Bacteria & Complement - Group Rooijakkers
We are interested in understanding the molecular interplay between bacteria and the complement system, an important part of the host immune response. Upon contact with bacteria, the plasma proteins of the complement system rapidly organize into a proteolytic cascade that generates chemoattractants to attract immune cells and labels bacteria for phagocytosis. Furthermore, complement directly kills bacteria via a pore-forming complex. We focus on deciphering the mechanistic insights on how bacteria are killed by complement. This will create new avenues for blocking the undesired complement activation during systemic infections and will improve desired complement activation by therapeutic antibodies and vaccination strategies in infectious diseases.
Research program uitklapper, klik om te openen
Infection and Immunity
Research interests uitklapper, klik om te openen
- Innate immunity
- Complement
- Bacterial infections
- Host-pathogen interaction
- Immune-evasion
- Immunotherapy
- Vaccines
Contact uitklapper, klik om te openen
Yvonne Hagenaar
Related website
Group members uitklapper, klik om te openen
Group leader
Postdocs
- Priscilla Kerkman
- Bart Bardoel
- Leire Aguinagalde Salazar
- Dani Heesterbeek
Research technician
Maartje Ruyken
PhD students
- Dennis Doorduijn
- Elena Boero
- Eva Struijf
- Julia Egido Egido
- Lisanne de Vor
- Rita Cruz
- Sjors van der Lans
Secretary
Yvonne Hagenaar
Join our group uitklapper, klik om te openen
Check for availability for bachelor and master level research internships with Kok van kessel or Bart Bardoel
Key publications x uitklapper, klik om te openen
- Heesterbeek DAC, Martin NI, Velthuizen A, Duijst M, Ruyken M, Wubbolts R, Rooijakkers SHM, Bardoel BW. “Complement-dependent outer membrane perturbation sensitizes Gram-negative bacteria to Gram-positive specific antibiotics.” Scientific Reports. 2019 Feb 28;9(1):3074. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-38577-9. (Pubmed: 30816122) View
- Zwarthoff SA, Berends ETM, Mol S, Ruyken M, Aerts PC, Józsi M, de Haas CJC, Rooijakkers SHM, Gorham RD Jr. “Functional Characterization of Alternative and Classical Pathway C3/C5 Convertase Activity and Inhibition Using Purified Models.” Frontiers in Immunology. 2018 Jul 23;9:1691. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01691. (Pubmed: 30083158) View
- Garcia BL, Zwarthoff SA, Rooijakkers SH, Geisbrecht BV. “Novel Evasion Mechanisms of the Classical Complement Pathway.” Journal of Immunology 2016 Sep 15;197(6):2051-60: doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600863 (Pubmed: 27591336) View
- Stapels DA, Ramyar KX, Bischoff M, von Köckritz-Blickwede M, Milder FJ, Ruyken M, Eisenbeis J, McWhorter WJ, Herrmann M, van Kessel KP, Geisbrecht BV, Rooijakkers SH. “Staphylococcus aureus secretes a unique class of neutrophil serine protease inhibitors”.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2014 Sep 9;111(36):13187-92. (Pubmed: 25161283) View
- Ko YP, Kuipers A, Freitag CM, Jongerius I, Medina E, van Rooijen WJ, Spaan AN, van Kessel KP, Höök M, Rooijakkers SH. Phagocytosis escape by a Staphylococcus aureus protein that connects complement and coagulation proteins at the bacterial surface. PLoS Pathogens. 2013 Dec;9(12):e1003816. (Pubmed: 24348255) View
PhD theses uitklapper, klik om te openen
How antibodies drive complement activation : Paving the road towards effective therapeutics
Seline Zwarthoff
2019
How complement kills bacteria: A pore way to die
Dani Heesterbeek
2019
Mechanisms to suppress or enhance phagocytosis of staphylococci
Annemarie Kuipers
2016
Molecular interplay between bacteria and the terminal complement pathway
Evelien Berends
2015
Funding& grants uitklapper, klik om te openen
Prizes uitklapper, klik om te openen
| 2016 Selected as EMBO Young investigator programme | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2014 Young Investigator Award for Research in Complement |