Group: Systems Immunology Lab, Division of Molecular Hematology, Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Supervisors: Chun-Chi Chang Ph.D., Camila Consiglio Ph.D.
PI: Camila Consiglio Ph.D.
Project Description
Biological sex differences in immune responses are strongly influenced by sex hormones, with testosterone emerging as a key immunomodulatory factor shaping immune activation. Effective immune responses, including those triggered by Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists, require rapid metabolic reprogramming to support cellular activation, cytokine production, and antimicrobial effector functions. While testosterone is known to modulate immune signaling pathways, how testosterone exposure reshapes the metabolic programs that underpin immune activation in human immune cells remains poorly understood..
This project aims to define how testosterone regulates metabolic adaptation in primary human immune cells during stimulation. Using controlled in vitro manipulation of androgen signaling, immune cells from healthy individuals of different biological sexes will be exposed to testosterone or androgen receptor modulators, followed by stimulation with defined TLR agonists to mimic bacterial and viral sensing. High-dimensional immunophenotyping and single-cell metabolic profiling (SCENITH) will be applied to characterize how key metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid oxidation, and amino acid metabolism, are selectively engaged during immune activation under testosterone-driven conditions.
By integrating functional immune readouts with metabolic measurements, this project will elucidate testosterone-dependent immunometabolic programs that govern immune cell activation, plasticity, and effector function. The findings will provide mechanistic insight into how testosterone shape cellular metabolism in distinct immune populations, helping to explain sex-biased differences in infection outcomes and inflammatory responses.
Technical Skills
- Isolation and culture of primary human immune cells (PBMCs and defined immune subsets)
- Targeted manipulation of testosterone signaling using androgen receptor agonists and antagonists
- Innate immune stimulation using defined Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists
- High-dimensional and spectral flow cytometry for immune phenotyping and activation profiling
- Single-cell metabolic profiling via SCENITH to assess glycolytic and mitochondrial pathway dependency
- Functional immune readouts, including production of cytokine and reactive oxygen species
- Data integration of immune phenotypes with metabolic signatures