Kylian Decroix

CRIG member
Kylian Decroix


Doctoral fellow – Department of Biomolecular Medicine – Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (UGent)
Principal investigator: prof. Christophe Ampe (PhD)

 

Research focus

Cyclic lipopeptides or CLiPs are a subgroup of antimicrobial peptides of bacterial origin that display a range of biologically relevant activities including cytotoxic effects against different cancer cell lines. CLiPs are evidenced to target the biological membrane and to elicit a number of (cell death related) signalling pathways. The underlying mechanism behind this anticancer effect is however still little understood. 
Within the UGent GOA-funded MEMCLIP project, a total chemical synthesis strategy was developed that allows for an in-depth structure-function analysis of CLiPs of the Pseudomonas species. Total chemical synthesis of CLiPs allows to use them as templates for incorporating modifications with positive effects on activity and selectivity. This was priorly demonstrated for the CLiP viscosin and in this research project, we aim to extend this to the representative of the orfamide family: orfamide B. Chemically synthesized variants of orfamide B - varying in amino acid identity, fatty acid tail and stereochemistry – will be tested via a standardized testing methodology for anticancer activity. In this way, we aim to find a variant with optimized activity towards cancer cells that provides opportunities for future applications. In addition, we aim to unravel the molecular signalling pathways underlying the CLiP-induced cell death in cancer cells to gain insights into their mechanism of action. 
 

Contact & links

  • Lab address: VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, FSVM II Onderzoeksgebouw, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Gent 
  • LinkedIn
  • Kylian Decroix is involved in
    1) Center of Medical Biotechnology (VIB)
    2) MEMCLIP GOA consortium (UGent, PI: Monica Höfte)
  • Kylian Decroix is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks