Prof. Dr. med. Ricardo Grieshaber-Bouyer
Head of Clinical Trial Unit
Prof. Dr. med. Ricardo Grieshaber-Bouyer
Head of Clinical Trial Unit
We are a systems immunology laboratory in the Department of Internal Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology at Erlangen University Hospital.
Our group investigates the mechanisms driving immune cell heterogeneity in tissues and inflammatory conditions and the links to disease variation across individuals. Our approach is characterized by a combination of high dimensional discovery in patient samples (in particular in the context of innovative therapies such as CAR-T cells) with in vitro systems, CRISPR-mediated genetic perturbations and murine models. We also develop novel analysis tools for high dimensional data.
In published work, we demonstrated that neutrophils in homeostasis are organized a chronologically ordered main sequence, termed neutrotime. In experimental inflammation, neutrophils reach distinct polarization states driven by timepoint, tissue and stimulus.
To apply this principle to human immune-mediated disease, we developed a method to jointly analyze murine and human transcriptomic data. Thereby, we identified a transcriptional program which characterizes neutrophils in the arthritic joint in both mice and humans. Functionally, this program was highly enriched for interferon gamma response genes, which we validated on the protein level and using in vitro models.
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IZKF-N10 LAMP1 Lupus Nephritis (341/M3): LAMP1+ neutrophils in lupus nephritis
(FAU Funds)
Project leader:
Term: 1. July 2024 - 30. June 2027My preliminary data highlight that neutrophil phenotypes define distinct SLE patients and that LAMP-1 is a strongly dysregulated protein in SLE. I hypothesize that LAMP1 expression defines a distinct activation state of neutrophils associated with a clinical subgroup of SLE patients with more severe kidney involvement. Hence, this project aims to study the functional role of LAMP1 in neutrophils and probe associations of LAMP1 expression and serum levels with clinical features in SLE.
2026
- Avouac, J., Barzel, A., Caiati, D., Davis, R.S., Gottschalk, S., Grieshaber Bouyer, R.,... Unutmaz, D. (2026). Roads and detours for CAR T cell therapy in autoimmune diseases. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-025-01349-4
- Düsing, C., Györfi, A.H., Stütz, A.N., Lahu, L.M., Deicher, F.S., Li, Y.N.,... Distler, J.H. (2026). Bispecific T cell engagers for treatment-refractory autoimmune connective tissue diseases. Nature Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04238-4
- Kurzhagen, J., Laqua, W., Schett, G., Grieshaber Bouyer, R., Rabb, H., Noel, S., & Schiffer, M. (2026). Tiny warriors, big impact: targeted immunotherapy in kidney diseases. Kidney International, 109(5), 869-882. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2026.01.032
- Mainieri, L., Kaufmann, A., Bucci, L., Grieshaber Bouyer, R., Bauer, S., & Venegas-Solis, F. (2026). Soluble BDCA-2 as a potential biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis and its role in enhancing IFN-α production through nucleic acid binding. Rheumatology, 65(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keaf537
2025
- Bucci, L., Böltz, S., Hagen, M., Tur, C., Nöthling, D.-M., Rothe, T.,... Grieshaber Bouyer, R. (2025). BCMA T-Cell Engager Therapy in Patients with Refractory Autoimmune Disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 393(15), 1544-1547. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2506740
- Exner, T., Hackert, N., Leomazzi, L., Van Gassen, S., Saeys, Y., Lorenz, H.M., & Grieshaber-Bouyer, R. (2025). CytoNormPy Enables a Fast and Scalable Removal of Batch Effects in Cytometry Datasets. Cytometry. Part A : the journal of the International Society for Analytical Cytology. https://doi.org/10.1002/cyto.a.24953
- Freitag, M., Kolb, P., Falcone, V., Claus, M., Schröder, P., Andreeva, I.,... Merkt, W. (2025). Fcγ-receptor-activation by circulating immune complexes in systemic autoimmune diseases and its reduction by CD19-CAR T cell therapy. Rheumatology, 65(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keaf627
- Garantziotis, P., Beretta, L., Lindblom, J., Moysidou, G.S., Nikolopoulos, D., Grieshaber Bouyer, R.,... Parodis, I. (2025). Differential molecular signatures in response to CD19-CAR T cell therapy compared with conventional pharmacotherapy in systemic lupus erythematosus. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ard.2025.06.2132
- Müller, F., Wirsching, A., Hagen, M., Völkl, S., Tur, C., Raimondo, M.G.,... Grieshaber Bouyer, R. (2025). BCMA CAR T cells in a patient with relapsing idiopathic inflammatory myositis after initial and repeat therapy with CD19 CAR T cells. Nature Medicine, 31, 1793-1797. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03718-3
- Ng, L.G., Ballesteros, I., Cassatella, M.A., Egeblad, M., Fridlender, Z.G., Gabrilovich, D.,... Kwok, I. (2025). From complexity to consensus: A roadmap for neutrophil classification. Immunity, 58(8), 1890-1903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2025.07.011
- Ostendorf, L., Garantziotis, P., Huang, F.Y., Schett, G., Lederer, J.A., Fava, A.,... Grieshaber Bouyer, R. (2025). Neutrophil Heterogeneity Identifies an Association of LAMP1 With Proliferative Lupus Nephritis. European Journal of Immunology, 55(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.70022
- Taubmann, J., Böltz, S., Hagen, M., Wirsching, A., Müller, F., Völkl, S.,... Schett, G. (2025). Langzeitverlauf von Effizienz und Sicherheit der CD19-CAR T-Zell-Therapie beim systemischen Lupus erythematodes. Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00393-025-01705-0
