Projects
A novel CRISPR/Cas9-based nanomedicine strategy targeting CD4+ cells to cure HIV Ghent University
Nearly 38 million people globally are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS by replicating in CD4+ immune cells. Current therapies can inhibit the virus from multiplying, but cannot eliminate viral DNA copies integrated in the genome of CD4+ long-living cells (viral reservoir). As such, HIV treatment requires HIV patients' lifelong commitment to drug adherence, which causes serious side effects, stigma, and a vast cost impact on ...
Role of peripheral clock genes in the circadian regulation of the hunger hormone ghrelin. KU Leuven
The daily rotation of the earth around its axis creates a recurring succession of day and night with a period of 24 hours. As a consequence, life on earth is subjected to cyclical and therefore predictable changes in environmental conditions. In order to anticipate these daily events and fine-tune physiology to the varying demands of activity and rest, virtually all organisms have developed an internal timekeeping system. Circadian rhythms, ...
Effect of innate immune signals on leukemia cells for the stimulation of natural killer cells and T helper type 1-polarizing dendritic cells. University of Antwerp
Unravelling the cellular response to photoporation Ghent University
Delivering compounds into cells is a ubiquitous requirement for fundamental life science research
and cell-based clinical applications. Since cells are protected from the outside world by their plasma
membrane, it requires sophisticated technology to deliver compounds across this barrier without
causing toxicity. Photoporation is emerging as a powerful technology to achieve exactly this. It relies
on laser illumination ...
Unearthing the origin of root stem cells in a relative of the first root bearing plants Ghent University
470 million years ago, the first land plants emerged from the water dwelling charophyte algae. The subsequent evolution of roots, including the establishment of a new stem cell niche, was one of the innovations that allowed plant life to thrive in this new terrestrial environment. The first root bearing plants belonged to lycophytes, the sister clade of euphyllophytes (ferns and seed plants). As such, lycophytes could be instrumental in ...
In-vitro differentiation of genetically modified murine spermatogonial stem cells Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Understanding gamma-herpesvirus pathogenesis and development of novel treatment strategies. KU Leuven
At this moment, two human γ-herpesviruses have been identified i.e. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated virus (KSHV). EBV was discovered in 1964 in an endemic Burkitt's lymphoma tissue. The first report of a Kaposi sarcoma dates back from 1872, though only in 1994 KSHV was identified to be the etiological agent.
An EBV primary infection is mostly known to cause infectious mononucleosis when it occurs in adolescence ...
Photoporation as platform technology to study intercellular communication by Extracellular Vesicles and to facilitate their therapeutic use Ghent University
Since it became evident that Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) have the ability to functionally exchange
biomolecular signals between cells, interest in these nanosized vesicles has grown exponentially,
leading to the identification of a plethora of physiological processes in which EVs are involved.
Because of their natural function as carriers of macromolecular components, they also have
attracted the interest of drug ...
Biodegradable polymer membranes for non-viral gene therapy. Ghent University
The aim of the project is to develop both porous and non-porous cell-interactive polymer membranes for opthalmological applications. Within the project, biodegradable and non-degradable polymer membranes will be compared. Both types of membranes will be coated with cell-interactive biopolymers. The top layer of thematerials developed will be composed of polymer-DNA complexes able to transfect ocular cells.