Publications by authors named "Temmerman L"

The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) progressing to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), characterized by hepatic inflammation, has significantly increased in recent years due to unhealthy dietary practices and sedentary lifestyles. Cathepsin D (CTSD), a lysosomal protease involved in lipid homeostasis, is linked to abnormal lipid metabolism and inflammation in MASH. Although primarily intracellular, CTSD can be secreted extracellularly.

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Background: Parasitic nematodes significantly undermine global human and animal health and productivity. Parasite control is reliant on anthelmintic administration however over-use of a limited number of drugs has resulted in escalating parasitic nematode resistance, threatening the sustainability of parasite control and underscoring an urgent need for the development of novel therapeutics. FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs), the largest family of nematode neuropeptides, modulate nematode behaviours including those important for parasite survival, highlighting FLP receptors (FLP-GPCRs) as appealing putative novel anthelmintic targets.

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The accumulation of nitrogen (N) in moss tissue has proven to be a reliable marker of increasing N deposition. However, this measurement does not offer additional data about the origin of pollution. In this respect, the analysis of the N isotopic ratios might be a helpful tool in providing supplementary information about the nature of the nitrogenous species in biomonitoring surveys.

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Background: The phylum Nematoda is incredibly diverse and includes many parasites of humans, livestock, and plants. Peptide-activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are central to the regulation of physiology and numerous behaviors, and they represent appealing pharmacological targets for parasite control. Efforts are ongoing to characterize the functions and define the ligands of nematode GPCRs, with already most peptide GPCRs known or predicted in Caenorhabditis elegans.

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Macrophage infiltration and accumulation in the atherosclerotic lesion are associated with plaque progression and instability. Depletion of macrophages from the lesion might provide valuable insights into plaque stabilization processes. Therefore, we assessed the effects of systemic and local macrophage depletion on atherogenesis.

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Background: Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an acute demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system, characterize by multiple white matter hyperintensities on T2 MRI. Patients usually present with subacute progressive encephalopathy and polyfocal neurological deficits. Possible treatments are corticosteroids, immunoglobulins and plasma exchange.

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While the main role of phagocytic scavenger cells consists of the neutralization and elimination of pathogens, they also keep the body fluids clean by taking up and breaking down waste material. Since a build-up of waste is thought to contribute to the aging process, these cells become particularly pertinent in the research field of aging. Nevertheless, a direct link between their scavenging functions and the aging process has yet to be established.

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Neuropeptides are ancient signaling molecules in animals but only few peptide receptors are known outside bilaterians. Cnidarians possess a large number of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) - the most common receptors of bilaterian neuropeptides - but most of these remain orphan with no known ligands. We searched for neuropeptides in the sea anemone and created a library of 64 peptides derived from 33 precursors.

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Background: Response to biologics in psoriasis varies in real-world settings. Serum biomarkers could aid biologic selection and dose modifications to improve patient outcomes while encouraging cost-effective care.

Objectives: To explore the exposure-response relationship for guselkumab (GUS), to define a GUS concentration target for optimal response and to evaluate the potential of serum protein levels as predictive biomarker candidates.

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The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans lends itself as an excellent model organism for peptidomics studies. Its ease of cultivation and quick generation time make it suitable for high-throughput studies. The nervous system, with its 302 neurons, is probably the best-known and studied endocrine tissue.

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Background And Aims: Dendritic cells (DCs), professional antigen-presenting cells, play an important role in pathologies by controlling adaptive immune responses. However, their adaptation to and functionality in hypercholesterolemia, a driving factor in disease onset and progression of atherosclerosis remains to be established.

Methods: In this study, we addressed the immediate impact of high fat diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in low-density lipoprotein receptor deficient (Ldlr) mice on separate DC subsets, their compartmentalization and functionality.

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Previous research has reported on hidden damage within the dentin introduced by cryopreservation, but the effect on the mechanical properties of the hard tissues at tooth level remains unclear. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of cryopreservation on the mechanical properties of teeth. A matched sample of 234 premolars of 117 children (9 ≤ age ≤ 16 years), bilaterally extracted for orthodontic reasons, were included.