- Tur, C., Eckstein, M., Bucci, L., Auth, J., Bergmann, C., Rauber, S.,... Raimondo, M.G. (2025). Effects of different B-cell-depleting strategies on the lymphatic tissue. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ard.2025.06.2120
2024
- Auth, J., Müller, F., Völkl, S., Bayerl, N., Distler, J.H., Tur, C.,... Bergmann, C. (2024). CD19-targeting CAR T-cell therapy in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis: a case series. The Lancet Rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00282-0
- Bucci, L., Hagen, M., Rothe, T., Raimondo, M.G., Fagni, F., Tur, C.,... Grieshaber Bouyer, R. (2024). Bispecific T cell engager therapy for refractory rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Medicine, 30(6), 1593-1601. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02964-1
- Hagen, M., Bucci, L., Böltz, S., Nöthling, D.-M., Rothe, T., Anoshkin, K.,... Grieshaber Bouyer, R. (2024). BCMA-Targeted T-Cell-Engager Therapy for Autoimmune Disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 391(9), 867-869. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2408786
- Hagen, M., Müller, F., Wirsching, A., Kharboutli, S., Spörl, S., Aigner, M.,... Schett, G. (2024). Treatment of CNS systemic lupus erythematosus with CD19 CAR T cells. The Lancet, 404(10468), 2158-2160. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02265-7
- Hagen, M., Wirsching, A., Bohr, D., Taubmann, J., Müller, F., Mackensen, A.,... Schett, G. (2024). CAR-T-Zell-Therapie in der Rheumatologie – Was wissen wir bisher? Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00393-024-01514-x
- Taubmann, J., Müller, F., Mutlu, M.Y., Völkl, S., Aigner, M., Bozec, A.,... Schett, G. (2024). CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Treatment: Unraveling the Role of B Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 76(4), 497-504. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.42784
- Tur, C., Eckstein, M., Velden, J., Rauber, S., Bergmann, C., Auth, J.,... Raimondo, M.G. (2024). CD19-CAR T-cell therapy induces deep tissue depletion of B cells. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1136/ard-2024-226142
- Wilhelm, A., Chambers, D., Müller, F., Bozec, A., Grieshaber Bouyer, R., Winkler, T.,... Krönke, G. (2024). Selective CAR T cell–mediated B cell depletion suppresses IFN signature in SLE. JCI Insight, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.179433
2023
- Hackert, N.S., Radtke, F.A., Exner, T., Lorenz, H.M., Müller-Tidow, C., Nigrovic, P.A.,... Grieshaber-Bouyer, R. (2023). Human and mouse neutrophils share core transcriptional programs in both homeostatic and inflamed contexts. Nature Communications, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43573-9
2022
- Grieshaber-Bouyer, R., Exner, T., Hackert, N.S., Radtke, F.A., Jelinsky, S.A., Halyabar, O.,... Nigrovic, P.A. (2022). Ageing and interferon gamma response drive the phenotype of neutrophils in the inflamed joint. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 81(6), 805-814. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221866
- Neuenfeldt, F., Schumacher, J.C., Grieshaber-Bouyer, R., Habicht, J., Schröder-Braunstein, J., Gauss, A.,... Wabnitz, G. (2022). Inflammation induces pro-NETotic neutrophils via TNFR2 signaling. Cell Reports, 39(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110710
- Zhao, S., Grieshaber-Bouyer, R., Rao, D.A., Kolb, P., Chen, H., Andreeva, I.,... Merkt, W. (2022). Effect of JAK Inhibition on the Induction of Proinflammatory HLA–DR+CD90+ Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovial Fibroblasts by Interferon-γ. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 74(3), 441-452. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.41958
2021
- Chang, M.H., Levescot, A., Nelson-Maney, N., Blaustein, R.B., Winden, K.D., Morris, A.,... Nigrovic, P.A. (2021). Arthritis flares mediated by tissue-resident memory T cells in the joint. Cell Reports, 37(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109902
- Kiner, E., Willie, E., Schmutz, H., Chandler, J., Schnell, A., Thakore, P.I.,... Yoshida, H. (2021). Gut CD4+ T cell phenotypes are a continuum molded by microbes, not by TH archetypes. Nature Immunology, 22(2), 216-228. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-00836-7
- Kiner, E., Willie, E., Schmutz, H., Chandler, J., Schnell, A., Thakore, P.I.,... Yoshida, H. (2021). Publisher Correction: Gut CD4+ T cell phenotypes are a continuum molded by microbes, not by TH archetypes (Nature Immunology, (2021), 22, 2, (216-228), 10.1038/s41590-020-00836-7). Nature Immunology, 22(5), 666-668. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-00916-2
- Levescot, A., Chang, M.H., Schnell, J., Nelson-Maney, N., Yan, J., Martínez-Bonet, M.,... Nigrovic, P.A. (2021). IL-1β–driven osteoclastogenic Tregs accelerate bone erosion in arthritis. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 131(18). https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI141008
- Rose, S.A., Wroblewska, A., Dhainaut, M., Yoshida, H., Shaffer, J.M., Bektesevic, A.,... Yim, A. (2021). A microRNA expression and regulatory element activity atlas of the mouse immune system. Nature Immunology, 22(7), 914-927. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-00944-y
2020
- Grieshaber-Bouyer, R., & Lorenz, H.M. (2020). Biosimilars: opportunities and risks Biosimilars – Chancen und Risiken. Internist, 61(5), 522-529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00108-020-00784-2