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Karen Ridge Lab
@ridgelabnu.bsky.social
89 followers 93 following 24 posts
PI: Karen M. Ridge, PhD,
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
https://labs.feinberg.northwestern.edu/ridge/
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ridgelabnu.bsky.social
Happy #MicroscopyMonday! May your samples today be as happy to see you as you are to see them!
a bit of tissue from a colon sample with H&E stain making a smiley face
July 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
ridgelabnu.bsky.social
All across Northwestern, groundbreaking research and scholarship happen daily. Our researchers look to cure disease, tackle tough questions and improve lives. Explore recent research that highlights Northwestern's research impact and learn why research matters: www.northwestern.edu/research-nu/...
A person with a lab coat, safety glasses, and purple nitrile gloves holds a petri dish
June 27, 2025 at 6:22 PM
ridgelabnu.bsky.social
It's been nice to see the tulips blooming on campus
Some late blooming pink and white tulips in front of a sign that says "Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine"
May 6, 2025 at 4:33 PM
ridgelabnu.bsky.social
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! Please enjoy this mouse lung.
April 25, 2025 at 6:49 PM
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When you have a nice hat and someone mentions it and you feel nice #MicroscopyMonday

Read our paper in Cell Reports: Ma et al. 2024, Vimentin modulates regulatory T cell receptor-ligand interactions at distal pole complex, leading to dysregulated host response to viral pneumonia, bit.ly/3FiW5vH
Treg cell with the nucleus stained blue and vimentin immunolabeled in green. The vimentin filaments are bundled together in the distal pole complex, a caplike structure that forms opposite the immune synapse and is shown here looking like a nice little hat at a jaunty angle.
March 31, 2025 at 3:52 PM
ridgelabnu.bsky.social
Happy #MicroscopyMonday! From Fig 2G of our Cell Reports paper (bit.ly/3FiW5vH), wild-type mice (left) & mice with conditional vimentin knockout in Tregs (right) were infected with a sublethal dose of influenza virus; on day 21 lungs from cKO mice had less keratin 5 (green) & more Foxp3+ Tregs (red)
March 10, 2025 at 5:56 PM
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Please enjoy a cellular eclipse
December 30, 2024 at 12:20 AM
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Happy Holidays from the Ridge Lab!
Cancer cell with immunolabeling for vimentin in green and a red clipart bow
December 20, 2024 at 5:24 PM
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And it just wouldn't be #FluorescenceFriday without sharing Figure 7E, showing vimentin spatially sequestering IL-18R at the distal pole complex of a regulatory T cell under control conditions (CT), but IL-18R is redistributed evenly on the cell surface with the vimentin network disrupted by WFA
Regulatory T cells immunolabeled for vimentin in green and IL-18R in red, with Hoechst nuclear dye in blue. The top row shows a control (CT) cell with both vimentin filaments and IL-18R concentrated at the distal pole complex, a caplike structure. The bottom row shows a cell treated with the compound WFA, which disrupts the vimentin into a sparse network of short filaments, resulting in a more even distribution of IL-18R on the cell surface.
December 13, 2024 at 7:58 PM
ridgelabnu.bsky.social
Just published in Cell Reports is our latest paper!

Vimentin modulates regulatory T cell receptor-ligand interactions at distal pole complex, leading to dysregulated host response to viral pneumonia
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Graphical abstract. Summary: Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) resolve acute inflammation and repair the injured lung after viral pneumonia. Vimentin is a critical protein in the distal pole complex (DPC) of Tregs. This study reveals the inhibitory effect of vimentin on the suppressive and reparative capacity of Tregs. Treg-specific deletion of vimentin increases Helios+interleukin-18 receptor (IL-18R)+ Tregs, suppresses inflammatory immune cells, and enhances tissue repair, protecting Vimfl/flFoxp3YFP-cre mice from influenza-induced lung injury and mortality. Mechanistically, vimentin suppresses the induction of amphiregulin, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligand necessary for tissue repair, by sequestering IL-18R to the DPC and restricting receptor-ligand interactions. We propose that vimentin in the DPC of Tregs functions as a molecular switch, which could be targeted to regulate the immune response and enhance tissue repair in patients with severe viral pneumonia.
December 13, 2024 at 7:45 PM
ridgelabnu.bsky.social
Happy Thanksgiving!
A549 cell with vimentin immunofluorescently labeled in red and the nucleus dyed blue, with sketchy turkey head and legs added
November 28, 2024 at 4:45 PM
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Happy #FluorescenceFriday! This lung adenocarcinoma cell was treated with withaferin A, fixed, & immunolabeled for vimentin (green) & keratin 8 (red)

Read more in Berr et al 2023, Vimentin is required for tumor progression and metastasis in a mouse model of non–small cell lung cancer bit.ly/3OFzDPM
Lung adenocarcinoma cell from a mouse was treated with withaferin A then fixed and immunolabeled for vimentin in green and keratin 8 in red, with Hoechst nuclear dye in blue. The withaferin A caused the vimentin intermediate filaments to disassemble and aggregate around the nucleus. This image is a maximum intensity projection of a confocal z-stack.
November 22, 2024 at 8:44 PM
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We are particularly interested in the role played by the intermediate filament protein vimentin in activation of inflammasome, cGAS-STING, and other signaling pathways in cells such as macrophages & Tregs.

Please visit our website for more information: labs-dev.fsm.northwestern.edu/ridge/
November 18, 2024 at 8:17 PM
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Greetings from the Ridge Lab in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care at Northwestern! Our research focuses on mechanisms driving repair & recovery from viral pneumonia. We aim to identify molecular signals modulating the transition from acute lung injury to the later resolution/repair phase.
November 18, 2024 at 8:17 PM