Sebastian Schäfer

Differences in 5'untranslated regions highlight the importance of translational regulation of dosage sensitive genes

The paper examines 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) to show their role in translational regulation of dosage-sensitive genes and introduces a web tool for analyzing 5UTR composition.

Dominance is common in mammals and is associated with trans-acting gene expression and alternative splicing

The paper investigates dominance and additivity in mammalian genetics, finding dominance accounts for 25% of heritable variance and reveals novel dominance QTLs and trans-acting effects in gene expression.

Inhibition of an immunometabolic axis of mTORC1 activation extends mammalian healthspan

This study shows that inhibiting IL11 improves healthspan in aged mice by reversing metabolic dysfunction, sarcopenia, and frailty.

CLIPreg: Constructing translational regulatory networks from CLIP-, Ribo- and RNA-seq

CLIPreg integrates RNA, Ribo, and CLIP-seq data to construct translational regulatory networks mediated by RNA-binding proteins.

Similarities and differences between IL11 and IL11RA1 knockout mice for lung fibro-inflammation, fertility and craniosynostosis

This study compares IL11 and IL11RA1 knockout mice, finding IL11 deficiency protects against lung fibro-inflammation but causes infertility, while IL11RA1 deficiency leads to craniosynostosis.

Molecular dissection of pro-fibrotic signaling identifies the mechanism underlying IL11-driven fibrosis gene translation, reveals non-specific effects of STAT3 and suggests a new mechanism of action for nintedanib

The paper investigates IL11-driven fibrosis mechanisms, showing ERK, not STAT3, drives fibrogenesis and identifies a novel role for nintedanib in inhibiting pro-fibrotic translation.

Autocrine IL11 cis-signaling in hepatocytes is an initiating nexus between lipotoxicity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

The paper shows that autocrine IL11 signaling in hepatocytes drives lipotoxicity and NASH by causing lipoapoptosis and reactive oxygen species, with protection seen in Il11ra1-deleted mice.

Characterising the loss-of-function impact of 5’ untranslated region variants in 15,708 individuals

The paper systematically studies uORF variants in 15,708 genomes, showing they are under strong negative selection and contribute to disease.

Reliable detection of translational regulation with Ribo-seq

The paper introduces Xtail, a method to identify differentially translated genes by analyzing Ribo-seq data while accounting for mRNA abundance variations.

IL-11 is a therapeutic target in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The paper identifies IL-11 as a therapeutic target in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by showing its role in fibroblast activation and fibrosis progression across species.

Translational control of cardiac fibrosis

The paper identifies translational regulators of fibrogenic genes in human cardiac fibroblasts and shows their role in cardiac fibrosis through ribosome profiling and RNA-binding protein analysis.

IL-11 neutralising therapies target hepatic stellate cell-induced liver inflammation and fibrosis in NASH

This study identifies IL-11 as a key driver of HSC-to-myofibroblast transformation in NASH, showing that targeting IL-11 reduces fibrosis and inflammation in preclinical models.