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Inflammation and wound healing
Group leader: Rob Beelen
Inflammation is a key factor in determining the efficiency of peritoneal dialysis, by affecting the amount of angiogenesis and deposition of extracellular matrix.
Also for wound healing inflammation and the contribution of differentially activated macrophages determine the success of tissue repair and functional but not inhibitory scar formation. More information ...
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Glycobiology and immune regulation
Group leader: Irma van Die
Glycosylation of proteins and lipids plays a key role in cellular interactions in infections and inflammation. Helminth parasites express many different glycans on their surface that are recognized by immune cells of the host. Some glycans are targeted by the immune system to fight the parasite, but other glycans may allow the parasite to modulate and escape the host immune response to survive. Understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which (helminth) glycans affect immune responses will have profound implications for the development of vaccination strategies, and therapeutic approaches to treat inflammatory disorders. More information ...
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Neuroimmunology
Group leader: Christine Dijkstra
Macrophages play a crucial role in tissue damage and repair in the central nervous system (CNS). In particular in inflammatory diseases of the CNS, such as multiple sclerosis, infiltrating macrophages are crucial effector cells. By elucidating the mechanisms of inflammatory damage to neurons and myelin, and to astrocytic scar formation, new therapeutic targets are being identified for limiting the inflammatory damage and for promoting the repair mechanisms. More information ...
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Tumor immunology
Group leader: Marjolein van Egmond
The innate immune system in heavily involved in our body response to malignancies. On the one hand phagocytes contribute to the removal of malignant and aberrant cells, on the other they promote tumor growth by producing growth factors and by promoting angiogenesis. Immunoglobulins mediate phagocyte functions in various ways. A new aspect of the role of antibodies in the innate immune system is the capacity of e.g. IgA to recruit phagocytes. More information ...
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Vascular inflammation
Group leader: Anton Horrevoets
Endothelial cells and inflammatory cells play crucial roles in inflammatory remodeling of arterial blood vessels in cardiovascular disease, the most prominent cause of mortality in the Western world. Biomechanical forces like flow shear stress control the various forms of vascular remodeling, like atherosclerosis and arteriogenesis. Insights into the molecular mechanisms that control these adaptive responses will identify molecular profiling strategies for better stratification of patients, and open new avenues of patient-tailored therapies to improve vascular function. More information ...
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Dendritic Cell Immunobiology
Group leader: Yvette van Kooyk
Dendritic cells are professional antigen-presenting cells that form a link between first line host-defence and cellular immunity. As sentinels in tissues, dendritic cells express a range of receptors, such as Toll-like receptors and C-type lectins that recognize a variety of pathogens and self-antigens. In particular C-type lectin receptors that recognise specific carbohydrate profiles on pathogens and on self glycoproteins play an important function in both pathogen recognition as well as dendritic cell communications such as cell adhesion, migration and signalling. Gaining more insight into the function of the growing number of dendritic cell-specific C-type lectins will provide tools for modulating dendritic cell pathogen recognition as well as tumor recognition to control infectious disease and cancer. More information ..
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Immune regulation
Group leader: Georg Kraal
The main entrance route for pathogens and antigens is via the mucosal surfaces of oral and nasal cavity, gut and airways. The immune response evoked by these immunogens is two fold, either tolerance for useful components or elimination for damaging components. Both tolerance and eliminating immune responses are active processes. Understanding this delicate balance, and the microenvironmental factor that are directing the immune response will ultimately lead to better understanding of inflammatory diseases of the bowel, and of allergic responses of mucosal surfaces. Improvement of vaccination strategies for mucosal infection also requires elucidation of factors that promote eliminating responses. More information ...
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Functional development of the immune system
Group leader: Reina Mebius
Lymphoid organs are build by a network of stromal cells, that are instrumental for formation of these organs in early ontogeny. Secondary lymphoid organs and their compartments greatly enhance the odds that rare antigen-specific T cells encounter dendritic cells that present the antigen and are thus crucial for effective immune responses. Furthermore, stromal cells within the lymph nodes are able to convey location specific signals to dendritic cells and T cells, ensuring the migration of activated T cells, upon LN exit, preferentially to the site where dendritic cells initially encountered the antigen.The formation of lymphoid compartments is not restricten to ontogeny, since ectopic lymphoid structures are formed during chronic inflammatory diseases. Critical events in ontogenetic and reactive formation of lymphoid structures are studied to better understand the factors that induce the responsive microenvironment. More information ...
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Blood brain barrier
Group leader: Elga de Vries
The blood-brain barrier is a selective barrier formed by specialized cerebral endothelial cells, which closely regulates the homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS). In neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke and dementia, the barrier becomes damaged allowing entry of blood components and inflammatory cells in the CNS and cause tissue damage. Improvement of barrier function and limitation of cellular migration may provide an effective way to limit neurological events. Crucial factors that regulate blood brain barrier function and immune cell migration are studied to identify new strategies to treat neurological disorders at the level of the blood brain barrier. More information ...
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