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Mass Lab

@masslab.bsky.social

770 followers 660 following 52 posts

Based @LIMES Institute @University of Bonn, researching developmental immunology. We ❤️ macrophages!

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

We are SO EXCITED to share our story @nature.com:
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Maternal obesity reprograms fetal liver macrophages, triggering adult fatty liver disease in the offspring.
This study uncovers how Kupffer cells act as intergenerational messengers in metabolic disease.
👉 Read here: rdcu.be/erD3b

Kupffer cell programming by maternal obesity triggers fatty liver disease

Nature - In a mouse model, maternal obesity during pregnancy can lead to fatty liver disease in the offspring, driven by aberrant developmental programming of Kuppfer cells.

rdcu.be

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Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · 3d

The Vienna BioCenter PhD Program application deadline is approaching: October 10!

Join one of Europe’s premier life science campuses, home to cutting-edge research across all areas of biology.
Apply and start your scientific journey in Vienna!

training.vbc.ac.at/phd-program/

#PhD #LifeSciences

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Emmanuel Saliba @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social · 29d

🔔PhD position open. Interested in building competencies in computational biology in spatial transcriptomics? Malte Luecken's lab and I have an open PhD position, part of the Munich School of Data Science.
Application deadline: Sept 26
Link: www.mu-ds.de

MUDS - Helmholtz Information & Data Science Academy

www.mu-ds.de

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Maria Viola @mariafviola.bsky.social · 22d

Had the wonderful opportunity to present our data on the effect of microplastics on macrophages at #EMDS2025 ! Such a beautiful venue 🤩 @masslab.bsky.social

Andrew S. MacDonald @profandrewmac.bsky.social · 22d

Fascinating (and disturbing!) presentation about the impact of ingested microplastics on liver macrophages by @mariafviola.bsky.social #EMDS2025

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BonnBrain Conference @bonnbrainconf.bsky.social · Sep 8

Application is open! Come join us and our fantastic line-up of speakers next year in March in Bonn!

Flyer advertising the BonnBrain Conference 2026, "From Genes to Circuits and Behavior".

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WachtenLab @wachtenlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

🚨 New in The EMBO Journal!
Loss of BBS8 disrupts ciliary Hedgehog signaling, switching adipocyte precursors into fibrogenic cells—remodeling adipose tissue before obesity begins.
🔬 #BBS #cilia @for5547.bsky.social @sfb1454.bsky.social @batenergy.bsky.social
📄 www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

BBS8-dependent ciliary Hedgehog signaling governs cell fate in the white adipose tissue | The EMBO Journal

imageimageDisruption of ciliogenesis in Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) leads to obesity and disrupted adipogenesis. This study reveals that ciliary dysfunction in a mouse model of BBS induces a a cell fa...

www.embopress.org

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Marc Dionne @marcsdionne.bsky.social · Aug 18

Come be my colleague! We have three open positions at the Assistant/Associate Professor level for candidates in all areas of the biological sciences.

www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Description

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...

www.imperial.ac.uk

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Journal of Experimental Medicine @jem.org · Aug 15

#WomenInSTEM becoming independent: People should feel free to be themselves and do great science. We asked ten women researchers about their science and the process of setting up a lab as an independent researcher: rupress.org/jem/article/...

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Michael Silverman @michael-silverman.bsky.social · Aug 14

Out today! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... From @kknoop.bsky.social & myself on early life immune development & the beautiful publication from Megan Koch & M Shenoy www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Take home message: timing of early life exposures, milk IgG here, is critical for immune development.

Setting the table for immune tolerance

Interaction between breast milk antibodies and gut microbes shape immune responses during weaning

www.science.org

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Seth Thomas Scanlon @immunoeditor.bsky.social · Aug 12

This week's @science.org #IMMUNOLOGY-themed SPECIAL ISSUE features Reviews by {Kassiotis & Stoye}, {Nahrendorf, Ginhoux, & Swirski}, {Sharma, Gibbons, & Saphire}, & {@jessmetcalf.bsky.social, @grahammunology.bsky.social, Yates, & Cummings} + an absolutely wild & wonderful cover!

scim.ag/3UqRrA6

COVER This illustration depicts the changes in the immune system throughout an individual’s life span, from infancy to childhood, adulthood, and older age. The infant silhouette contains DNA, and the figures are enveloped by the nuclear and plasma membranes. These components reference the evolution of immunity over millennia, as viruses integrated into the genome and as life progressed from single-celled to multicellular organisms. See the special section beginning on page 586.

Illustration: Rioka Hayama

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Sergiu P. Pasca @sergiuppasca.bsky.social · Jul 19

Our recent overview of human stem cell models for studying neuropsychiatric disorders (including their limitations and future directions) is now openly available @annualreviews.bsky.social of Neuroscience

With the great @rebeccalevymdphd.bsky.social

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jul 17

🧠 New book chapter out!

