Detail

Keywords

Anaphylaxis; Biomarkers, Pharmacological; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Histamine

Research group(s)

• Haematology & Immunology
  Research Area: test newly developed drugs in the immunologic and coagulation field; combining in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo trials to obtain an integrated insight into pathophysiologic processes
  Members:
  Bernd Jilma
  Katarina Kovacevic
  Matthias Weiss-Tessbach

Research interests

My research centers on histamine, a key mediator of anaphylaxis, and the enzymes involved in its degradation, including diamine oxidase (DAO). Using preclinical models in mice and guinea pigs, we have characterized histamine's complex in vivo effects on the cardiovascular system, coagulation, vascular integrity, and immune cell function. Building on these findings, we recently established a controlled human model of histamine-induced hypotension, enabling us to study systemic histamine effects and evaluate therapeutic interventions directly in humans under standardized conditions. This translational approach - from animal models to human challenge trials - opens new possibilities for testing treatments against life-threatening conditions driven by histamine excess, such as anaphylactic shock.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

• In-Vivo/Biomodels: Human models (Histamine induced hypotension), Knockout mouse models (Diamine oxidase knockout), surgical models in guinea pigs (anaphylactic shock model), pharmacokinetics in rats, Phase-I Clinical trials
• In-Vitro: setup of enzymatic assays, NGS, expression analysis, ELISA, microbiological techniques

Selected publications

1. Weiss‐Tessbach, M. et al. (2026) ‘Effect of Intramuscular Adrenaline on Histamine‐Induced Hypotension: A Randomised Placebo‐Controlled Pilot Trial’, Allergy [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/all.70277.
2. Karer, M. et al. (2022) ‘Diamine oxidase knockout mice are not hypersensitive to orally or subcutaneously administered histamine’, Inflammation Research, 71(4), pp. 497–511. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00011-022-01558-2.
3. Weiss-Tessbach, M. et al. (2023) ‘Recombinant human diamine oxidase prevents hemodynamic effects of continuous histamine infusion in guinea pigs’, Inflammation Research, 72(10–11), pp. 2013–2022. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-023-01783-3.
4. Weiss-Tessbach, M. et al. (2025) ‘COVID-19 mRNA-1273 vaccination induced mast cell activation with strongly elevated Th2 cytokines in a systemic mastocytosis patient’, Inflammation Research, 74(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-025-02032-5.
5. ‘Remibrutinib in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria’ (2025) New England Journal of Medicine, 392(20), pp. 2075–2078. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmc2504726.