Dr. Sabine Daemen is a biomedical researcher at the Maastricht University Medical Center. Her research focuses on liver fibrosis, a condition for which there is currently no effective treatment. Ultimately, she hopes to develop a drug for this using her favourite cells: macrophages.
Growing problem
‘Liver fibrosis is a growing problem, mainly due to the increase in overweight and obesity. It is estimated that 1 in 4 people in the Netherlands have a fatty liver. This is caused by fat accumulating, which prevents the liver from working properly. Fatty liver often leads to liver inflammation and ultimately to liver fibrosis. This causes scarring in the liver. It is a growing problem. Many people are not aware that their liver is fatty or full of scar tissue. In the long term, liver fibrosis leads to serious symptoms such as jaundice, weight loss, poisoning and inflammation."
No treatment yet
‘The problem is that no effective treatment has been found yet. Yes, weight loss can help reverse fatty liver. Sometimes I hear that all people who are overweight and have fatty liver disease should just lose weight. It doesn't work that way. Losing weight permanently is incredibly difficult. Moreover, the damage caused by liver fibrosis cannot always be repaired. And if you do nothing, the chance of serious problems, such as cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, increases. So we really need to find a way to help people with liver fibrosis. I am trying to find a new medication through my research."
Pacman
‘My research focuses on macrophages. I have been fascinated by these cells in our immune system for years. They are a kind of Pacman cell: they can eat all kinds of things, such as dead skin cells and bacteria. The macrophages spring into action when something is wrong in the body, for example in the case of inflammation. They are also active in cases of fatty liver disease. For a long time it was thought that macrophages actually exacerbated the problem in fatty liver disease. But research shows that certain types of macrophages are actually useful. For example, they can ‘eat’ the scar tissue and thereby help the liver to recover. In my research, I want to discover which macrophages are beneficial, and then I want to see if we can stimulate the function of these good macrophages. If we succeed, this could form the basis for a new medicine."
Basic research
‘In the research, we will examine tiny pieces of liver from overweight people. Using the latest techniques, we can precisely visualise the macrophages in these samples. We will also cultivate the beneficial macrophages in the laboratory and think of ways to give them a push in the right direction. My research is what you would call fundamental research. We are really trying to understand things at the cellular level. It is complicated and requires a lot of patience. It will probably take years before we can develop a cure. However, this type of research is desperately needed, especially for problems like liver fibrosis that cannot be solved at this time. I am therefore very happy that the Dutch Digestive Health Fund is investing in this study and thus taking a step forward in the treatment of people with liver fibrosis.