Nutritional systems biology of the intestine as gatekeeper
As port d’entree of nutrients, the intestine plays a pivotal role in maintenance of nutrient homeostasis. In turn, dietary composition has a major influence on the overall health and functioning of the gastro-intestinal tract.
The work in our group within the Division of Human Nutrition and Health concentrates on the molecular effects of nutrition in the small intestine and colon, the underlying mechanisms that mediate these effects, and the modulatory role of nutrition in determining the composition and activity of the microbiome. Ultimately, studies are aimed at understanding how these direct and indirect effects of nutrition contribute to the balance between (metabolic) health and disease.
In our research we use high throughput, information-dense omics technologies in combination with experiments in suitable models (e.g. cell, animal, and human models). A unique expertise is the biological interpretation of complex nutrigenomics datasets. By integrating multi-omics data sets with functional measurements, novel biological insights is gained into the molecular effects of nutrients.
Key publications
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Specific metabolic activation of adipose tissue macrophages during obesity promotes inflammatory responses
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Gender and strain dependent differences in intestinal immunology correlate with differences in microbiota composition
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Circadian misalignment induces fatty acid metabolism gene profiles and induces insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle
: Wageningen University -
A comparative miRNA/mRNA analysis in distinct murine liver cancer models reveals miR-193a-5p and NUSAP1 as therapeutic targets in HCC [miRNA]
: Wageningen University -
Metatranscriptome analysis of the microbial fermentation of dietary milk proteins in the murine gut
PLoS ONE 13 (2018)4. - ISSN 1932-6203