VIBTimes October 2022 ꓲ NEUROSCIENCE

Brain matters: how neuroscience shapes our health

The brain, as the saying goes, is the most complex object in the known universe. No wonder there are still many questions about how our brains work in health and disease. To help tackle these questions, neuroscience serves as a key research area for VIB, with centers in Antwerp and Leuven.

We spoke to three leading researchers, Kristel Sleegers (VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology), Lucía Chávez Gutiérrez (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) and Aya Takeoka (Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders), whose life passion in neuroscience led to breakthrough research in the field. Learn what drives their passion for neuroscience, what they are most proud of in their work, and why they are hopeful in the search for treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Possible therapeutic targets identified for ALS and frontotemporal dementia

Ludo Van Den Bosch and his group at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research investigate ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). These devastating neurodegenerative diseases affect thousands in Belgium and have no effective treatment. The most common genetic cause of ALS and FTD is a mutation in the C9orf72 gene, but how this mutation leads to these conditions remains elusive.

Now, the researchers identified key proteins, NEK6, HNRNPK and RRM2, that contribute to C9-related ALS and FTD. This opens up new therapeutic avenues for these disorders. Their results are published in high-impact journals Alzheimer's and Dementia:The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association and Acta Neuropathologica.

An insider's look at VIB's collaboration with Resolve Biosciences

VIB often works with technology providers to ensure access to the latest technologies for its researchers. Former VIB employee Jeroen Aerts, now Customer Technology Advisor at Resolve Biosciences, explains how these fruitful partnerships are born.

Jeroen Aerts: "It was no surprise to me that VIB received the first system placement. Not only has VIB established itself as a global leader in spatial biology, but the institute has also worked closely with Resolve Biosciences through the company’s early access program for Molecular Cartography technology."

Harnessing the power of protein aggregation

From ALS to Alzheimer’s disease or amyloidosis, misfolded proteins cause havoc throughout our organs causing serious and often incurable disorders.

Devoting their entire careers to understanding the mechanisms gearing protein folding and misfolding, Joost Schymkowitz and Frederic Rousseau (Switch Lab, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) found a way to turn this giant problem into an ingenious solution. What if we could use what we know about aggregation to target the bad guys instead?

Flash forward about a decade and spin-off Aelin Therapeutics is developing a new class of antibiotics as well as radically new cancer treatments through targeted protein aggregation—two of just many possible applications of an entirely novel therapeutic platform called Pept-in™.