Biography
Sonja Schrepfer, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery, founded the Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology (TSI) Lab in 2009 in Germany. In 2016, she joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at the University of California San Francisco. She is also Co-Director of the TSI Lab at UCSF.
Dr. Schrepfer's research career has been dedicated to making fundamental discovers in stem cell immunology, transplant and cardiovascular immunobiology. Her lab currently works on immunobiological mechanisms of pluripotent stem cells (mouse and human). One project uses e.g. a combination of molecular/cellular biology, genomic/epigenomic profiling, tissue engineering, and molecular imaging technologies to better understand stem cell biology in vitro and in vivo. She has made significant contributions in the field of immunological barriers in regenerative medicine and in identifying novel immunobiological targets involved in cardiovascular diseases.
The TSI Lab is also investigating the vascular biology of “mice from space”; that is mice that have spent time at the international space station (ISS). This research will provide insight into what physiological effects time in outer space might have on astronauts, with potentially important implications for future longer-term missions, and has the possibility to open the door to fascinating new discoveries that could be used in earth-bound cardiovascular research.
Education
University of Wuerzburg and Munich, Germany MD 10/2001 Medicine, Immunology
University of Wuerzburg, Germany Doctoral Thesis 05/2002 Medicine, Immunology
University of Hamburg, Germany and Stanford University, Stanford, CA PhD 01/2007 Experimental Cardiac Surgery, Transplant Immunobiology
Stanford University, Stanford, CA Postdoctoral Training and Instructor 02/2009 Cardiothoracic Surgery, Transplant Immunobiology
2005 - 2007 Postdoctoral Fellow, Transplant Immunology Laboratory, Stanford University, School of Medicine, CT Surgery. Advisor: Dr. Robert C. Robbins
2007 - 2009 Instructor, Transplant Immunology Laboratory, Stanford University, School of Medicine, CT Surgery
2009-2015 Professor and Founder, Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology (TSI) Laboratory, University Heart Center Hamburg, Germany
Foreign Languages Spoken
German, French
In the News
Grants and Funding
- Hypo-immunogenic cardiomyocytes for myocardial repair | NIH | 2018-08-01 - 2022-06-30 | Role: Co-Principal Investigator
- Microgravity as model for immunological senescence and its impact on tissue stem cells and regeneration | NIH | 2017-06-15 - 2022-06-30 | Role: Principal Investigator
- Microgravity as model for immunological senescence and its impact on tissue stem cells and regeneration | NIH | 2017-06-15 - 2020-02-29 | Role: Principal Investigator
Research Narrative
Dr. Schrepfer's research aims to understand the critical immunological barrier that presently precludes the successful application of cell-based regenerative therapy Her TSI Lab has made seminal contributions to the field, including the first description of the antigenicity of mitochondria in embryonic stem cells derived by somatic cell nucleus transfer (SCNT). Currently, her group is interested in understanding the molecular, cellular, and epigenetic landscape changes after transplantation of stem cells and their derivates and we are aiming to decrease the immunogenic potential of PSCs.
The lab has also discovered novel pathways involved in the development of vascular intimal hyperplasia. Myointimal hyperplasia is a pathological process of the vascular system characterized by abnormal proliferation of smooth muscle cells of the vascular wall that leads to luminal obliteration and subsequent ischemia. Myointimal hyperplasia may occur in patients after vessel injury during medical procedures (e.g. after balloon dilation or stent placement) or after pathological injury of the blood vessel (e.g. due to inflammation or toxic exposure). It can cause graft failure and in-stent restenosis. To help prevent this and increase the success of treatments for coronary heart disease, Dr. Schrepfer's lab has also developed novel humanized models to study the development of intimal hyperplasia.
Transplant immunology after heart and lung transplantation is another area the lab is exploring with particular focus on translational research and investigation of underlying mechanisms of acute and chronic graft rejection. Novel drug discoveries will benefit our patients tremendously.
