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Tao Jin
Adjunct Senior Lecturer
Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation ResearchAbout Tao Jin
MD, Associate professor Deputy Head of Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Institute of Medicine
- MD, Suzhou Medical College, China (1995)
- Phd, Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation
- Research, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg (2005)
- Associate professor in Rheumatology (2010) Rheumatologist (2015)
Research
Septic arthritis remains one of the most dangerous joint diseases due to its rapidly progressive and destructive disease character. Despite advances in the use of antibiotics, permanent reductions in joint function occur in up to 50% of patients who may need joint replacement surgery. My research focuses on generation of new knowledge important to our understanding of staphylococcus aureus -host interplay. My ultimate goal is that the new knowledge will contribute to the design of early diagnosis and improved therapeutic strategies against S. aureus septic arthritis.
Specifically, there are two main questions that I want to answer: 1. how do bugs reach the joint cavity? 2. which bacterial factor causes joint damage?
My group found that depletion of coagulases (two S. aureus products promoting clotting of plasma or blood) totally abolished the capability of S. aureus to invade joint cavity and greatly reduced joint inflammation and bone destruction, while it did not affect the bacterial load in other organs. This suggests that we are very close to the core mechanism of this disease. Other important observation is that one single intraarticular injection of lipoprotein (bacterial cell wall component) causes long-lasting and destructive joint damage. We plan to further understand the underlying mechanism and develop the new vaciccins against S. aureus septic arthritis.
Virulence factors and host factors in S. aureus infections
The lab is studying the involvement of bacterial virulence factors, as well as some host immune cell types and cytokines, in the pathogenesis of infectious arthritis using our unique mouse model for S. aureus septic arthritis. Currently we are working on the role of complement factors in septic arthritis.
On the bacterial factor side, activation of fibrinolysis by staphylokinase (enzyme produced by S. aureus) blocks the bacterial attachment by cleaving off the host-derived adhesins on the surface of implants (unpublished data). We want to further design new preventive modalities against biofilm infections e.g. plasminogen activators immobilization on prosthetic implants.
Immunoregulation to ameliorate septic arthritis
Our earlier results suggest that via TNF receptor 1, antibiotic-killed S. aureus causes long-lasting joint inflammation that might lead to post-infectious complications of S. aureus septic arthritis. In the follow-up studies, my research group is investigating whether the combination therapy of antibiotics and immunomodulating biologics (including TNF-a, IL-6 inhibitors, CTLA-Ig, and JAK kinase inhibitors) minimizes post infectious sequelae, alleviates the bone/cartilage destruction, and in turn diminishes the joint dysfunction in mice and patients with S. aureus septic arthritis.
Yet, there are potential dangers associated with clinicians choosing inadequate antibiotics in combination with biologics due to deteriorated immune responses by immunomodulating biologics. My lab is also studying the possible side effects of biologics e.g. increased susceptibility to S. aureus infections.
Group members
Abukar Ali Postdoctoral Fellow
Anders Jarneborn PhD student
Majd Mohammed PhD student
Manli Na Postdoctoral Fellow
More about Tao Jin's research
Please visit https://taoslab.org/
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The Dual-Edged Sword: Risks and Benefits of JAK Inhibitors in
Infections.
Anders Jarneborn, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Tao Jin
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) - 2025 -
Validation of septic arthritis diagnosis and disease characteristics in West
Sweden.
Hanna Alexandersson, Mats Dehlin, Tao Jin
Infectious diseases (London, England) - 2025 -
Staphylococcus aureus thermonuclease NucA is a key virulence factor in septic
arthritis.
Ningna Li, Meghshree Deshmukh, Filiz Sahin, Nourhane Hafza, Aparna Viswanathan Ammanath, Sabrina Ehnert, Andreas Nüssler, Alexander N R Weber, Tao Jin, Friedrich Götz
Communications Biology - 2025 -
Combination treatment with anti-RANKL and antibiotics for preventing joint destruction in septic
arthritis.
Zhicheng Hu, Meghshree Deshmukh, Anders Jarneborn, Miriam Bollmann, Carmen Corciulo, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Abukar Ali, Mattias N D Svensson, Cecilia Engdahl, Rille Pullerits, Majd Mohammad, Tao Jin
JCI Insight - 2025 -
Cardiovascular risk and cardiac involvement in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: insights from a cross-sectional Swedish single-centre
study.
Hanna Balsam, C L Polte, E Sakiniene, J von Brömsen, E Bollano, R Pullerits, Tao Jin
Scandinavian journal of rheumatology - 2025 -
Focal Staphylococcus Aureus Septic Arthritis Elicits Age and TLR2-Dependent Periarticular Bone
Loss.
Michelle Schultz, Zhicheng Hu, Meghshree Deshmukh, Petra Henning, Ulf H Lerner, Majd Mohammad, Tao Jin
Journal of Inflammation Research - 2024 -
Myositis-associated antibodies predict the severity of lung involvement in adult patients with inflammatory myositis - a cohort study of 70 adult patients with myositis in a single
center
Josefin Marklund, Balsam Hanna, Tao Jin, Rille Pullerits
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE - 2024 -
Increased Incidence and Clinical Features of Septic Arthritis in Patients Aged 80 Years and above: A Comparative Analysis with Younger
Cohorts
Hanna Alexandersson, Mats Dehlin, Tao Jin
PATHOGENS - 2024 -
Tofacitinib Treatment Suppresses CD4+ T-Cell Activation and Th1 Response, Contributing to Protection against Staphylococcal Toxic
Shock.
Zhicheng Hu, Anders Jarneborn, Meghshree Deshmukh, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Tao Jin
International journal of molecular sciences - 2024 -
Surface-Shaving of Staphylococcus aureus Strains and Quantitative Proteomic Analysis Reveal Differences in Protein Abundance of the
Surfaceome.
Anders Karlsson, Leonarda Acha Alarcon, Beatriz Pineiro-Iglesias, Gunnar Jacobsson, Susann Skovbjerg, Edward R.B. Moore, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Tao Jin, Roger Karlsson
Microorganisms - 2024 -
Utilization of In Vivo Imaging System to Study Staphylococcal Sepsis and Septic Arthritis Progression in Mouse
Model.
Meghshree Deshmukh , Zhicheng Hu, Majd Mohammad, Tao Jin
Pathogens - 2024 -
Local Immune Activation and Age Impact on Humoral Immunity in Mice, with a Focus on IgG
Sialylation.
Priti Gupta, Tibor Sághy, Miriam Bollmann, Tao Jin, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Carmen Corciulo, Cecilia Engdahl
Vaccines - 2024 -
Exploring the role of bacterial virulence factors and host elements in septic arthritis: insights from animal models for innovative
therapies.
Tao Jin
Frontiers in microbiology - 2024 -
Antimicrobial Evaluation of Two Polycyclic Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinol Compounds: PPAP23 and
PPAP53.
Aparna Viswanathan Ammanath, Miki Matsuo, Huanhuan Wang, Frank Kraus, Anton Bleisch, Philipp Peslalz, Majd Mohammad, Megshree Deshmukh, Anne Grießhammer, Moushumi Purkayastha, Andreas Vorbach, Boris Macek, Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt, Lisa Maier, Dorothee Kretschmer, Andreas Peschel, Tao Jin, Bernd Plietker, Friedrich Götz
International Journal of Molecular Sciences - 2024 -
The impact of aging and TLR2 deficiency on the clinical outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia.
Zhicheng Hu, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Megshree Deshmukh, Anders Jarneborn, Priti Gupta, Abukar Ali, Ying Fei, Cecilia Engdahl, Rille Pullerits, Majd Mohammad, Tao Jin
The Journal of infectious diseases - 2023 -
Bacterial Lipoproteins Shift Cellular Metabolism to Glycolysis in Macrophages Causing Bone
Erosion.
Minh-Thu Nguyen, Zhicheng Hu, Majd Mohammad, Hannah Schöttler, Silke Niemann, Michelle Schultz, Katarzyna Barczyk-Kahlert, Tao Jin, Heiko Hayen, Mathias Herrmann
Microbiology spectrum - 2023 -
Gene expression of S100a8/a9 predicts Staphylococcus aureus-induced septic arthritis in
mice.
