Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM)

Program Director

Satu Mustjoki
Hematology Research Unit
Biomedicum Helsinki 1
Haartmaninkatu 8
P.O. Box 63
FI-00014 University of Helsinki
Tel: +358 9 471 71898
satu.mustjoki@helsinki.fi

Immunology is presently one of the most rapidly developing fields of medical science. Increasing understanding of the regulation of immune responses has led to the launch of several new therapeutic agents for clinical use especially in cancer. However, not all cancer patients are responding to current immunological treatments and no cure or prevention is available for autoimmune diseases. The ambitious goal of Translational Immunology Research Program (TRIMM) is to explore the development and regulation of T cells and immune tolerance and understand the aberrant immune responses in auto- and alloimmune diseases and cancer. Our ultimate goal is to translate the discoveries into prevention, novel disease classifications, diagnostic tools and personalized treatment. The program joins together 9 active research groups in different career phases and is complemented with 11 clinical research teams led by the clinical researchers.

Principal Investigators

• Petteri Arstila
• Vincenzo Cerullo - ImmunoViroTherapyLab
• Kari Eklund - Rheumatic Diseases and Inflammation Group
• Juha Grönholm - Immune Cell Signaling
• Akseli Hemminki - Cancer Gene Therapy Group
• Eliisa Kekäläinen - In­born and ac­quired im­mun­ode­fi­cien­cies
• Seppo Meri - Complement Group
• Päivi Saavalainen - Immunomics
• Pentti Tienari - Neuro-immunology and Degeneration

Associated Clinical Researchers

• Micaela Hernberg 
• Hanna Jarva 
• Kaija-Leena Kolho 
• Karl Lemström 
• Kimmo Porkka 
• Annamari Ranki 
• Tuula Salo 
• Mikko Seppänen 
• Taina Sipponen 

Key publications from TRIMM

• Blauwendraat C, Reed X, Krohn L, Heilbron K, Bandres-Ciga S, Tan M, Gibbs JR, Hernandez DG, Kumaran R, Langston R, Bonet-Ponce L, Alcalay RN, Hassin-Baer S, Greenbaum L, Iwaki H, Leonard HL, Grenn FP, Ruskey JA, Sabir M, Ahmed S, Makarious MB, Pihlstrøm L, Toft M, van Hilten JJ, Marinus J, Schulte C, Brockmann K, Sharma M, Siitonen A, Majamaa K, Eerola-Rautio J, Tienari PJ; 23andMe Research Team, Pantelyat A, Hillis AE, Dawson TM, Rosenthal LS, Albert MS, Resnick SM, Ferrucci L, Morris CM, Pletnikova O, Troncoso J, Grosset D, Lesage S, Corvol JC, Brice A, Noyce AJ, Masliah E, Wood N, Hardy J, Shulman LM, Jankovic J, Shulman JM, Heutink P, Gasser T, Cannon P, Scholz SW, Morris H, Cookson MR, Nalls MA, Gan-Or Z, Singleton AB. Genetic modifiers of risk and age at onset in GBA associated Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. Brain. 2020 Jan 1;143(1):234-248. doi: 10.1093/brain/awz350. Erratum in: Brain. 2020 Apr 1;143(4):e33. Erratum in: Brain. 2020 Mar 1;143(3):e24. PMID: 31755958; PMCID: PMC6935749.
• Dufva O, Koski J, Maliniemi P, Ianevski A, Klievink J, Leitner J, Polonen P, Hohtari H, Saeed K, Hannunen T, Ellonen P, Steinberger P, Kankainen M, Aittokallio T, Keranen MAI, Korhonen M, Mustjoki S. Integrated drug profiling and CRISPR screening identify essential pathways for CAR T-cell cytotoxicity. Blood. 2020;135(9):597-609.
• Freitag TL*, Podojil JR*, Pearson RM, Fokta FJ, Sahl C, Messing M, Andersson LC, Leskinen K, Saavalainen P, Hoover LI, Huang K, Phippard D, Maleki S, King NCJ, Shea LD, Miller SD, Meri S, Getts DR. Gliadin nanoparticles induce immune tolerance to gliadin in mouse models of celiac disease. Gastroenterology 2020; 158:1667-1681

