Biology subjects

Meurs, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Meurs, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Exhaled breath profiling for non-invasive monitoring of cognitive functioning in children

IntroductionChildhood is a critical period for the development of executive functioning skills, including selective attention and inhibitory control, which are essential for cognitive development. Optimal brain development during this time requires appropriate levels of macronutrient intake. Metabolomics can offer valuable insights into which metabolites cognitive functioning and the underlying gut-brain interactions. ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore to use of breathomics to investigate associations between exhaled metabolites and executive functioning in children. MethodsChildren (8-10 years; N = 31) were recruited via flyers at schools and after-school care. The assessment of executive functioning was done using Eriksen flanker task. Breath samples were collected in Tedlar(R) bags and analyzed with proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). On-breath peaks were selected and subjected to partial least squares (PLS) regression. Significance multivariate correlation (sMC) was used afterwards to select metabolites bearing predictive power towards executive functioning. ResultsGut microbiome-related metabolites (methane, ethanol, and butyric acid) present in exhaled breath were associated with an improved executive functioning, whereas isoprene was linked to reduced executive functioning. Additionally, increased levels of inflammatory markers, ethylene and acetaldehyde, were associated with a higher compatibility effect in error rates, suggesting diminished cognitive control. These VOCs were putatively linked with specific gut microbial taxa; for instance, reduced Bacteroidetes abundance (associated with methane production) is associated with decreased inhibitory control, while Enterobacteriaceae were linked to lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation which is also a process that causes increased ethylene production. ConclusionThis proof-of-concept study demonstrates that VOCs in exhaled breath could serve as a promising non-invasive tool for assessing gut-brain interactions related to executive functioning in children.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2020

Discovery of a Novel Polymer for Xeno-free, Long-term Culture of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can be expanded and differentiated in vitro into almost any adult tissue cell type, and thus have great potential as a source for cell therapies with biomedical application. In this study, a fully-defined polymer synthetic substrate is identified for hPSC culture in completely defined, xeno-free conditions. This system can overcome the cost, scalability and reproducibility limitations of current hPSC culture strategies, and facilitate large-scale production. A high-throughput, multi-generational polymer microarray platform approach was used to test over 600 unique polymers and rapidly assess hPSC-polymer interactions in combination with the fully defined xeno-free medium, Essential 8TM (E8). This study identifies as novel nanoscale phase separated blend of poly(tricyclodecane-dimethanol diacrylate) and poly(butyl acrylate) (2:1 v/v), which supports long-term expansion of hPSCs and can be readily coated onto standard cultureware. Analysis of cell-polymer interface interactions through mass spectrometry and integrin blocking studies provides novel mechanistic insight into the role of the E8 proteins in promoting integrin-mediated hPSC attachment and maintaining hPSC signaling, including ability to undergo multi-lineage differentiation. This study therefore identifies a novel substrate for long-term serial passaging of hPSCs in serum-free, commercial chemically-defined E8, which provides a promising and economic hPSC expansion platform for clinical-scale application.

synthetic biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Metabolic profiles as putative predictors of relapse in pediatric brain tumour using direct surface and imaging mass spectrometry

We present here a novel surface mass spectrometry strategy to perform untargeted metabolite profiling of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) pediatric ependymoma archives. Sequential Orbitrap secondary ion mass spectrometry (3D OrbiSIMS) and liquid extraction surface analysis-tandem MS (LESA-MS/MS) permitted the detection of 887 metabolites (163 chemical classes) from pediatric ependymoma tumor tissue microarrays (diameter <1 mm; thickness: 4 m). From these 163 classes, 60 classes were detected with both techniques, whilst LESA-MS/MS and 3D OrbiSIMS individually allowed the detection of another 83 and 20 unique metabolite classes, respectively. Through data fusion and multivariate analysis, we were able to identify key metabolites and corresponding pathways predictive of tumor relapse which were retrospectively confirmed using gene expression analysis with publicly available data. Altogether, this sequential mass spectrometry strategy has shown to be a versatile tool to perform high throughput metabolite profiling on sample-limited tissue archives. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=91 SRC="FIGDIR/small/182071v3_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (11K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f9c850org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ce0568org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c5023borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@15ad6e_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG For Table of Contents Only C_FIG

cancer biology↗