Liesbeth Crombez

Contact Info

Drug Quality and Registration (DruQuaR) group
Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000 Ghent (Belgium)

Phone: + 32 (0)9 264.80.94

PhD Research

Title: Quorum sensing peptides and sarcopenia: moving towards personalised therapies.

Summary:

Because of the global human aging, sarcopenia, a disease characterised by the accelerated loss of muscle mass, strength and function with ageing, has become a major health problem. Unfortunately, pathophysiological processes are poorly understood; hence, the disease is largely undertreated. Recent studies indicate an association between sarcopenia and the gut microbiome. However, the central actors of the microbiome are still unknown. Based on previous research from our group, we found that quorum sensing peptides (QSP), produced by gut bacteria, can play a role in the gut microbiome - sarcopenia axis. Therefore, this research project will further elaborate these findings by exploring the association between presence of QSP in human biofluids and muscle phenotype. Moreover, causality of QSP on sarcopenia, and the potential to develop novel sarcopenia therapeutics such as probiotics/live biotherapeutics will be explored using mice models and muscle cells.

This research project is supported by a FWO strategic basic research grant (1S53323N). Liesbeth is a member of the TRIGG group and is formally associated with the department of Internal Medicine – Geriatrics.

Keywords: translational, sarcopenia, geriatrics, quorum sensing peptides