The laboratory of Prof. Gerd Meyer zu Hörste, MD (the MzH lab) is part of the Department of Neurology at the University Clinic Münster and the University od Münster in Germany. We employ a wide range of experimental techniques to study disease mechanisms in neuro-immunological disorders. The specific aims of our research are:

1. Understand the interaction between T helper cells and parenchymal cells of the nervous system.
2. Characterize the interaction between recently discovered subsets of T helper cells with B cells in autoimmunity of the nervous system.
3. Define how the brain microenvironment shapes the phenotype and function of immune cells.

Areas of special interest include multiple sclerosis, inflammatory myopathy and inflammatory neuropathy and their animal models. In addition, we actively develop novel techniques and adapt them to neuroimmunological diseases including high-throughput single cell expression profiling and proteomic profiling. Information on our most recent projects and publications can be found here.

Lu I-N, Fung-Yi Cheung P, Heming M, Thomas C, Giglio G, Leo M, Erdemir M, Wirth T, König S, Dambietz CA, Schroeter CB, Nelke C, Siveke JT, Ruck  T, Klotz L, Haider C, Höftberger R, Kleinschnitz C, Wiendl H, Hagenacker T*, Meyer Zu Horste G*. Cell-mediated cytotoxicity within CSF and brain parenchyma in spinal muscular atrophy unaltered by nusinersen treatment. Nat Commun. 2024 May 15;15(1):4120. (contributed equally)

Beuker C*, Schafflick D*, Strecker J-K*, Heming M,  Li X, Wolbert J, Schmidt-Pogoda A, Thomas C, Kuhlmann T, Aranda-Pardos I, Gonzalez N-A, Kumar PA, Werner Y, Kilic E, Hermann DM, Wiendl H, Stumm R, Meyer Zu Hörste G, Minnerup J. Stroke induces disease-specific myeloid cells in the brain parenchyma and pia. Nat Commun. 2022 Feb 17;13(1):945. (* contributed equally)

Hartlehnert M, Börsch A-L, Li X, Burmeister M, Gerwien H, Schafflick D, Heming M, Lu I-N, Narayanan V, Strecker J-K, Kolz A, Peters A, Wu GF, Wiendl H, Sorokin L, Meyer Zu Horste G. Bcl6 controls meningeal Th17-B cell interaction in murine neuroinflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Sep 7;118(36):e2023174118.

First to identify a mechanism controlling meningeal, not parenchymal T/B cell interaction promoting neuroinflammation

Schafflick D*, Wolbert J*, Heming M*, Thomas C, Hartlehnert M, Börsch A-L, Ricci A, Martín-Salamanca S, Li X, Lu I-N, Pawlak M, Minnerup J, Strecker J-K, Seidenbecher T, Meuth SG, Hidalgo A, Liesz A, Wiendl H, Meyer Zu Horste G. Single-cell profiling of CNS border compartment leukocytes reveals that B cells and their progenitors reside in non-diseased meninges. Nat Neurosci. 2021 Sep;24(9):1225-1234. (* contributed equally)

First to report that the dura layer of the meninges hosts abundant B cells and B cell progenitors. Revolutionary concept of the meninges supporting ectopic lymphopoiesis. Concurrently reported in Science (PMID 34083450) and Immunity (PMID 34626548).

Heming M, Li X, Räuber S, Mausberg AK, Börsch A-L, Hartlehnert M, Singhal A, Lu I-N, Fleischer M, Szepanowski F, Witzke O, Brenner T, Dittmer U, Yosef N, Kleinschnitz C, Wiendl H, Stettner M, Meyer Zu Hörste G. Neurological Manifestations of COVID-19 Feature T Cell Exhaustion and Dedifferentiated Monocytes in Cerebrospinal Fluid. Immunity. 2021 Jan 12;54(1):164-175.e6.

First to identify mechanisms driving neurological manifestations of COVID-19 infection by applying single cell RNA-sequencing to leukocytes in cerebrospinal fluid.

Meyer Zu Hörste G, Gross CC, Klotz L, Schwab N, Wiendl H. Next-Generation Neuroimmunology: New Technologies to Understand Central Nervous System Autoimmunity. Trends Immunol. 2020 Apr;41(4):341-354.

Schafflick D, Xu CA, Hartlehnert M, Cole M, Schulte-Mecklenbeck A, Lautwein T, Wolbert J, Heming M, Meuth SG, Kuhlmann T, Gross CC, Wiendl H, Yosef N, Meyer Zu Horste G. Integrated single cell analysis of blood and cerebrospinal fluid leukocytes in multiple sclerosis.
Nat Commun. 2020 Jan 14;11(1):247. 

First to report comparative single cell transcriptomics of cerebrospinal fluid vs. blood leukocytes in human multiple sclerosis patients vs. controls.

Wolbert J, Li X, Heming M, Mausberg AK, Akkermann D, Frydrychowicz D, Fledrich R, Groeneweg L, Schulz C, Stettner M, Alonso Gonzalez N, Wiendl H, Stassart R, Meyer Zu Hörste G. Redefining the heterogeneity of peripheral nerve cells in health and autoimmunity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Apr 28;117(17):9466-9476.

Meyer Zu Horste G, Przybylski D, Schramm MA, Wang C, Schnell A, Lee Y, Sobel R, Regev A, Kuchroo VK. Fas Promotes T Helper 17 Cell Differentiation and Inhibits T Helper 1 Cell Development by Binding and Sequestering Transcription Factor STAT1. Immunity. 2018 Mar 20;48(3):556-569.e7.

Meyer zu Horste G, Wu C, Wang C, Pawlak M, Lee Y, Elyaman W, Xiao S, Kuchroo VK. RBPJ controls the development of pathogenic vs. non-pathogenic Th17 cells by regulating IL-23R versus IL-10 expression. Cell Rep. 2016 Jul 12;16(2):392-404.

Sereda MW*, Meyer zu Hörste G*, Suter U, Uzma N, Nave KA. Therapeutic administration of progesterone antagonist in a model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT-1A). Nat Med. 2003 Dec;9(12):1533-7.(*equally contributing first author)

List of Publications at Pubmed.

List of Publications at  Research Gate

List of publications at Orcid.