Last Friday, @InflamResCen hosted IRC Science Day: . A day packed with inspiring talks that showcased the diverse work of our institute. Science also met creativity during the Science Fair 🎡 We had a blast putting a creative spin on what we do in the lab!

Our findings suggest that Smpd3's role in EV biogenesis might vary depending on cell type or species, indicating its effects are not universally consistent across different cellular contexts.

Contrary to expectations, Smpd3 deficiency did not affect EV release, both in vivo and in specific cells such as mixed cortical cultures and bone marrow derived macrophages.

However, these inhibitors can have limitations such as off-target effects and lack of specificity. To better understand Smpd3's role, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology to develop heterozygous full-body and conditional Smpd3 KO mouse lines.

Here’s a summary: Neutral sphingomyelinases (nSMases), particularly nSMase 2 encoded by the Smpd3 gene, are conventionally believed to play crucial roles in EV biogenesis. Studies often suggest that their inhibition, using drugs like GW4869, reduces EV production.

Thrilled to share our paper exploring the role of Smpd3 in EV biogenesis is now published in @ISEV_JExBio! . 🔬We took a novel approach beyond common pharmacological inhibitors by creating both full-body and conditional Smpd3 KO mice. Read more below👇 .

RT @BBBelgium_: A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at the 3rd #BBBelgium24 Symposium! 🙌 Inspiring talks, posters, and discussions m….

RT @BBBelgium_: 🚀 And we're off! Welcome to #BBBelgium24, ready for amazing talks, posters and networking!

Only 3 more nights! Excited to welcome everyone to our institute for what promises to be an inspiring day! #BBBelgium24.

RT @BBBelgium_: 🚨 Last chance! 🚨 Early bird registration for the 3rd #BBBelgium2024 Symposium closes TODAY! Don’t miss out on securing your….

RT @BBBelgium_: 🗣️ Only one month left to submit your oral abstract for the 3rd BBBelgium Symposium #BBBelgium24! .🐦 Early bird registratio….

RT @DaanVerhaege: Check out part of my PhD work in our @biorxiv_neursci paper: Newly discovered base barrier cells provide compartmentaliza….

Excited to expand and share our neuroimmunology knowledge at the 18th European School Neuroimmunology Course @ISNI_neuro in Hasselt! 🤓🧠With presentations by lab members @PieterDujardin & @hannah_lernout @IBDUnitGent

Great that we could contribute to this work! @charyssevdd @vdb_roos.

Enjoying after-work sunshine ☀️ confirmed that lab skills do not translate to Kubb skills 😎

Excited to host the 3rd edition of the @BBBelgium_ symposium at our home turf. Save the date: October 14th! Can't wait to see many of you there!.

RT @ScienceofPD: Results of the GUT-PARFECT study have been published: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, phase 2 trial evalua….

RT @ArnoutBruggeman: New scientific goal reached… Having your study highlighted by @ScienceofPD 🙏🙏.

Great Oncopoint symposium by @crighent, where @vdb_roos and Xenia highlighted our interest in the choroid plexus 🧠🎯

RT @ArnoutBruggeman: What a week! The results of our clinical trial with FMT in Parkinson's disease were published and this received a lot….