Ulrika Islander
Researcher
Department of Rheumatology a InflammationAbout Ulrika Islander
Title: PhD, Associate Professor
Ulrika Islander graduated 2002 from the University of Lund with a MSc degree in molecular biology with focus on immunology. In 2007 she received a PhD in rheumatology at the University of Gothenburg, and in 2015 she became Associate Professor in immunology at the Sahlgrenska academy. During 2017-2018 she performed a sabbatical research period at the Institute of Immunobiology in St Gallen, Switzerland to learn about research concerning the role of stromal cells in the regulation of immune responses. Her research projects are funded by several major national and international research funding agencies including the Swedish Research Council, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and ALF
Research area
Background
The overall aim of Ulrika Islanders research is to identify the immunological mechanisms underlying the sex differences in immune responses during inflammatory diseases caused by e.g. autoimmunity, allergy or infections.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is a chronic autoimmune disease resulting in joint inflammation and development of osteoporosis. Women have increased risk of developing RA compared to men, and the peak incidence coincides with the time of menopause when the levels of estrogen rapidly decrease. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, which to app. 90% affects women and essentially can affect all organs in the body. The disease often debuts during the reproductive age when the levels of estrogen are high and women with SLE have an increased risk to develop osteoporosis. Estrogen inhibits RA but worsens SLE, while it protects against osteoporosis in both diseases.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic rheumatic disease where the joint cartilage is destroyed, leading to pain and loss of joint function. OA was long thought to be a disease mainly caused by mechanical stress, but in recent years the importance of inflammation in OA pathogenesis has gained increasing attention. Like RA and SLE, OA is a disease that affects more women than men.
Sex hormones affect the development and function of the immune system, which can be illustrated by a stronger immune response in females towards e.g. influenza virus infection, and by the increased risk for women in the fertile age to develop asthma. It is well known that estrogen can display either stimulatory and inhibitory effects on different parts of the immune system depending on the settings. However, the specific mechanisms underlying the sex differences in immune responses during autoimmune diseases, asthma and infectious diseases are not clear and needs to be identified in order to contribute to the development of new effective individual-based treatment strategies to inflammatory diseases.
Ongoing projects
Effects of estrogen on the immune system in autoimmunity and associated osteoporosis
The aims of this project are to identify the mechanisms underlying the opposing effects of estrogen on immune responses in RA and SLE, and to define whether the protective effects of estrogen on osteoporosis development in RA and SLE are mediated by bone marrow stromal cells.
Intracellular interactions between estrogen- and adenosine-signaling in osteoarthritis The aims of this project are to determine how estrogen- and adenosine-receptor signaling interacts in immune cells during OA development, and to define how these pathways can be targeted for development of new OA therapies.
Effects of estrogen on immune responses during airway inflammation The aims of this project are to define the specific mechanisms involved in the effects of estrogen on allergen- and virus-induced airway inflammation, and to determine the importance of stromal cells in primary and secondary lymphoid organs for the estrogen-mediated regulation of immune responses.
Ulrika Islander is group leader for the research group “Women and Inflammation”
https://www.gu.se/en/research/women-and-inflammation
Group members:
- Aidan Barrett, MSc – PhD student
- Carmen Corciulo, PhD – EU researcher (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellow)
- Christina Drevinge, PhD – researcher
- Julia Scheffler, PhD – researcher
- Piotr Humeniuk, PhD – resercher
Additional information
Some of the funding agencies
- Swedish Research Council
- Novo Nordisk Foundation
- ALF (grant from the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils)
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action
- IngaBritt and Arne Lundbergs foundation
- Gustaf V 80-year foundation
- Swedish society of Rheumatism
- Professor Nanna Swartz foundation
- Emil and Wera Cornells foundation
Educational activities
Course administrator for the PhD course ”Immunological and molecular biology laboratory techniques - 5hec (SM00034) at the Institute of medicine.
Collaborations
Ulrika Islander collaborates with several international and national research groups in immunology, virology, endocrinology and bone physiology, and is also associated with the research collaboration center “Centre for Bone and Arthritis Research” at the Institute of medicine, University of Gothenburg.
Major grants and awards
- 2021: Project grant from ALF (1,200,000 SEK / 3 years)
- 2020: Project grant from the Swedish Research Council (4,8000,000 SEK / 4 years)
- 2020: Received funding from the IngaBritt and Arne Lundberg Foundation for a Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (2,500,000 SEK)
- 2020: Awarded the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (European Commission) for postdoctoral fellow Carmen Corciulo
- 2019: Awarded a 4-year position as Research Fellow at the Sahlgrenska academy (also including research project funding of 2,500,000 SEK / 4 years)
- 2018: Received funding from the IngaBritt and Arne Lundberg Foundation for a confocal microscope (3,000,000 SEK)
- 2017: Project grant from ALF (1,600,000 SEK / 4 years)
- 2016: Received a starting grant from the Swedish Research Council (6,000,000 SEK / 4 years)
- 2016: Awarded the “Excellence project award” for young researchers in Endocrinology from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (5,000,000 DKK / 5 years)
- 2016: Granted the Hasselblad Foundation award for female scientists in natural sciences (1,000,000 SEK)
Information in media
Akademiliv:
https://akademiliv.se/2018/10/53196/
https://akademiliv.se/2016/11/36287/
https://akademiliv.se/2016/04/33209/
Lundbergsstiftelsen:
-
Profiling of innate and adaptive immune cells during influenza virus infection reveals sex bias in invariant natural killer T (iNKT)
cells
Piotr Humeniuk, Aidan Barrett, Hannes Axelsson, Carmen Corciulo, Christina Drevinge, Alicia M. del Carpio Pons, Davide Angeletti, Julia M. Scheffler, Ulrika Islander
Immunity, Inflammation and Disease - 2023 -
Physiological estrogen levels are dispensable for the sex difference in immune responses during allergen-induced airway
inflammation
Aidan Barrett, Piotr Humeniuk, Christina Drevinge, Carmen Corciulo, Julie Weidner, Madeleine Rådinger, Hans Carlsten, Julia M. Scheffler, Ulrika Islander
Immunobiology - 2023 -
Physiological levels of estradiol limit murine osteoarthritis
progression
Carmen Corciulo, Julia M. Scheffler, Piotr Humeniuk, Alicia M. del Carpio Pons, Alexandra Stubelius, U. Von Mentzer, Christina Drevinge, Aidan Barrett, Sofia Wüstenhagen, Matti Poutanen, Claes Ohlsson, Marie K Lagerquist, Ulrika Islander
Journal of Endocrinology - 2022 -
A tissue-specific role of membrane-initiated ERα signaling for the effects of
SERMs
Karin L. Gustafsson, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Helen H. Farman, Cecilia Engdahl, Petra Henning, Karin H. Nilsson, Julia M. Scheffler, Edina Sehic, Ulrika Islander, E. Levin, Claes Ohlsson, Marie K Lagerquist
Journal of Endocrinology - 2022 -
ER alpha Signaling in a Subset of CXCL12-Abundant Reticular Cells Regulates Trabecular Bone in
Mice
Julia M. Scheffler, Karin L. Gustafsson, Aidan Barrett, Carmen Corciulo, Christina Drevinge, Alicia M. del Carpio Pons, Piotr Humeniuk, Cecilia Engdahl, J. A. Gustafsson, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Marie K Lagerquist, Ulrika Islander
