Chavakis/Chung Lab - Innate Immunity and Metabolic Inflammation

Chavakis

• Since 2023: Director, Center for Laboratory Diagnostics and Molecular Medicine, University Hospital, TU Dresden
• Since 2017: Director, Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden
• 2014-2017: Professor (W3), Head of Clinical Pathobiochemistry at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden
• 2010-2014: Professor (W2) at the Medical Clinic III, University Hospital, TU Dresden
• 2005-2010: Tenure-Track Principal Investigator and Head of the Inflammation Biology Section, Experimental Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
• 2002-2004: Resident physician, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Heidelberg
• 2000-2002: Intern, Third Department of Internal Medicine, University Clinic, and research associate, Institute for Biochemistry, Justus-Liebig University Giessen  

• Haacke N, Wang H, Yan S, Barovic M, Li X, Nagai K, Botezatu A, Hatzioannou A, Gercken B, Trimaglio G, Shah AU, Wang J, Ye L, Jaykar MT, Rauner M, Wielockx B, Chung KJ, Netea MG, Kalafati L*, Hajishengallis G*, Chavakis T*. Innate immune training of osteoclastogenesis promotes inflammatory bone loss in mice. Dev Cell. 2025 Feb 19:S1534-5807(25)00063-2. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2025.02.001. * equal contribution
• Hajishengallis G, Netea MG, Chavakis T. Trained immunity in chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. Nat Rev Immunol. 2025 Jan 31. doi: 10.1038/s41577-025-01132-x.
• Villaronga-Luque A, Savill RG, López-Anguita N, Bolondi A, Garai S, Gassaloglu SI, Rouatbi R, Schmeisser K, Poddar A, Bauer L, Alves T, Traikov S, Rodenfels J, Chavakis T, Bulut-Karslioglu A, Veenvliet JV. Integrated molecular-phenotypic profiling reveals metabolic control of morphological variation in a stem-cell-based embryo model. Cell Stem Cell. 2025; 32:759-777
• Wang H, Divaris K, Pan B, Li X, Lim JH, Saha G, Barovic M, Giannakou D, Korostoff JM, Bing Y, Sen S, Moss K, Wu D, Beck JD, Ballantyne CM, Natarajan P, North KE, Netea MG, Chavakis T*, Hajishengallis G*. Clonal hematopoiesis driven by mutated DNMT3A promotes inflammatory bone loss. Cell. 2024; 187:3690-3711   * equal contribution
• Vergadi E, Kolliniati O, Lapi I, Ieronymaki E, Lyroni K, Alexaki VI, Diamantaki E, Vaporidi K, Hatzidaki E, Papadaki HA, Galanakis E, Hajishengallis G, Chavakis T, Tsatsanis C. An IL-10/DEL-1 axis supports granulopoiesis and survival from sepsis in early life. Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 23;15(1):680
• Chavakis T, Alexaki VI, Ferrante AW Jr. Macrophage function in adipose tissue homeostasis and metabolic inflammation. Nature Immunology. 2023; 24:757-766
• Li X, Wang H, Yu X, Saha G, Kalafati L, Ioannidis C, Mitroulis I, Netea MG, Chavakis T*, Hajishengallis G*. Maladaptive innate immune training of myelopoiesis links inflammatory comorbidities. Cell 2022; 185:1709-1727   * equal contribution
• Subramanian P, Gargani S, Palladini A, Chatzimike M, Grzybek M, Peitzsch M, Papanastasiou AD, Pyrina I, Ntafis V, Gercken B, Lesche M, Petzold A, Sinha A, Nati M, Thangapandi VR, Kourtzelis I, Andreadou M, Witt A, Dahl A, Burkhardt R, Haase R, Domingues AMJ, Henry I, Zamboni N, Mirtschink P, Chung KJ, Hampe J, Coskun Ü, Kontoyiannis DL*, Chavakis T*. The RNA binding protein HuR is a gatekeeper of liver homeostasis. Hepatology. 2022;75:881-897    * equal contribution
• Chavakis T, Wielockx B, Hajishengallis G. Inflammatory Modulation of Hematopoiesis: Linking Trained Immunity and Clonal Hematopoiesis with Chronic Disorders. Annu Rev Physiol. 2022; 84:183-207.
