Current pre-clinical drug safety evaluation methods remain costly, inefficient, and unreliable, with 80–90% of compounds ultimately failing in human trials — often due to poor predictive models and safety concerns. Scaffold-based 3D organ models offer a more promising and physiologically relevant
Last updated on: 02-10-2025 - 14:55
Contact: Jolanda van Hengel
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent), Ghent University hospital (UZ Gent), Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC), University of Hasselt (UHasselt)
Status: Still in development
Here, we introduce an open-access Spheroid Light Microscopy Image Atlas (SLiMIA) that can serve as a training set for morphology studies of 3D cell cultures. We provide images with a variety of metadata: 9 microscopes, 47 cell lines, 8 culture media, 4 spheroid formation methods and multiple cell
Last updated on: 01-10-2025 - 08:40
Contact: Eva Blondeel
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
Here we present the self-assembly of single-cell suspensions into spheroids by the liquid overlay method, followed by a modular framework for a multifaceted phenotyping of spheroids. Cell seeding, supernatant handling and compound administration are elaborated by both manual and automated procedures
Last updated on: 01-10-2025 - 08:37
Contact: Eva Blondeel
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
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
The M-SHIME is a dynamic model for the human digestive tract that mimics the different compartments - stomach, small intestine and colon - while also incorporating a cross-sectional simulation mimicking both the luminal as the mucosal microenvironment of the human gut. The mucosal environment in
Last updated on: 04-03-2025 - 13:23
Contact: Tom Van de Wiele
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: History of use, Internally validated, Published in peer reviewed journal
The BALB/c-derived - 4T1 mammary tumor cell line and RAW264.7 macrophage cell line were maintained in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 U/ml penicillin and 100 μg/ml streptomycin in culture flasks. Harvesting of cultured
Last updated on: 28-01-2025 - 16:41
Contact: Kristel Demeyere
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a highly organized tissue-specific network, which is secreted by tissue-resident cells and significantly influences cell phenotype, behaviour and function. The 3R principle calls for the replacement of animal models in areas like drug screening, and consequently,
Last updated on: 27-09-2024 - 16:39
Overuse tendon injuries are a major cause of musculoskeletal morbidity in both human and equine athletes. Despite the big burden, there is no effective treatment to restore tendon’s natural composition, due to a lack of understanding of fundamental cell biology. Additionally, translation of novel
Last updated on: 12-08-2024 - 09:32
The application of liver organoids is very promising in the field of liver tissue engineering; however, it is still facing some limitations. One of the current major limitations is the matrix in which they are cultured. The mainly undefined and murine-originated tumor matrices derived from
Last updated on: 22-01-2024 - 17:28
Contact: Nathan Carpentier
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
In contrast to human medicine, standard imaging techniques for cardiac interventions, namely fluoroscopy, CT and MRI, cannot be used in horses because the size of their thorax is too large for the gantry (CT and MRI) or results in insufficient detail (fluoroscopy). Therefore, echocardiography is
Last updated on: 20-09-2023 - 10:28