PhD defence T.A. (Anienke) van der Veen

The airways in the lungs are exposed to smoke, dust and viruses, in inhaled air. These threats need an appropriate and specific defense mechanism that appears to be changed in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Virus infections in asthma and COPD patients can result in a lung attack, which means a sudden deterioration of the disease pathology. 

The defensive mechanisms of the lungs consist among others of macrophages. Macrophages are a heterogeneous cell population that can act in different situations, for example, in the defense against viruses and bacteria or in tissue recovery. Anienke van der Veen concludes in her thesis that in asthma and (smoking) COPD patients, the heterogeneity of macrophages has changed. As a result, the macrophage population reacts differently to a virus infection, as seen in our cigarette smoke mouse model. The changes in the responses of macrophages to a virus infection could be related to oxidative damage  present in the lungs of asthma and COPD patients. However, after a viral infection in our allergic asthma model, inhibiting oxidative stress did not influence macrophages nor the severity of the infection. Research of this nature is needed to help unravel the mechanisms behind lung attacks and to be able to design strategies to treat or prevent them in the future.

Promotores Prof. B.N. Melgert en Dr. R. Lutter