Immunology Program

The Gretchen Diehl Lab

Research

Gretchen Diehl, PhD

The intestinal immune system faces a number of unique challenges due to continuous exposure to rapidly changing exogenous factors including diet and intestinal microbes. Proper calibration of responses is needed to clear invading pathogens as well as repair damage. Over enthusiastic responses within the intestine impair barrier repair, amplifying damage and potentially lead to systemic infection or chronic inflammatory disease including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We find that the intestinal microbiota and dietary factors can promote or inhibit proper immune regulation. As such, we seek to define molecular and cellular pathways regulated by the microbiota, dietary, and tissue factors that are required to maintain homeostasis within the intestine. In defining upstream signals, we are working to understand microbial pathways and how they modulate tissue immunity. In parallel, we seek to delineate how these networks are disrupted in inflammatory conditions.

Featured News

A Delicate Balance: Learning New Ways That Gut Microbes Educate the Immune System

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Publications

Zegarra-Ruiz D.F., Kim D.V., Norwood K., Kim M., Wu W-J., Saldana-Morales F.B., Hill A.A., Majumdar S., Orozco, S., Bell, R., Round, J.L., Longman R.S., Egawa T., Bettini M.L.^#, Diehl GE^#. 2021. Thymic development of gut-microbiota-specific T cells. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03531-1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03531-1

Saldana-Morales F.B., Kim D.V., Tsai M-T., Diehl G.E., 2021. Healthy Intestinal Function Relies on Coordinated Enteric Nervous System, Immune System, and Epithelium Responses. Gut Microbes. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2021.1916376

Viladomiu M., Metz M.L., Lima S.F., Jin W-B., Chou L., JRI Live Cell Bank, Guo C-J., Diehl G.E., Simpson K.W., Scherl E.J., Longman R.S., 2021. Adherent-invasive E. coli metabolism of propanediol in Crohn’s disease regulates phagocytes to drive intestinal inflammation. Cell Host & Microbe. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2021.01.002.

Wu, W-J.H., Zegarra-Ruiz, D.F., Diehl G.E., 2020. Intestinal microbes in autoimmune and inflammatory disease. Frontiers in Immunology. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.597966 https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.597966

Kim M., Hill A.A., Wu W-J., Diehl G.E., 2019. Intestinal microbes direct CX₃CR1⁺ cells to balance intestinal immunity. Gut Microbes. 10: 540-546. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2018.1559683. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2018.1559683

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Gretchen Diehl, PhD

The Diehl lab studies how the microbiota and other exogenous factors regulate development and function of the intestinal immune system.
PhD, University of California, Berkeley