Projects
Cardiac resident macrophages versus recruited macrophages – developing targets to take advantage of their opposing roles in heart failure. KU Leuven
Heart disease is the most important cause of mortality in westernized nations, with heart failure, which is when the heart cannot pump sufficient blood, being the most prominent cause of hospitalizations in Europe. More than half of the heart failure patients have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HFpEF occurs in patients that present with additional disorders such as diabetes and hypertension. There is currently no ...
Uncovering liver macrophage subsets and the role of macrophage prolyl hydroxylases in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and associated liver cancer Ghent University
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is an important cause of chronic liver disease in Western countries. The disease ranges from simple steatosis (lipid accumulation) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (liver inflammation related to steatosis) which can result in liver cirrhosis and even in NASH-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (NASH-HCC). Macrophages (Mf) are innate immune cells with diverse functions related to their origin and local ...
Study on the role of macrophages in neurodegeneration during aging KU Leuven
Tissue resident macrophages have long been known for their role in host defense and pathogen clearance, but only in recent years have we come to appreciate that these cells can develop a surprising degree of functional specialisation, thereby fulfilling tissue-specific functions in the organ in which they reside. The instruction of such specific functions is largely imprinted via signalling from surrounding cells, the so-called macrophages ...
The role of macrophages in electrical remodelling of hiPSC-cardiomyocytes: distinguishing the impact of inflammatory soup from direct macrophage-cardiomyocyte contact Ghent University
Heart failure (HF) is defined when the heart is unable to circulate sufficient blood to meet the systemic metabolic need. Although it is one of the leading death causes, there remain unanswered questions with regard to the fundamental pathophysiological processes. HF can be caused by a genetic disorder, but recent data shows that it can also be triggered by inflammation. The ongoing covid-19 pandemic stresses the link between inflammation and ...
Human and murine macrophages with a stable alternative activation as a therapeutic tool to promote neuroregeneration. University of Antwerp
TIE receptors as molecular switches between pro-angiogenic or vascular normalizing effects of macrophages. Ghent University
Angiogenesis, the process of blood vessel development, is an important mechanism in health and
disease. Angiogenesis is extensively being studied as a therapeutic target in conditions where
aberrant blood vessel growth worsens the clinical outcome, such as in atherosclerotic plaque
formation. However, angiogenesis is also being studied as a therapeutic tool to resupply ischemic
tissue with blood vessels. A good ...
Investigating the function and development of ‘lipid-associated macrophages’ (LAMs) in liver fibrosis across species. Ghent University
Hepatic macrophages are thought to play key roles in the development and progression of fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and liver fibrosis. However, in recent years it has become clear that both the fatty and the fibrotic liver are home to a number of distinct macrophage subsets, whose precise roles in disease pathogenesis have not yet been assessed. This includes a population of recruited macrophages in the murine and human fatty liver termed ...
Molecular and functional characterization of nerve-modulated macrophages in the intestine KU Leuven
Macrophages are present in all tissues and act as essential gatekeepers of tissue homeostasis in addition to their role in host defense. Depending on the tissue in which they reside, macrophages carry out diverse and context-dependent tasks that meet the functional requirements of a specific tissue. In particular, macrophages in the central nervous system, termed microglia, carry out highly specialized tasks to support surrounding nervous ...
Role of resident macrophages in peripheral nerve regeneration after mechanical injury Ghent University
We here propose to study the distinct subsets of macrophages recruited during peripheral nerve
injury. The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) has unique repair capacities as compared to the Central
Nervous System (CNS) and PNS macrophages have been proposed to play a central role in repair
after mechanical injury of peripheral nerves. However, in contrast to CNS macrophages, much
remains unknown about macrophages ...