Projects

Nutritional immunology

The following projects are currently running and funded:

1. Fermentation enhanced probiotic function

2. Food induced modulation of the intestinal immune barrier

3. Novel fibers for immunomodulation

4. The effect of specific carbohydrates on the mechanism of nutrient absorption and immune competence in the intestinal tract of production animals

All these projects are performed in close collaboration with the University of Wageningen, Maastricht, TNO and NIZO.The project are part of the Top Institute food and Nutrition (TIFN) and the Carbohydrate Competence Center (CCC). Apart from these larger projects we have smaller projects in which we perform research for specific companies with an interest in Nutritional Immunology.

Personal involved:

5 PhD Students

1 Postdoc

1 Technician

All projects are performed in an integrated fashion. The focus is on unraveling how food components can pass the different barriers to have beneficial effects on the endocrine and immune system of the consumer. The hypothesis is that specific food components (oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, glycoproteins on bacteria) signal via pattern recognition receptors on different cells types and modulate by these mechanisms the immune system. We have a technology platform available to study this in vitro and in vivo. In a systemic fashion we follow the modulation from the gut towards the systemic circulation. For immunomodulating food components that are sensitive for enzymes in the gastrointestinal track we apply state of the art encapsulation techniques to guide them to the site of action.

Frequently used techniques :

- cell culturing

- transcriptomics

- RNA isolation, integrity check

- cDNA synthesis and quantitative PCR

- flow cytometry

- western Blot

- immunohistochemistry

- fluorescence/confocal microscopy

Pregnancy immunology

Projects in this subject are focused around the questions: how does pregnancy influence the quality of the immune response and how does the immune response influence pregnancy.

Various projects are running, often in collaboration with other Departments, such as Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Pathology from Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, Endocrinology and Nephrology from the Department of Internal Medicine.

1: The effect of pregnancy on the immune response

2: The effect of pregnancy complications on the immune response

3: the effect of reproductive hormones on immune responses

4: Gender and immune responses

5: The role of hemopexin in pregnancy and preeclampsia

6: The effect of diabetes during pregnancy on the immune response of pregnant individuals

7: The effect of H2S on pregnancy and pregnancy complications

8: The effect of preeclampsia during pregnancy on health later in life

Most projects involve human and animal experiments. Frequently used techniques involve:

- animal experiments,

- immunohistochemistry

- flow cytometry

- real time RT-PCR

- cell culturing

Personel involved:

7 PhD students

1 Technician

Immunology of cell transplants

The following projects are currently running and funded:

1. The role of PAMPS and DAMPS in failure of encapsulated islet grafts

2. Novel encapsulation technologies for control of brain tumors

3. Polymer brushes for immunoisolating microcapsules

4. Organ bound stem cells for human application

5. A novel carrier system for transplantation of human islets

Apart from these larger projects we have smaller projects in which we perform research for specific companies with an interest in cell immunology or encapsulation.

Personal involved:

5 PhD Students

1 Postdoc

1 Technician

We have a strong group working on novel concept of encapsulation to protect cellular grafts from immune destruction. Our focus is on islet-grafts for the treatment of Diabetes. We have state of the art technologies to envelop cells in microspheres. These capsules are also proposed as carriers for stem cells that serve as donor source for islet cells (in collaboration with the university of Leuven). We study the biological responses against these capsules in relation to their surface properties. Within this same focus we study the role of the cells in the capsules in the immune responses. DAMPS and PAMPS signaling via pattern recognition receptors is a major topic in that. We test both pharmacological and biomedical engineering approaches to prevent deleterious responses against the grafts.

Frequently used techniques :

- cell culturing

- XPS

- Atomic force microscopy

- Fourier infrared

- Animal experimental studies

- RNA isolation, integrity check

- cDNA synthesis and quantitative PCR

- flow cytometry

- western Blot

- immunohistochemistry

- fluorescence/confocal microscopy

More information on our scientists and laboratory technicians, and an overview of relevant publications can be found in the menu at the left.