Projects
Fructans and sucrose: a role in vacuolar antioxidant mechanisms? KU Leuven
This project aims at 3 specific goals: 1. Silencing of the 1-SST gene in wheat and/or chicory. Search for fenotypes under different stress conditions (drought, cold, oxidative stress) to be able to prove the specific advantage of fructan accumulation under stress. 2. Test the hypothesis that sugars and other vacuolar compounds can act as true antioxidants, directly involved in ROS scavenging processes. Comparison of in vitro ROS scavenging ...
From protease inhibitors with increased target residence time to activity-based probes: useful tools in different areas of drug discovery. University of Antwerp
In this research project we aim to develop protease inhibitors that have the characteristics to become useful chemical tools in different areas of drug discovery. These tools will have the potential to be used in target discovery and target validation, hit and lead identification, for the identification of off-targets, as biomarkers and in molecular imaging.
Functional and structural study of bacterial c-, g-, and i-type lysozyme inhibitors. KU Leuven
Lysozumes are important effectors of the innate immune system of animals. In the animal kingdom, three types of lysozymes (namely c-, g- and i-type) occur widespread. In view of the effectiveness of lysozymes as antibacterial agents, it is not surprising that bacteria have in turn evolved mechanisms to evade or subvert this threat. One of these mechanisms is the production of specific lysozyme inhibitors. Such inhibitors against different types ...
Amino acid signaling through the Gap1 transceptor in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. KU Leuven
The yeast Gap1 amino acid transporter has recently been shown to exert an additional function as receptor for amino acid induced activation of the protein kinase A pathway. This pathway controls a broad range of properties in yeast, connected to growth under fermentative conditions, and to stationary phase characteristics. Although the sensing function of the Gap1 transceptor is now well established, the signaling domains involved, and the ...
Understanding mechanotransduction in mesenchymal stem cells by proteomics. Knowledge transfer to implant osseointegration. KU Leuven
Mechanical loading plays an important role in the maintenance and regeneration of bone tissue. The biological mechanisms by which bone adapt to loading are not fully understood. The project aims at investigating the protein expression pattern and their functions during mechanical loading of differentiating cells by means of mass spectrometry and imaging mass spectrometry. In the in vitro part of the project, a cell culture system generating ...
Elucidation of the biosynthesis of a polyketide antibiotic from Serratia plymuthica strain RVH1. KU Leuven
Medicinal Chemistry (Rega Institute), Division Animal and Human Health Engineering, Centre for Food and Microbial Technology
The aim of this PhD project was to identify the antimicrobial metabolites produced by Serratia plymuthica RVH1 and to study their structure, mode of action, biosynthetic gene cluster and biosynthetic pathway, as well as rates and mechanisms of resistance. Bioactivity-guided purification and structure elucidation efforts led to the identification of the zeamines, an unusual class of cationic polyamine-polyketide-nonribosomal peptide ...
Cell surface display of quorum quenching enzymes in Pseudomonas stutzeri. KU Leuven
Autotransporters (ATs) represent a large family of cell surface and extracellularly secreted proteins in Gram-negative bacteria. They are expressed as a single polypeptide consisting of a Sec-specific cleavableN-terminal signal peptide, a surface exposed or extracellularly secretedpassenger domain and a C-terminal outer membrane-anchored translocation unit, made up of a C-terminal ß-barrel and an upstream a-helical linker.ATs are often regarded ...
Cysteine protease inhibitors for protozoan infections: metacaspases as promising new targets. University of Antwerp
Metacaspasen (MCAs) are a new family of cystein proteases found in parasitic protozoa and whom form a valuable new drug target in drug research and development. These proteases are possibly involved in cell death, considered vital for the survival of the parasite and are fundamentally different from the orthologous humane caspases. The objective of this doctorates thesis is the development of powerful and selective inhibitors of the MCA2 of ...