Megshree Deshmukh, Santhilal Subhash, Zhicheng Hu, Majd Mohammad, Anders Jarneborn, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu
Frontiers in microbiology - 2023 -
The impact of TLR2 and aging on the humoral immune response to Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in
mice.
Priti Gupta, Zhicheng Hu, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Megshree Deshmukh, Tibor Saghy, Majd Mohammad, Tao Jin, Cecilia Engdahl
Scientific reports - 2023 -
S100A4 exerts robust mucosal adjuvant activity for co-administered antigens in
mice.
Arka Sen Chaudhuri, Yu-Wen Yeh, Olifan Zewdie, Nga Shan Li, Jia-Bin Sun, Tao Jin, Bin Wei, Jan Holmgren, Zou Xiang
Mucosal immunology - 2022 -
Staphylococcus aureus lipoproteins in infectious
diseases.
Majd Mohammad, Abukar Ali, Minh-Thu Nguyen, Friedrich Götz, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin
Frontiers in microbiology - 2022 -
Tofacitinib treatment in primary herpes simplex encephalitis interferes with anti-viral
response.
Malgorzata Krzyzowska, Anders Jarneborn, Karolina Thörn, Kristina Eriksson, Tao Jin
The Journal of infectious diseases - 2022 -
Phenol-soluble modulin α and β display divergent roles in mice with staphylococcal septic
arthritis.
Zhicheng Hu, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Patrick Ebner, Majd Mohammad, Simon Lind, Anders Jarneborn, Claes Dahlgren, Michelle Schultz, Megshree Deshmukh, Rille Pullerits, Mulugeta Nega, Minh-Thu Nguyen, Ying Fei, Huamei Forsman, Friedrich Götz, Tao Jin
Communications biology - 2022 -
Commensal Bacteria Augment Staphylococcus aureus septic Arthritis in a Dose-Dependent
Manner.
Ying Fei, Abukar Ali, Majd Mohammad, Tao Jin
Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology - 2022 -
Lipoproteins Cause Bone Resorption in a Mouse Model of Staphylococcus aureus Septic
Arthritis
Michelle Schultz, Majd Mohammad, M. T. Nguyen, Zhicheng Hu, Anders Jarneborn, C. M. Wienken, M. Froning, Rille Pullerits, Abukar Ali, H. Hayen, F. Goetz, Tao Jin
Frontiers in Microbiology - 2022 -
From an Hsp90 - binding protein to a peptide
drug.
Aparna Viswanathan Ammanath, Anders Jarneborn, Minh-Thu Nguyen, Laura Wessling, Paula Tribelli, Mulugeta Nega, Christian Beck, Arif Luqman, Khaled A Selim, Hubert Kalbacher, Boris Macek, Sandra Beer Hammer, Tao Jin, Friedrich Götz
microLife - 2022 -
Bacteria and Host Interplay in Staphylococcus aureus Septic Arthritis and
Sepsis.
Tao Jin, Majd Mohammad, Rille Pullerits, Abukar Ali
Pathogens - 2021 -
Osteopenia/osteoporosis develops in the early phase of disease in patients with idiopathic inflammatory
myopathies
Balsam Hanna, E. Sakiniene, Inger Gjertsson, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin
Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology - 2021 -
Staphylococcus aureus lipoproteins promote abscess formation in mice, shielding bacteria from immune
killing.
Majd Mohammad, Manli Na, Zhicheng Hu, Minh-Thu Nguyen, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Anders Jarneborn, Anna Karlsson-Bengtsson, Abukar Ali, Rille Pullerits, Friedrich Götz, Tao Jin
Communications biology - 2021 -
Lipoproteins Are Responsible for the Pro-Inflammatory Property of Staphylococcus aureus Extracellular
Vesicles
Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Megshree Deshmukh, Zhicheng Hu, Majd Mohammad, Maugeri Marco, F. Gotz, Hadi Valadi, Tao Jin
International Journal of Molecular Sciences - 2021 -
The Expression of von Willebrand Factor-Binding Protein Determines Joint-Invading Capacity of Staphylococcus aureus, a Core Mechanism of Septic
Arthritis.