• Kim D, Park G, Huuhtanen J, Lundgren S, Khajuria RK, Hurtado AM, Muñoz-Calleja C, Cardeñoso L, Gómez-García de Soria V, Chen-Liang TH, Eldfors S, Ellonen P, Hannula S, Kankainen M, Bruck O, Kreutzman A, Salmenniemi U, Lönnberg T, Jerez A, Itälä-Remes M, Myllymäki M, Keränen MAI, Mustjoki S. Somatic mTOR mutation in clonally expanded T lymphocytes associated with chronic graft versus host disease. Nat Commun. 2020;11:2770.

• Korpi ER, Lindholm D, Panula P, Tienari PJ, Haltia M. Finnish neuroscience from past to present. Eur J Neurosci. 2020 Sep;52(5):3273-3289. doi: 10.1111/ejn.14693. Epub 2020 Feb 18. PMID: 32017266.
• Sadam H, Pihlak A, Jaago M, et al. Identification of two highly antigenic epitope markers predicting multiple sclerosis in optic neuritis patients [published online ahead of print, 2021 Jan 22]. EBioMedicine. 2021;64:103211. 
• Santos JM, Heiniö C, Cervera-Carrascon V, Quixabeira DCA, Siurala M, Havunen R, Butzow R, Zafar S, de Gruijl T, Lassus H, Kanerva A, Hemminki A. Oncolytic adenovirus shapes the ovarian tumor microenvironment for potent tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte tumor reactivity. J Immunother Cancer. 2020 Jan;8(1).

• Tuovinen EA, Gronholm J, Ohman T, Poysti S, Toivonen R, Kreutzman A, Heiskanen K, Trotta L, Toiviainen-Salo S, Routes JM, Verbsky J, Mustjoki S, Saarela J, Kere J, Varjosalo M, Hanninen A, Seppanen MRJ. Novel Hemizygous IL2RG p.(Pro58Ser) Mutation Impairs IL-2 Receptor Complex Expression on Lymphocytes Causing X-Linked Combined Immunodeficiency. J Clin Immunol. 2020;40(3):503-14.

• Vuorela A*, Freitag T*, Leskinen K, Pessa H, Härkönen T, Stracenski I, Kirjavainen T, Olsen P, Saarenpää-Heikkilä O, Ilonen J , Knip M, Vaheri A, Partinen M, Saavalainen P, Meri S*, Vaarala O*. Influenza A (H1N1) T cell epitopes in Pandemrix-associated narcolepsy type 1, and cross-reactivity to protein- O-mannosyltransferase 1. Nature Comm, 2020. In press. 

• Hackman G, Taari K, Tammela TL, Matikainen M, Kouri M, Joensuu T, Luukkaala T, Salonen A, Isotalo T, Pétas A, Hendolin N, Boström PJ, Aaltomaa S, Lehtoranta K, Hellström P, Riikonen J, Korpela M, Minn H, Kellokumpu-Lehtinen PL, Pukkala E, Hemminki A; FinnProstate Group. Randomised Trial of Adjuvant Radiotherapy Following Radical Prostatectomy Versus Radical Prostatectomy Alone in Prostate Cancer Patients with Positive Margins or Extracapsular Extension. Eur Urol. 2019 Nov;76(5):586-595.

• Marquardt N, Kekäläinen E, Chen P, Lourda M, Wilson JN, Scharenberg M, Bergman P, Al-Ameri M, Hård J, Mold JE, Ljunggren HG, Michaëlsson J. Unique transcriptional and protein-expression signature in human lung tissue-resident NK cells. Nat Commun. 2019 Aug 26;10(1):3841.