger and at the same time display a plethora of different mechanisms that allow it to maintain or restore homeostasis. Various extra- and intracellular factors regulate inflammation making it a central component of the system that modulates the immune responses. Efficient and adequate regulation of immune responses requires various modulatory mechanisms that trigger allostasis, defined as the ability to accomplish stability through change. Our group aims to decipher the contribution of immunoregulation to infection-related and sterile inflammation.
Project-related publications
Dobosz E, Wadowska M, Kaminska M, Wilamowski M, Honarpisheh M, Bryzek D, Potempa J, Jura J, Lech M, Koziel J. MCPIP-1 Restricts Inflammation via Promoting Apoptosis of Neutrophils. Front Immunol. 2021 Feb 26;12:627922.
Regulation of inflammatory responses in autoimmune disease
Autoinflammatory disorders are characterized by self-directed inflammatory responses and acute inflammation as a consequence of the unregulated innate immune system. Autoimmune diseases result from the loss of immune tolerance against self-antigens. They are characterized by the existence of autoreactive T and B cells and are often described as triggered by the impairment of adaptive immunity alone. In both cases, a lack of negative regulation of immune responses might be responsible for the onset of inflammatory disease. We study conserved regulatory mechanisms that modulate the immune response and bridge the gap between innate and adaptive immunity as they can terminate first inflammatory responses and initiate subsequent development of adaptive immunity. Our autoimmunity-related projects include experimental systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) models such as spontaneous mouse lymphoproliferation Fas/LPR models.
Project-related publications
Lorenz G, Ribeiro A, von Rauchhaupt E, Würf V, Schmaderer C, Cohen CD, Vohra T, Anders HJ, Lindenmeyer M, Lech M. GDF15 Suppresses Lymphoproliferation and Humoral Autoimmunity in a Murine Model of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. J Innate Immun. 2022 Apr 20:1-17.
Dobosz E, Lorenz G, Ribeiro A, Würf V, Wadowska M, Kotlinowski J, Schmaderer C, Potempa J, Fu M, Koziel J, Lech M. Murine myeloid cell MCPIP1 suppresses autoimmunity by regulating B-cell expansion and differentiation. Dis Model Mech. 2021 Mar 18;14(3): dmm047589.
Role of immune regulation in acute and chronic kidney disease
We study immune responses relevant to kidney injury. We use genetically modified mice and experimental in vivo models to study mechanisms regulating inflammation in the kidney as well as the influx and activation of immune cells associated with tissue damage. The uncontrolled production of pro-inflammatory cytokines triggers macrophage phenotype changes, which in consequence lead to tissue fibrosis and loss of kidney function.
Project-related publications
Ribeiro A, Dobosz E, Krill M, Köhler P, Wadowska M, Steiger S, Schmaderer C, Koziel J, Lech M. Macrophage-Specific MCPIP1/Regnase-1 Attenuates Kidney Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Shaping the Local Inflammatory Response and Tissue Regeneration. Cells. 2022 Jan 24;11(3):397.
Lorenz G, Moschovaki-Filippidou F, Würf V, Metzger P, Steiger S, Batz F, Carbajo-Lozoya J, Koziel J, Schnurr M, Cohen CD, Schmaderer C, Anders HJ, Lindenmeyer M, Lech M. IFN Regulatory Factor 4 Controls Post-ischemic Inflammation and Prevents Chronic Kidney Disease. Front Immunol. 2019 Oct 1;10:2162.
Steiger S, Kumar SV, Honarpisheh M, Lorenz G, Günthner R, Romoli S, Gröbmayr R, Susanti HE, Potempa J, Koziel J, Lech M. Immunomodulatory Molecule IRAK-M Balances Macrophage Polarization and Determines Macrophage Responses during Renal Fibrosis. J Immunol. 2017 Aug 15;199(4):1440-1452.
The Current Team
Andrea Riberio, Postdoc
I studied biochemistry at the University in Porto, Portugal. In 2014, I received my doctoral degree from the LMU Munich and stayed on as research scientist to work in the field of nephrology/immunology. Since 2014, I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Lech Lab working on uremic toxins and the immune system.
Feiyue Liu, MD Student
I study medicine at the Medical Faculty of the LMU Munich. I joined the Lech Lab to perform my medical doctoral thesis within the FöFoLe program in March 2022.
Funding
We gratefully acknowledge support for our work from the following funding sources
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG)
Medizinische Fakultät, LMU
Förderprogramm für Forschung und Lehre (FöFoLe)
List of Publications
A list of all publications from the Lech Lab can be found on pubmed:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Lech+Maciej
Bibliography of Prof. Dr. Maciej Lech
I studied biotechnology/molecular biology at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. For my Master of Science (M.Sc.) project, I joined the immunology research group at the LMU. After graduation in 2003, I analyzed the assembly of the mitochondrial complexes at the institute of physiological chemistry at the LMU in Munich. Subsequently, I pursued experiments in the field of innate immune regulation at the LMU Hospital and I was awarded a PhD for a thesis on the role of negative regulator SIGIRR in autoimmunity and inflammatory kidney diseases. In the following years, I worked as a postdoc at the LMU Hospital and TUM in Munich. After my Habilitation in 2012, I acquired funding, established my research team at the LMU Hospital, and collaborated as a guest professor with the University of Cracow.
Subsequently, I explored new career opportunities and studied at the TUM School of Management, where I graduated with an MBA. Presently, I lead my research group and contribute to the LMU Hospital infrastructure as i.e. head of the research unit.
Contact
Kidney Immunology Laboratory
University Hospital
Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
Clinical Unit:
Nephrologisches Zentrum
Ziemssenstr. 5, 80336 Munich
Research Unit:
Kidney Immunology Laboratory, Med. IV
Goetherstr. 31, 80336 Munich
Partners
BMC - Biomedical Research Center Munich
Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV LMU Munich
University of Florence
University of Cracow
TRR 332 - Collaborative Research Center 332
TRR 156 - Collaborative Research Center 156