Projects

The choroid plexus epithelium (CPE) is a highly secretory single cell layer, responsible for the production of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the clearance of toxic agents. Additionally, the CPE forms an anatomical barrier that prevents paracellular leakage from the blood into the CSF and is called the blood-CSF barrier (BCSFB). Healthy aging severely affects CPE morphology and we recently discovered that also barrier function is affected. ...

Epigenetics have taken centre stage in the study of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. A new field is emerging that targets epigenetic modifications for therapeutic intervention: pharmacoepigenetics. Particularly in oncology, inhibitors of epigenetic-modifying proteins, i.e. epidrugs, have been successfully used in treatment. For nearly thirty years, it has been known that cancer cells exhibit abnormal DNA methylation ...

Inhibition of the androgen receptor is the most important strategy for treatment of advanced prostate cancer. While several drugs targeting this receptor are already in the clinic, they all share a common chemotype and mechanism of action, as well as suffer from resistance mutations. Therefore there is a need for a new approach such as the inhibition of the dimerisation of the receptor which is essential for its functioning. This can be ...

Cells within a population demonstrate heterogeneities in their genome, transcriptome and proteome, leading to unique cell phenotypes and responses to stimuli. Therefore, numerous single-cell analysis techniques have emerged that allow distinguishing between cell subpopulations and identifying cells with characteristics of interest. In the recent decades, the fields of microfabrication and microfluidics have revolutionized single-cell studies ...