Saskia Hemmers | Scholars@Duke

Saskia Hemmers
Assistant Professor in Immunology

My lab will address how complex tissue cues are integrated and imprinted resulting in functionally distinct T cells. The two settings we are focused on are the integration of developmental cues during early perinatal life and of pathological cues associated with tissue-damage in settings of neuro-inflammation and neuronal damage induced pain.

What is so special about early perinatal life? It is a period of rapid growth, high cell turnover and major tissue remodeling. This coincides with the rapid seeding and expansion of T cells in secondary lymphoid organs and tissues. We have evidence that perinatally derived regulatory T cells occupy specialized niches that are established early in life and persist into adulthood, and we propose that they serve specialized tissue-supportive functions that cannot be easily replaced by their adult-derived counterparts. Therefore, disruption of this early life niche formation by infection might lead to an irreplaceable loss of those cells and might increase the susceptibility of the animal to severe end organ damage in adulthood.

Our other major research interest is to better understand how pathological cues associated with neuroinflammation and neuronal damage induced pain are integrated by T cells and direct their function. Previously I explored the role of sensors of tissue damage on regulatory T cells with a particular focus on IL-1R family members. I uncovered a novel circuit of IL-33 sensing by Treg cells that was required to dampen disease severity in a model of neuroinflammation in the CNS. My lab will expand on this work utilizing novel mouse strains to explore the specific contributions of other IL-1R family members in the setting of neuroinflammation in the CNS and apply those same genetic tools to neuronal damage associated manifestations of pain in the peripheral nervous system.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Assistant Professor in Immunology, Immunology, Basic Science Departments 2022
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers 2022

Contact Information

207 Research Drive, Box 3010, Durham, NC 27710
207 Research Drive, Room 112, Durham, NC 27710
saskia.hemmers@duke.edu (919) 613-9579

