Projects
ER-MITOCHONDRIA CONTACT SITES-MEDIATED LIPID TRANSFER: AT THE CROSSROAD BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH KU Leuven
The EMCS are emerging as a key center of inter-organelle communication and organizers of crucial cellular functions. In the last years, with the identification of MCS proteins localized in diverse organelle-organelle juxtapositions, the concept of “moonlighting “proteins was introduced. The ER stress sensor PERK, besides being involved in the UPR, has been shown by our lab to be a MCS regulator, independently of its kinase activity. After ER ...
Exploring lipid metabolism as a targetable vulnerability in cancer and other human diseases KU Leuven
The development and progression of many human pathologies are accompanied by marked changes in the metabolism and homeostasis of lipids. Research by the Swinnen team focuses on the mapping of such alterations and on the uncovering of the underlying metabolic rewiring in common human diseases including cancer and neurodegeneration. Using advanced lipidomics approaches including mass spectrometry and molecular imaging we identify key ...
Deciphering the network that links nutrient signaling in yeast with growth potential, pH and Ca2+ homeostasis, ageing and lifespan, resistance and virulence. KU Leuven
Support maintenance scientific equipment (Cell death signaling - CDS). University of Antwerp
Inter-organelle communication through membrane contact sites in oncology and neurodegenerative diseases (InterAction) KU Leuven
The role of lysosomal Ca2+ in the regulation of autophagy KU Leuven
The ER is the largest organelle found in the cell and acts as the largest Ca2+ store, with a [Ca2+]ER around 500 µM while the [Ca2+]cyt is around 100 nM. Various proteins, including the SERCA pump and the IP3 receptor, regulate the Ca2+ content of the ER. The high [Ca2+]ER is important for the role of Ca2+ as second messenger, but also for the proper functioning of the ER chaperones involved in the folding of newly synthesised proteins and in ...