Prof. Marco Prinz

Mr. Marco Prinz serves as the Director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the University Hospital Freiburg, Germany. He graduated as a M.D. from the Medical School Charité of Humboldt University, Berlin. Subsequently, he joined the Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory of H.Kettenmann at the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) for Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buch and started first work on microglia. After this period he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Neuropathology led by A.Aguzzi at the University Hospital Zurich, Medical School, Switzerland. Shortly after, he moved to Göttingen, Germany to continue his research on the brains immune system and became a lecturer and consultant in neuropathology. In 2008 he was appointed as Director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the University Hospital Freiburg, Germany.

His current research focuses on the brain specific immune functions during health and disease (autoimmune and neurodegenerative CNS disorders) and the fate of microglia in the brain. His group investigates the role of type I interferons such as IFN-alpha/beta for autoimmune inflammation (Prinz et al. Immunity 2008; Dann et al. Nat Neurosci 2011). Furthermore, the origin and function if microglia are of special interest for his research team (Goldmann et al. Nat Neurosci, 2013, Kierdorf et al. Nat Neurosci, 2013, Mildner et al. Nat Neurosci 2007, Prinz et al. Nat Neurosci 2011).

References:

Goldmann T, Wieghofer P, Müller PF, Wolf Y, Varol D, Yona S, Brendecke SM, Kierdorf K, Staszweski O, Datta M, Luedde T, Heikenwalder M, Jung S, Prinz M: A new type of microglia gene targeting shows TAK1 to be pivotal in CNS autoimmune inflammation. Nat Neurosci, 2013, 16(11):1618-1626. including cover 

Dann A, Poeck H, Croxford A, Gaupp S, Kierdorf K, Knust M, Pfeifer D, Maihoefer C, Endres S, Kalinke U, Meuth S, Wiendl H, Knobeloch KP, Akira S, Waisman A, Hartmann G, Prinz M: Cytosolic RIG-I-like helicases act as negative regulators of sterile inflammation of the CNS. Nat Neurosc, 2012, 15:98-106.

Kierdorf K, Erny D, Goldmann T, Sander V, Schulz C, Perdiguero EG, Wieghofer P, Heinrich A, Riemke P, Hölscher C, Müller DN, Luckow B, Brocker T, Debowski K, Fritz G, Opdenakker G, Diefenbach A, Biber K, Heikenwalder M, Geissmann F, Rosenbauer F, Prinz M: Microglia emerge from erythromyeloid precursors via Pu.1 and IRF-8 dependent pathways. Nat Neurosci, 2013, 16(3):273-280. news & views

Mildner A, Schmidt H, Nitsche M, Merkler D, Hanisch UK, Mack M, Heikenwälder M, Brück W, Priller J, Prinz M (2007): Microglia in the adult brain arise from Ly-6ChiCCR2+ monocytes only under defined host conditions. Nat Neurosc, 10(12):1544-53. incl. news & views                  

Prinz M, Priller J, Sisodia SS, Ransohoff RM (2011): Microglia in the CNS: Heterogeneity of central nervous system myeloid cells and their roles in neurodegeneration. Nat Neurosc 2011, 13(10):1227-35.           

Prinz M*, Schmidt H, Mildner A, Knobeloch KP, Hanisch UK, Raasch J, Merkler D, Detje C, Gutcher I, Mages J, Lang R, Martin R, Gold R, Becher B, Brück W, Kalinke U (2008): Distinct and nonredundant in vivo functions of IFNAR on myeloid cells limit autoimmunity in the central nervous system. Immunity, 28(5):675-86. *corresp. author, including cover + news & views

