Name Activity "Gene Expression Unit" "We are interested in RNA expression of mammalian insulin producing pancreatic beta cells in order to explain how these cells function in normal health and how dysfunction can cause inappropriate release of insulin and diabetes.  We study the profound phenotypic changes that occur in rodent beta cells during pregnancy.  One of these changes concern serotonin production and secretion by a subpopulation of a heterogeneous beta cell population.  We want to understand why only part of the beta cells produces serotonin and what could be the physiological function of this phenomenon.   Second, we are interested in genes that are preferentially or specifically expressed in beta cells (the zinc transporter ZnT8 being an example).  Third, we discovered by serendipity that genes exist that are expressed in all tissues, except in one tissue.  We found for instance that some genes are specifically repressed in beta cells, this in order to prevent the release of insulin under circumstances that this is not appropriate.  We were the first to report the existence of these so called “disallowed genes” and we want to better understand how these genes are regulated in normal beta cells and if environmental changes can cause a change in repression." "Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy" "Zeger Debyser" "The division Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy aims at developing novel therapeutics and diagnostics starting from basic research into the molecular cause of disease and employing the most advanced biomedical technologies. Research can be basic, applied or technological; in all cases our research aims at future applications in medicine.Major disease areas are AIDS and Parkinson's disease. Other interests are gene therapy of cystic fibrosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis and stroke. We envisage small molecule, gene and cell therapy." "Research Group for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy" "Veerle Baekelandt" "The laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy is committed to gain insight in the underlying pathology of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and more recently Multiple System Atrophy (MSA),  on both the molecular and cellular level. We are specifically focussing on the proteins α-synuclein and LRRK2, two key players in sporadic and familial PD.  The underlying idea is that better disease models and insights in the molecular pathogenesis are required to develop novel causal therapeutic strategies that can cure or slow down the disease. We make use of viral vector technology and molecular imaging as core technologies to support our research and to develop and characterize new cellular and rodent disease models. Finally, we are also investing in pre-clinical drug discovery through our neuro drug discovery platform.    " "Center for Ethics" "Katrien Schaubroeck" "Research at the Center for ethics is integrated in the research program of the Department of Philosophy, 'Reason and Modernity'. It consists of two main realms: 1. Phenomenology and Hermeneutics of moral experience in Modernity 2 . Ethics and economy Members of the Center are also active in debates and research on social and ethical issues related to feminism, bio-ethics, ethics and media, ethics and economics and business-ethics." "Proteinchemistry, proteomics and epigenetic signalling(PPES)" "The cluster Proteinscience, proteomics and epigenetic signalling is active on three domains: neurodegeneration, infection and inflammation. For the first part the cluster studies for example the effects of hypoxia/ischemia and the role of hemeproteins herein and how this is perceived in metabolic active tissue such as brain. In the second part the virus-ghost relationship will be studie on intra- and extracellulair level. In the final part the effects of external influences (like endocrine disruptors, hormones, oxidative stress, hypoxia, nutrients,..) will be studied in relation to the protein(signal) function and (epi)genomic regulation of inflammation in immune cells (monocyte, macrophage), cancer cells (CLL, myeloma, breast cancer, neuroblastoma, glioblastoma). All these studies will be performed at the protein, proteome and epigenome level. Following topics will be handled: ¿ Intracellular anti-HIV responses that are mediated by TRIM19 are being studied at the level of protein-protein interactions. A short amino acid sequence is attached to the PML protein, enabling the purification and characterization of PML-associated proteins from virus infected or uninfected cells. Expression and distribution of other anti-HIV proteins such as TRIM5a and APOBEC3G is being studied in immune cells (CD4+, CD8+, monocytes¿) of uninfected, HIV-infected and HIV-resistant individuals (ESN or Exposed Seronegatives). ¿ Extracellular anti-HIV responses. Proteins and peptides of cervico-vaginal washings from healthy individuals are being studied in order to catalogue the many different antimicrobial peptides and proteins that are present in the cervico-gaginal fluid. This work lies the basis for further research on biomarkers for cervix carcinoma (comparison of samples from healthy patients versus samples from precancerous patients). Furthermore, by comparison of cervico-vaginal proteomes from uninfected vs. ESN individuals, we aim to correlate proteome profiles of ESNs and their anti-HIV status. ¿ Proteomics of human adult progenitor cells In collaboration with Regenesys BVBA (Heverlee, Belgium) and Fertipro NV (Beernem, Belgium) we recently started a project wherein growth conditions of human adult progenitor cells (MultiStem®), isolated from human bone marrow, are being studied. In order to meet European guidelines, these cells must be grown in a complete synthetic medium without