ChP organoids are produced starting from human induced pluripotent or embryonic stem cells. 7 days after seeding of the stem cells, the organoids are embedded in matrigel. After 30-40 days, the organoids are differentiated and form a functional blood-CSF barrier with fluid-filled cysts resembling
Last updated on: 08-09-2025 - 12:04
Contact: Xenia Ghysel
Organisation: Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
Chronic pain affects 20% of the population, impacting daily life and increasing psychosocial burdens for patients. Limited mechanistic understanding of human pain pathophysiology and inadequate study models, primarily rodent-based, hinder the development of effective pain medications without major
Last updated on: 29-08-2025 - 10:07
Contact: Dara Khosrowshahi
Organisation: Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
Status: Still in development, Published in peer reviewed journal
Cholestatic liver injury is a complex adversity leading to the toxic accumulation of noxious bile salts in the liver and systemic circulation. Cholestasis can be instigated by a plethora of chemicals originating from several applicability domains. Current efforts fail to predict the cholestatic
Last updated on: 28-08-2025 - 11:18
Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Partners: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
Fatty liver disease, which can result from various factors including chemical exposure, is an increasing clinical concern. A key event in its development is steatosis, referring to the accumulation of lipids within hepatocytes. To enable early detection of chemical-induced liver steatosis, we
Last updated on: 28-08-2025 - 11:18
Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
This method describes a well-known optimised human in vitro model of drug-induced cholestasis. Cryopreserved primary human hepatocytes are cultured between two layers of extracellular matrix scaffold, which will delay dedifferentiation and allows to restore cell-extracellular matrix interactions.
Last updated on: 14-08-2025 - 13:14
Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Status: Still in development
The method detects two facets of drug-induced cytotoxicity i.e. the intracellular accumulation of phospholipids and of neutral lipids, i.e. phospholipidosis and steatosis respectively. The assay makes use of a kit containing an aqueous, red-fluorescent formulation of labelled phospholipids (LipidTOX
Last updated on: 14-08-2025 - 13:13
Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Status: History of use
This method assesses general cytotoxicity. Upon disruption of the cell membrane, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is released. LDH catalyzes the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate with concomitant interconversion of reduced (NADH) and oxidized (NAD+) nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The principle
Last updated on: 14-08-2025 - 13:12
Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Status: History of use
This method describes a very reliable and robust in vitro model for the screening of the cholestatic liability of drugs and other chemical entities. The 3D spheroids generated from primary human hepatocytes can be cultivated up to 28 days, allowing long-term exposures which can depict otherwise
Last updated on: 14-08-2025 - 13:09
Contact: Cannot be disclosed
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Status: Still in development
Aim: To model cartilage-related disorders in a human-specific context for the investigation of disease mechanisms and the screening of potential therapeutics.
Technique: Fibroblasts and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from both healthy donors and patients are reprogrammed into
Last updated on: 07-08-2025 - 15:33
Contact: Pauline De Kinderen
Organisation: University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen)
Status: Internally validated
Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) involves the progressive enlargement of the thoracic aorta, posing a significant risk for life-threatening aortic dissection and/or rupture. Currently, mouse models are frequently used to investigate and target the molecular defects underlying TAA, due to the
Last updated on: 06-08-2025 - 14:40
Contact: Ivanna Fedoryshchenko
Organisation: University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen)
Status: Still in development