• Wang H, Li X, Kajikawa T, Shin J, Lim JH, Kourtzelis I, Nagai K, Korostoff JM, Grossklaus S, Naumann R, Chavakis T*, Hajishengallis G*. Stromal cell-derived DEL-1 inhibits Tfh cell activation and inflammatory arthritis. J Clin Invest. 2021; 131:e150578  * equal contribution
• Hajishengallis G, Chavakis T. Local and systemic mechanisms linking periodontal disease and inflammatory comorbidities. Nature Reviews Immunol. 2021; 21:426-440.
• Dudeck J, Kotrba J, Immler R, Hoffmann A, Voss M, Alexaki VI, Morton L, Jahn SR, Katsoulis-Dimitriou K, Winzer S, Kollias G, Fischer T, Nedospasov SA, Dunay IR, Chavakis T, Müller AJ, Schraven B, Sperandio M, Dudeck A. Directional mast cell degranulation of tumor necrosis factor into blood vessels primes neutrophil extravasation. Immunity. 2021; 54:468-483.
• Kalafati L, Kourtzelis I, Schulte-Schrepping J, Li X, Hatzioannou A, Grinenko T, Hagag E, Sinha A, Has C, Dietz S, de Jesus Domingues AM, Nati M, Sormendi S, Neuwirth A, Chatzigeorgiou A, Ziogas A, Lesche M, Dahl A, Henry I, Subramanian P, Wielockx B, Murray P, Mirtschink P, Chung KJ, Schultze JL, Netea MG, Hajishengallis G*, Verginis P*, Mitroulis I*, Chavakis T*. Innate Immune Training of Granulopoiesis Promotes Anti-tumor Activity. Cell. 2020; 183:771-785   * equal contribution
• Hatzioannou A, Banos A, Sakelaropoulos T, Fedonidis C, Vidali MS, Köhne M, Händler K, Boon L, Henriques A, Koliaraki V, Georgiadis P, Zoidakis J, Termentzi A, Beyer M, Chavakis T, Boumpas D, Tsirigos A, Verginis P. An intrinsic role of IL-33 in T(reg) cell-mediated tumor immunoevasion. Nat Immunol. 2020; 21:75-85.
• Moorlag S, Rodriguez-Rosales YA, Gillard J, Fanucchi S, Theunissen K, Novakovic B, de Bont CM, Negishi Y, Fok ET, Kalafati L, Verginis P, Mourits VP, Koeken V, de Bree LCJ, Pruijn GJM, Fenwick C, van Crevel R, Joosten LAB, Joosten I, Koenen H, Mhlanga MM, Diavatopoulos DA, Chavakis T, Netea MG. BCG Vaccination Induces Long-Term Functional Reprogramming of Human Neutrophils. Cell Rep. 2020; 33:108387.
• Alissafi T, Kalafati L, Lazari M, Filia A, Kloukina I, Manifava M, Lim JH, Alexaki VI, Ktistakis NT, Doskas T, Garinis GA, Chavakis T, Boumpas DT, Verginis P. Mitochondrial Oxidative Damage Underlies Regulatory T Cell Defects in Autoimmunity. Cell Metab. 2020;32(4):591-604.
• Li X, Colamatteo A, Kalafati L, Kajikawa T, Wang H, Lim JH, Bdeir K, Chung KJ, Yu X, Fusco C, Porcellini A, De Simone S, Matarese G, Chavakis T*, De Rosa V*, Hajishengallis G*. The DEL-1/β3 integrin axis promotes regulatory T cell responses during inflammation resolution. J Clin Invest. 2020; 130:6261-6277.   * equal contribution
• Kourtzelis I, Li X, Mitroulis I, Grosser D, Kajikawa T, Wang B, Grzybek M, von Renesse J, Czogalla A, Troullinaki M, Ferreira A, Doreth C, Ruppova K, Chen LS, Hosur K, Lim JH, Chung KJ, Grossklaus S, Tausche AK, Joosten LAB, Moutsopoulos NM, Wielockx B, Castrillo A, Korostoff JM, Coskun Ü, Hajishengallis G*, Chavakis T*. DEL-1 promotes macrophage efferocytosis and clearance of inflammation. Nature Immunology. 2019; 20:40-49    * equal contribution
• Hajishengallis G, Chavakis T. DEL-1-Regulated Immune Plasticity and Inflammatory Disorders. Trends Mol Med. 2019; 25:444-459.
