Projects
Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis in a mouse model using adeno-associated viral vectors KU Leuven
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common monogenic life-threatening disease in the Caucasian population, caused by mutations in CFTR, a chloride/bicarbonate channel that regulates fluid transport across epithelium of different organs (airways, pancreas, intestine, sweat glands and vas deferens). CF affects multiple organs, but lung pathology is the major clinical manifestation. Mutations in the CFTR gene lead to an imbalance ...
Metaproteomics analysis of the distal intestional microbiotica of cystic fibrosis patients Ghent University
The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in health and disease of humans. Cystic fibrosis patients suffer from lung infections that require multiple antimicrobial therapies. In addition, their intestinal physiology and food digestion are severely disturbed. The present project will use metaproteomics analyses to study the composition, dynamics and other characteristics of the distal microbiota of a cohort of cystic fibrosis patients ...
Elucidation of the role of the PSeudomonas aeruginosa OprD porine in the internationalisation of this bacterium into CFTR airway epithelial cells as the determinative factor for the colonisation of cystic fibrosis patients Ghent University
Unpublished epidemiologic study results indicate that only certain Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, marked by specific alleles of the oprD porine protein encoding gene are able to colonize cystic fibrosis patients. Construction of different OprD mutants and infection with these bacterial strains of different in vitro airway epithelial cell line cultures willenable to elucidate the role of this porin in internationalisation of this bacterium in ...
Cystic Fibrosis Microbiome-determined Antibiotic Therapy Trial in Exacerbations: Results Stratified. KU Leuven
Antimicrobial resistance is arguably the most significant challenge facing the EU health care system. The unnecessary use of antibiotics is a key driver in the development of antibiotic resistance. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) represents a unique disease model to study bacterial resistance and to explore therapeutic strategies for same, as chronic lung infection overlaps with acute lung exacerbations caused by a multitude of organisms that ...
Fertility deficiency in female cystic fibrosis patients: deciphering the role of the endometrium as prime player into pregnancy KU Leuven
Manifold female cystic fibrosis (CF) patients suffer from deficient fertility, often facing problems to become pregnant. Underlying reasons remain understudied. In particular, it is largely unknown how dysfunction of the endometrium is involved, the womb’s inner lining and prime player into embryo implantation and development. This gap is mainly due to lack of appropriate research models. Previously, we have developed organoids from healthy ...
The cystic fibrosis lung in the era of modulator therapy: a longitudinal study of the lung bacterial and fungal microbiome and improving personalized phage therapy to treat multi-drug resistant infections Ghent University
Background and objectives
Modulator therapy in cystic fibrosis (CF) has led to a substantial clinical improvement of the CF patient population. However, there is currently lack of data and no consensus regarding the long-term impact of modulators on the lung microbiome and infections. Studies are often limited by the lack microbiological resolution, focus on single pathogens and none studied the Belgian CF population. Importantly, no ...
Insights into viral and bacterial colonisation of the lower respiratory tract in cystic fibrosis patients through metagenomic sequencing and multiplex qPCR. University of Antwerp
Complex personalized organ-on-chip models to study the dynamics of cystic fibrosis pathophysiology KU Leuven
Biomedical research largely depends on simplified in vitro systems
(e.g. immortalized cell lines) or in vivo animal models. Unfortunately,
these systems are not sufficiently predictive of human
pathophysiology, hampering the successful translation of
experimental results to human medicine. 2D/3D patient-derived cell
cultures, including organoids, are gaining momentum as more
reliable disease models compatible ...