Staff Profile

Introduction

Catharien Hilkens obtained her PhD in Immunology at the University of Amsterdam. She then won an EMBO long-term fellowship award to work at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, before joining Newcastle University to start her own research group. During her PhD and post-doctoral work she became intrigued by the central role that dendritic cells play in orchestrating immune responses, and she became interested in exploring their therapeutic potential. At Newcastle, with invaluable support from a strong translational environment, she developed a therapeutic tolerogenic dendritic cell product that was tested in one of the first clinical trials of its kind in rheumatoid and inflammatory arthritis patients. More recently, she has become interested in engineering therapeutics that can modulate immune function of dendritic cells in vivo. To this aim she has teamed up with colleagues at the School of Engineering to start the 'Biomaterials for Tolerance' (BioTol) initiative. BioTol aims to exploit recent advances in polymeric biomaterial engineering for the development of innovative therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Catharien is one of the founders of the European network Action to Focus and Accelerate Cell-based Tolerance-inducing Therapies (AFACTT – 2014-2019). She is a management committee member of the Arthritis Research UK Rheumatoid Arthritis Pathogenesis Centre of Excellence (RACE; 2013 – present).

Research Interests

Catharien is a translational immunologist with research expertise in immune regulation by human dendritic cells, and with a strong interest in understanding regulation of immune processes within human tissues. Her aims are:

i) To develop novel immunotherapeutic approaches for rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases caused by a dysregulated immune system

ii) To understand the mechanisms underlying immune regulation by dendritic cells in order to support new areas of translational research

Her work is funded by Versus Arthritis, Medical Research Council, BBSRC, European Commission and the JGWP Foundation.

