Overkleeft

This thesis has described novel synthetic methods to produce a variety of (glyco)peptides and their application in the study of various immunological processes.

The inverse electron demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) pyridazine elimination emerged in 2013 as a new bioorthogonal reaction and constitutes a prime example of what is now known as dissociative bioorthogonal chemistry. The research described in this Thesis aims to develop synthetic strategies which enable…

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, makes treatments less effective. It is important to unravel the mechanism of metastasis.

Can the conditioning paradigm be used for checkpoint inhibition cancer treatment?

Atherosclerosis is the most important underlying process that drives cardiovascular disease, and is characterized by an accumulation of cholesterol which triggers an inflammatory response in the vessel wall.

Sander van Kasteren only noticed some small, subtle changes since he was appointed professor on 1 May. Still, he has to get used to the idea, even though he had been working towards the professorship for a few years. ‘I don't quite see myself as a professor yet.'

Promotor: J. Kuiper

Inaugural lecture

Healthy aging is one of the prime goals in today's society and atherosclerosis is among the greatest causes of morbidity in elderly. Cardiovascular disease patients receiving treatment are often of advanced aged and have an aged immune system, which limits translating experimental findings to the pa…

This dissertation presents the synthesis and evaluation of antibody recognition for various capsular polysaccharide (CP) fragments of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

This thesis describes the use of bioorthogonal proteins in immunological settings. It provides an introduction towards the field of protein modification, which was used throughout the thesis for the expression of proteins containing unnatural amino acids.

Sander van Kasteren (Professor of Molecular Immunology) makes the invisible visible. He will explain more in his inaugural lecture.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the most frequent causes of death in the world. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is the development of atherosclerosis in the medium and large-sized arteries.

This work has described synthetic strategies towards well-defined structures resembling capsular polysaccharide (CPS) fragments, CPS mimics, teichoic acid (TA) fragments as well as a third-generation ring-closing tandem metathesis (RCM) linker to better exploit the potential of automated synthesis.

Acute cardiovascular syndromes, including myocardial infarction or stroke, are the principal cause of death in the Western society. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis, which is caused by the accumulation of lipids and inflammatory cells in the vessel wall, in…

Promotor: G.F.A. Kersten, W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: B. Metz

PhD defence

PhD defence

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Prof. dr. A.H. Meijer

This thesis describes the development of a variety of mannosylated conjugates. Antigen presenting cells bear mannoside recognizing receptors that actively transport antigen into the cell. This thesis exploits this feature for the development of improved vaccines.

How do you engage students? Sander van Kasteren knows how to do that like no other. ‘He compares immune cells to Pokémon and doesn’t just give information; he tells stories,’ students say about their favourite lecturer, Sander van Kasteren. The Professor of Molecular Immunology passionately teaches…

Main challenges in skin vaccination are overcoming the stratum corneum (SC) barrier and targeting the antigen presenting cells (APC) in the epidermis and the dermis.

Synthesis and application of chemical biology tools to study immunomodulatory signaling lipids.

With cancer, the immune system is a double-edged sword: it can attack tumour cells, but can also help them grow and spread. It is a question of harnessing it. This is what Professor Karin de Visser argued in her inaugural lecture on 15 November 2019.

Microscopic insight on lipid-based nanomedicine in vivo remains limited to the perception of the knowledge that could be obtained: if we interpret only what we see, then we only believe to know. Although believing to know encapsulates an undefined amount of uncertainty in the exploration of lipid-based…

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.A. Bouwstra, Co-promotor: Dr. A. El Ghalbzouri

The first steps are made in personalised cancer vaccination strategies, which aim to induce a more specific immune response with fewer side effects. The activation of cytotoxic T cells is crucial for an effective immune response.

This work describes the use of click-to-release chemistry to get spatiotemporal control over immunocytokine activity. Until now, immunocytokines (cytokines coupled to a tumor-targeting-moiety) remained active throughout the body, being able to bind their respective receptors, causing mild to severe…

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

The research described in this thesis focused on the use of bioorthogonal antigens to investigate immunological processes in antigen presenting cells. Bioorthogonal antigens are antigenic proteins produced through recombinant expression in a methionine auxotrophic E. coli strain.

In this thesis the combinatorial use of bioorthogonal labelling and Electron Microscopy (EM)-based imaging techniques is explored to enable observations of specific molecular targets in their ultrastructural context within the cell.

In order to be able to develop effective medicine and treatments to prevent or cure autoimmune diseases or cancer we need to understand the mechanisms how they arise and what drives their course.Unravelling the fundamental molecular mechanisms influencing the onset and course of diseases such as allergies,…

Key publications of the Aging and Immunity group

Conact the Cellular Chemistry group

PhD defence

The Immune Activation and Tolerance group is headed by Dr. Bram Slütter. Vaccination is an experimental, but promising, treatment strategy for atherosclerosis. Previous work has shown that immunization of mice with modified LDL particles can reduce atherosclerotic lesion development, however such vaccines…

The research described in this Thesis was aimed at designing and synthesizing nature-inspired compounds as part of TB vaccine discovery.

Cancer represents a formidable current and future global health challenge. The LUMC medical research profile Cancer Pathogenesis and Therapy charges this challenge by developing and implementing innovative patient-tailored, multimodal diagnostic methods and treatment modalities.

Research at the BIOSYN group is comprised of the following research themes:

Vaccination is the most effective method to prevent influenza infection. However, current influenza vaccines have several limitations. Relatively long production times, limited vaccine capacity, moderate efficacy in certain populations and lack of cross-reactivity are important issues that need to be…

The Therapeutic Immunomodulation Group is led by Prof. Johan Kuiper. In this group we aim to identify novel immunologic targets and apply immunotherapy to inhibit or even prevent the development of atherosclerosis.

Cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs) are involved in the clearance of viruses and killing of tumor cells.

MHC class I and MHC class II molecules present peptides to the immune system to drive proper T cell responses. Pharmacological modulation of T-cell responses can offer treatment options for a range of immune-related diseases.