Manli Na, Zhicheng Hu, Majd Mohammad, Mariana do Nascimento Stroparo, Abukar Ali, Ying Fei, Anders Jarneborn, Peter Verhamme, Olaf Schneewind, Dominique Missiakas, Tao Jin
mBio - 2020 -
The role of Staphylococcus aureus lipoproteins in hematogenous septic
arthritis.
Majd Mohammad, Zhicheng Hu, Abukar Ali, Pradeep Kumar Kopparapu, Manli Na, Anders Jarneborn, Mariana do Nascimento Stroparo, Minh-Thu Nguyen, Anna Karlsson, Friedrich Götz, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin
Scientific reports - 2020 -
Pre-treatment with IL2 gene therapy alleviates Staphylococcus aureus arthritis in
mice.
Berglind Bergmann, Ying Fei, Pernilla Jirholt, Zhicheng Hu, Maria Bergquist, Abukar Ali, Catharina Lindholm, Olov Ekwall, Guillaume Churlaud, David Klatzmann, Tao Jin, Inger Gjertsson
BMC infectious diseases - 2020 -
Tofacitinib treatment aggravates Staphylococcus aureus septic arthritis, but attenuates sepsis and enterotoxin induced shock in
mice
Anders Jarneborn, Majd Mohammad, Cecilia Engdahl, Zhicheng Hu, Manli Na, Abukar Ali, Tao Jin
Scientific Reports - 2020 -
A novel mouse model for septic arthritis induced by Pseudomonas
aeruginosa
Tao Jin, Majd Mohammad, Zhicheng Hu, Y. Fei, Edward R.B. Moore, Rille Pullerits, Abukar Ali
Scientific Reports - 2019 -
Linkage between endosomal escape of LNP-mRNA and loading into EVs for transport to other
cells
Maugeri Marco, Muhammad Nawaz, Alexandros Papadimitriou, Annelie Angerfors, Alessandro Camponeschi, Manli Na, Mikko Hölttä, Pia Skantze, Svante Johansson, Martina Sundqvist, Johnny Lindquist, Tomas Kjellman, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Tao Jin, Per Sunnerhagen, Sofia Östman, Lennart Lindfors, Hadi Valadi
Nature Communications - 2019 -
The YIN and YANG of lipoproteins in developing and preventing infectious arthritis by Staphylococcus
aureus.
Majd Mohammad, Minh-Thu Nguyen, Cecilia Engdahl, Manli Na, Anders Jarneborn, Zhicheng Hu, Anna Karlsson, Rille Pullerits, Abukar Ali, Friedrich Götz, Tao Jin
PLoS pathogens - 2019 -
Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates correlates with the infection
type.
Jakub Kwiecinski, Gunnar Jacobsson, Alexander R Horswill, Elisabet Josefsson, Tao Jin
Infectious diseases - 2019 -
Complement Consumption in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Leads to Decreased Opsonophagocytosis In
Vitro.
Amanda Mitander, Ying Fei, Estelle Trysberg, Majd Mohammad, Zhicheng Hu, Egidija Sakiniene, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin
The Journal of rheumatology - 2018 -
Lack of Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products leads to less severe staphylococcal skin infection but more skin abscesses and prolonged wound
healing.
Manli Na, Majd Mohammad, Ying Fei, Wanzhong Wang, André Holdfeldt, Huamei Forsman, Abukar Ali, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin
The Journal of infectious diseases - 2018 -
Human skin commensals augment Staphylococcus aureus
pathogenesis.
Emma Boldock, Bas G J Surewaard, Daria Shamarina, Manli Na, Ying Fei, Abukar Ali, Alexander Williams, Eric J G Pollitt, Piotr Szkuta, Paul Morris, Tomasz K Prajsnar, Kathy D McCoy, Tao Jin, David H Dockrell, Jos A G van Strijp, Paul Kubes, Stephen A Renshaw, Simon J Foster
Nature microbiology - 2018 -
Impact of cell wall peptidoglycan O-acetylation on the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus in septic
arthritis.
