Bart van de Sluis: Researches metabolic disorders.
“Our department researches metabolic diseases, focusing on both hereditary and acquired conditions. For acquired metabolic diseases, you can think of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and fat accumulation in the liver (fatty liver). In the case of congenital (hereditary) diseases, we are talking about conditions caused by a mistake in the DNA, inherited from your parents. One of the congenital diseases we work on is glycogen storage disease. As a department, we are interested in understanding how certain metabolic diseases develop and the mechanisms underlying them. This knowledge is important to better treat patients in the future.
To achieve our goal, we use animal models, particularly mouse models. An important advantage of mice is that their DNA is relatively easy to modify, allowing us to mimic diseases that occur in humans. This way, we can better map the associated disease mechanisms. Metabolic diseases are complex; these conditions involve multiple cell types and organs. Therefore, it is not easy to study such conditions with cultured cells in the laboratory. During my own research, I have discovered new processes that would not have come to light without the use of animal models.
In our research, we see the mouse as a kind of patient. Just like with human patients, we take blood samples to look at specific blood values, such as glucose and lipid levels. Sometimes we give the mice special diets to induce certain diseases associated with obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, and cardiovascular diseases. This diet can be compared to a “hamburger diet.” Essentially, we are mimicking a major societal problem with our mice.
During the research, all procedures are carried out by trained professionals to achieve maximum refinement. Our team continuously works on improving techniques to ensure that the mice experience as little discomfort as possible from the procedures. Additionally, we optimize our experiments to further reduce the number of mice needed. Last year, we developed a new technique that significantly reduced the use of laboratory animals.
At the same time, we are investigating in our laboratory whether certain processes can be studied using specific cell models, such as organoids. Although these developments are promising, organoids do not yet offer the same insight as a complete organism. Organoids still lack the complex interactions between different organs and cell types. Therefore, mouse models remain an essential tool to better understand disease processes and ultimately better treat patients in the future.”