Postgraduate Teaching

- Supervisor of PhD and MRes students in laboratory-based research projects

- Lecturer at the 'Applied immunobiology in human disease' MRes course

Undergraduate Teaching

- Lecturer at the 'Immunology in health and disease' module

- Supervisor of BSc and MSc students in laboratory-based research projects

• Articles

  • Hunter B, Nicorescu I, Foster E, McDonald D, Hulme G, Fuller A, Thomson A, Goldsborough T, Hilkens CMU, Majo J, Milross L, Fisher A, Bankhead P, Wills J, Rees P, Filby A, Merces G. OPTIMAL: An OPTimized Imaging Mass cytometry AnaLysis framework for benchmarking segmentation and data exploration. Cytometry Part A 2024, 105(1), 36-53.
  • Milross L, Hunter B, McDonald D, Merces G, Thomson A, Hilkens CMU, Wills J, Rees P, Jiwa K, Cooper N, Majo J, Ashwin H, Duncan CJA, Kaye PM, Bayraktar OA, Filby A, Fisher AJ. Distinct lung cell signatures define the temporal evolution of diffuse alveolar damage in fatal COVID-19. eBioMedicine 2024, 99, 104945.
  • Salthouse D, Goulding PD, Reay SL, Jackson EL, Xu C, Ahmed R, Mearns-Spragg A, Novakovic K, Hilkens CMU, Ferreira AM. Amine-reactive crosslinking enhances type 0 collagen hydrogel properties for regenerative medicine. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2024, 12, epub ahead of print.
  • Sahar A, Nicorescu I, Barran G, Paterson M, Hilkens CMU, Lord P. Tolerogenic dendritic cell reporting: Has a minimum information model made a difference?. PeerJ 2023, 11, e15352.
  • Salthouse D, Novakovic K, Hilkens CM, Ferreira AM. Interplay between biomaterials and the immune system: Challenges and opportunities in regenerative medicine. Acta Biomaterialia 2023, 155, 1-18.
  • Reay SL, Jackson EL, Salthouse D, Ferreira AM, Hilkens CMU, Novakovic K. Effective Endotoxin Removal from Chitosan That Preserves Chemical Structure and Improves Compatibility with Immune Cells. Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1592.
  • Isaacs JD, Brockbank S, Pedersen AW, Hilkens C, Anderson A, Stocks P, Lendrem D, Tarn J, Smith GR, Allen B, Casement J, Diboll J, Harry R, Cooles FAH, Cope AP, Simpson G, Toward R, Noble H, Parke A, Wu W, Clarke F, Scott D, Scott IC, Galloway J, Lempp H, Ibrahim F, Schwank S, Molyneux G, Lazarov T, Geissmann F, Goodyear CS, McInnes IB, Donnelly I, Gilmour A, Virlan AT, Porter D, Ponchel F, Emery P, El-Jawhari J, Parmar R, McDermott MF, Fisher BA, Young SP, Jones P, Raza K, Filer A, Pitzalis C, Barnes MR, Watson DS, Henkin R, Thorborn G, Fossati-Jimack L, Kelly S, Humby F, Bombardieri M, Rana S, Jia Z, Goldmann K, Lewis M, Ng S, Barbosa-Silva A, Tzanis E, Gallagher-Syed A, John CR, Ehrenstein MR, Altobelli G, Martins S, Nguyen D, Ali H, Ciurtin C, Buch M, Symmons D, Worthington J, Bruce IN, Sergeant JC, Verstappen SMM, Stirling F, Hughes-Morley A, Tom B, Farewell V, Zhong Y, Taylor PC, Buckley CD, Keidel S, Cuff C, Levesque M, Long A, Liu Z, Lipsky S, Harvey B, Macoritto M, Hong F, Kaymakcalan S, Tsuji W, Sabin T, Ward N, Talbot S, Padhji D, Sleeman M, Finch D, Herath A, Lindholm C, Jenkins M, Ho M, Hollis S, Marshall C, Parker G, Page M, Edwards H, Cuza A, Gozzard N, Pandis I, Rowe A, Capdevila FB, Loza MJ, Curran M, Verbeeck D, Dan Baker, Mela CM, Vranic I, Mela CT, Wright S, Rowell L, Vernon E, Joseph N, Payne N, Rao R, Binks M, Belson A, Ludbrook V, Hicks K, Tipney H, Ellis J, Hasan S, Didierlaurent A, Burny W, Haynes A, Larminie C, Harris R, Dastros-Pitei D, Carini C, Kola B, Jelinsky S, Hodge M, Maciejewski M, Ziemek D, Schulz-Knappe P, Zucht H-D, Budde P, Coles M, Butler JA, Read S. RA-MAP, molecular immunological landscapes in early rheumatoid arthritis and healthy vaccine recipients. Scientific Data 2022, 9(1), 196.
  • Cooke F, Neal M, Wood MJ, de Vries IJM, Anderson AE, Diboll J, Pratt AG, Stanway J, Nicorescu I, Moyse N, Hiles D, Caulfield D, Dickinson AM, Blamire AM, Thelwall P, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CM. Fluorine labelling of therapeutic human tolerogenic dendritic cells for 19F-magnetic resonance imaging. Frontiers in Immunology 2022, 13(2022), 988667.
  • Reay SL, Jackson EL, Ferreira-Duarte AM, Hilkens CMU, Novakovic K. In vitro evaluation of the biodegradability of chitosan–genipin hydrogels. Materials Advances 2022, 3(21), 7946-7959.
  • Schittenhelm L, Roberston J, Pratt AG, Hilkens CM, Morrison VL. Dendritic cell integrin expression patterns regulate inflammation in the rheumatoid arthritis joint. Rheumatology 2021, 60(3), 1533-1542.
  • Rayner F, Anderson AE, Baker KF, Buckley CD, Dyke B, Fenton S, Filer A, Goodyear CS, Hilkens CMU, Hiu S, Kerrigan S, Kurowska-Stolarska M, Matthews F, McInnes I, Ng W-F, Pratt AG, Prichard J, Raza K, Siebert S, Stocken D, Teare MD, Young S, Isaacs JD. BIOlogical Factors that Limit sustAined Remission in rhEumatoid arthritis (the BIO-FLARE study): protocol for a non-randomised longitudinal cohort study. BMC Rheumatology 2021, 5, 22.
  • Spiering R, Jansen MAA, Wood MJ, Fath AA, Eltherington O, Anderson AE, Pratt AG, van Eden W, Isaacs JD, Broere F, Hilkens CMU. Targeting of tolerogenic dendritic cells to heat-shock proteins in inflammatory arthritis. Journal of Translational Medicine 2019, 17, 375.
  • Jansen MAA, Spiering R, Ludwig IS, van Eden W, Hilkens CMU, Broere F. Matured tolerogenic dendritic cells effectively inhibit autoantigen specific CD4+ T cells in a murine arthritis model. Frontiers in Immunology 2019, 10, 2068.
  • Wood MJ, Leckenby A, Reynolds G, Spiering R, Pratt AG, Rankin KS, Isaacs JD, Haniffa MA, Milling S, Hilkens CM. Macrophage proliferation distinguishes 2 subgroups of knee osteoarthritis patients. JCI Insight 2019, 4(2), e125325.
  • Cooles FAH, Anderson AE, Skelton A, Pratt AG, Kurowska-Stolarska MS, McInnes I, Hilkens CMU, Isaacs JD. Phenotypic and transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood plasmacytoid and conventional dendritic cells in early drug naïve rheumatoid arthritis. Frontiers in Immunology 2018, 9, 755.
  • Fuchs A, Gliwinski M, Grageda N, Spiering R, Abbas AK, Appel S, Bacchetta R, Battaglia M, Berglund D, Blazar B, Bluestone JA, Bornhauser M, Brinke A, Brusko TM, Cools N, Cuturi MC, Geissler E, Giannoukakis N, Golab K, Hafler DA, van Ham SM, Hester J, Hippen K, Di Ianni M, Ilic N, Isaacs J, Issa F, Iwaszkiewicz-Grzes D, Jaeckel E, Joosten I, Klatzmann D, Koenen H, Kooten C, Korsgren O, Kretschmer K, Levings M, Marek-Trzonkowska NM, Martinez-Llordella M, Miljkovic D, Mills KHG, Miranda JP, Piccirillo CA, Putnam AL, Ritter T, Roncarolo MG, Sakaguchi S, Sanchez-Ramon S, Sawitzki B, Sofronic-Milosavljevic L, Sykes M, Tang Q, Vives-Pi M, Waldmann H, Witkowski P, Wood KJ, Gregori S, Hilkens CMU, Lombardi G, Lord P, Martinez-Caceres EM, Trzonkowski P. Minimum information about T regulatory cells: A step toward reproducibility and standardization. Frontiers in Immunology 2018, 8, 1844.
  • Clifford T, Wood MJ, Stocks P, Howatson G, Stevenson EJ, Hilkens CMU. T-regulatory cells exhibit a biphasic response to prolonged endurance exercise in humans. European Journal of Applied Physiology 2017, 117(8), 1727-1737.
  • Cowell J, Buck M, Essa AH, Clarke R, Vollmer W, Vollmer D, Hilkens CM, Isaacs JD, Hall MJ, Gray J. Traceless-Cleavage of Protein-Biotin Conjugates Under Biologically-Compatible Conditions. ChemBioChem 2017, 18(17), 1688-1691.
  • Anderson AE, Swan DJ, Wong OY, Buck M, Eltherington O, Harry RA, Patterson AM, Pratt AG, Reynolds G, Doran JP, Kirby JA, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CM. Tolerogenic dendritic cells generated with dexamethasone and vitamin D3 regulate rheumatoid arthritis CD4⁺ T-cells partly via TGF-β1. Clinical & Experimental Immunology 2017, 187(1), 113-123.
  • Bell GM, Anderson AE, Diboll J, Reece R, Eltherington O, Harry RA, Fouweather T, MacDonald C, Chadwick T, McColl EM, Dunn J, Dickinson AM, Hilkens CMU, Isaacs JD. Autologous tolerogenic dendritic cells for rheumatoid and inflammatory arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2017, 76(1), 227-234.
  • Blfgeh A, Warrender J, Hilkens CMU, Lord P. A document-centric approach for developing the tolAPC ontology. Journal of Biomedical Semantics 2017, 8(1), 54.
  • García-González PA, Schinnerling K, Sepúlveda-Gutiérrez A, Maggi J, Hoyos L, Morales RA, Mehdi AM, Nel HJ, Soto L, Pesce B, Molina MC, Cuchacovich M, Larrondo ML, Neira Ó, Catalán DF, Hilkens CM, Thomas R, Verdugo RA, Aguilón JC. Treatment with Dexamethasone and Monophosphoryl Lipid A Removes Disease-Associated Transcriptional Signatures in Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells from Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients and Confers Tolerogenic Features. Frontiers in Immunology 2016, 7, 458.
  • Reynolds G, Gibbon JR, Pratt AG, Coady D, Raftery G, Lorenzi AR, Gray A, Filer A, Buckley CD, Haniffa MA, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CM. Synovial CD4+ T-cell-derived GM-CSF supports the differentiation of an inflammatory dendritic cell population in rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2016, 75(5), 899-907.
  • Tibbitt C, Falconer J, Stoop J, vanEden W, Robinson JH, Hilkens CMU. Reduced TCR-dependent activation through citrullination of a T-cell epitope enhances Th17 development by disruption of the STAT3/5 balance. European Journal of Immunology 2016, 46(7), 1633-1643.
  • Lord P, Hilkens C. Ontology in Immunology. Transplantation 2016, 100(10), 2014-2015.
  • Lord P, Spiering R, Aguillón JC, Anderson AE, Appel S, Benitez-Ribas D, ten-Brinke A, Broere F, Cools N, Cuturi MC, Diboll J, Geissler EK, Giannoukakis N, Gregori S, van-Ham SM, Lattimer S, Marshall L, Harry RA, Hutchinson JA, Isaacs JD, Joosten I, van-Kooten C, López-Díaz-de-Cerio A, Nikolic T, Barbaros-Oral H, Sofronic-Milosavljevic L, Ritter T, Riquelme P, Thomson AW, Trucco M, Vives-Pi M, Martinez-Caceres E, Hilkens CM. Minimum information about tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells (MITAP): a first step towards reproducibility and standardisation of cellular therapies. PeerJ 2016, 4, 1-14.
  • Maggi J, Schinnerling K, Pesce B, Hilkens CM, Catalán D, Aguilón JC. Dexamethasone and Monophosphoryl Lipid A-Modulated Dendritic Cells Promote Antigen-Specific Tolerogenic Properties on Naive and Memory CD4⁺ T Cells. Frontiers in Immunology 2016, 7, 359.
  • Spyridopoulos I, Martin-Ruiz C, Hilkens C, Yadegarfar ME, Isaacs J, Jagger C, Kirkwood T, von Zglinicki T. CMV-seropositivity and T-cell senescence predict increased cardiovascular mortality in octogenarians - results from the Newcastle 85+ study. Aging Cell 2016, 15(2), 389-392.
  • Crossland KL, Abinun M, Arkwright PD, Cheetham TD, Pearce SH, Hilkens CMU, Lilic D. AIRE is not essential for the induction of human tolerogenic dendritic cells. Autoimmunity 2016, 49(4), 211-218.
  • Trzonkowski P, Bacchetta R, Battaglia M, Berglund D, Bohnenkamp HR, ten Brinke A, Bushell A, Cools N, Geissler EK, Gregori S, van Ham SM, Hilkens C, Hutchinson JA, Lombardi G, Madrigal JA, Marek-Trzonkowska N, Martinez-Caceres EM, Roncarolo MG, Sanchez-Ramon S, Saudemont A, Sawitzki B. Hurdles in therapy with regulatory T cells. Science Translational Medicine 2015, 7(304).
  • Maney NJ, Reynolds G, Krippner-Heidenreich A, Hilkens CMU. Dendritic Cell Maturation and Survival Are Differentially Regulated by TNFR1 and TNFR2. Journal of Immunology 2014, 193(10), 4914-4923.
  • Purvis HA, Anderson AE, Young DA, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CMU. A Negative Feedback Loop Mediated by STAT3 Limits Human Th17 Responses. Journal of Immunology 2014, 193(3), 1142-1150.
  • Stoop JN, Tibbitt CA, van Eden W, Robinson JH, Hilkens CMU. The choice of adjuvant determines the cytokine profile of T cells in proteoglycan-induced arthritis but does not influence disease severity. Immunology 2013, 138(1), 68-75.
  • Schlitzer A, McGovern N, Teo P, Zelante T, Atarashi K, Low D, Ho AW, See P, Shin A, Wasan PS, Hoeffel G, Malleret B, Heiseke A, Chew S, Jardine L, Purvis HA, Hilkens CM, Tam J, Poidinger M, Stanley ER, Krug AB, Renia L, Sivasankar B, Ng LG, Collin M, Ricciardi-Castagnoli P, Honda K, Haniffa M, Ginhoux F. IRF4 Transcription Factor-Dependent CD11b⁺ Dendritic Cells in Human and Mouse Control Mucosal IL-17 Cytokine Responses. Immunity 2013, 38(5), 970-983.
  • Anderson AE, Lorenzi AR, Pratt A, Wooldridge T, Diboll J, Hilkens CM, Isaacs JD. Immunity 12 years after alemtuzumab in RA: CD5+ B-cell depletion, thymus-dependent T-cell reconstitution and normal vaccine responses. Rheumatology 2012, 51(8), 1397-1406.
  • Collerton J, Martin-Ruiz C, Davies K, Hilkens CM, Isaacs J, Kolenda C, Parker C, Dunn M, Catt M, Jagger C, von Zglinicki T, Kirkwood TB. Frailty and the role of inflammation, immunosenescence and cellular ageing in the very old: Cross-sectional findings from the Newcastle 85+ Study. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 2012, 133(6), 456-466.
  • Pratt AG, Swan DC, Richardson S, Wilson G, Hilkens C, Young DA, Isaacs JD. A CD4 T cell gene signature for early rheumatoid arthritis implicates interleukin 6-mediated STAT3 signalling, particularly anti-citrullinated peptide antibody-negative disease. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2012, 71(8), 1374-1381.
  • Brodlie M, McKean MC, Johnson GE, Anderson AE, Hilkens CM, Fisher AJ, Corris PA, Lordan JL, Ward C. Raised interleukin-17 is immunolocalised to neutrophils in cystic fibrosis lung disease. European Respiratory Journal 2011, 37(6), 1378-1385.
  • Martin Ruiz C, Jagger C, Kingston A, Collerton J, Catt M, Davies K, Dunn M, Hilkens C, Keavney B, Pearce S, den Elzen W, Talbot D, Wiley L, Bond J, Mathers J, Eccles M, Robinson L, James O, Kirkwood T, von Zglinicki T. Assessment of a large panel of candidate biomarkers of ageing in the Newcastle 85+ study. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 2011, 132(10), 496-502.
  • Baldwin HM, Ito-Ihara T, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CMU. Tumour necrosis factor alpha blockade impairs dendritic cell survival and function in rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2010, 69(6), 1200-1207.
  • Stoop JN, Harry RA, von Delwig A, Isaacs JD, Robinson JH, Hilkens CMU. Therapeutic Effect of Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells in Established Collagen-Induced Arthritis Is Associated With a Reduction in Th17 Responses. Arthritis & Rheumatism 2010, 62(12), 3656-3665.
  • Purvis HA, Stoop JN, Mann J, Woods S, Kozijn AE, Hambleton S, Robinson JH, Isaacs JD, Anderson AE, Hilkens CMU. Low-strength T-cell activation promotes Th17 responses. Blood 2010, 116(23), 4829-4837.
  • Harry RA, Anderson AE, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CM. Generation and characterisation of therapeutic tolerogenic dendritic cells for rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2010, 69(11), 2042-2050.
  • Wang XN, Haniffa MA, Holtick U, Collin MP, Jackson G, Hilkens CMU, Holler E, Edinger M, Hoffmann P, Dickinson AM. Regulatory T-Cell Suppression of CD8⁺ T-Cell-Mediated Graft-Versus-Host Reaction Requires Their Presence During Priming. Transplantation 2009, 88(2), 188-197.
  • Anderson AE, Swan DJ, Sayers BL, Harry RA, Patterson AM, von Delwig A, Robinson JH, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CM. LPS activation is required for migratory activity and antigen presentation by tolerogenic dendritic cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 2009, 85(2), 243-250.
  • Haniffa M, Ginhoux F, Wang XN, Bigley V, Abel M, Dimmick I, Bullock S, Grisotto M, Booth T, Taub P, Hilkens C, Merad M, Collin M. Differential rates of replacement of human dermal dendritic cells and macrophages during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Journal of Experimental Medicine 2009, 206(2), 371-385.
  • Ward C, Eger K, Diboll J, Jones D, Haniffa MA, Fisher A, Brodlie M, Lordan JL, Corris PA, Hilkens CM. Bronchial epithelial cells cultured from clinically stable lung allograft patients promote the development of macrophages from monocytes rather than dendritic cells. Thorax 2009, 64(5), 430-435.
  • Lakey RL, Morgan TG, Rowan AD, Isaacs JD, Cawston TE, Hilkens CM. A novel paradigm for dendritic cells as effectors of cartilage destruction. Rheumatology 2009, 48(5), 502-7.
  • Holtick U, Marshall SR, Wang XN, Hilkens CMU, Dickinson AM. Impact of Psoralen/UVA-treatment on survival, activation, and immunostimulatory capacity of monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Transplantation 2008, 85(5), 757-766.
  • Anderson AE, Sayers BL, Haniffa MA, Swan DJ, Diboll J, Wang XN, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CMU. Differential regulation of naïve and memory CD4+ T cells by alternatively activated dendritic cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology 2008, 84(1), 124-133.
  • Haniffa MA, Wang XN, Holtick U, Rae M, Isaacs JD, Dickinson AM, Hilkens CM, Collin MP. Adult Human Fibroblasts Are Potent Immunoregulatory Cells and Functionally Equivalent to Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Journal of Immunology 2007, 179(3), 1595-1604.
  • von Delwig A, Hilkens CM, Altmann DM, Holmdahl R, Isaacs JD, Harding CV, Robertson H, McKie N, Robinson JH. Inhibition of macropinocytosis blocks antigen presentation of type II collagen in vitro and in vivo in HLA-DR1 transgenic mice. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006, 8(4), R93.
  • Mailliard RB, Wankowicz-Kalinska A, Cai Q, Wesa A, Hilkens CM, Kapsenberg ML, Kirkwood JM, Storkus WJ, Kalinski P. α-type-1 polarized dendritic cells: A novel immunization tool with optimized CTL-inducing activity. Cancer Research 2004, 64(17), 5934-5937.
  • Athie-Morales V, Smits HH, Cantrell DA, Hilkens CM. Sustained IL-12 Signaling Is Required for Th1 Development. Journal of Immunology 2004, 172(1), 61-69.
  • Hilkens CM, Schlaak JF, Kerr IM. Differential Responses to IFN-α Subtypes in Human T Cells and Dendritic Cells. Journal of Immunology 2003, 171(10), 5255-5263.
  • Schlaak JF, Hilkens CM, Costa-Pereira AP, Strobl B, Aberger F, Frischauf AM, Kerr IM. Cell-type and Donor-specific Transcriptional Responses to Interferon-α: Use of customized gene arrays. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2002, 277(51), 49428-49437.
  • Smits HH, van Rietschoten JG, Hilkens CM, Sayilir R, Stiekema F, Kapsenberg ML, Wierenga EA. IL-12-induced reversal of human Th2 cells is accompanied by full restoration of IL-12 responsiveness and loss of GATA-3 expression. European Journal of Immunology 2001, 31(4), 1055-1065.
  • Smits HH, Hilkens CM, Kalinski P, Kapsenberg ML, Wierenga EA. How to deal with polarized Th2 cells: exploring the Achilles' heel. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology 2001, 126(2), 102-110.
  • Hilkens CM, Is'harc H, Lillemeier BF, Strobl B, Bates PA, Behrmann I, Kerr IM. A region encompassing the FERM domain of Jak1 is necessary for binding to the cytokine receptor gp130. FEBS Letters 2001, 505(1), 87-91.
  • Kapsenberg ML, Hilkens CM, van der Pouw Kraan TC, Wierenga EA, Kalinski P. Atopic allergy: a failure of antigen-presenting cells to properly polarize helper T cells?. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2000, 162(3, Supplement), S76-S80.
  • Kapsenberg ML, Hilkens CM, Wierenga EA, Kalinski P. The paradigm of type 1 and type 2 antigen-presenting cells. Implications for atopic allergy. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 1999, 29(Suppl.2), 33-36.
  • Kalinski P, Hilkens CM, Wierenga EA, Kapsenberg ML. T-cell priming by type-1 and type-2 polarized dendritic cells: the concept of a third signal. Immunology Today 1999, 20(12), 561-567.
  • Kalinski P, Schuitemaker JH, Hilkens CM, Wierenga EA, Kapsenberg ML. Final maturation of dendritic cells is associated with impaired responsiveness to IFN-gamma and to bacterial IL-12 inducers: decreased ability of mature dendritic cells to produce IL-12 during the interaction with Th cells. Journal of Immunology 1999, 162(6), 3231-3236.
  • Kapsenberg ML, Hilkens CM, Wierenga EA, Kalinski P. The role of antigen-presenting cells in the regulation of allergen-specific T cell responses. Current Opinion in Immunology 1998, 10(6), 607-613.
  • Kalinski P, Schuitemaker JH, Hilkens CM, Kapsenberg ML. Prostaglandin E₂ induces the final maturation of IL-12-deficient CD1a⁺CD83⁺ dendritic cells: the levels of IL-12 are determined during the final dendritic cell maturation and are resistant to further modulation. Journal of Immunology 1998, 161(6), 2804-2809.
  • Snijders A, Kalinski P, Hilkens CM, Kapsenberg ML. High-level IL-12 production by human dendritic cells requires two signals. International Immunology 1998, 10(11), 1593-1598.
  • Kalinski P, Hilkens CM, Snijders A, Snijdewint FG, Kapsenberg ML. IL-12-deficient dendritic cells, generated in the presence of prostaglandin E2, promote type 2 cytokine production in maturing human naive T helper cells. Journal of Immunology 1997, 159(1), 28-35.
  • Hilkens CM, Kalinski P, de Boer M, Kapsenberg ML. Human dendritic cells require exogenous interleukin-12-inducing factors to direct the development of naive T-helper cells toward the Th1 phenotype. Blood 1997, 90(5), 1920-1926.
  • Kalinski P, Hilkens CM, Snijders A, Snijdewint FG, Kapsenberg ML. Dendritic cells, obtained from peripheral blood precursors in the presence of PGE2, promote Th2 responses. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1997, 417, 363-367.
  • Kapsenberg ML, Hilkens CM, van der Pouw Kraan TC, Wierenga EA, Snijders A. The role of accessory cell products in the regulation of T cell cytokine production. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1996, 409, 305-308.
  • Snijders A, Hilkens CM, van der Pouw Kraan TC, Engel M, Aarden LA, Kapsenberg ML. Regulation of bioactive IL-12 production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human monocytes is determined by the expression of the p35 subunit. Journal of Immunology 1996, 156(3), 1207-1212.
  • Kremer IB, Hilkens CM, Sylva-Steenland RM, Koomen CW, Kapsenberg ML, Bos JD, Teunissen MB. Reduced IL-12 production by monocytes upon ultraviolet-B irradiation selectively limits activation of T helper-1 cells. Journal of Immunology 1996, 157(5), 1913-1918.
  • Kapsenberg ML, Hilkens CM, Jansen HM, Bos JD, Snijders A, Wierenga EA. Production and modulation of T-cell cytokines in atopic allergy. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology 1996, 110(2), 107-113.
  • Hilkens CM, Snijders A, Snijdewint FG, Wierenga EA, Kapsenberg ML. Modulation of T-cell cytokine secretion by accessory cell-derived products. European Respiratory Journal Supplement 1996, 22, S90-S94.
  • Hilkens CM, Messer G, Tesselaar K, van Rietschoten AG, Kapsenberg ML, Wierenga EA. Lack of IL-12 signaling in human allergen-specific Th2 cells. Journal of Immunology 1996, 157(10), 4316-4321.
  • Hamann D, Hilkens CM, Grogan JL, Lens SM, Kapsenberg ML, Yazdanbakhsh M, van Lier RA. CD30 expression does not discriminate between human Th1- and Th2-type T cells. Journal of Immunology 1996, 156(4), 1387-1391.
  • Hilkens C, Snijders A, Vermeulen H, van der Meide P, Wierenga E, Kapsenberg M. Accessory cell-derived interleukin-12 and prostaglandin E2 determine the level of interferon-gamma produced by activated human CD4+ T cells. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1996, 795, 349-350.
  • Hilkens CM, Snijders A, Vermeulen H, van der Meide PH, Wierenga EA, Kapsenberg ML. Accessory cell-derived IL-12 and prostaglandin E2 determine the IFN-gamma level of activated human CD4+ T cells. Journal of Immunology 1996, 156(5), 1722-1727.
  • Kalinski P, Hilkens CM, Wierenga EA, van der Pouw Kraan TC, van Lier RA, Bos JD, Kapsenberg ML, Snijdewint FG. Functional maturation of human naive T helper cells in the absence of accessory cells. Generation of IL-4-producing T helper cells does not require exogenous IL-4. Journal of Immunology 1995, 154(8), 3753-3760.
  • Hilkens CM, Vermeulen H, van Neerven RJ, Snijdewint FG, Wierenga EA, Kapsenberg ML. Differential modulation of T helper type 1 (Th1) and T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine secretion by prostaglandin E₂ critically depends on interleukin-2. European Journal of Immunology 1995, 25(1), 59-63.

