Wout Houbart

Doctoral fellow – Unit of Developmental Biology and Human Disease Modeling (Vleminckx lab) – Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology (WE14) – UGent
Principal investigator: prof. Kris Vleminckx (PhD)
Research focus
The Vleminckx lab has established a robust short-latency and high-penetrance cancer model of desmoid tumors in the aquatic tetrapod and true diploid Xenopus tropicalis through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated modulation of the Wnt signaling pathway.
Using an in-house developed pipeline for CRISPR-mediated dependency mapping, we have identified Ezh2 and Creb3l1 as key vulnerabilities for desmoid tumorigenesis. Targeting of EZH2 with the FDA-approved EZH2 inhibitor Tazemetostat has shown stasis or regression of desmoid tumor sizes, and altered collagen organisation. However, the mechanism of action through which Tazemetostat exerts its anti-tumor response remains elusive. Given the immunologically cold nature of many Wnt/β-catenin hyperactivated tumors, we hypothesize that tumor regression/stasis upon Tazemetostat treatment may stem from restoring natural immunity by relieving immune suppression.
Current interests focus on possible immune exclusion mechanisms in desmoid tumors — whether cellular, through immune checkpoint involvement, or mechanical, through physical hindrance by the typical dense collagen matrix. My research employs tissue clearing and 3D light sheet microscopy (mesoSPIM) to achieve novel spatial insights into the desmoid tumor immune microenvironment.
Contact & links
- Lab address: Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, UGent, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 71, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Vleminckx lab
- Wout Houbart is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks