UM to play a more prominent role in Dutch scientific infrastructure

Bio Beyond_NL

The M4I in Maastricht focuses on the development and use of cutting-edge scientific instruments, such as mass spectrometers and ultra-high-resolution microscopes. This research institute is set to take part in two of the eleven projects. One of these is the Bio Beyond_NL consortium led by Ron Heeren, UM professor of Molecular Imaging. This consortium also includes the LUMC in Leiden, Radboudumc in Nijmegen and Utrecht University.

Bio Beyond_NL is working on a large-scale national infrastructure in which the instruments in Maastricht will play a crucial role. These allow researchers to study biological processes inside cells that until now have been out of reach. The aim is to understand the structure, function and dynamics of complex biomolecules. Such processes are fundamental to health and disease in individual people, but also to animal, microbial and plant biology.

“It’s essential that Dutch scientists have the means to tackle new challenges in the life sciences—challenges that go beyond the genetic code and map the true complexity of life,” says Heeren. “That’s what we’ll be working on over the next 10 years, together with the entire BioBeyond_NL team. The new grants spanning imaging and analytical techniques will reinforce the distinctive, practice-oriented and translational nature of our interdisciplinary research at UM. They also make the Brightlands campuses an even bigger drawcard for students and researchers.” 
 

Sugars and proteins

The focus in BioBeyond_NL is on how sugars affect proteins, explains Utrecht professor Albert Heck. “When sugar molecules bind to proteins, we call that glycosylation. Glycosylation has a major impact on how proteins function. But compared with our understanding of human DNA or proteins, our grasp of protein glycosylation is still in its infancy, mainly because we lack the technologies to study it at scale. BioBeyond_NL will change that.”

A deeper understanding of protein glycosylation will provide insight into disease processes and help improve medicines. “Therapeutic drugs such as antibodies, now widely used for diseases like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, are glycosylated,” Heck says. “And the specific glycosylation of human receptors—proteins on the outside of cells—is what prevents avian flu from jumping from birds to humans, at least for the time being. These are just two examples of how important protein glycosylation is.”

Text: Mark van der Linde (UM) and Niels Kerstes (UU)
Photo: Harry Heuts