• Chavakis T*, Mitroulis I*, Hajishengallis G*. Hematopoietic progenitor cells as integrative hubs for adaptation to and fine-tuning of inflammation. Nature Immunology. 2019; 20:802-811.  * equal contribution
• Mitroulis I, Ruppova K, Wang B, Chen LS, Grzybek M, Grinenko T, Eugster A, Troullinaki M, Palladini A, Kourtzelis I, Chatzigeorgiou A, Schlitzer A, Beyer M, Joosten LAB, Isermann B, Lesche M, Petzold A, Simons K, Henry I, Dahl A, Schultze JL, Wielockx B, Zamboni N, Mirtschink P, Coskun Ü, Hajishengallis G*, Netea MG*, Chavakis T*. Modulation of myelopoiesis progenitors is an integral component of trained immunity. Cell. 2018; 172:147-161.  * equal contribution
• Bekkering S, Arts RJW, Novakovic B, Kourtzelis I, van der Heijden C, Li Y, Popa CD, Ter Horst R, van Tuijl J, Netea-Maier RT, van de Veerdonk FL, Chavakis T, Joosten LAB, van der Meer JWM, Stunnenberg H, Riksen NP, Netea MG. Metabolic Induction of Trained Immunity through the Mevalonate Pathway. Cell. 2018; 172:135-146.
• Chung KJ, Nati M, Chavakis T, Chatzigeorgiou A. Innate immune cells in the adipose tissue. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2018; 19:283-292.
• Chung KJ, Chatzigeorgiou A, Economopoulou M, Garcia-Martin R, Alexaki VI, Mitroulis I, Nati M, Gebler J, Ziemssen T, Goelz SE, Phieler J, Lim JH, Karalis KP, Papayannopoulou T, Blüher M, Hajishengallis G, Chavakis T. A self-sustained loop of inflammation-driven inhibition of beige adipogenesis in obesity. Nature Immunology. 2017;18:654-664.
• Mitroulis I, Chen LS, Singh RP, Kourtzelis I, Economopoulou M, Kajikawa T, Troullinaki M, Ziogas A, Ruppova K, Hosur K, Maekawa T, Wang B, Subramanian P, Tonn T, Verginis P, von Bonin M, Wobus M, Bornhäuser M, Grinenko T, Di Scala M, Hidalgo A, Wielockx B*, Hajishengallis G*, Chavakis T*. Secreted protein Del-1 regulates myelopoiesis in the hematopoietic stem cell niche. J Clin Invest. 2017;127:3629-39. * equal contribution
• Choi EY, Lim JH, Neuwirth A, Economopoulou M, Chatzigeorgiou A, Chung KJ, Bittner S, Lee SH, Langer H, Samus M, Kim H, Cho GS, Ziemssen T, Bdeir K, Chavakis E, Koh JY, Boon L, Hosur K, Bornstein SR, Meuth SG, Hajishengallis G, Chavakis T. Developmental endothelial locus-1 is a homeostatic factor in the central nervous system limiting neuroinflammation and demyelination. Molecular Psychiatry. 2015; 20:880-888
• Shin J, Maekawa T, Abe T, Hajishengallis E, Hosur K, Pyaram K, Mitroulis I, Chavakis T*, Hajishengallis G*. DEL-1 restrains osteoclastogenesis and inhibits inflammatory bone loss in nonhuman primates. Science Transl Med. 2015; 7:307ra155. * equal contribution
• Weber GF, Chousterman BG, He S, Fenn AM, Nairz M, Anzai A, Brenner T, Uhle F, Iwamoto Y, Robbins CS, Noiret L, Maier SL, Zönnchen T, Rahbari NN, Schölch S, Klotzsche-von Ameln A, Chavakis T, Weitz J, Hofer S, Weigand MA, Nahrendorf M, Weissleder R, Swirski FK. Interleukin-3 amplifies acute inflammation and is a potential therapeutic target in sepsis. Science. 2015;347(6227):1260-1265.
• Ziogas A, Muders MH, Economopoulou M, Sprott D, Grossklaus S, Siegert G, Baretton GB, Mitroulis I, Chavakis T. Brief Report: Endothelial-Specific X-Box Binding Protein 1 Deficiency Limits Tumor Necrosis Factor-Induced Leukocyte Recruitment and Vasculitis. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 :3279-3285.