JBMR Plus - 2022 -
Reduction of Mature B Cells and Immunoglobulins Results in Increased Trabecular
Bone
Marie K Lagerquist, P. Gupta, E. Sehic, Karin L Horkeby, Julia M. Scheffler, Jauqueline Nordqvist, Lina Lawenius, Ulrika Islander, Carmen Corciulo, Petra Henning, Hans Carlsten, Cecilia Engdahl
Jbmr Plus - 2022 -
A tissue-selective estrogen complex as treatment of osteoporosis in experimental
lupus
Jauqueline Nordqvist, Cecilia Engdahl, Julia M. Scheffler, Priti Gupta, Karin L. Gustafsson, Marie K Lagerquist, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Lupus - 2022 -
Pulsed administration for physiological estrogen replacement in
mice
Carmen Corciulo, Julia M. Scheffler, Karin L. Gustafsson, Christina Drevinge, Piotr Humeniuk, Alicia M. del Carpio Pons, Matti Poutanen, Claes Ohlsson, Marie K Lagerquist, Ulrika Islander
F1000Research - 2021 -
Intermediate monocytes correlate with CXCR3(+) Th17 cells but not with bone characteristics in untreated early rheumatoid
arthritis
Christina Drevinge, Julia M. Scheffler, Catalin Koro-Arvidsson, Daniel Sundh, Hans Carlsten, Inger Gjertsson, Catharina Lindholm, Mattias Lorentzon, Anna Rudin, Anna-Karin Hultgård Ekwall, Ulrika Islander
Plos One - 2021 -
Mild stimulatory effect of a probiotic mix on bone mass when treatment is initiated 1.5 weeks after ovariectomy in
mice
Claes Ohlsson, Lina Lawenius, Annica Andersson, Karin L. Gustafsson, Jianyao Wu, Marie Lagerquist, Sofia Moverare-Skrtic, Ulrika Islander, Klara Sjögren
American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism - 2021 -
Pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila protects from fat mass gain but not from bone
loss
Lina Lawenius, Julia M. Scheffler, Karin L. Gustafsson, Petra Henning, Karin H. Nilsson, Hannah Colldén, Ulrika Islander, H. Plovier, P. D. Cani, W. M. de Vos, Claes Ohlsson, Klara Sjögren
American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism - 2020 -
Interleukin 17A: a Janus-faced regulator of
osteoporosis
Julia M. Scheffler, Louise Grahnemo, Cecilia Engdahl, Christina Drevinge, Karin L. Gustafsson, Carmen Corciulo, Lina Lawenius, Y. Iwakura, Klara Sjögren, Marie Lagerquist, Hans Carlsten, Claes Ohlsson, Ulrika Islander
Scientific Reports - 2020 -
Type I interferon signaling in fibroblastic reticular cells prevents exhaustive activation of antiviral CD8+ T
cells.
Christian Perez-Shibayama, Ulrika Islander, Mechthild Lütge, Hung-Wei Cheng, Lucas Onder, Sandra S Ring, Angelina De Martin, Mario Novkovic, Julia Colston, Cristina Gil-Cruz, Burkhard Ludewig
Science immunology - 2020 -
Phosphorylation site S122 in estrogen receptor α has a tissue-dependent role in female
mice
Claes Ohlsson, Karin L. Gustafsson, Helen H. Farman, Petra Henning, Vikte Lionikaite, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Klara Sjögren, Anna E Törnqvist, Annica Andersson, Ulrika Islander, Angelina I Bernardi, Matti Poutanen, Pierre Chambon, Marie K Lagerquist
FASEB Journal - 2020 -
Osteoporosis in a murine model of postmenopausal
lupus
Jauqueline Nordqvist, Marie K Lagerquist, Louise Grahnemo, A. Koskela, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
Lupus - 2020 -
Roles of activating functions 1 and 2 of estrogen receptor α in
lymphopoiesis.