Gaurav Baranwal, Majd Mohammad, Anders Jarneborn, Bommana Raghunath Reddy, Archana Golla, Sumana Chakravarty, Lalitha Biswas, Friedrich Götz, Sahadev Shankarappa, Tao Jin, Raja Biswas
International journal of medical microbiology : IJMM - 2017 -
Galectin-3 is a target for proteases involved in the virulence of Staphylococcus
aureus.
Jonas Elmwall, Jakub Kwiecinski, Manli Na, Abukar Ali, Veronica Osla, Lindsey Shaw, Wanzhong Wang, Karin Sävman, Elisabet Josefsson, Johan Bylund, Tao Jin, Amanda Welin, Anna Karlsson
Infection and immunity - 2017 -
Both anti-TNF and CTLA4 Ig treatments attenuate the disease severity of staphylococcal dermatitis in
mice.
Manli Na, Wanzhong Wang, Ying Fei, Elisabet Josefsson, Abukar Ali, Tao Jin
PloS one - 2017 -
Radiological features of experimental staphylococcal septic arthritis by micro computed tomography
scan.
Farah Fatima, Ying Fei, Abukar Ali, Majd Mohammad, Malin Erlandsson, Maria Bokarewa, Muhammad Nawaz, Hadi Valadi, Manli Na, Tao Jin
PloS one - 2017 -
Tissue Plasminogen Activator Coating on Implant Surfaces Reduces Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm
Formation
Jakub Kwiecinski, Manli Na, Anders Jarneborn, G. Jacobsson, M. Peetermans, P. Verhamme, Tao Jin
Applied and Environmental Microbiology - 2016 -
RAGE Deficiency Impairs Bacterial Clearance in Murine Staphylococcal Sepsis, but Has No Significant Impact on Staphylococcal Septic
Arthritis.
Majd Mohammad, Manli Na, Amanda Welin, Mattias N D Svensson, Abukar Ali, Tao Jin, Rille Pullerits
PloS one - 2016 -
Deficiency of the complement component 3 but not factor B aggravates Staphylococcus aureus septic arthritis in
mice.
Manli Na, Anders Jarneborn, Abukar Ali, Amanda Welin, Malin Magnusson, Anna Stokowska, Marcela Pekna, Tao Jin
Infection and immunity - 2016 -
Staphylokinase controls Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and detachment through host plasminogen
activation.
Jakub Kwiecinski, Marijke Peetermans, Laurens Liesenborghs, Manli Na, Halla Björnsdottir, Xuefeng Zhu, Gunnar Jacobsson, Bengt R Johansson, Joan A Geoghegan, Timothy J Foster, Elisabet Josefsson, Johan Bylund, Peter Verhamme, Tao Jin
The Journal of infectious diseases - 2016 -
Identification of a novel chemokine-dependent molecular mechanism underlying rheumatoid arthritis-associated autoantibody-mediated bone
loss.
Akilan Krishnamurthy, Vijay Joshua, Aase Haj Hensvold, Tao Jin, Meng Sun, Nancy Vivar, A Jimmy Ytterberg, Marianne Engström, Cátia Fernandes-Cerqueira, Khaled Amara, Malin Magnusson, Gustaf Wigerblad, Jungo Kato, Juan Miguel Jiménez-Andrade, Kerry Tyson, Stephen Rapecki, Karin Lundberg, Sergiu-Bogdan Catrina, Per-Johan Jakobsson, Camilla Svensson, Vivianne Malmström, Lars Klareskog, Heidi Wähämaa, Anca I Catrina
Annals of the rheumatic diseases - 2016 -
CTLA4-Ig but not anti-TNF therapy promotes staphylococcal septic arthritis in
mice.
Abukar Ali, Amanda Welin, Jan-Christoph Schwarze, Mattias Svensson, Manli Na, Anders Jarneborn, Malin Magnusson, Majd Mohammad, Jakub Kwiecinski, Elisabet Josefsson, Johan Bylund, Rille Pullerits, Tao Jin
The Journal of infectious diseases - 2015
More publications
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