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Christopher Sjöwall

Professor

My long-term ambition is to contribute to increased understanding of underlying mechanisms for disease-onset, progress and quality of life in systemic inflammatory diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus.

Clinical and experimental rheumatology

The rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondylarthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) belong to the endemic diseases, affecting more than 1 percent of the population of Sweden.

The immune system which protects us from bacterial and viral infections may in certain individuals with genetic susceptibility which are exposed to certain environmental factors loose its tolerance and attack endogenous tissues and organs. Knowledge on the etiology of rheumatic disease is increasing, and the number of treatment options for patients who suffer has risen dramatically in recent years.

My group is studying underlying mechanisms for rheumatic diseases, especially SLE, as well as biomarkers and autoantibodies in relation to diagnosis, treatment response and prognosis.


News

Christopher Sjöwall presents the book Rheumatology.

Christopher Sjöwall in the editorial committee for the new edition of textbook in rheumatology

Christopher Sjöwall, professor at Linköping University, has participated in the editorial committee for the latest edition of the textbook Rheumatology. The book is an important resource for students and professionals in medicine and healthcare.
Blood sampling in clinical setting from finger.

C-reactive protein reduces immune response in inflammatory disease

The biological function of the C-reactive protein, CRP, has long been unknown. Researchers now show that this protein has a beneficial function in SLE, an inflammatory disease. But this is true only for one of CRP’s two forms, according to the study.

Publications

Selected publications

Extracellular vesicles opsonized by monomeric C-reactive protein (CRP) are accessible as autoantigens in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and associate with autoantibodies against CRP

Karlsson J, Wetterö J, Potempa LA, Fernandez-Botran R, O'Neill Y, Wirestam L, Mobarrez F and Sjöwall C.

Journal of Autoimmunity, 2023-09-01, Volume 139, Article 103073, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaut.2023.103073

Graphical Abstract from the publication: Extracellular vesicles opsonized by monomeric C-reactive protein (CRP) are accessible as autoantigens in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and associate with autoantibodies against CRP

Conformational state of C-reactive protein is critical for reducing immune complex-triggered type I interferon response: Implications for pathogenic mechanisms in autoimmune diseases imprinted by type I interferon gene dysregulation

Svanberg C, Enocsson H, Govender M, Martinsson K, Potempa LA, Rajab IM, Fernandez-Botran R, Wetterö J, Larsson M och Sjöwall C.

Journal of Autoimmunity, 2023-02-01, Volume 135, Article 102998, Copyright © 2023 The Authors

Graphical Abstract.

 

C-Reactive Protein Levels in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Are Modulated by the Interferon Gene Signature and CRP Gene Polymorphism rs1205

Enocsson H, Gullstrand B, Eloranta M-L, Wetterö J, Leonard D, Rönnblom L, Bengtsson A och Sjöwall C.

Front. Immunol., 28 January 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.622326

Figure 2 CRP levels among patients with and without detectable IL-6 levels (Z-axis) along with different CRP genotype (rs1205) and type I IFN gene signature (IGS) status (X-axis). Bars show median values.