Annica Andersson, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Angelina I Bernardi, Helen H. Farman, Pierre Chambon, Cecilia Engdahl, Marie Lagerquist, Sara H Windahl, Hans Carlsten, Claes Ohlsson, Ulrika Islander
The Journal of endocrinology - 2018 -
ER alpha expression in T lymphocytes is dispensable for estrogenic effects in
bone
Karin L. Gustafsson, Karin H. Nilsson, Helen H. Farman, Vikte Lionikaite, Petra Henning, Jianyao Wu, Sara H Windahl, Ulrika Islander, Sofia Moverare-Skrtic, Klara Sjögren, Hans Carlsten, Claes Ohlsson, Marie Lagerquist
Journal of Endocrinology - 2018 -
Ovarian hormones in innate
inflammation
Alexandra Stubelius, Annica Andersson, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
Immunobiology - 2017 -
Effects of a tissue-selective estrogen complex on B lymphopoiesis and B cell
function
Jauqueline Nordqvist, Angelina I Bernardi, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
Immunobiology - 2017 -
Ncf1 affects osteoclast formation but is not critical for postmenopausal bone
loss
Alexandra Stubelius, Annica Andersson, R. Holmdahl, Claes Ohlsson, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders - 2016 -
Enzalutamide Reduces the Bone Mass in the Axial but not the Appendicular Skeleton in Male
Mice.
Jianyao Wu, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Anna E Börjesson, Marie K Lagerquist, Klara Sjögren, Sara H Windahl, Antti Koskela, Louise Grahnemo, Ulrika Islander, Anna S K Wilhelmson, Åsa Tivesten, Juha Tuukkanen, Claes Ohlsson
Endocrinology - 2016 -
Suppression of Experimental Arthritis and Associated Bone Loss by a Tissue-Selective Estrogen
Complex.
Annica Andersson, Angelina I Bernardi, Merja Nurkkala Karlsson, Alexandra Stubelius, Louise Grahnemo, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Endocrinology - 2016 -
Selective oestrogen receptor modulators lasofoxifene and bazedoxifene inhibit joint inflammation and osteoporosis in ovariectomised mice with collagen-induced
arthritis.
Annica Andersson, Angelina I Bernardi, Alexandra Stubelius, Merja Nurkkala Karlsson, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Rheumatology (Oxford, England) - 2016 -
IL-17-producing γδT cells are regulated by estrogen during development of experimental
arthritis.
Annica Andersson, Louise Grahnemo, Cecilia Engdahl, Alexandra Stubelius, Marie K Lagerquist, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Clinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.) - 2015 -
Trabecular bone loss in collagen antibody-induced
arthritis
Louise Grahnemo, Annica Andersson, Merja Nurkkala Karlsson, Alexandra Stubelius, Marie K Lagerquist, Mattias Svensson, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Arthritis Research & Therapy - 2015 -
Selective estrogen receptor modulators in T cell development and T cell dependent
inflammation
Angelina I Bernardi, Annica Andersson, Alexandra Stubelius, Louise Grahnemo, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Immunobiology - 2015 -
Estrogen regulates T helper 17 phenotype and localization in experimental autoimmune
arthritis
Annica Andersson, Alexandra Stubelius, Merja Nurkkala Karlsson, Cecilia Engdahl, Malin Erlandsson, Louise Grahnemo, Marie K Lagerquist, Ulrika Islander
Arthritis Research & Therapy - 2015 -
Possible role of lymphocytes in glucocorticoid-induced increase in trabecular bone mineral
density.
Louise Grahnemo, Caroline Jochems, Annica Andersson, Cecilia Engdahl, Claes Ohlsson, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
The Journal of endocrinology - 2015 -
Effects of lasofoxifene and bazedoxifene on B cell development and
function.
Angelina I Bernardi, Annica Andersson, Louise Grahnemo, Merja Nurkkala Karlsson, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Ulrika Islander
Immunity, inflammation and disease - 2014 -
alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Is Expressed in Human Atherosclerosis and Inhibits Disease in Mice-Brief
Report
Maria E Johansson, Marcus A Ulleryd, Angelina I Bernardi, A. M. Lundberg, Annica Andersson, L. Folkersen, Linda Fogelstrand, Ulrika Islander, Z. Q. Yan, G. K. Hansson
Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology - 2014 -
The role of total and cartilage-specific estrogen receptor alpha expression for the ameliorating effect of estrogen treatment on
arthritis.
