Kate Attfield PhD Junior PI
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common, chronic disabling neurological condition in young adults, afflicting more than 2.5 million people worldwide. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 200 risk loci as contributing to disease susceptibility. However, the clinical utility of this data ultimately requires functional translation to identify cell types or pathways that are perturbed by these variants and to understand the role that exogenous triggers, which activate and drive the disease. Our research aims to unravel this complexity using an array of experimental platforms and to integrate and complement our findings with clinical data.
Publications
Max Kaufmann, Hayley Evans, Anna-Lena Schaupp , Jan Broder Engler, Gurman Kaur, Anne Willing, Nina Kursawe, Charlotte Schubert, Kathrine E Attfield, Lars Fugger, Manuel A Friese. Identifying CNS-colonizing T cells as potential therapeutic targets to prevent progression of multiple sclerosis. Med (N Y). 2021 Mar 12;2(3):296-312.e8.
Wurm H, Attfield K, Iversen AK, Gold R, Fugger L, Haghikia A. Recovery from COVID-19 in a B-cell-depleted multiple sclerosis patient. Multiple Sclerosis. 2020. Sep;26(10):1261-1264Faergeman S, Evans H, Attfield K, Desel C, Balaram Kuttikkatte S, Sommerlund M, Torp Jensen L, Frokiaer J, Friese M, Matthews P, Luchtenborg C, Brügger B, Bang Oturai A, Dendrou C, Fugger L. A novel neurodegenerative spectrum disorder in patients with MLKL deficiency. Cell Death & Disease. 2020. May 1;11(5):303Invited publications:
Kaur G, Gras S, Mobbs JI, Vivian JP, Cortes A, Barber T, Kuttikkatte SB, Jensen LT, Attfield KE, Dendrou CA, Carrington M, McVean G, Purcell AW, Rossjohn J, Fugger L. Structural and regulatory diversity shape HLA-C protein expression levels. (2017) Nature Communications
Dendou, CA., Cortes A., Shipman, L., Evans, HG., Attfield, KE., Jostins, L., Barber, T., Kaur, G., Kuttikkatte, SB., Leach, OA., Desel, C., Faergeman, SL., Cheeseman, J., Neville, MJ., Sawcer, S., Compston, A., Johnson, AR., Everett, C., Bell, JI., Karpe, F., Ultsch, M., Eigenbrot, C., McVean G., Fugger, L. (2016) Resolving TYK2 locus genotype-to-phenotype differences in autoimmunity. Sci Transl Med. Nov 2;8(363):363ra149
Rühl G, Niedl AG, Patronov A, Siewert K, Pinkert S, Kalemanov M, Friese MA, Attfield KE, Antes I, Hohlfeld R, Dornmair K. (2016). Multiple sclerosis: Molecular mimicry of an antimyelin HLA class I restricted T-cell receptor.
Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. May 17;3(4):e241.
Moutsianas, L., Jostins, L., Beecham, A.H., Dilthey, A.T., Xifara, D.K., Ban, M., Shah, T.S., Patsopoulos, N.A., Alfredsson, L., Anderson, C.A., Attfield, KE., Baranzini, S.E., Barrett, J., Binder, T.M., Booth, D., Buck, D., Celius, E.G., Cotsapas, C., D'Alfonso, S., Dendrou, C.A., Donnelly, P., Dubois, B., Fontaine, B., Fugger, L., Goris, A., Gourraud, P.A., Graetz, C., Hemmer, B., Hillert, J.; International IBD Genetics Consortium (IIBDGC), Kockum, I., Leslie, S., Lill, C.M., Martinelli-Boneschi, F., Oksenberg, J.R., Olsson, T., Oturai, A., Saarela, J., Søndergaard, H.B., Spurkland, A., Taylor, B., Winkelmann, J., Zipp, F., Haines, J.L., Pericak-Vance, M.A., Spencer, C.C., Stewart, G., Hafler, D.A., Ivinson, A.J., Harbo, H.F., Hauser, S.L., De Jager, P.L., Compston, A., McCauley, J.L., Sawcer, S., McVean, G.; International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium. (2015) Class II HLA interactions modulate genetic risk for multiple sclerosis. Nat Genet. 47, 1107-13
Willing A, Leach OA, Ufer F, Attfield KE, Steinbach K, Kursawe N, Piedavent M, Friese MA. (2014) CD8⁺ MAIT cells infiltrate into the CNS and alterations in their blood frequencies correlate with IL-18 serum levels in multiple sclerosis. Eur J Immunol. Oct;44(10):3119-28
Attfield, KE., Fugger, L. (2013) TCR transgenic mice that shed light on immune and environmental regulators in multiple sclerosis. J Immunol. 190, 3015-7
Attfield, KE., Dendrou, CA., Fugger, L. (2012) Bridging the gap from genetic association to functional understanding: the next generation of mouse models of multiple sclerosis. Immunol Rev. 1, 10-22
Gregory, A. P., Dendrou, C. A., Attfield, KE., Haghikia, A., Xifara, D. K., Butter, F., Poschmann, G., Kaur, G., Lambert, L., Leach, O. A., Promel, S., Punwani, D., Felce, J. H., Davis, S. J., Gold, R., Nielsen, F. C., Siegel, R. M., Mann, M., Bell, J. I., McVean, G., Fugger, L. (2012) TNF receptor 1 genetic risk mirrors outcome of anti-TNF therapy in multiple sclerosis. Nature 488, 508-1