Latest publications in DiVA

2025

Lina Wirestam, Jesper Karlsson, Astrid Welin, Jhonatan Antonio Alvarez Gomez, Jonas Wetterö, Christopher Sjöwall, Helena Enocsson (2025) Interferon alpha-induced uPAR expression on monocytes as a potential source of increased soluble uPAR in patients with SLE at high risk of developing organ damage Clinical and Experimental Medicine (Testo stampato), Vol. 25, Article 317 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Holme Vestin, Nina Oparina, Maija-Leena Eloranta, Martina Frodlund, Iva Gunnarsson, Christopher Sjöwall, Elisabet Svenungsson, Lars Ronnblom, Juliana Imgenberg-Kreuz, Dag Leonard (2025) Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased bisphenol A methylation score linked to SLE risk genes and selected clinical subphenotypes RMD Open, Vol. 11, Article e006021 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Mandi M. Wiley, Marcin Radziszewski, Bhuwan Khatri, Michelle L. Joachims, Kandice L. Tessneer, Anna M. Stolarczyk, Songyuan Yao, James Li, Cherilyn Pritchett-Frazee, Audrey A. Johnston, Astrid Rasmussen, Juan-Manuel Anaya, Lara A. Aqrawi, Sang-Cheol Bae, Eva Baecklund, Albin Bjork, Johan G. Brun, Sara Magnusson Bucher, Nick Dand, Maija-Leena Eloranta, Fiona Engelke, Helena Forsblad-d'Elia, Cecilia Fugmann, Stuart B. Glenn, Chen Gong, Jacques-Eric Gottenberg, Daniel Hammenfors, Juliana Imgenberg-Kreuz, Janicke Liaaen Jensen, Svein Joar Auglaend Johnsen, Malin V Jonsson, Jennifer A. Kelly, Sharmily Khanam, Kwangwoo Kim, Marika Kvarnstrom, Thomas Mandl, Javier Martin, David L. Morris, Gaetane Nocturne, Katrine Braekke Norheim, Peter Olsson, Oyvind Palm, Jacques-Olivier Pers, Nelson L. Rhodus, Christopher Sjöwall, Kathrine Skarstein, Kimberly E. Taylor, Phil Tombleson, Gudny Ella Thorlacius, Swamy R. Venuturupalli, Edward M. Vital, Daniel J. Wallace, Lida Radfar, Michael T. Brennan, Judith A. James, R. Hal Scofield, Patrick M. Gaffney, Lindsey A. Criswell, Roland Jonsson, Silke Appel, Per Eriksson, Simon J. Bowman, Roald Omdal, Lars Ronnblom, Blake M. Warner, Maureen Rischmueller, Torsten Witte, A. Darise Farris, Xavier Mariette, Caroline H. Shiboski, Marie Wahren-Herlenius, Marta E. Alarcon-Riquelme, Wan-Fai Ng, Kathy L. Sivils, Joel M. Guthridge, Indra Adrianto, Timothy J. Vyse, Betty P. Tsao, Gunnel Nordmark, Christopher J. Lessard (2025) Variants in the DDX6-CXCR5 autoimmune disease risk locus influence the regulatory network in immune cells and salivary gland Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Vol. 84, p. 1512-1527 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Faria Shahab, Helene Zachrisson, Christina Svensson, Meriam Åström, Christopher Sjöwall, David Kylhammar (2025) Heterogeneous myocardial contraction detected by speckle tracking echocardiography in systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with complement protein C4: a cross-sectional study from a Swedish tertiary referral centre Rheumatology International, Vol. 45, Article 183 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Tomas Walhelm, Ioannis Parodis, Charlotta Enerbäck, Elizabeth Arkema, Christopher Sjöwall (2025) Comorbid psoriasis in systemic lupus erythematosus: a cohort study from a tertiary referral centre and the National Patient Register in Sweden Lupus Science and Medicine, Vol. 12, Article e001504 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

Publications in PubMed and ORCiD

About me

CV

Christopher Sjöwall, associate Professor.Christopher Sjöwall, Senior Associate Professor. Photo credit Ulrik Svedin

Program teaching

  • Medical programme
  • Biomedical Laboratory Science Programme
  • Doctoral studies

Network

  • Member of the Swedish SLE network (since 2010)
  • Chairman of Working group that compose Guidelines for the medical treatment of SLE with an annual update on behalf of the Swedish Society for Rheumatology (since 2018)
  • Member of Employment board, Medical Faculty LiU (since 2021)

Organisation

Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV)

What characterizes the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV) is the wide breadth of research and education. BKV is one of the largest departments at LiU with affiliation mainly to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Teaser image for the division II at BKV.

Division of Inflammation and Infection (II)

The Division of Inflammation and Infection (II) includes clinical subject areas such as Immunology, Rheumatology, Pathology and Microbiology.

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