• Authored Book

  • Hilkens CMU, Diboll J, Cooke F, Anderson AE. In vitro generation of human tolerogenic monocyte-derived dendritic cells. New York, NY: Humana/Springer, 2023.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Novakovic K, Leach J, Reay S, Jackson E, Ferreira-Duarte A, Hilkens C. Towards biocompatible pulsatile materials. In: Gordon Research Conference on Oscillations and Dynamic Instabilities in Chemical Systems : Nonequilibrium to Induce and Maintain Spatio-Temporal Patterns. 2022, Stonehill College, MA, United States.
  • Reynolds G, Milne P, Bigley V, Collin M, Isaacs J, Hilkens C, Haniffa M. Use of the dendritic cell marker, B and T lymphocyte attenuator, to identify functionally distinct subsets of human CD1c+ dendritic cells. In: Spring Meeting for Clinician Scientists in Training 2016. 2016, London, UK: Elsevier.
  • Blfgeh A, Warrender JD, Hilkens CMU, Lord P. A document-centric approach for developing the tolAPC Ontology. In: ODLS 2016 Ontologies and Data in Life Sciences. 2016, Halle (Saale), Germany: CEUR-WS.
  • Cooles FAH, Anderson AE, Hilkens C, Isaacs JD. The Interferon Gene Signature in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Demonstrates No Significant Association with Disease Activity. In: 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. 2015, San Francisco, CA, USA: Wiley.
  • Bell G, Anderson A, Harry R, Diboll J, McColl E, Dickinson A, Hilkens C, Isaacs JD. Autologous tolerogenic dendritic cells in rheumatoid and inflammatory arthritis. In: European Workshop for Rheumatology Research. 2014, Lisbon, Portugal: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
  • Bell G, Anderson A, Diboll J, Harry R, McColl E, Dickinson A, Hilkens C, Isaacs J. Autologous Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells In Rheumatoid and Inflammatory Arthritis. In: Arthritis & Rheumatism 2013 Annual Meeting. 2013, San Diego, CA, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Letters

  • Cooles FAH, Anderson AE, Lendrem DW, Norris J, Pratt AG, Hilkens CMU, Isaacs JD. The interferon gene signature is increased in patients with early treatment-naive rheumatoid arthritis and predicts a poorer response to initial therapy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2017, 141(1), 445-448.e4.
  • Brodlie M, Eger K, Hilkens CMU, Ward C. Airway epithelial cells as guardians of immune homeostasis?. Thorax 2009, 64(11), 1009.

• Reviews

  • Mansilla MJ, Hilkens CMU, Martinez-Caceres EM. Challenges in tolerogenic dendritic cell therapy for autoimmune diseases: the route of administration. Immunotherapy Advances 2023, 3(1), ltad012.
  • Thomson A, Hilkens CMU. Synovial Macrophages in Osteoarthritis: The Key to Understanding Pathogenesis?. Frontiers in Immunology 2021, 12, 678757.
  • Meehan G, Thomas R, Khabouri S, Wehr P, Hilkens CM, Wraith DC, Sieghart D, Bonelli M, Nagy G, Garside P, Tough DF, Lewis HD, Brewer JM. Preclinical models of arthritis for studying immunotherapy and immune tolerance. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2021, 80(10), 1268-1277.
  • Ten Brinke A, Martinez-Llordella M, Cools N, Hilkens CMU, van Ham SM, Sawitzki B, Geissler EK, Lombardi G, Trzonkowski P, Martinez-Caceres E. Ways Forward for Tolerance-Inducing Cellular Therapies- an AFACTT Perspective. Frontiers in immunology 2019, 10, 181.
  • Jansen MAA, Spiering R, Broere F, van Laar JM, Isaacs JD, van Eden W, Hilkens CMU. Targeting of tolerogenic dendritic cells towards heat-shock proteins: A novel therapeutic strategy for autoimmune diseases?. Immunology 2018, 153(1), 51–59.
  • Schittenhelm L, Hilkens CM, Morrison VL. β2 Integrins As Regulators of Dendritic Cell, Monocyte, and Macrophage Function. Frontiers in Immunology 2017, 8, 1866.
  • Stojanovic I, Dimitrijevic M, Vives-Pi M, Mansilla MJ, Pujol-Autonell I, Rodriguez-Fernandez S, Palova-Jelinkova L, Funda DP, Gruden-Movsesijan A, Sofronic-Milosavljevic L, Hilkens CMU, Martinez Caceres E, Miljkovic D. Cell-based tolerogenic therapy, experience from animal models of multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Current Pharmaceutical Design 2017, 23(18), 2623-2643.
  • Ten Brinke A, Hilkens CMU, Cools N, Geissler EK, Hutchinson JA, Lombardi G, Lord P, Sawitzki B, Trzonkowski P, Van Ham SM, Martinez-Caceres EM. Clinical Use of Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells-Harmonization Approach in European Collaborative Effort. Mediators of Inflammation 2015, 2015, 471719.
  • Reynolds G, Cooles FAH, Isaacs JD, Hilkens CMU. Emerging immunotherapies for rheumatoid arthritis. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2014, 10(4), 822-837.
  • Hilkens CMU, Isaacs JD. Tolerogenic dendritic cell therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: where are we now?. Clinical & Experimental Immunology 2013, 172(2), 148-157.
  • Stoop JN, Robinson JH, Hilkens CMU. Developing tolerogenic dendritic cell therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: what can we learn from mouse models?. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2011, 70(9), 1526-1533.
  • Hilkens CM, Isaacs JD, Thomson AW. Development of dendritic cell-based immunotherapy for autoimmunity. International Reviews of Immunology 2010, 29(2), 156-183.