Projects
Toll like receptors as the missing link between environmental microbes, air pollution and asthma? University of Antwerp
Uncovering a role for B cells in allergy risk and protection in early life. Ghent University
The incidence of allergic disease has steadily increased over the past decades, affecting one in ten children in Europe today. It is now understood that a lack of neonatal exposure to antigen of harmless microorganisms, which educate the immune system to discriminate between dangerous and harmless insults, is in part responsible for this phenomenon. In the immune system, certain cell subsets are preferentially generated during early life. ...
Education of lung epithelial cells as an alternative explanation for the protective effect of infectious pressure on development of allergy and asthma. Ghent University
There is an epidemic of allergy and asthma in the Western industrialized world, with up to 30% of children showing reactivity to common inhaled and food allergens. The reason for the increase in these Th2-associated diseases is currently unclear. The hygiene hypothesis of allergy states that lifestyle changes leading to less "infectious pressure" in the first year of life are associated with more allergy. Conversely, growing up on a farm ...
Exploitation of key enzymes of the mycothiol biosynthesis to improve treatment of mycobacterium avium complex infections. University of Antwerp
Elucidating the mechanism of action of octahydrobenzo[j] phenanthridinediones as novel potent antimycobacterialcompounds. University of Antwerp
New insights into the fusion process of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in macrophages show the way for the development of effective PRRS vaccines Ghent University
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the most devastating pathogens in swine. It is genetically unstable and difficult to control by vaccination. Our laboratory has made major contributions to a better understanding of the complex entry of PRRSV into its target cell, the macrophage. PRRSV enters through a receptor-mediated endocytosis and subsequently, a low pH is required to trigger proper viral uncoating. ...
Effect of skin microbiome diversity on epicutaneous sensitization to allergens Ghent University
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, which is increasingly seen in developed
countries. The disease is driven by an exaggerated inflammatory response to inhaled allergens such
as house dust mite (HDM), pollen and animal dander. Asthma can be caused by allergic sensitization
to HDM via the lungs but we have recently shown that sensitization to HDM can also occur via the
skin. Both sensitization ...