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Collaborative Research Centre 1700 (CRC 1700)
"Immune regulation in the liver: from homeostasis to disease"
A multitude of antigens and signals derived from metabolism, nutrition and microorganisms reach the liver via the portal vein and via the mucosal surface of the biliary tract. As an aggressive immune response to all these antigens would cause severe tissue damage, the liver has evolved effective mechanisms to control inflammation and induce immune tolerance. However, hepatic immune tolerance might come at the expense of a survival benefit for cancer cells and hepatotropic viruses by preventing their recognition and elimination by the immune system.
The central hypothesis of CRC 1700 is that the regulation of immune responses is a key function of the liver that determines organismal health. We propose that faulty orchestration of cellular interaction and signalling within the hepatic microenvironment can lead either to immune-mediated inflammation and autoimmune disease, or to persistent infections and cancer. To understanding the mechanisms of hepatic immune regulation that govern the development of tolerance or immune activation this CRC brings together clinician scientists, medical scientists and expert computational scientists in an interdisciplinary and synergistic environment structured in Project Area A and Project Area B.
News
CRC 1700 Kick-Off Retreat at Seehotel Töpferhaus
From 3–5 September 2025, CRC 1700 “Immune regulation in the liver: from homeostasis to disease” held its first retreat at the Seehotel Töpferhaus by the Bistensee. Although the consortium officially started on 1 April 2025, this retreat marked the scientific kick-off with all members on site. The aim was to welcome our newly recruited PhD and MD students, strengthen collaboration within the CRC, and provide space for scientific exchange in an inspiring setting.
The opening day was dedicated to the Integrated Research Training Group (iRTG). Most PhD and MD students joined the programme between April and September, with a few more to follow in October. They were introduced to the CRC and the iRTG, presented their projects in short talks, and had plenty of opportunities for networking – from icebreakers to a scavenger hunt through the beautiful lakeside landscape. A highlight was the lecture by Mercator Fellow Dr Fotios Sampaziotis (Cambridge Stem Cell Institute) on lab-grown bile ducts and novel approaches to treating biliary diseases. In the evening, the iRTG student representatives Marie Abele, Lucas Bergmann and Mirco Torheiden were elected.
On days two and three, the scientific programme shifted to the broader consortium. All 15 projects, support structures, and the equal opportunities programme were presented. Early career researchers who had recently been associated to the CRC gave inspiring talks, and participants attended a session on AI in scientific writing. In between, breaks were filled with swimming, kayaking, or volleyball by the lake, allowing both relaxation and informal exchange.
The retreat was a very successful start into the upcoming three-year funding period of CRC 1700. Collaborations were formed and can now be expanded, first results were shared, and our PhD and MD students – the next generation of researchers – were fully integrated into the consortium. With motivation and strong team spirit, we are looking forward to three exciting years of joint research on liver immune regulation, aiming to deliver new insights that will ultimately benefit patients.
Kick-off for the new Junior Research Group – Hao Huang will join the CRC consortium in January 2026
The new Junior Research Group Leader Hao Huang earned his bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Wuhan University in China and then pursued a master’s in Biomedical Sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Following his master’s thesis at Charité in Berlin, he was admitted to the PhD program at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin and carried out his doctoral research at the Center for Immunology in Marseille-Luminy (2017-2019) and Center for Regenerative Therapy Dresden (2019-2021). In 2022, he joined Elvira Mass’s laboratory (LIMES Institute, Bonn) for his postdoctoral research.
The scientific focus of Hao Huang lies on understanding the diverse and dynamic roles of macrophages in various organs, with the ultimate goal of harnessing their functions for disease modulation. The liver hosts several macrophage populations with Kupffer cells (KCs) being the most abundant. Hao Huang recently identified that offspring KCs are developmentally programmed during gestation by maternal obesity and serve as intergenerational messengers transferring fatty liver disease risk from obese mothers to their offspring.
In CRC1700, he will investigate newly identified macrophage populations in the liver, and elucidate their functions in homeostasis, as well as in autoimmune liver diseases, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis.
We are very much looking forward to working and networking with Hao and warmly welcome him to our CRC.
Join Our CRC 1700 Seminar Series
First monday of each month, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at HCTI N25 GF SR 0.02 and online via Zoom
Upcoming Sessions:
6th October 2025
"Immune Surveillance of the Liver"
Prof. Matteo Iannacone, MD, PhD
San Raffaele Scientific Institute & University Milan
3rd November 2025
Prof. Mala Maini, MD, PhD
University College London
1st December 2025
Prof. Dr. med. Jakob Kather
Uniklinik RWTH Aachen and TU Dresden
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