We review the developmental origin and functional diversity of #microglia - key players at the crossroads of #immunity and #neurodevelopment.

🔹 Ontogeny & specialization
🔹 Transcriptional & metabolic shifts
🔹 Roles in disease & repair
👉 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lKxcErwXf...

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jul 17

4/Together, these studies highlight the evolutionarily #conserved and multi-organ impact of maternal diet on offspring health and disease susceptibility.

Huge thanks to Seyhmus Bayar and our collaborators for their fantastic work!
@for5775.bsky.social

Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jul 17

3/ This work builds on our previous findings published in @nature.com (Huang et al., 2025), where we showed that yolk sac-derived Kupffer cells mediate fetal liver programming in obese pregnancies, driving fatty liver disease in adulthood (www.nature.com/articles/s41...)

Kupffer cell programming by maternal obesity triggers fatty liver disease - Nature

In a mouse model, maternal obesity during pregnancy can lead to fatty liver disease in the offspring, driven by aberrant developmental programming of Kuppfer cells.

www.nature.com

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jul 17

2/In this study, we uncover how maternal diet in flies(corresponding to maternal obesity in mammals) disrupts #neuronal integrity and #immune function in offspring. We identify axon #degeneration and shortened #lifespan, linking maternal overnutrition to long-term health consequences.

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jul 17

1/ 💡We are excited to share our latest paper, continuing our exploration of how maternal obesity programs offspring health via #macrophages - this time using #Drosophila as a model: shorturl.at/28tFo

#MaternalObesity #Drosophila #Neurodegeneration #DOHaD #FlyResearch #MacrophageBiology

Developmental programming by maternal obesity alters offspring lifespan and immune responses in a diet- and sex-specific manner

Maternal obesity is a growing health concern that predisposes offspring to metabolic dysfunction, immune system alterations, and neurodegenerative dis…

shorturl.at

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Iannacone Lab @iannaconelab.bsky.social · Jun 30

1/ 🚨 Hot off the press in Nature Immunology: CD4⁺ T cells can license Kupffer cells to rescue dysfunctional CD8⁺ T cells in the liver. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is just the proving ground—this is a paradigm shift in tissue immunity. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵(1/11)

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Pallett Lab UCL @pallettlab.bsky.social · Jul 1

The fantastic Menon Lab (@madhvimenon.bsky.social) in the @lydiabeckeriii.bsky.social in Manchester are hiring!!
🚨DO NOT MISS YOUR CHANCE TO APPLY!🚨

www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Postdoc seeking to unravel how lung-infiltrating #Bcells contribute to chronic lung disease #immunosky

Research Associate in Mucosal Immunology :Manchester

www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk

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Dr. Anusha Seneviratne @anushans.bsky.social · Jun 26

🧪 One month until the application deadline. Get in touch if you are interested ⬇️
#immunosky #cardiosky #academicsky #ecr #studyintheuk

Dr. Anusha Seneviratne @anushans.bsky.social · Mar 10

🧪 I am offering projects to study how air pollution affects vascular inflammation as part of Royal Holloway's MSc degree in Biological Sciences research. Contact me if you are interested in applying. www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and... #immunosky #cardiosky #idsky #academicsky #academicchatter

Masters by Research in Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway

Explore our internationally-renowned masters with specialist staff and breakthrough research

www.royalholloway.ac.uk

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

Led by @haohuang0086.bsky.social and Nora R. Balzer
📍 Developmental Biology of the Immune System, LIMES Institute
#DOHaD #macrophages #FattyLiverDisease

Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Big thanks to all collaborators across @sfb1454.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social @limes-bonn.bsky.social @dzne.science

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

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🧠 This aligns with the concept of DOHaD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease) — and adds tissue-resident macrophages to the list of intergenerational regulators.

Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

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🚨 Implication:
We identify a therapeutic window during gestation to target fetal KC programming — potentially preventing metabolic liver disease in later life.

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Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

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This work shifts the paradigm:
🔁 FLD is not just a postnatal diet effect
🧬 It can originate from developmental #macrophage programming — long before birth

Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

8/
Live-imaging of hepatocytes exposed to ApoE confirmed:
→ ApoE and ApoA1 alone was sufficient to cause lipid droplet accumulation

Mass Lab @masslab.bsky.social · Jun 18

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Multi-omics profiling (bulk & single-nucleus RNA-seq + ATAC-seq + proteomics) revealed:
✅ Apolipoproteins ApoE and ApoA1 are upregulated in reprogrammed KCs
✅ They act via paracrine signaling to induce steatosis in hepatocytes