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute 2010
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Instructor in the Department of Immunology, Immunology, Basic Science Departments 2021
Recognition
Awards & Honors
- Whitehead Scholar. Duke University School of Medicine. May 2022
Expertise
Subject Headings
Research
Selected Grants
- Basic Immunology Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2025
External Relationships
- Millipore Corporation (Merck)
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Hemmers, S., Schizas, M., & Rudensky, A. Y. (2021). T reg cell-intrinsic requirements for ST2 signaling in health and neuroinflammation. J Exp Med, 218(2). https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20201234
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  - Hemmers, S., Schizas, M., Azizi, E., Dikiy, S., Zhong, Y., Feng, Y., … Rudensky, A. Y. (2019). IL-2 production by self-reactive CD4 thymocytes scales regulatory T cell generation in the thymus. J Exp Med, 216(11), 2466–2478. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20190993
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  - Fleskens, V., Minutti, C. M., Wu, X., Wei, P., Pals, C. E. G. M., McCrae, J., … Coffer, P. J. (2019). Nemo-like Kinase Drives Foxp3 Stability and Is Critical for Maintenance of Immune Tolerance by Regulatory T Cells. Cell Rep, 26(13), 3600-3612.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.087
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  - Liu, Y., Carmona-Rivera, C., Moore, E., Seto, N. L., Knight, J. S., Pryor, M., … Kaplan, M. J. (2018). Myeloid-Specific Deletion of Peptidylarginine Deiminase 4 Mitigates Atherosclerosis. Front Immunol, 9, 1680. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01680
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  - Bolotin, D. A., Poslavsky, S., Davydov, A. N., Frenkel, F. E., Fanchi, L., Zolotareva, O. I., … Chudakov, D. M. (2017). Antigen receptor repertoire profiling from RNA-seq data. Nat Biotechnol, 35(10), 908–911. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3979
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  - Levine, A. G., Mendoza, A., Hemmers, S., Moltedo, B., Niec, R. E., Schizas, M., … Rudensky, A. Y. (2017). Stability and function of regulatory T cells expressing the transcription factor T-bet. Nature, 546(7658), 421–425. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22360
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  - Levine, A. G., Hemmers, S., Baptista, A. P., Schizas, M., Faire, M. B., Moltedo, B., … Rudensky, A. Y. (2017). Suppression of lethal autoimmunity by regulatory T cells with a single TCR specificity. J Exp Med, 214(3), 609–622. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20161318
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  - van der Veeken, J., Gonzalez, A. J., Cho, H., Arvey, A., Hemmers, S., Leslie, C. S., & Rudensky, A. Y. (2016). Memory of Inflammation in Regulatory T Cells. Cell, 166(4), 977–990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.07.006
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  - Feng, Y., van der Veeken, J., Shugay, M., Putintseva, E. V., Osmanbeyoglu, H. U., Dikiy, S., … Rudensky, A. Y. (2015). A mechanism for expansion of regulatory T-cell repertoire and its role in self-tolerance. Nature, 528(7580), 132–136. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16141
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  - Arpaia, N., Green, J. A., Moltedo, B., Arvey, A., Hemmers, S., Yuan, S., … Rudensky, A. Y. (2015). A Distinct Function of Regulatory T Cells in Tissue Protection. Cell, 162(5), 1078–1089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.08.021
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  - Hemmers, S., & Rudensky, A. Y. (2015). The Cell-Intrinsic Circadian Clock Is Dispensable for Lymphocyte Differentiation and Function. Cell Rep, 11(9), 1339–1349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2015.04.058
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  - Moltedo, B., Hemmers, S., & Rudensky, A. Y. (2014). Regulatory T cell ablation causes acute T cell lymphopenia. Plos One, 9(1), e86762. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086762
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  - MacLeod, A. S., Hemmers, S., Garijo, O., Chabod, M., Mowen, K., Witherden, D. A., & Havran, W. L. (2013). Dendritic epidermal T cells regulate skin antimicrobial barrier function. J Clin Invest, 123(10), 4364–4374. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI70064
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  - Sledzińska, A., Hemmers, S., Mair, F., Gorka, O., Ruland, J., Fairbairn, L., … Buch, T. (2013). TGF-β signalling is required for CD4⁺ T cell homeostasis but dispensable for regulatory T cell function. Plos Biol, 11(10), e1001674. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001674
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  - Gasteiger, G., Hemmers, S., Bos, P. D., Sun, J. C., & Rudensky, A. Y. (2013). IL-2-dependent adaptive control of NK cell homeostasis. J Exp Med, 210(6), 1179–1187. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20122571
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  - Gasteiger, G., Hemmers, S., Firth, M. A., Le Floc’h, A., Huse, M., Sun, J. C., & Rudensky, A. Y. (2013). IL-2-dependent tuning of NK cell sensitivity for target cells is controlled by regulatory T cells. J Exp Med, 210(6), 1167–1178. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20122462
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  - Nayar, R., Enos, M., Prince, A., Shin, H., Hemmers, S., Jiang, J.-K., … Berg, L. J. (2012). TCR signaling via Tec kinase ITK and interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) regulates CD8+ T-cell differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 109(41), E2794–E2802. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1205742109
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  - Rohrbach, A. S., Hemmers, S., Arandjelovic, S., Corr, M., & Mowen, K. A. (2012). PAD4 is not essential for disease in the K/BxN murine autoantibody-mediated model of arthritis. Arthritis Res Ther, 14(3), R104. https://doi.org/10.1186/ar3829
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  - Hemmers, S., Teijaro, J. R., Arandjelovic, S., & Mowen, K. A. (2011). PAD4-mediated neutrophil extracellular trap formation is not required for immunity against influenza infection. Plos One, 6(7), e22043. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022043
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  - Arandjelovic, S., Wickramarachchi, D., Hemmers, S., Leming, S. S., Kono, D. H., & Mowen, K. A. (2010). Mast cell function is not altered by Coronin-1A deficiency. J Leukoc Biol, 88(4), 737–745. https://doi.org/10.1189/jlb.0310131
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  - Bonham, K., Hemmers, S., Lim, Y.-H., Hill, D. M., Finn, M. G., & Mowen, K. A. (2010). Effects of a novel arginine methyltransferase inhibitor on T-helper cell cytokine production. Febs J, 277(9), 2096–2108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-4658.2010.07623.x
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  - Fathman, J. W., Gurish, M. F., Hemmers, S., Bonham, K., Friend, D. S., Grusby, M. J., … Mowen, K. A. (2010). NIP45 controls the magnitude of the type 2 T helper cell response. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 107(8), 3663–3668. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0914700107
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  - Hemmers, S., & Mowen, K. A. (2009). T(H)2 bias: Mina tips the balance. Nat Immunol, 10(8), 806–808. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni0809-806
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  - Abalos, G. C., Cruite, J. T., Bellon, A., Hemmers, S., Akagi, J., Mastrianni, J. A., … Solforosi, L. (2008). Identifying key components of the PrPC-PrPSc replicative interface. J Biol Chem, 283(49), 34021–34028. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M804475200
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Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Presentations & Appearances
- Novel Facets of IL-1R Family Member Biology in Neuro-Inflammation. CIC Seminar Series. Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research; University of Virginia School of Medicine. February 14, 2022 2022

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

Awards & Honors

Subject Headings

Selected Grants

External Relationships

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Presentations & Appearances