Prof. Dr. Tim Lämmermann
Single cell and population dynamics of immune cells
Immunology
Inflammation
Cell biology
Immune cell dynamics
Imaging
We investigate the mechanisms that shape single cell and population dynamics of immune cells in the complexity of inflamed and infected tissues. By using a broad range of microscopy and imaging techniques, we explore the strategies that immune cells have evolved to move and exert their functions individually or in concert with other cells in order to achieve together an optimal immune response.
In particular, we are interested in how immune cells of our innate immune response (neutrophils, macrophages, mast cells) coordinate and integrate fundamental cell biological and biochemical processes (directional sensing, cytoskeletal regulation, cell adhesion, cell migration, phagocytosis, cell death, cell survival, cell-cell communication, metabolism) that together shape the dynamics of an immune response in complex tissue environments.
Visualization of innate immune responses in inflamed and infected tissues by intravital microscopy is often our starting point for understanding leukocyte dynamics in their physiological tissue environment. However, these intravital studies often do not allow dissecting the cell biology and molecular details underlying dynamic processes. To overcome these limitations, we complement our studies with mouse genetics and innovative, often custom-built in vitro models that closely mimic the physiological situation.
Vita
- 1999 - 2004 Studies in Molecular Medicine, Erlangen
- 2004 - 2009 Doctorate at Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried
- 2009 - 2014 Postdoc at National Institutes of Health, NIAID, Bethesda, USA
- 2015 – 2024 Independent Max Planck Research Group Leader at
Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg - 2023 – current Full Professor and Director, Institute of Medical Biochemistry,
Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation (ZMBE), University of Münster
Selected references
Mihlan M, Wissmann S, Gavrilov A, Kaltenbach L, Britz M, Franke K, Hummel B, Imle A, Suzuki R, Stecher M, Glaser K, Lorentz A, Carmeliet P, Yokomizo T, Hilgendorf I, Sawarkar R, Diz-Muñoz A, Buescher J, Mittler G, Maurer M, Krause K, Babina M, Erpenbeck L, Frank M, Rambold AS, Lämmermann T. (2024). Neutrophil trapping and nexocytosis, mast cell-mediated processes for inflammatory signal relay. Cell 187(19): 5316-5335.e28.
Kaltenbach L, Martzloff P, Bambach S, Aizarani N, Mihlan M, Gavrilov A, Glaser K, Stecher M, Thünauer R, Thiriot A, Heger K, Kierdorf K, Wienert S, von Andrian UH, Schmidt-Supprian M, Nerlov C, Klauschen F, Roers A, Bajénoff M, Grün D, Lämmermann T. (2023). Slow integrin-dependent migration organizes networks of tissue-resident mast cells. Nature Immunology 24(6): 915-924.
Paterson N, Lämmermann T. (2022). Macrophage network dynamics depend on haptokinesis for optimal local surveillance. eLife, 11: e75354.
Kienle K, Glaser K, Eickhoff S, Mihlan M, Knöpper K, Reategui E, Epple M, Gunzer M, Baumeister R, Tarrant T, Germain R, Irimia D, Kastenmüller W, Lämmermann T. (2021). Neutrophils self-limit swarming to contain bacterial growth in vivo. Science, 372(6548): eabe7729. DOI: 10.1126/science.abe7729.
Lämmermann T, Afonso P, Angermann B, Wang JM, Kastenmüller W, Parent CA, Germain R. (2013). Neutrophil swarms require LTB4 and integrins at sites of cell death in vivo. Nature, 498(7454): 371-5.
Links