DocTIS study presented at Viszeralmedizin 2025 in Leipzig

A study from the DocTIS project was presented at Viszeralmedizin 2025, the world’s largest German-speaking congress for gastroenterology, visceral surgery, and interdisciplinary endoscopy.

On Friday, September 19, during the session “Immunology meets IBD”, Professor Britta Siegmund, principal investigator of the DocTIS project at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Medical Director of the Medical Department, Division of Gastroenterology, Infectiology and Rheumatology at the same institution, presented the study “DocTIS: A single-cell RNA-seq atlas of drug response to targeted therapies in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases”, which attracted around 40 attendees, including clinicians and researchers.

The objective of the study was to create a single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) atlas that characterizes the molecular and cellular basis of drug response across six major immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs): psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Key findings and conclusions

• The study demonstrated major inter-disease differences at both the immune cell composition and transcriptional program levels.
• Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis showed similar systemic immune cell profiles, but also revealed distinct regulatory mechanisms in B cells and monocytes, despite their shared genetic background.
• The analysis confirmed that drug effects were highly disease-specific, highlighting the complexity of treatment responses.
• Crucially, the study identified regulatory features linked to drug action and clinical response, providing insight into why patients respond differently to targeted therapies.

The study presented by Professor Siegmund was developed by the scientific partners of the DocTIS project: Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Cardiff University, the University of Verona, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), the National Center for Genomic Analysis (CNAG), IMIDomics Inc., and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. It was carried out in collaboration with a large network of hospitals in Spain (IMID Consortium).

A unique resource for precision medicine

The scRNA-seq atlas developed by the DocTIS project represents a unique and powerful resource for the research community. By offering an unprecedented view of immune cell states and their regulation across diseases and treatments, the atlas advances in the understanding of disease heterogeneity and drug response in IMIDs.

These insights are expected to pave the way toward more personalized treatment strategies, supporting clinicians and researchers in optimizing therapeutic approaches for patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

About Viszeralmedizin congress

Viszeralmedizin 2025 took place in Leipzig, Germany, from September 15 to 20, 2025, and celebrated its 20th edition. The congress was jointly organized by the German Society for Gastroenterology, Digestive and Metabolic Diseases (DGVS) and the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV).