Hubrecht Institute

We spoke to Miguel Leung, who today celebrates his first year as a group leader at the Hubrecht Institute! His group uses structural cell biology to study reproduction and microbial diversity at atomic resolution by starting with the deceptively simple question: what does it look like?

Read more about Miguel’s experience setting up his lab at the Hubrecht Institute, and what lies ahead for his group via the link in our bio!

🧬 How do the epigenetic modifications in a cell change over time? Are they maintained during cell divisions? How do they affect the formation of different cell types in embryos?

These types of questions were impossible to answer before. Now, researchers from the Kind and Van Oudenaarden groups have found a way to study epigenetic changes over time in single cells. Their work was published today. Swipe to read more!

Unexpected insights into zebrafish tail development

Zebrafish embryos can develop a second tail when cells from a temporary organ, Kupffer’s vesicle, don’t migrate as they should. 🐟

Researchers at the Hubrecht Institute discovered this surprising effect while screening fungal metabolites, and uncovered a new population of tail progenitor cells along the way.

Read more 👉 link in bio

Published in

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🌎 Today is World Sickle Cell Day! A good opportunity to share exciting new work from the Hubrecht Institute, , , and Oncode Institute.

This team of researchers has found a new method for gene therapy! 🧬

👉 Swipe to learn more or read the article on our website (link in bio)!

Image credits: Annelie Martens (blood cells) & Anna-Karina Felder (gene therapy method).

Congratulations to Geert Kops! He received an Advanced grant to study the structure of the centromere, crucial regions of our chromosomes that are ensure proper cell division. Mistakes in this process can lead to cancer, developmental disorders, or miscarriages.

Researchers from the Organoid group at the Hubrecht Institute created mini airway submucosal glands. These airway organoids produce region-specific mucus and function just like real glands in our lungs, which makes them a powerful tool to study how our airways repair themselves, react to inflammation, and fight off viruses.

By mimicking the deeper layers of airway tissue—not just the surface—these organoids offer new insights into how our respiratory system functions in both health and disease.

Published in Cell Stem Cell ( )

Researchers from the Organoid group created mini airway submucosal glands. These airway organoids produce region-specific mucus and function just like real glands in our lungs, which makes them a powerful tool to study how our airways repair themselves, react to inflammation, and fight off viruses.

By mimicking the deeper layers of airway tissue—not just the surface—these organoids offer new insights into how our respiratory system functions in both health and disease.

Published in Cell Stem Cell

Congratulations to Matilde Galli, Ina Sonnen, and Francesca Mattiroli, group leaders at the Hubrecht Institute, on receiving M-grants from the Dutch Research Council (NWO)! 🎉

These grants will support their innovative research on:
🔬 Cell division
🥼 Gut cell communication
🧬 DNA packaging

Read more via the link in our bio!

Specific epithelial cells in the gut maintain water balance and expand significantly to combat bacteria that cause diarrhea, researchers from the organoid group discovered.

These cells, known as BEST4/CA7+ cells, are the primary targets of bacterial diarrheal toxins.
In the image you can see an intestinal organoid – mini organ in a dish. Left is in ‘normal’ condition.

The right image shows how much these cells expanded in response to an immune signal that is released after a bacterial infection, called IFNγ.

Read more here 👇
https://www.hubrecht.eu/new-insights-into-how-gut-cells-respond-to-bacterial-toxins/