About me
Professor of Viral Immunology at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge since 2013.
Research description
Innate and adaptive immune mechanisms work together to contain viral and bacterial infections. We investigate basic aspects of cell-mediated immunity as well as the immunopathogenesis of such infections. We do this with a basis in our solid understanding of fundamental immunology that we apply towards patient-based research and develop into translational approaches. The majority of T lymphocytes carry diverse T cell receptors (TCRs) that display classical MHC-restriction. However, the T cell compartment also includes invariant T cell subsets that recognize antigens presented by non-classical MHC-like molecules. Several of these invariant T cell subsets are evolutionarily conserved, display innate-like characteristics, and play important roles in immune control of pathogens. The group is particularly interested in the role of adaptive T cell responses mediated by CD8 T cells, and in the role that innate-like T cells such as the invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells and mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells play in host defense.
Selected recent publications:
1. Parrot, T., Gorin, J. B., Ponzetta, A., Maleki, K. T., Kammann, T., Emgård, J., Perez-Potti, A., Sekine, T., Rivera-Ballesteros, O., the Karolinska COVID-19 Study Group, Gredmark-Russ, S., Rooyackers, O., Folkesson, E., Eriksson, L. I., Norrby-Teglund, A., Ljunggren, H. G., Björkström, N. K., Aleman, S., Buggert, M., Klingström, J., Strålin, K., and Sandberg, J. K., (2020) MAIT cell activation and dynamics associated with COVID-19 disease severity. Science Immunology. 5: eabe1670.
2. Sekine, T., Perez-Potti, A., Rivera-Ballesteros, O., Strålin, K., Gorin, J. B., Olsson, A., Llewellyn-Lacey, S., Kamal, H., Bogdanovic, G., Muschiol, S., Wulliman, D. J., Kammann, T., Emgård, J., Parrot, T., Folkesson, E.,Karolinska COVID-19 Study Group, Rooyackers, O., Eriksson, L. I., Henter, J. I., Sönnerborg, A., Allander, T., Albert, J., Nielsen, M., Klingström, J., Gredmark-Russ, S., Björkström, N. K., Sandberg, J. K., Price, D. A., Ljunggren, H. G., Aleman, S. and Buggert M. (2020) Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19. Cell. 183: 158-168.
3. Lal, K. G., Kim, D., Costanzo, M. C., Creegan, M., Leeansyah, E., Dias, J., Paquin-Proulx, D., Eller, L. A., Schuetz, A., Phuang-ngern, Y., Krebs, S. J., Slike, B. M., Kibuuka, H., Maganga, L., Nitayaphan, S., Kosgei, J., Sacdalan, C., Ananworanich, J., Bolton, D. L., Michael, N. L., Shacklett, B. L., Robb, M. L., Eller, M. A. and Sandberg, J. K. (2020) Dynamic MAIT cell response with progressively enhanced innate-like features during acute HIV-1 infection. Nature Communications. 11: 272.
4. Boulouis, C., Sia, W. R., Gulam, M. Y., Teo, J. Q. M., Png, Y. T., Phan, T. K., Mak, J. Y. W., Fairlie, D. P., Poon I. K. H., Koh, T. H., Bergman, P., Lim, C. M., Wang, L. F., Kwa, A. L. H., Sandberg, J. K. and Leeansyah, E. (2020) Human MAIT cell cytolytic effector proteins synergize to overcome carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli. PLOS Biology. 18: e3000644.
5. Emgård, J., Bergsten, H., McCormick, J. K., Barrantes, I., Skrede, S., Sandberg, J. K.* and Norrby-Teglund, A.* (2019) MAIT cells are major contributors to the cytokine response in group A streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 116: 25923-25931.
6. Dias, J., Leeansyah, E., and Sandberg J. K. (2017) Multiple layers of heterogeneity and subset diversity in human MAIT cell responses to distinct microorganisms, and innate to cytokines. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 114: E5434-E5443.