Cecilia Engdahl, Anna E Börjesson, Huamei Forsman, Annica Andersson, Alexandra Stubelius, Andree Krust, Pierre Chambon, Ulrika Islander, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Marie K Lagerquist
Arthritis research & therapy - 2014 -
Probiotics protect mice from ovariectomy-induced cortical bone
loss.
Claes Ohlsson, Cecilia Engdahl, Frida Fåk, Annica Andersson, Sara H Windahl, Helen H. Farman, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Ulrika Islander, Klara Sjögren
PloS one - 2014 -
Immunomodulation by the estrogen metabolite
2-methoxyestradiol
Alexandra Stubelius, Malin Erlandsson, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
Clinical Immunology - 2014 -
The role of activation functions 1 and 2 of estrogen receptor-alpha for the effects of estradiol and selective estrogen receptor modulators in male
mice
Anna E Börjesson, Helen H. Farman, Cecilia Engdahl, A. Koskela, Klara Sjögren, Jenny Kindblom, Alexandra Stubelius, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten, M. C. Antal, A. Krust, P. Chambon, J. Tuukkanen, Marie K Lagerquist, Sara H Windahl, Claes Ohlsson
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research - 2013 -
Sexual dimorphisms in the immune system of catechol-O-methyltransferase knockout
mice
Alexandra Stubelius, Anna S K Wilhelmson, J. A. Gogos, Åsa Tivesten, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
Immunobiology - 2012 -
Response to Letter by X. Li, Q. Y. Zhou, F. L. Yuan. Galectin-3 as a novel therapeutic target in rheumatoid arthritis: comment on the article by Forsman et
al
Huamei Forsman, Ulrika Islander, Anna Karlsson
Arthritis and Rheumatism - 2011 -
Effects of oestradiol and raloxifene on the induction and effector phases of experimental postmenopausal arthritis and secondary
osteoporosis
Caroline Jochems, Ulrika Islander, Malin Erlandsson, Cecilia Engdahl, Marie Lagerquist, Claes Ohlsson, Kutty Selva Nandakumar, Rikard Holmdahl, Hans Carlsten
Clinical and Experimental Immunology - 2011 -
Roles of transactivating functions 1 and 2 of estrogen receptor-alpha in
bone.
Anna E Börjesson, Sara H Windahl, Marie Lagerquist, Cecilia Engdahl, B Frenkel, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Klara Sjögren, Jenny Kindblom, Alexandra Stubelius, Ulrika Islander, Mc Antal, A Krust, P Chambon, Claes Ohlsson
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - 2011 -
Estrogens in rheumatoid arthritis; the immune system and
bone
Ulrika Islander, Caroline Jochems, Marie Lagerquist, Helena Forsblad d'Elia, Hans Carlsten
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology - 2011 -
Role of 2-methoxyestradiol as inhibitor of arthritis and osteoporosis in a model of postmenopausal rheumatoid
arthritis
Alexandra Stubelius, Emil Andréasson, Anna Karlsson, Claes Ohlsson, Åsa Tivesten, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten
Clinical Immunology - 2011 -
Combined treatment with Dexamethasone and Raloxifene totally abrogates osteoporosis and joint destruction in experimental postmenopausal
arthritis
Ulrika Islander, Caroline Jochems, Alexandra Stubelius, Annica Andersson, Marie Lagerquist, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten
Arthritis Research and Therapy - 2011 -
Galectin-3 aggravates joint inflammation and destruction in antigen-induced
arthritis.
Huamei Forsman, Ulrika Islander, Emil Andréasson, Annica Andersson, Karin Önnheim, Alexandra Karlström, Karin Sävman, Mattias Magnusson, Kelly Brown, Anna Karlsson
Arthritis and rheumatism - 2011 -
Role of endogenous and exogenous female sex hormones in arthritis and osteoporosis development in B10.Q-ncf1*/* mice with collagen-induced chronic
arthritis.
