Our fascinating body

Fibroblasts in the penis have long been ignored when it comes to erection. Nevertheless, they are its largest cell population and actively influence penis blood flow. Surprisingly, they respond to the recurrence of erections, increasing in number, improving penile blood flow and ultimately erection.

In cells, proteins need to be recycled/degraded when they don’t function properly anymore. As any type of waste, it tends to accumulate until it can get taken care of. Accumulation of waste slows down and actively harms cells. My talk focuses on how lipids under the form of droplets can alleviate some of this protein waste accumulation. I will explain that harmful waste gets carried away by lipid droplets to the main recycling compartment of the yeast cell, the vacuole. I will show that removing lipid droplets, or not allowing them to go to the vacuole, proves to be detrimental for the cell and leads to more protein waste accumulation. I will link this with human health by explaining the relevance of this mechanism to obesity and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) often develop diabetes and we are wondering if this partly can be explained by the immune system. In my talk, I will give you an overview of how immune cells in fat controls the body’s ability to take up sugar. I will also present how immune cells in fat are affected by high testosterone levels, and what impact this might have on PCOS.