Publications by authors named "Patrick Vandormael"

Objective: To discover antibody biomarkers that can predict a lack of response to first-line therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: Two RA cDNA phage display libraries were screened for novel antibodies in baseline RA sera from the Care in early RA (CareRA) trial, differentiating between patients who did or did not reach remission after first-line therapy (n=20 each). Antibody reactivity to identified University Hasselt (UH)-RA antigens was validated in baseline samples from 136 additional CareRA participants.

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The immune response in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly variable and is linked to disease severity and mortality. However, antibody and cytokine responses in the early disease stage and their association with disease course and outcome are still not completely understood. In this large, multi-centre cohort study, blood samples of 434 Belgian COVID-19 hospitalized patients with different disease severities (ranging from asymptomatic/mild to critically ill) from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were obtained.

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Introduction: There is an unmet need for biomarkers to identify patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Increasing evidence suggest the presence of autoantibodies in a subset of axSpA patients. The aim of this study was to identify novel IgA antibodies in early axSpA patients and to determine their diagnostic potential in combination with previously determined IgG antibodies against UH (Hasselt University)-axSpA-IgG antigens.

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Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder for which early recognition is a major challenge. Autoantibodies against fetal brain antigens have been found in the blood of mothers of children with ASD (m-ASD) and can be transferred to the fetus where they can impact neurodevelopment by binding to fetal brain proteins. This study aims to identify novel maternal autoantibodies reactive against human fetal brain antigens, and explore their use as biomarkers for ASD screening and diagnosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at different stages of COVID-19 and how they affect people's bodies in different ways.
  • They examined 44 patients and found that those with mild disease didn't show the typical signs on CT scans while many with severe disease did.
  • It was also found that certain harmful changes occurred in the lungs and other organs, stressing the importance of specialized treatment for patients based on their disease stage.
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The differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) into myelinating oligodendrocytes is the prerequisite for remyelination in demyelinated disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, have been suggested to control the intricate network of transcription factors involved in OPC differentiation. Yet, the exact mechanism remains undisclosed.

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The study of cell proliferation is of great importance for medical and biological research, as well as for industrial applications. To render the proliferation process accurately over time, real-time cell proliferation assay methods are required. This work presents a novel real-time and label-free approach for monitoring cell proliferation by continuously measuring changes in thermal properties that occur at the sensor interface during the process.

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Objective: This study was undertaken to identify novel autoantibodies in axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and determine their diagnostic potential in patients with early axial SpA and controls from 2 independent cohorts.

Methods: An axial SpA complementary DNA phage display library was used to screen for novel IgG antibodies in plasma from patients with early axial SpA. The presence of these antibodies against novel peptides (i.

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose behavioral symptoms become apparent in early childhood. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are only partially understood and the clinical manifestations are heterogeneous in nature, which poses a major challenge for diagnosis, prognosis and intervention. In the last years, an important role of a dysregulated immune system in ASD has emerged, but the mechanisms connecting this to a disruption of brain development are still largely unknown.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the world's most common autoimmune disease mainly characterized by a chronic inflammation of multiple synovial joints. Rheumatologists now have a whole range of treatment options including glucocorticoids (GCs), classical synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cs- and bDMARDS), resulting in a tremendous improvement in treatment outcomes for RA patients over the last two decades. Despite this progress, the choice of treatment regimen to achieve stable remission at the individual patient level still largely depends on trial and error.

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Several nutrient permeases have been identified in yeast, which combine a transport and receptor function, and are called transceptors. The Gap1 general amino acid permease and the Mep2 ammonium permease mediate rapid activation by amino acids and by ammonium, respectively, of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway in nitrogen-starved cells. Their mode of action is not well understood.

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In yeast the Protein Kinase A (PKA) pathway can be activated by a variety of nutrients. Fermentable sugars, like glucose and sucrose, trigger a spike in the cAMP level, followed by activation of PKA and phosphorylation of target proteins causing a.o.

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In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae starvation for nitrogen on a glucose-containing medium causes entrance into G0 and downregulation of all targets of the PKA pathway. Re-addition of a nitrogen source in the presence of glucose causes rapid activation of trehalase and other PKA targets. Trehalase activation upon ammonium re-supplementation is dependent on PKA activity, but not on its regulatory subunit nor is it associated with an increase in cAMP.

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