• Maekawa T, Hosur K, Abe T, Kantarci A, Ziogas A, Wang B, Van Dyke TE, Chavakis T*, Hajishengallis G*. Antagonistic effects of IL-17 and D-resolvins on endothelial Del-1 expression through a GSK-3β-C/EBPβ pathway. Nat Commun. 2015;6:8272. * equal contribution
• Chung KJ, Mitroulis I, Wiessner JR, Zheng YY, Siegert G, Sperandio M, Chavakis T. A novel pathway of rapid TLR-triggered activation of integrin-dependent leukocyte adhesion that requires Rap1 GTPase. Mol Biol Cell. 2014; 25:2948-2955.
• Chatzigeorgiou A, Chung KJ, Garcia-Martin R, Alexaki VI, Klotzsche-von Ameln A, Phieler J, Sprott D, Kanczkowski W, Tzanavari T, Bdeir M, Bergmann S, Cartellieri M, Bachmann M, Nikolakopoulou P, Androutsellis-Theotokis A, Siegert G, Bornstein SR, Muders MH, Boon L, Karalis KP, Lutgens E, Chavakis T. Dual role of B7 costimulation in obesity-related nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and metabolic dysregulation. Hepatology. 2014;60(4):1196-1210.
• Chatzigeorgiou A, Seijkens T, Zarzycka B, Engel D, Poggi M, van den Berg S, van den Berg S, Soehnlein O, Winkels H, Beckers L, Lievens D, Driessen A, Kusters P, Biessen E, Garcia-Martin R, Klotzsche-von Ameln A, Gijbels M, Noelle R, Boon L, Hackeng T, Schulte KM, Xu A, Vriend G, Nabuurs S, Chung KJ, Willems van Dijk K, Rensen PC, Gerdes N, de Winther M, Block NL, Schally AV, Weber C, Bornstein SR, Nicolaes G*, Chavakis T*, Lutgens E*. Blocking CD40-TRAF6 signaling is a therapeutic target in obesity-associated insulin resistance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014; 111:2686-2691. * equal contribution
• Phieler J, Chung KJ, Chatzigeorgiou A, Klotzsche-von Ameln A, Garcia-Martin R, Sprott D, Moisidou M, Tzanavari T, Ludwig B, Baraban E, Ehrhart-Bornstein M, Bornstein SR, Mziaut H, Solimena M, Karalis KP, Economopoulou M, Lambris JD*, Chavakis T*. The complement anaphylatoxin C5a receptor contributes to obese adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance. J Immunol. 2013; 191:4367-4374. * equal contribution
• Eskan MA, Jotwani R, Abe T, Chmelar J, Lim JH, Liang S, Ciero P, Krauss J, Li F, Rauner M, Hofbauer LC, Choi EY, Chung KJ, Hashim A, Curtis M, Chavakis T*, Hajishengallis G* The leukocyte integrin antagonist Del-1 inhibits IL-17-mediated inflammatory bone loss. Nature Immunology. 2012; 13:465-473. * equal contribution
• Langer HF, Choi EY, Zhou H, Schleicher R, Chung KJ, Tang Z, Göbel K, Bdeir K, Chatzigeorgiou A, Wong C, Bhatia S, Kruhlak MJ, Rose JW, Burns JB, Hill KE, Qu H, Zhang Y, Lehrmann E, Becker KG, Wang Y, Simon DI, Nieswandt B, Lambris JD, Li X, Meuth SG, Kubes P, Chavakis T. Platelets contribute to the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Circulation Res. 2012; 110(9):1202-1210.
• Langer HF, Orlova VV, Xie C, Kaul S, Schneider D, Lonsdorf AS, Fahrleitner M, Choi EY, Dutoit V, Pellegrini M, Grossklaus S, Nawroth PP, Baretton G, Santoso S, Hwang ST, Arnold B, Chavakis T. A novel function of junctional adhesion molecule-C in mediating melanoma cell metastasis. Cancer Res. 2011; 71:4096-4105.
• Langer HF, Chung KJ, Orlova VV, Choi EY, Kaul S, Kruhlak MJ, Alatsatianos M, DeAngelis RA, Roche PA, Magotti P, Li X, Economopoulou M, Rafail S, Lambris JD*, Chavakis T*. Complement-mediated inhibition of neovascularization reveals a point of convergence between innate immunity and angiogenesis. Blood. 2010; 116(22):4395-4403. * equal contribution
• Economopoulou M, Langer HF, Celeste A, Orlova VV, Choi EY, Ma M, Vassilopoulos A, Callen E, Deng C, Bassing CH, Boehm M, Nussenzweig A, Chavakis T. Histone H2AX is integral to hypoxia-driven neovascularisation. Nature Medicine. 2009; 15.553-8.