Caroline Jochems, Ulrika Islander, Malin Erlandsson, Cecilia Engdahl, Marie Lagerquist, Inger Gjertsson, Claes Ohlsson, Rikard Holmdahl, Hans Carlsten
BMC musculoskeletal disorders - 2010 -
Superantigenic Staphylococcus aureus stimulate production of IL-17 from memory but not naive T
cells.
Ulrika Islander, Annica Andersson, Erika Lindberg, Ingegerd Adlerberth, Agnes E Wold, Anna Rudin
Infection and immunity - 2010 -
17Beta-estradiol expands IgA-producing B cells in mice deficient for the mu
chain.
Marie Lagerquist, Malin Erlandsson, L Svensson, Ulrika Islander, R Holmdahl, Hans Carlsten
Scandinavian journal of immunology - 2008 -
Ethanol prevents development of destructive
arthritis
Ing-Marie Jonsson, Margareta Verdrengh, Mikael Brisslert, Sofia Silfverswärd Lindblad, Maria Bokarewa, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten, Claes Ohlsson, K. S. Nandakumar, R. Holmdahl, Andrej Tarkowski
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A - 2007 -
Role of raloxifene as a potent inhibitor of experimental postmenopausal polyarthritis and
osteoporosis
Caroline Jochems, Ulrika Islander, Anna Kallkopf, Marie Lagerquist, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten
Arthritis Rheum - 2007 -
Immunomodulation by estrogen and
estren
Ulrika Islander
2007 -
Estren promotes androgen phenotypes in primary lymphoid organs and submandibular
glands
Ulrika Islander, Bengt Hasséus, Malin Erlandsson, Caroline Jochems, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Marie Lindberg, J. A. Gustafsson, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten
BMC Immunology - 2005 -
Estren-mediated inhibition of T lymphopoiesis is estrogen receptor-independent whereas its suppression of T cell-mediated inflammation is estrogen
receptor-dependent
Ulrika Islander, Malin Erlandsson, Tina Chavoshi, Caroline Jochems, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, S. Nilsson, Claes Ohlsson, J. A. Gustafsson, Hans Carlsten
Clin Exp Immunol - 2005 -
Osteoporosis in experimental postmenopausal polyarthritis: the relative contributions of estrogen deficiency and
inflammation
Caroline Jochems, Ulrika Islander, Malin Erlandsson, Margareta Verdrengh, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten
Arthritis Res Ther - 2005 -
Estrogenic agonism and antagonism of the soy isoflavone genistein in uterus, bone and lymphopoiesis in
mice
-
Investigation of central versus peripheral effects of estradiol in ovariectomized
mice
Niklas Andersson, Ulrika Islander, Emil Egecioglu, Elin Löf, Charlotte Swanson, Sofia Movérare-Skrtic, Klara Sjögren, Marie Lindberg, Hans Carlsten, Claes Ohlsson
J Endocrinol - 2005 -
Estren is a selective estrogen receptor modulator with transcriptional
activity.
Sofia Movérare, Johanna Dahllund, Niklas Andersson, Ulrika Islander, Hans Carlsten, Jan-Ake Gustafsson, Stefan Nilsson, Claes Ohlsson
Molecular pharmacology - 2003 -
Influence of oestrogen receptor alpha and beta on the immune system in aged female
mice.
Ulrika Islander, M C Erlandsson, Bengt Hasséus, C A Jonsson, Claes Ohlsson, J-A Gustafsson, Ulf Dahlgren, Hans Carlsten
Immunology - 2003 -
Oestrogen receptor specificity in oestradiol-mediated effects on B lymphopoiesis and immunoglobulin production in male
mice.
M C Erlandsson, C A Jonsson, Ulrika Islander, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten
Immunology - 2003