Research Interests
Pluripotent Stem Cell Immunobiology
Cardiovascular MechanismsiInvolved in Vessel Stenosis
Transplant Immunology
Vascular Biology of Mice During Space Travel
Research Pathways
Publications
- Hypoimmune islets achieve insulin independence after allogeneic transplantation in a fully immunocompetent non-human primate.| | View in PubMed
- Synthetic immune checkpoint engagers protect HLA-deficient iPSCs and derivatives from innate immune cell cytotoxicity.| | View in PubMed
- Hypoimmune induced pluripotent stem cells survive long term in fully immunocompetent, allogeneic rhesus macaques.| | View in PubMed
- Human hypoimmune primary pancreatic islets avoid rejection and autoimmunity and alleviate diabetes in allogeneic humanized mice.| | View in PubMed
- Hypoimmune anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells provide lasting tumor control in fully immunocompetent allogeneic humanized mice.| | View in PubMed
- Protection of cell therapeutics from antibody-mediated killing by CD64 overexpression.| | View in PubMed
- Author Correction: Hypoimmunogenic derivatives of induced pluripotent stem cells evade immune rejection in fully immunocompetent allogeneic recipients.| | View in PubMed
- Hypoimmune induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell therapeutics treat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases in immunocompetent allogeneic mice.| | View in PubMed
- Immunomodulation Therapy Using Tolerogenic Macrophages in a Rodent Model of Pulmonary Hypertension.| | View in PubMed
- The SIRPα-CD47 immune checkpoint in NK cells.| | View in PubMed
- Comprehensive Multi-omics Analysis Reveals Mitochondrial Stress as a Central Biological Hub for Spaceflight Impact.| | View in PubMed
- The H-Y Antigen in Embryonic Stem Cells Causes Rejection in Syngeneic Female Recipients.| | View in PubMed
- A Cryoinjury Model to Study Myocardial Infarction in the Mouse.| | View in PubMed
- De novo mutations in mitochondrial DNA of iPSCs produce immunogenic neoepitopes in mice and humans.| | View in PubMed
- Hypoimmunogenic derivatives of induced pluripotent stem cells evade immune rejection in fully immunocompetent allogeneic recipients.| | View in PubMed
- Dead space ventilation promotes alveolar hypocapnia reducing surfactant secretion by altering mitochondrial function.| | View in PubMed
- Exosomal profiling in cardiac allograft rejection: Best basic science article in 2018.| | View in PubMed
- No effect of thymosin beta-4 on the expression of the transcription factor Islet-1 in the adult murine heart.| | View in PubMed
- Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 regulates neointimal growth in a humanized model for restenosis.| | View in PubMed
- Optimization of oxygenation during ex vivo lung perfusion-Best basic science article in 2017.| | View in PubMed
- Balloon-based Injury to Induce Myointimal Hyperplasia in the Mouse Abdominal Aorta.| | View in PubMed
- Opportunities for Lung Repair and Regeneration: An Overview.| | View in PubMed
- Thalidomide treatment prevents chronic graft rejection after aortic transplantation in rats - an experimental study.| | View in PubMed
- Differences in Vascular Response between Balloon Overstretch and Stent Overexpansion in Nonatherosclerotic Porcine Coronary Arteries.| | View in PubMed
- The ubiquitin-proteasome system: A potential therapeutic target for heart failure.| | View in PubMed
- Vein Interposition Model: A Suitable Model to Study Bypass Graft Patency.| | View in PubMed
- Orthotopic tracheal transplantation using human bronchus: an original xenotransplant model of obliterative airway disorder.| | View in PubMed
- miR-126: a potential new key player in hypoxia and reperfusion?| | View in PubMed
- The Selective JAK1/3-Inhibitor R507 Mitigates Obliterative Airway Disease Both With Systemic Administration and Aerosol Inhalation.| | View in PubMed
- "Bioengineered lungs" Best science paper in JHLT 2014-2015.| | View in PubMed
- miR-21 promotes fibrosis in an acute cardiac allograft transplantation model.| | View in PubMed
- Sex Differences in Immunology: More Severe Development of Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension in Male Rats Exposed to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor Blockade.| | View in PubMed
