The mucosal immune system includes all mucosal epithelia. The surfaces in the intestine, together with those of the lungs, represent the largest surfaces of the body in contact with the environment. In order to maintain the physiological balance of bodily functions, a complex immune system has developed there. The mucosal immune system is also responsible for recognizing and eliminating cancer cells and their preliminary stages. If these endogenous control mechanisms fail, tumor formation and progression can occur. The T-cell response plays a particularly important role here. Biochemical stimulation of T-cells triggers an effective immune response. T-cells belong to the cell group of lymphocytes and recognize antigens which trigger, or are the target of, a specific immune response.

Great potential to answer many open questions

An important goal of Waldner and his team is to better understand the mechanisms underlying immune responses in the intestinal mucosa. Numerous questions in this field of research could not yet be answered via conventional biomedical methods. At MPZPM, scientists find the perfect environment to combine physical and biomedical research approaches. “In my view, these have great potential for answering many open questions. For example, the influence of the mechanical properties of immune cells on the recruitment and activation of immune cells in mucosal tissue is insufficiently understood,” says Waldner.

“Our particular focus is the analysis of the T-cell response, as this plays a wide range of roles in both mucosal inflammatory reactions and tumor pathogenesis. In addition to the role of T cell aging, senescence and exhaustion, we are investigating the role of immune cell mechanics in our disease models,” explains Prof. Waldner. For their investigations, he and his team use state-of-the-art optical imaging, molecular biological methods and advanced sequencing techniques.

“It is always a huge motivation to see your own basic research lead to clinical applications”

Waldner is also conducting research with MPL Director and MPZPM Research Group leader Prof. Jochen Guck in the interdisciplinary project “Mechanical properties of innate immune cells: functional relevance and therapeutic implications in colitis”. With Prof. Leonhard Möckl, who led the Physical Glycosciences research group at MPL until 2024 and now holds the Nano-Optical Imaging professorship at FAU, Waldner has been investigating the role and functioning of the glycocalyx in the intestine since 2023. The glycocalyx is a highly complex structure made of sugars which surrounds each cell in the body and is the first part of the cell to interact with the extracellular environment, for example with other cells, proteins or pathogens.

“It is often only during the course of a project that it becomes clear whether the knowledge gained can be used as a basis for new therapeutic approaches or diagnostic options,” Waldner continues. “Of course, as a clinically active researcher, it is always a great aspiration to see one's own basic research lead to clinical applications.”

About Prof. Dr. med. Maximilian Waldner

After studying medicine at the Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and completing his doctorate in the field of cerebral microcirculation, Waldner began his clinical training at the University Medical Center in Mainz. This was followed by a postdoc in Mainz and at the Cordeliers Research Center in Paris, with an increasing scientific focus on mucosal immunology. Waldner then received a tenure-track professorship at the FAU.