Cecilia Söderberg Nauclér Group

Our research group studies cytomegalovirus (CMV) and its role in various disease conditions, including chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. CMV is carried by the majority of the global population and usually remains dormant, but it can reactivate and contribute to disease development. By combining molecular analyses, experimental models, and clinical studies, we investigate how CMV affects the immune system, cellular metabolism, immune cell activation, and tumor development, as well as whether different antiviral treatments can influence disease progression. Our goal is to understand the virus’s role in disease processes and to develop new therapeutic strategies that can improve patient outcomes.

Cecilia Nauclér, Professor, Telephone +46852482809, E-mail cecilia.naucler@ki.se

Link to Cecilia Söderberg-Nauclér’s publications in PubMed

Recovery of TCRαβ but not TCRγδ CDR3 sequences from ancient human whole-genome sequencing data [v. 22 May 2026] Religa P; Mickael M-E; Kubick N; Gladysz I; Karczewski J; Floretes N; Tsegaye B; Horbanczuk JO; Sacharczuk M; Atanasov AGHide authors. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION. 2026;142:105965

Doctoral thesis: 2026

Human cytomegalovirus in glioblastoma

Peredo Harvey I

Candida meningitis in three patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery from a single-institution case series Pantalone MR; De Luca F; Terling L; Shamikh A; Skyrman S; Olsson M. ACTA NEUROCHIRURGICA. 2026;168(1):71

Doctoral thesis: 2026

Immunopathological aspects of human cytomegalovirus in chronic disease

Xu X

High activity of human cytomegalovirus in patients with Sjogren’s disease Pantalone MR; Xu X; Almazan NM; Gerstner C; Fischer M; Kvarnstrom M; Soderberg-Naucler C; Wahren-Herlenius M; Rahbar AHide authors. CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2025;279:110545

Doctoral thesis: 2025

Targeting cytomegalovirus in brain tumor therapy : from bench to bedside

Pantalone MR

Misleading Interpretations of the MET Gene Acronym: Over 15 Years of Confusion in Scientific Publications and a Call for Reaffirming the Original Gene Nomenclature. Religa P; Lazarczyk M; Mickael M-E; Skiba DS. JOURNAL OF THORACIC ONCOLOGY. 2025;20(8):1032-1034

High-fidelity in silico generation and augmentation of TCR repertoire data using generative adversarial networks. Religa P; Mickael M-E; Kubick N; Horbanczuk JO; Floretes N; Sacharczuk M; Atanasov AG. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 2025;15(1):18389

Transmantle heterotopia associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum in a patient with Parkinson: A case report. Pantalone MR; Beniaminov S; Munoz DM; De Luca F. RADIOLOGY CASE REPORTS. 2025;20(5):2276-2279

Enhanced levels of IL-6 and PAI-1 and decreased levels of MMP-3 in cytomegalovirus seropositive patients with prior myocardial infarction. Xu X; Silveira A; Lundman P; Rahbar A; Soderberg-Naucler C. IJC HEART AND VASCULATURE. 2025;56:101570

Opioid System and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition. Lazarczyk M; Skiba D; Mickael M-E; Jaskula K; Nawrocka A; Religa P; Sacharczuk M. PHARMACEUTICALS. 2025;18(1):120

P08.06.B TARGETED PLASMA METABOLOMICS DETECTS A METABOLIC SIGNATURE POTENTIALLY RELEVANT FOR DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH GLIOBLASTOMA. Pantalone M; Naucler CS; Stragliotto G. NEURO-ONCOLOGY. 2024;26(Supplement_5):v49

Advancing Adoptive Cell Therapy: Optimized Expansion of Adaptive NK Cells for Solid Tumors. Almazán NM; Román S; Sun Y; Bräutigam L; Pantalone MR; Stragliotto G; Gultekin O; Saheli S; Lehti K; Nauclér CS; Sarhan DHide authors. Preprint: BIORXIV. 2024

The impact of BDNF and CD4+T cell crosstalk on depression. Mickael M-E; Kubick N; Dragan M; Atanasov AG; Lawinski M; Paszkiewicz J; Horbanczuk JO; Religa P; Thorne A; Sacharczuk MHide authors. IMMUNOLOGIC RESEARCH. 2024;72(5):883-894

Using Copy Number Variation Data and Neural Networks to Predict Cancer Metastasis Origin Achieves High Area under the Curve Value with a Trade-Off in Precision. Mickael M-E; Kubick N; Atanasov AG; Martinek P; Horbanczuk JO; Floretes N; Michal M; Vanecek T; Paszkiewicz J; Sacharczuk M; Religa PHide authors. CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. 2024;46(8):8301-8319

Cytomegalovirus infection among people living with HIV in Sweden: Case profiles, treatment strategies and patient outcomes at Karolinska University Hospital 2010-2020. Xu X; Andersson E; Rahbar A; Soderberg-Naucler C; Nowak P. HIV MEDICINE. 2024;25(6):692-699