- Alagebrium inhibits neointimal hyperplasia and restores distributions of wall shear stress by reducing downstream vascular resistance in obese and diabetic rats.| | View in PubMed
- Distal Airway Stem Cells are Essential for Lung Regeneration.| | View in PubMed
- Local MicroRNA Modulation Using a Novel Anti-miR-21-Eluting Stent Effectively Prevents Experimental In-Stent Restenosis.| | View in PubMed
- Advancing knowledge of right ventricular pathophysiology in chronic pressure overload: Insights from experimental studies.| | View in PubMed
- Effective Apical Infection of Differentiated Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells and Induction of Proinflammatory Chemokines by the Highly Pneumotropic Human Adenovirus Type 14p1.| | View in PubMed
- Mesenchymal stromal cell therapy: different sources exhibit different immunobiological properties.| | View in PubMed
- Immunobiology of fibrin-based engineered heart tissue.| | View in PubMed
- Impaired Endothelial Regeneration Through Human Parvovirus B19-Infected Circulating Angiogenic Cells in Patients With Cardiomyopathy.| | View in PubMed
- Erratum: miR-24 limits aortic vascular inflammation and murine abdominal aneurysm development.| | View in PubMed
- SCNT-derived ESCs with mismatched mitochondria trigger an immune response in allogeneic hosts.| | View in PubMed
- miR-24 limits aortic vascular inflammation and murine abdominal aneurysm development.| | View in PubMed
- Inducing myointimal hyperplasia versus atherosclerosis in mice: an introduction of two valid models.| | View in PubMed
- Dichloroacetate prevents restenosis in preclinical animal models of vessel injury.| | View in PubMed
- The Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel KCa3.1 as a potential new target for the prevention of allograft vasculopathy.| | View in PubMed
- Immunological properties of extraembryonic human mesenchymal stromal cells derived from gestational tissue.| | View in PubMed
- Small animal models of experimental obliterative bronchiolitis.| | View in PubMed
- The potassium channel KCa3.1 as new therapeutic target for the prevention of obliterative airway disease.| | View in PubMed
- Significant reduction of acute cardiac allograft rejection by selective janus kinase-1/3 inhibition using R507 and R545.| | View in PubMed
- Effects of intracoronary CD34+ stem cell transplantation in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy patients: 5-year follow-up.| | View in PubMed
- Human internal mammary artery (IMA) transplantation and stenting: a human model to study the development of in-stent restenosis.| | View in PubMed
- Localization of Islet-1-positive cells in the healthy and infarcted adult murine heart.| | View in PubMed
- Human leukocyte antigen I knockdown human embryonic stem cells induce host ignorance and achieve prolonged xenogeneic survival.| | View in PubMed
- Immunobiology of naïve and genetically modified HLA-class-I-knockdown human embryonic stem cells.| | View in PubMed
- Assessment of physiologic natural killer cell cytotoxicity in vitro.| | View in PubMed
- Peptide ligands incorporated into the threefold spike capsid domain to re-direct gene transduction of AAV8 and AAV9 in vivo.| | View in PubMed
- Bioluminescence imaging for assessment of immune responses following implantation of engineered heart tissue (EHT).| | View in PubMed
- Prevention of transplant coronary artery disease by prenylation inhibitors.| | View in PubMed
- Orthotopic aortic transplantation: a rat model to study the development of chronic vasculopathy.| | View in PubMed
- Immunogenicity and immunomodulatory properties of umbilical cord lining mesenchymal stem cells.| | View in PubMed
- Sustained inhibition of epsilon protein kinase C inhibits vascular restenosis after balloon injury and stenting.| | View in PubMed
- Non-volume-loaded heart provides a more relevant heterotopic transplantation model.| | View in PubMed
- Heterotopic and orthotopic tracheal transplantation in mice used as models to study the development of obliterative airway disease.| | View in PubMed
- Mechanisms behind local immunosuppression using inhaled tacrolimus in preclinical models of lung transplantation.| | View in PubMed
- LAD-ligation: a murine model of myocardial infarction.| | View in PubMed
- Poor functional recovery after transplantation of diabetic bone marrow stem cells in ischemic myocardium.| | View in PubMed
- Hepatocyte growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor gene transfer maximizes mesenchymal stem cell-based myocardial salvage after acute myocardial infarction.| | View in PubMed
- Imaging in-stent restenosis: an inexpensive, reliable, and rapid preclinical model.| | View in PubMed
- A novel JAK3 inhibitor, R348, attenuates chronic airway allograft rejection.| | View in PubMed
- Comparison of transplantation of adipose tissue- and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the infarcted heart.| | View in PubMed
- In vivo imaging of embryonic stem cells reveals patterns of survival and immune rejection following transplantation.| | View in PubMed
- Comparison of different adult stem cell types for treatment of myocardial ischemia.| | View in PubMed
- Immunosuppressive therapy mitigates immunological rejection of human embryonic stem cell xenografts.| | View in PubMed
- Novel immunosuppression: R348, a JAK3- and Syk-inhibitor attenuates acute cardiac allograft rejection.| | View in PubMed
- Prevention and inhibition but not reversion of chronic allograft vasculopathy by FK778.| | View in PubMed
- Introducing the first polymer-free leflunomide eluting stent.| | View in PubMed
- Inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase type 2 attenuates vasodilatory action of nitroglycerin in human veins.| | View in PubMed
- Failed induction of heme oxygenase 1 in endothelial cells exposed to the hemoglobin based oxygen carrier Oxyglobin.| | View in PubMed
- Right atrial mass after primary repair of an atrial septal defect: thrombus masquerading as a myxoma.| | View in PubMed
- Techniques for experimental heterotopic and orthotopic tracheal transplantations - When to use which model?| | View in PubMed
- Coincidence of aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation and multiple cardiac papillary fibroelastomas in a young male adult.| | View in PubMed
- Simplified protocol to isolate, purify, and culture expand mesenchymal stem cells.| | View in PubMed
- Experimental orthotopic tracheal transplantation: The Stanford technique.| | View in PubMed
- FK778 in experimental xenotransplantation: a detailed analysis of drug efficacy.| | View in PubMed
- Inhibition of restenosis development after mechanical injury: a new field of application for malononitrilamides?| | View in PubMed
- The selective estrogen receptor-beta agonist biochanin A shows vasculoprotective effects without uterotrophic activity.| | View in PubMed
- Heparins increase endothelial nitric oxide bioavailability by liberating vessel-immobilized myeloperoxidase.| | View in PubMed
- Sirolimus and FK778: a comparison of two anti-proliferative immunosuppressants for prevention of experimental obliterative airway disease.| | View in PubMed
- The phytoestrogen biochaninA weakens acute cardiac allograft rejection without affecting the reproductive system.| | View in PubMed
- FK778 and tacrolimus prevent the development of obliterative airway disease after heterotopic rat tracheal transplantation.| | View in PubMed
- FK778, a novel immunosuppressive agent, reduces early adhesion molecule up-regulation and prolongs cardiac allograft survival.| | View in PubMed
- FK778 attenuates lymphocyte-endothelium interaction after cardiac transplantation: in vivo and in vitro studies.| | View in PubMed
- The interaction between FK778 and tacrolimus in the prevention of rat cardiac allograft rejection is dose dependent.| | View in PubMed
- Immunosuppression with FK778 and mycophenolate mofetil in a rat cardiac transplantation model.| | View in PubMed
- Successful resection of a symptomatic right ventricular lipoma.| | View in PubMed
- New technique for chest opening in mice: U-sternotomy.| | View in PubMed
- Myoblasts survive intracardiac transfer and divide further after transplantation.| | View in PubMed