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Introduction: Inhibition of STAT5 was recently reported to reduce murine atherosclerosis. However, the role of STAT5 isoforms, and more in particular STAT5A in macrophages in the context of human atherosclerosis remains unknown.

Methods And Results: Here, we demonstrate reciprocal expression regulation of STAT5A and STAT5B in human atherosclerotic lesions.

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Overlapping genes are widely prevalent; however, their expression and consequences are poorly understood. Here, we describe and functionally characterize a novel zyx-1 overlapping gene, azyx-1, with distinct regulatory functions in Caenorhabditis elegans. We observed conservation of alternative open reading frames (ORFs) overlapping the 5' region of zyxin family members in several animal species, and find shared sites of azyx-1 and zyxin proteoform expression in C.

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Entomopathogenic nematodes, including Steinernema spp., play an increasingly important role as biological alternatives to chemical pesticides. The infective juveniles of these worms use nictation-a behavior in which animals stand on their tails-as a host-seeking strategy.

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A rather peculiar but very potent means of achieving longevity is through axenic dietary restriction (ADR), where animals feed on (semi-)defined culture medium in absence of any other lifeform. The little knowledge we already have on ADR is mainly derived from studies using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, where ADR more than doubles organismal lifespan. What is underlying this extreme longevity so far remains enigmatic, as ADR seems distinct from other forms of DR and bypasses well-known longevity factors.

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Cryopreservation allows strains to be stored, eliminating genetic drift and maintenance costs. Existing cryopreservation methods for the economically-important entomopathogenic nematode involve multiple incubation and filtration steps to precondition the animals. The standard protocol for freezing the model organism in buffer is simpler, and a recent dry-freezing protocol allows stocks to survive multiple freeze-thaws, a possibility during a power failure.

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Background/objectives: The aim of this research was to determine the reliability of a novel index for the assessment of smile esthetics in patients with cleft lip and/or palate (CL ± P) at the end of their multidisciplinary treatment, for use in clinical and academic settings.

Materials And Methods: Five orthodontists, five periodontologists, five general practitioners, five dental students, and five laypeople rated the smiles of 10 patients with CL ± P twice at a 2 weeks interval. The rating scale consisted of four main categories: 1.

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Monocytes circulate the vasculature at steady state and are recruited to sites of inflammation where they differentiate into macrophages (MФ) to replenish tissue-resident MФ populations and engage in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Monocytes display considerable heterogeneity, currently reflected by a nomenclature based on their expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 14 and CD16, distinguishing CD14++CD16- classical (cMo), CD14++CD16+ intermediate (intMo) and CD14+CD16++ non-classical (ncMo) monocytes. Several reports point to shifted subset distributions in the context of CVD, with significant association of intMo numbers with atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and heart failure.

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Oviparous animals support reproduction via the incorporation of yolk as a nutrient source into the eggs. In , however, yolk proteins seem dispensable for fecundity, despite constituting the vast majority of the embryonic protein pool and acting as carriers for nutrient-rich lipids. Here, we used yolk protein-deprived mutants to gain insight into the traits that may yet be influenced by yolk rationing.

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Entomopathogenic nematodes including spp. play an increasingly important role as biological alternatives to chemical pesticides. The infective juveniles of these worms use nictation - a behavior in which animals stand on their tails - as a host-seeking strategy.

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Macrophages (MΦ) are commonly cultured as a model of their biology and functions in tissues. Recent evidence suggests MΦ to engage in quorum sensing, adapting their functions in response to cues about the proximity of neighboring cells. However, culture density is frequently overlooked in the standardization of culture protocols as well as the interpretation of results obtained .

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Aims: Specific fibroblast markers and in-depth heterogeneity analysis are currently lacking, hindering functional studies in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Here, we established cell-type markers and heterogeneity in murine and human arteries and studied the adventitial fibroblast response to CVD and its risk factors hypercholesterolaemia and ageing.

Methods And Results: Murine aorta single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis of adventitial mesenchymal cells identified fibroblast-specific markers.

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As opposed to standard culturing, growing large numbers of worms on Nematode Growth Medium-based RNA interference (RNAi) plates requires multiple transferring steps to prevent starvation, which increase handling time and reduce practical efficiency. We here provide an optimized method to grow four times more worms in RNAi conditions, thus saving on required resources and handling steps.

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