addition of animal substantia (eg. FCS) as is now the case. Proteomics techniques are therefore applied to identify the secretome of these cells after which growth-promoting and/or differentiating capacities of some characterised proteins on the progenitor cells will be investigated. ¿ Hypoxia/oxidative stress. The effects of hypoxia and the role of hemeproetins herein will be studied in metabolic active tissues such as the brain. The neuroprotective role of neuro- and cytoglobin will be studied in vivo and in vitro using transgenesis (knock-out, overexpressing Mouse models and cellular systems) and differential proteomicanalyses in hypoxia and ischemic mouse models. ¿ Study of the structur/function of globin based oxygensensors. The correct sensing of the oxygen concentration and its changes is of fundamental importance to the cell. One of the potential techniques for oxygen sensing is the use of globin coupled sensors (GCS). Potential oxygen sensors from bacterial systems, Caenorhabditis elegans and vertebrates will be studied at the structural and functional level. The kinetics of ligand binding, conformational changements upon ligand binding, the three dimensional structure and potential binding partners of these sensors will be studied with the goal to perceive a better understanding of this process in the eukaryotic cell. ¿ Study of epigenetic programming of inflammation. Controlled inducible expression of inflammation responsive genes is essential during immune responses and immune homeostasis. In contrast, deregulated chronic inflammatory conditions in various cell types frequently result in cancer, cardiovascular or neurological disease. Selectivity, strength and time dependency of gene expression largely depends on activation and interaction of transcription factors/cofactors (i.e. NFkB, AP1, Sp1, HDAC, HMT, SIRT, jmjd HDMT, dnmt, etc.) and their posttranslational modifications with the chromatin environment. Furthermore, chromatin regulation (nucleosome dynamics, histone modifications), noncoding RNAs and epigenetic modifications (DNA methylation of CpG motifs) integrate various input signals (infection, inflammation, stress, metabolism, nutrition) which are ultimately recorded and imprinted into the epigenome. Unraveling the epigenetic interplay of the environment (diet, stress, pathogens, toxins, ...) with the genome in inflammation-cancer models or cardiovascular disease is the major focus of this research topic.Identifying specific protein interactions and signaling functions in relation to epigenetic marks in in different in vitro/ in vivo cell models, representative for cancer, cardiovascular or neuroimmunological disease, is an absolute requirement for translational approaches aiming at identifying small inhibitor molecules (for example derived from medicinal plants) for preventive or therapeutic applications. Our cluster mainly uses proteomics, (epi)genomics and proteinscience technologies. For example we have available a flash-photolyses setup which anables us to determine the ligandbindingkinetics which is unique in Belgium. Specific protein(signaling)functions can be analyzed using different expression- and interactionstudies of recombinant proteins in vitro/in vivo. For the epigenomics studies we will apply new chromatin-proteomic approaches (posttranslational histon/cofactor modifications) and new DNA-methylation-detectionmethods (pyrosequencing, MALDI, AIMS, RLGS, MSPA, bisulfietsequencing)" "Applied Molecular Genomics" "Psychiatric disorders, such as major depression or unipolar disorder (UP), manic depression or bipolar disorder (BP) and schizophrenia, are among the most frequent brain diseases worldwide. An estimated 9-10% of the world population suffers from major depression, while bipolar disorder and schizophrenia each affect ~1% of the population. Although the precise causes of psychiatric diseases are still largely unknown, family studies argue for a strong genetic determination. However, these studies also point to the importance of environmental factors in determining disease susceptibility. Most probably, these disorders result from a complex interplay between various genetic and environmental risk factors. More information on these so-called ""multifactorial diseases"" can be found on this website. Based on scientific research, more and more insight is gained into the causes of psychiatric disorders, especially with regard to the genetic factors that play a role in determining susceptibility to these diseases. In the long term, these insights may lead to the development of new and more efficient treatment strategies for psychiatric patients. But although significant progress has been made during the last years in identifying genetic risk factors, there is still a long way to go. The unraveling of the genetic basis of psychiatric diseases is a slow and complicated process, in which every scientific result is only a small piece of the complex genetic puzzle. Based on a many years' experience in the field of psychiatric disorders and DNA technology development, our research group aims to contribute to this process. Our research is mainly directed towards the identification of genetic risk factors for affective disorders (UP and BP) and psychotic disorder. For that purpose we use various molecular genetic techniques, including linkage analysis and population-based association studies of candidate genes. In this way we already identified several potential candidate genes and regions. For more detailed information about our research, please visit the VIB website. Next to fundamental genetic research, our group also develops new computational technologies to streamline the process of gene identification and variant detection in complex diseases. Examples of recently developed tools can be found on the VIB website. Website: http://www.molgen.ua.ac.be/Public/Research/ResearchGroups/" "Plant Genetics" "Geert Angenon" "Research in the Laboratory of Plant Genetics concerns basic plant molecular genetics as well as applied research relevant to the plant biotechnology and agricultural sector. The research is focused on the following themes: · DNA repair and recombination mechanisms and methods to influence these processes. This may lead to development of improved plant breeding techniques, improved plant transformation technology and new techniques for functional analysis of genes. · Amino acid metabolism in plants and its regulation. Knowledge in this field is applied in new strategies to enhance the content of essential amino acids in food and feed crops and thus to enhance the nutritional value of these crops. · Adaptation mechanisms of plants to biotic and abiotic stress, with the long-term objective to create plant varieties with enhanced tolerance to these stress factors. · Molecular farming: the production of valuable proteins, including vaccines, in plant seeds. For our fundamental research we make use of model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Medicago truncatula and Nicotiana spp. whereas applied research concerns important crops including rice, sorghum, potato, bean and pigeonpea." "VIB CMN - Neurodegenerative Brain Diseases Group" "Christine Van Broeckhoven" "Our focus is on genetics, genomics and neuropathology of the neurodegenerative brain diseases Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontal temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), attempting to find molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation in dementia. We systematical collect large samples of patients and relatives for genetic studies aiming at identifying disease genes using either a positional cloning strategy in multiplex families or association studies in patient/control groups. Novel key proteins that are potential drug targets for more effective treatment are analyzed in cellular and mouse models. Using this integrated approach we have already made several major contributions to AD with the identification of the Flemish and Austrian mutations in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) that have highlighted the relationship between neuronal and vascular components of AD pathology as well as of different Aß plaque deposits. We also showed that select mutations in presenilin 1 (PS1) and APP are actually causing a significant decrease of Aß40 production suggesting a loss of function mechanism in AD. And we identified in APP mutations in the 5' regulatory region that increase APP expression to levels comparable to that observed in Down syndrome patients. More recently we identified progranulin (PGRN) as a second common gene for FTLD in which dominant loss-of-function mutations cause neurodegeneration. We also demonstrated genetic and clinical heterogeneity with PGRN contributing to FTLD, AD, PD as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In our current research we aim at further unraveling genetic heterogeneity by identifying novel chromosomal loci and by mapping the underlying genes for AD at 7q36 and for dementia with Lewy bodies at 2q35-q36 that we recently reported. Also, we will continue our efforts at identifying the genetic modifying factor that contributes to the highly variable onset ages in PGRN mutation carriers. The extended patient and control groups will be used for genetic association studies to unravel spectrum of genetic factors that contribute to risk for these diseases. In these groups, we are investing in the collection of biosamples for proteomics and QTL mapping of endophenotypic disease markers. To elucidate the mechanism of neurodegeneration due to loss-of-function mutations in PGRN, we generated knockout and overexpressing PGRN mice. Comparable experiments will be done in cellular models. Our efforts in understanding the mechanisms of Aß plaque formation using transgenic mouse models will be broadened to the identification of key proteins that are involved in the Aß aggregation." "Vandepoele Lab" "Klaas Vandepoele" "Developing and applying comparative network biology methods to translate biological knowledge from model species to crop, extracting biological knowledge from large-scale experimental data sets using data integration, comparative sequence and expression analysis, and network biology." "Viral Genetics" "The main expertise of the research group GEVI is molecular genetics of bacteria that are pathogenic for plants and animals. This laboratory contributed significantly to the present widespread application of the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, as a tool for routine transformation of plants. Agrobacterium- mediated transformation is used by GEVI for the isolation and study of genes involved in plant morphogenesis. In addition, techniques for the transformation of leguminous crop plants are developed and the expression in plants of lectins with insecticidal activity is optimised. The virulence mechanisms of bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella) pathogenic for humans and domestic animals are studied, by the isolation and analysis of the relevant genes. Several gene clusters, encoding fimbriae involved in the adhesion of pathogenic E. coli to host tissues, were cloned and analysed in detail. New genes involved in the pathogenicity of S.enteritidis for mammals and birds were also identified. Besides providing new insights in these complex interactions, this also leads to the development of more specific diagnostics and improved vaccines for the control of these important pathogens. The controlled expression of viral antigens in attenuated Salmonella vaccine strains, to produce recombinant anti-viral vaccines, is also investigated."