Abstract
The Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics - within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and closely linked to the Antwerp University Hospital - focusses its research on the study of inflammation in a clinically relevant context built on interdisciplinary methodologies and collaborations. To remain in the forefront of research we perform ground-breaking experimental, as well as clinical and translational research from bench to bedside and vice versa, using innovative and high-end methodologies including organoids, rodent models, cell cultures, different next-generation omics approaches and clinical trials. We challenge you to write down a project that will have an added value to one of the research lines currently explored at LEMP (www.uantwerpen.be/en/research-groups/lemp) and briefly described below.
Loss of mucosal barrier integrity is a significant contributor in the pathophysiology of mucosal inflammatory/infectious diseases (e.g. IBD, gastrointestinal cancers, RSV, COVID-19). The role of transmembrane mucins, as epithelial signalling receptors mediating barrier dysfunction, is poorly understood. Furthermore, the presence of genetic differences in mucin genes can give rise via alternative splicing to a large repertoire of structurally diverse mucin mRNA isoforms encoding similar biological functions or altering protein function resulting in progression towards disease. Currently, the mucin mRNA isoform landscape implicated in mucosal barrier dysfunction is a field to discover.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are compounds that are by-products of cell metabolism and induced by inflammation. The human body houses thousands of VOCs which are exhaled and can serve as non-invasive markers for disease. Hence, breathomics is applied to search for clinically relevant diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers for inflammation-related diseases in adults and children (thoracic cancers, COVID-19, asthma, COPD, BPD in neonates, gastrointestinal diseases) and to monitor the effect of air pollution on human health. However, there is a need for further identification and data mining of volatiles, linking VOCs to metabolic processes.
Chronic low-grade inflammation is a key factor in obesity. As its treatment remains challenging over all age groups, research focusses on new treatment strategies for obesity, that minimize dropout and weight regain. Pathophysiological processes (hypoxia) that lead to comorbidities like cardiovascular and metabolic morbidity and obstructive sleep apnoea are also of interest.
Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease. As diagnosis requires invasive procedures, there is a need of sensitive, non-invasive markers of an early-stage acute rejection and the early diagnosis of glomerular damage in children and adults with various underlying diseases (diabetes, obesity or sickle cell anaemia).
Visceral pain is a key feature of the gastrointestinal disorders IBD and IBS. The management of visceral hypersensitivity is challenging and requires further research towards new treatment targets.
Unravelling the immunopathogenesis of chronic Hepatitis B infections is essential in the quest for novel treatment approaches. While the ineffective T-cell responses are well-known, B cells have been left largely understudied, urging a deeper understanding of the role of the humoral immune response in chronic HBV at the level of HBV-specific antibody production and of the phenotypic/functional level of B cells.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the global leading cause of chronic liver disease but pharmacological treatment remains poorly successful. Changes in liver hemodynamics and in parenchymal oxygenation contribute to the steatohepatitis and progressive disease worsening and are a potential drugable target. Furthermore, the role of NAFLD on extrahepatic vascular alterations contributing to cardiovascular disease warrants further study.
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