10 selected publications

• Spatial and developmental heterogeneity of mouse and human microglia at single-cell resolution.
  Masuda T, Sankowski R, Staszewski O, Böttcher C, Amann L, Sagar, Scheiwe C, Nessler S, Kunz P, Van Loo G, Coenen VA, Reinacher PC, Michel A, Sure U, Gold R, Grün D, Priller J, Stadelmann, Prinz M (2019).
  Nature, 566(7744):388-392.
• Single-cell profiling identifies myeloid cell subsets with distinct fates during neuroinflammation.
  Jordão MJC, Sankowski R, Brendecke SM, Sagar, Locatelli G, Tai YH, Tay TL, Schramm E, Armbruster, Hagemeyer N, Groß O, Mai D, Cicek Ö, Falk T, Kerscheinsteiner M, Grün D, Prinz M (2019).
  Science, 363(6425).pii:eaat7554.
• Histone deacetylases 1 and 2 regulate microglia function during development, homeostasis, and neurodegeneration in a context-dependent manner.
  Datta M, Staszewski O, Raschi E, Frosch M, Hagemeyer N, Tay TL, Blank T, Kreutzfeldt M, Merkler D, Ziegler-Waldkirch S, Matthias P, Meyer-Luehmann M, Prinz M (2018).
  Immunity, 48(3):514-529.e6.
• A new fate mapping system reveals context-dependent random or clonal expansion of microglia.
  Tay TL, Mai D, Dautzenberg J, Fernandez-Klett F, Lin G, Sagar, Datta M, Stempfl T, Ardura Fabergat A, Staszewski O, Margineau A, Sporbert A, Steinmetz LM, Pospisilik JA, Jung S, Priller J, Grün D, Ronneberger O, Prinz M (2017).
  Nat Neurosci, 20(6):793-803.
• Brain endothelial- and epithelial-specific interferon receptor chain 1 drives virus-induced sickness behavior and cognitive impairment.
  Blank T, Detje CN, Spieß A, Hagemeyer N, Brendecke SM, Wolfart J, Staszewski O, Zöller T, Papageorgiou I, Schneider J, Paricio-Montesinos R, Eisel UL, Manahan-Vaughan D, Jansen S, Lienenklaus S, Lu B, Imai Y, Müller M, Goelz SE, Baker DP, Schwaninger M, Kann O, Heikenwalder M, Kalinke U, Prinz M (2016).
  Immunity 44, 901-12.
• Origin, fate and dynamics of macrophages at central nervous system interfaces.
  Goldmann T, Wieghofer P, Jordão MJ, Prutek F, Hagemeyer N, Frenzel K, Amann L, Staszewski O, Kierdorf K, Krueger M, Locatelli G, Hochgerner H, Zeiser R, Epelman S, Geissmann F, Priller J, Rossi FM, Bechmann I, Kerschensteiner M, Linnarsson S, Jung S, Prinz M (2016).
  Nat Immunol. 17, 797-805.
• Host microbiota constantly control maturation and function of microglia in the CNS.
  Erny D, Hrabě de Angelis AL, Jaitin D, Wieghofer P, Staszewski O, David E, Keren-Shaul H, Mahlakoiv T, Jakobshagen K, Buch T, Schwierzeck V, Utermöhlen O, Chun E, Garrett WS, McCoy KD, Diefenbach A, Staeheli P, Stecher B, Amit I, Prinz M (2015).
  Nat Neurosci. 18, 965-77.
• A new type of microglia gene targeting shows TAK1 to be pivotal in CNS autoimmune inflammation.
  Goldmann T, Wieghofer P, Müller PF, Wolf Y, Varol D, Yona S, Brendecke SM, Kierdorf K, Staszewski O, Datta M, Luedde T, Heikenwalder M, Jung S*, Prinz M* (2013).
  Nat. Neurosci. 16, 1618-26.
• Microglia emerge from erythromyeloid precursors via Pu.1- and Irf8-dependent pathways. Kierdorf K, Erny D, Goldmann T, Sander V, Schulz C, Perdiguero EG, Wieghofer P, Heinrich A, Riemke P, Hölscher C, Müller DN, Luckow B, Brocker T, Debowski K, Fritz G, Opdenakker G, Diefenbach A, Biber K, Heikenwalder M, Geissmann F, Rosenbauer F, Prinz M (2013).
  Nat Neurosci. 16, 273-80.
• Cytosolic RIG-I-like helicases act as negative regulators of sterile inflammation in the CNS.
  Dann A, Poeck H, Croxford AL, Gaupp S, Kierdorf K, Knust M, Pfeifer D, Maihoefer C, Endres S, Kalinke U, Meuth SG, Wiendl H, Knobeloch KP, Akira S, Waisman A, Hartmann G, Prinz M (2011).
  Nat Neurosci. 15, 98-106.