Focal-to-bilateral tonic-clonic seizures and High-grade CMV-infection are poor survival predictors in Tumor-related Epilepsy Adult-type diffuse gliomas-A single-center study and literature review. De la Cerda-Vargas MF; Pantalone MR; Söderberg Nauclér C; Medrano-Guzman R; Jauregui Renaud K; Nettel Rueda B; Reynoso-Sanchez MDJ; Lopez-Quintana B; Rodriguez-Florido MA; Feria-Romero IA; Trejo-Rosales RR; Arreola-Rosales RL; Candelas-Rangel JA; Navarro-Dominguez P; Meza-Mata E; Muñoz-Hernandez MA; Segura-Lopez FK; Gonzalez-Martinez MDR; Delgado-Aguirre HA; Sandoval-Bonilla BAHide authors. HELIYON. 2024;10(7):e28555

FEZF2 and AIRE1: An Evolutionary Trade-off in the Elimination of Auto-reactive T Cells in the Thymus. Mickael M; Lazarczyk M; Kubick N; Gurba A; Kocki T; Horbanczuk JO; Atanasov AG; Sacharczuk M; Religa PHide authors. JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EVOLUTION. 2024;92(1):72-86

Influenza-A mediated pre-existing immunity levels to SARS-CoV-2 could predict early COVID-19 outbreak dynamics. Almazan NM; Rahbar A; Carlsson M; Hoffman T; Kolstad L; Ronnberg B; Pantalone MR; Fuchs IL; Naucler A; Ohlin M; Sacharczuk M; Religa P; Amer S; Molnar C; Lundkvist A; Susrud A; Sorensen B; Soderberg-Naucler CHide authors. ISCIENCE. 2023;26(12):108441

Human cytomegalovirus infection enhances 5-lipoxygenase and cycloxygenase-2 expression in colorectal cancer. Pantalone MR; Almazan NM; Lattanzio R; Taher C; De Fabritiis S; Valentinuzzi S; Bishehsari F; Mahdavinia M; Verginelli F; Rahbar A; Mariani-Costantini R; Soderberg-Naucler CHide authors. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY. 2023;63(5):116

Non-classical HLA-E restricted CMV 15-mer peptides are recognized by adaptive NK cells and induce memory responses. Almazan NM; Sala BM; Sandalova T; Sun Y; Resink T; Cichocki F; Soderberg-Naucler C; Miller JS; Achour A; Sarhan DHide authors. FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. 2023;14:1230718

BIUXX. Pantalone M; Rahbar A; Soderberg-Naucler C; Stragliotto G. NEURO-ONCOLOGY. 2023;25:ii93-ii94

DOUBLE BLIND RANDOMISED TRIAL WITH ADD-ON OF VALGANCICLOVIR OR PLACEBO TO STANDARD THERAPY OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED GLIOBLASTOMA. Stragliotto G; Pantalone M; Brandas P; Sagerup-Bjorland L; Soderberg-Naucler C. NEURO-ONCOLOGY. 2023;25:ii94

Higher Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Specific IgG Antibody Levels in Plasma Samples from Patients with Metastatic Brain Tumors Are Associated with Longer Survival. Peredo-Harvey I; Bartek J; Ericsson C; Yaiw K-C; Nister M; Rahbar A; Soderberg-Naucler C. MEDICINA-LITHUANIA. 2023;59(7):1248

Mouse CCL9 Chemokine Acts as Tumor Suppressor in a Murine Model of Colon Cancer. Lazarczyk M; Kurzejamska E; Mickael M-E; Poznanski P; Skiba D; Sacharczuk M; Gaciong Z; Religa PHide authors. CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. 2023;45(4):3446-3461

Human Cytomegalovirus Protein Expression Is Correlated with Shorter Overall Survival in Breast Cancer Patients: A Cohort Study. Touma J; Pantalone MR; Rahbar A; Liu Y; Vetvik K; Sauer T; Soderberg-Naucler C; Geisler J. VIRUSES-BASEL. 2023;15(3):732

A note on variable susceptibility, the herd-immunity threshold and modeling of infectious diseases. Carlsson M; Wittsten J; Soderberg-Naucler C. PLOS ONE. 2023;18(2):e0279454. PLOS ONE. 2023;18(2):e0279454

The Journey of Cancer Cells to the Brain: Challenges and Opportunities. Lazarczyk M; Mickael ME; Skiba D; Kurzejamska E; Lawinski M; Horbanczuk JO; Radziszewski J; Fraczek K; Wolinska R; Paszkiewicz J; Religa P; Sacharczuk MHide authors. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES. 2023;24(4):3854

Modelling human cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompetent brain organoids. Koskuvi M; Samudyata S; Malwade S; Almazán NM; Gkogka A; Söderberg-Nauclér C; Sellgren CM. NEUROSCIENCE APPLIED. 2023;2:102623

Thomas Baudeau, Postdoctoral Studies,thomas.badeau@ki.se

Anna Caproni, Postdoctoral Studies,anna.caproni@ki.se

Daria Chernovska, Affiliated to Research, daria.chernovska@ki.se

Sana Abdul Khaliq, Postdoctoral Studies, sana.abdul.khaliq@ki.se

Mattia Russel Pantalone, Affiliated to Research, mattia.pantalone@ki.se

Inti Peredo Harvey, Phd Student, inti.peredo@ki.se

Afsar Rahbar, Senior Research Specialist | Docent, +46852486156, afsar.rahbar@ki.se

Piotr Religa, Affiliated to Research | Docent, piotr.religa@ki.se

Xinling Xu, Phd Student, xinling.xu@ki.se