Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke is a groupleader of the ‘Barriers in Inflammation’ research group embedded in the ‘VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research’ at Ghent University and VIB.
Tight barriers form the major protection for the brain against external insults such as toxins, infectious agents, and peripheral blood fluctuations. These barriers are a central part of the brain homeostasis mechanism and assure a balanced and well-controlled micro-environment around synapses and axons in the central nervous system (CNS). Although largely understudied, the choroid plexus epithelium (CPE), forming the blood-CSF barrier (BCSFB), is an important and unique single layer of epithelial cells situated at the interface between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Subtle changes in the CPE, via changes in the CSF composition, have wide-ranging effects on the brain and will subsequently affect disease progression. Therefore, understanding BCSFB functionality under physiological and pathophysiological conditions might open up new therapeutic strategies to treat inflammatory diseases.
Research in the ‘Barriers in inflammation’ lab focuses on the effect of systemic inflammation (including sepsis/SIRS or other inflammatory stimuli such as (inflamm)aging and neuroinflammation (such as the age-related disease Alzheimer’s) on the BCSFB.
Research lines
- Studying the key molecules that play a role in the activated detrimental processes at the BCSFB upon inflammation, focusing on barrier integrity, extracellular vesicles (exosomes), and acute phase response.
- Investigating whether peripheral inflammatory triggers, e.g., in the gastrointestinal system, affect the CPE and consequently increase the sensitivity for the development of neuroinflammatory diseases.
- Exploring whether the CPE can be used as a delivery route to the brain.
Contact & links
- Affiliation: Ghent University and VIB, Belgium
- Unit: Barriers in inflammation
- Location: VIB-IRC, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium
Selected publications
- Gut microbiota regulates blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier function and Aβ pathology. Xie et al. The EMBO Journal 42:e111515 (2023) doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111515
- Helicobacter pylori-derived outer membrane vesicles contribute to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis via C3-C3aR signaling. Xie J. et al. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 12 (2): 12306 (2023). doi.org/10.1002/jev2.12306
- Choroid plexus-derived extracellular vesicles exhibit brain targeting characteristics. Pauwels et al. Biomaterials 290, 121830 (2022). doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022
- Counteracting the effects of TNF receptor-1 has therapeutic potential in Alzheimer’s disease. Steeland, S. et al. EMBO Mol Med 10, UNSP e8300 (2018). doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201708300
- Identification of a novel mechanism of blood-brain communication during peripheral inflammation via choroid plexus-derived extracellular vesicles. Balusu S. et al. EMBO Mol Med 8, 1162-1183 (2016). doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201606271