• Choi EY, Chavakis E, Czabanka MA, Langer H, Fraemohs L, Economopoulou M, Kundu RK, Orlandi A, Zheng YY, Prieto DA, Ballantyne CM, Constant SL, Aird W, Papayannopoulou T, Gahmberg CG, Udey MC, Vajkoczy P, Quertermous T, Dimmeler S, Weber C, Chavakis T. Del-1, an endogenous leukocyte endothelial adhesion inhibitor, limits inflammatory cell recruitment. Science. 2008; 322:1101-04.
• Choi EY, Orlova VV, Fagerholm SC, Nurmi SM, Zhang L, Ballantyne CM, Gahmberg CG, Chavakis T. Regulation of LFA-1-dependent inflammatory cell recruitment by Cbl-b and 14-3-3 proteins. Blood. 2008; 111 :3607-3614
• Orlova VV, Choi EY, Xie C, Chavakis E, Bierhaus A, Ihanus E, Ballantyne CM, Gahmberg CG, Bianchi ME, Nawroth PP, Chavakis T. A novel pathway of HMGB1-mediated inflammatory cell recruitment that requires Mac-1-integrin. EMBO J. 2007; 26:1129-1139.
• Orlova V, Economopoulou M, Lupu F, Santoso S, Chavakis, T. Junctional adhesion molecule-C regulates vascular endothelial permeability by modulating VEcadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts. J Exp Med. 2006; 203:2703-14.
• Xie C, Alcaide P, Geisbrecht BV, Schneider D, Herrmann M, Preissner KT, Luscinskas FW, Chavakis T. Suppression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by extracellular adherence protein of Staphylococcus aureus. J Exp Med. 2006; 203:985-994.
• Economopoulou M, Bdeir K, Cines DB, Fogt F, Bdeir Y, Lubkowski J, Lu W, Preissner KT, Hammes HP, Chavakis T. Inhibition of pathologic retinal neovascularization by alpha-defensins. Blood. 2005; 106:3831-3838.
• Chavakis T, Bierhaus A, Al-Fakhri N, Schneider D, Witte S, Linn T, Nagashima M, Morser J, Arnold B, Preissner KT, Nawroth PP. The pattern recognition receptor (RAGE) is a counterreceptor for leukocyte integrins: a novel pathway for inflammatory cell recruitment. J Exp Med. 2003; 198:1507-1515.
• Santoso S, Sachs UJ, Kroll H, Linder M, Ruf A, Preissner KT, Chavakis T. The junctional adhesion molecule 3 (JAM-3) on human platelets is a counterreceptor for the leukocyte integrin Mac-1. J Exp Med. 2002; 196:679-691.
• Chavakis T, Hussain M, Kanse SM, Peters G, Bretzel RG, Flock JI, Herrmann M, Preissner KT. Staphylococcus aureus extracellular adherence protein serves as anti-inflammatory factor by inhibiting the recruitment of host leukocytes. Nature Medicine. 2002; 8:687-693.

Chavakis

	Funding
	Current: 2023- : ERC Advanced Grant ''LOSYSINCHRON: Local and systemic mechanisms for metabolic inflammation chronicity” Past: 2017-2022, ERC Consolidator Grant “DEMETINL” 2011-2016, ERC Starting Grant “ENDHOMRET
	Current: TRR 369: Innate immune training-mediated regulation of osteoclasts and inflammatory bone  TRR: 332:  Dissecting the anti-tumour effects of trained neutrophils Completed: Full list on the DFG database
Quelle Logo: Deutsche Krebshilfe	Exzellenzförderprogramm für etablierte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler: “The role of the bone marrow and immunometabolism in tumor immunology”
	Awards
	Since 2023 Member, Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina 2022, 2023, 2024 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate Analytics, London, UK 2014 David Pyke and Peter Watkins Visiting Professor in Diabetes and Endocrinology, King’s College Hospital, London, UK 2012 Award for Excellence in Basic/Translational Research, European Society for Clinical Investigation 2004 W. H. Hauss-Preis, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Arterioskleroseforschung 2003 Oskar-Lapp-Forschungspreis, Oskar-Lapp-Stiftung, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie, Herz- und Kreislaufforschung 2003 Dr.-Herbert-Stolzenberg-Preis, JLU Gießen 2001 Otto Hahn-Medaille, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, München