Stockholm university
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Research subject Infection and Immunobiology

Within this research area, we study molecular mechanisms in infection and immunobiology.

The aim is to identify and characterize, at the molecular level, components and processes that participate in host-microbe and host-parasite interactions, as well as cellular interactions within the host and interactions between microbes, and to investigate how these processes influence the organism as a whole.

Related research subject

Molecular Biosciences
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Researchers

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Research groups

Group Ankarklev

Our team studies the biology underlying malaria transmission, with the ultimate goal of enabling novel strategies to hamper the spread of the disease

Johan Ankarklev
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Group Barragan

Our current research on the pathobiology of parasitic infections integrates molecular parasitology with immunology and cell biology to understand how obligate intracellular parasites interact with the host.

Antonio Barragan
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Group Emami

We work on infectious-disease biology with a focus on host-pathogen-vector signalling-communication. We provide a fundamental/quantitative description of communication in infection-biology/behaviour plasticity, and genetics towards the design of novel scientific technologies.

Noushin Emami
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Group Engström

We study gene expression with a focus on the role of POU/Oct transcription factors in development, stem cell regulation, cancer and immunity. We use the fruitfly Drosophila as a model organism and utilize the genetic tools developed for this organism, in combination with high-throughput expression analyses, high resolution microscopy and live-cell imaging.

Ylva Engström
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Group Faye

Our aim is to study the effects of bacterial phosphoantigens (HMBPP and IPP) on appetite. We introduced these into mice by gavage and followed the differences in weight gain and gene transcription from relevant tissues. An unexpected effect on male salivary glands focused our interest also on their effects on immune response.

Ingrid Faye
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Group Spetz

We are exploring basic mechanisms regarding a group of small non-coding oligonucleotides and their therapeutic potential. We have discovered that a set of single-stranded oligonucleotides temporarily inhibit certain endocytic pathways and thereby modulate innate immune responses as well as providing anti-viral effects.

Anna-Lena Spetz
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Group Theopold

We regret to inform that our beloved colleague Ulrich Theopold passed away in end of September 2023. All our thoughts go out to his family. 

Ulrich Theopold
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Research projects

News

Photo: Matias Rodriguez
Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

Toxoplasma traps immune cells in blood vessels to rapidly colonize the brain

A recent study published in Nature Communications by the Barragan group reveals how Toxoplasma manipulates infected leukocytes, causing them to become sequestered in cerebral capillaries. After replicating, the parasites exit the leukocytes and swiftly reach neurons. These findings provide new insight into the parasite's journey from the bloodstream into the brain.

Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

Exploring Immune Response Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A - Interview with Clàudia Arasa Cuartiella

On Friday, April 4, 2025, Clàudia Arasa Cuartiella will defend her doctoral thesis, “Unraveling the immune response to Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A – From calm seas to cytokine storms: navigating the superantigenic tide”, at Stockholm University. Her research delves into how Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A (SEA), a virulence factor of Staphylococcus aureus, interacts with the immune system. Before the defence, we have had the opportunity to have a short interview.

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Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

Study shows that preterm infants may be more vulnarable to microbal exposure

In a new study, Group Sverremark-Ekström shows that extremely preterm infants have monocyte characteristics and functional features that deviate from infants born full-term. Some of these differences persist until they reach an age corresponding to full-term, potentially making them more vulnerable to microbial exposures during the first months of life.

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Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

Mapping the sex life of Malaria parasites reveals the genetics underlying Malaria transmission

Malaria is caused by a eukaryotic microbe of the Plasmodium genus, and is responsible for more deaths than all other parasitic diseases combined. In order to transmit from the human host to the mosquito vector, the parasite has to differentiate to its sexual stage, referred to as the gametocyte stage. Unlike primary sex determination in mammals, which occurs at the chromosome level, it is not known what causes this unicellular parasite to form males and females. New research at Stockholm University has implemented high-resolution genomic tools to map the global repertoire of genes of gametocyte development towards the male or the female sexual fates.

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Illustration of how malaria parasites are transmitted.
Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

First spatial map of malaria infection in the liver opens up for more effective malaria treatments

For the malaria parasite to reach the blood of its human host, it must first enter the liver, where only a small number of parasites differentiate and replicate for upwards of seven days, making it a bottleneck in the parasite’s lifecycle. This bottleneck makes the liver stage an optimal target for effective and long-lasting vaccines against the disease. Using Spatial Transcriptomics and single-cell RNA-sequencing technologies, researchers at Stockholm University have for the first time managed to create a spatio-temporal map of malaria infection in the mouse liver. A study that was recently published in Nature Communications.

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Departments and centres

Research in the subject takes place at the Department of Molecular Biosciences. 

Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

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