The Diversity Factor: How Cultural Diversity Impacts Innovations in Germany

The 2018 Reinhard Mohn Prize on “Living Diversity – Shaping Society” is meant to bring new momentum and perspectives to how Germany lives diversity and shapes society. The present study “The Diversity Factor – How Cultural Diversity Impacts Innovations in Germany” examines the question of whether and how cultural diversity affects the innovative power of both companies and society. There is much to suggest that a culturally diverse workforce – e.g. people with different experiences, mindsets and interpretive contexts – fosters creativity and innovation. The current publication is based on evaluations of empirical studies that examine the correlation between cultural diversity and innovation. This analysis of the literature was carried out using a narrow definition of cultural diversity, one that includes, in particular, the dimensions of “ethnicity,” “religion/world view” and “nationality.” Innovation was measured in each study based on the number of patents, patent citations or companies’ self-assessments of their product and process innovations or overall factor productivity. The results of this research were then considered more deeply in interviews and conversations with business experts, public administrators and civil society leaders

MicroRNA-155 Drives T(H)17 Immune Response and Tissue Injury in Experimental Crescentic GN

CD4(+) T cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease, including human and experimental crescentic GN. Micro-RNAs (miRs) have emerged as important regulators of immune cell development, but the impact of miRs on the regulation of the CD4(+) T cell immune response remains to be fully clarified. Here, we report that miR-155 expression is upregulated in the kidneys of patients with ANCA-associated crescentic GN and a murine model of crescentic GN (nephrotoxic nephritis). To elucidate the potential role of miR-155 in T cell-mediated inflammation, nephritis was induced in miR-155(-/-) and wild-type mice. The systemic and renal nephritogenic T(H)17 immune response decreased markedly in nephritic miR-155(-/-) mice. Consistent with this finding, miR-155-deficient mice developed less severe nephritis, with reduced histologic and functional injury. Adoptive transfer of miR-155(-/-) and wild-type CD4(+) T cells into nephritic recombination activating gene 1-deficient (Rag-1(-/-)) mice showed the T cell-intrinsic importance of miR-155 for the stability of pathogenic T(H)17 immunity. These findings indicate that miR-155 drives the T(H)17 immune response and tissue injury in experimental crescentic GN and show that miR-155 is a potential therapeutic target in T(H)17-mediated diseases