Jurgen R. Haanstra / Lecturer and researcher
Research
The aim of my research
Understanding control and regulation of metabolism to reveal selective drug targets in pathogens and other disease-causing cells.
Current research topics
- Control and regulation in parasite metabolism (Trypanosoma brucei, Schistosoma mansoni)
- Metabolism of cancer cells (liver cancer, head- and neck cancer)
- Systematic design of cell culture media.
Some highlights of my research:
- In-depth analysis of glucose and amino acid metabolism in liver cancer cells (Nilsson, Haanstra et al., 2020)
- Experimental proof for the model hypothesis that compartmentation of glycolysis in Trypanosoma brucei is essential to prevent a metabolic catastrophe (Haanstra et al., 2008).
- Proof-of-principle that eukaryotic metabolism can be targeted with limited side-effects to host cells (Haanstra et al., 2017)
- Understanding control and regulation in gene expression of the eukaryote Trypanosoma brucei – ranging from a three-gene locus (Haanstra et al, 2008) to genome-wide (Antwi et al., 2016)
A combination of wetlab and dry lab methods
My experience spans a broad range in (systems) biology – from wetlab experimentation to computational modelling. Depending on the needs in the project I contributed experimental data (e.g. Nilsson, Haanstra et al., 2020, Bosdriesz et al., 2018), computational models and/or simulations (e.g. Leroux, Haanstra et al., 2013), or both (e.g. Haanstra et al., 2017, Haanstra et al., 2008)
Teaching
- Coordination of the master Biomolecular Sciences. This master has the specialisations Molecular Cell Biology, Biological Chemistry and Molecular Bioinformatics and trains students to become independent researchers.
- Examiner and lecturer of the bachelor course ‘Systeembiology’ (Systems biology) for Biology students
- Lecturer in the master course ‘Parasitology’ in which I teach the subject ‘Metabolism of Parasites’
- Internship supervisor bachelor and master internships 5-10 students each year
Publications
- Bexkens, ML, Martin, OMF, van den Heuvel, JM, Schmitz, MGJ, Teusink, B, Bakker, BM et al.. The unusual kinetics of lactate dehydrogenase of Schistosoma mansoni and their role in the rapid metabolic switch after penetration of the mammalian host. Int J Parasitol. 2024;54 (7):367-378. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2024.03.005. PubMed PMID:38492780 .
- Khartabil, T, van Schaik, RH, Haanstra, JR, Koelewijn, R, Russcher, H, van Hellemond, JJ et al.. The fully automated Sysmex XN-31 hematology analyzer can detect bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024;108 (4):116193. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116193. PubMed PMID:38295683 .
- Nascimento, JF, O Souza, RO, Alencar, MB, Marsiccobetre, S, Murillo, AM, Damasceno, FS et al.. Correction: How much (ATP) does it cost to build a trypanosome? A theoretical study on the quantity of ATP needed to maintain and duplicate a bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei cell. PLoS Pathog. 2023;19 (8):e1011617. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011617. PubMed PMID:37647328 PubMed Central PMC10468029.
- Nascimento, JF, Souza, ROO, Alencar, MB, Marsiccobetre, S, Murillo, AM, Damasceno, FS et al.. How much (ATP) does it cost to build a trypanosome? A theoretical study on the quantity of ATP needed to maintain and duplicate a bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei cell. PLoS Pathog. 2023;19 (7):e1011522. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011522. PubMed PMID:37498954 PubMed Central PMC10409291.
- Nilsson, A, Haanstra, JR, Engqvist, M, Gerding, A, Bakker, BM, Klingmüller, U et al.. Quantitative analysis of amino acid metabolism in liver cancer links glutamate excretion to nucleotide synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117 (19):10294-10304. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1919250117. PubMed PMID:32341162 PubMed Central PMC7229649.
- Nilsson, A, Haanstra, JR, Teusink, B, Nielsen, J. Metabolite Depletion Affects Flux Profiling of Cell Lines. Trends Biochem Sci. 2018;43 (6):395-397. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2018.03.009. PubMed PMID:29656822 .
- Bosdriesz, E, Wortel, MT, Haanstra, JR, Wagner, MJ, de la Torre Cortés, P, Teusink, B et al.. Low affinity uniporter carrier proteins can increase net substrate uptake rate by reducing efflux. Sci Rep. 2018;8 (1):5576. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23528-7. PubMed PMID:29615663 PubMed Central PMC5883050.
- Haanstra, JR, Gerding, A, Dolga, AM, Sorgdrager, FJH, Buist-Homan, M, du Toit, F et al.. Targeting pathogen metabolism without collateral damage to the host. Sci Rep. 2017;7 :40406. doi: 10.1038/srep40406. PubMed PMID:28084422 PubMed Central PMC5234033.
- Antwi, EB, Haanstra, JR, Ramasamy, G, Jensen, B, Droll, D, Rojas, F et al.. Integrative analysis of the Trypanosoma brucei gene expression cascade predicts differential regulation of mRNA processing and unusual control of ribosomal protein expression. BMC Genomics. 2016;17 :306. doi: 10.1186/s12864-016-2624-3. PubMed PMID:27118143 PubMed Central PMC4845500.
- Haanstra, JR, Bakker, BM. Drug target identification through systems biology. Drug Discov Today Technol. 2015;15 :17-22. doi: 10.1016/j.ddtec.2015.06.002. PubMed PMID:26464086 .
- Haanstra, JR, González-Marcano, EB, Gualdrón-López, M, Michels, PA. Biogenesis, maintenance and dynamics of glycosomes in trypanosomatid parasites. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2016;1863 (5):1038-48. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2015.09.015. PubMed PMID:26384872 .
- Alemdehy, MF, Haanstra, JR, de Looper, HW, van Strien, PM, Verhagen-Oldenampsen, J, Caljouw, Y et al.. ICL-induced miR139-3p and miR199a-3p have opposite roles in hematopoietic cell expansion and leukemic transformation. Blood. 2015;125 (25):3937-48. doi: 10.1182/blood-2014-11-612507. PubMed PMID:25778535 .
- Haanstra, JR, Bakker, BM, Michels, PA. In or out? On the tightness of glycosomal compartmentalization of metabolites and enzymes in Trypanosoma brucei. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2014;198 (1):18-28. doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.11.004. PubMed PMID:25476771 .
- Szöör, B, Haanstra, JR, Gualdrón-López, M, Michels, PA. Evolution, dynamics and specialized functions of glycosomes in metabolism and development of trypanosomatids. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2014;22 :79-87. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2014.09.006. PubMed PMID:25460800 .
- Fadda, A, Ryten, M, Droll, D, Rojas, F, Färber, V, Haanstra, JR et al.. Transcriptome-wide analysis of trypanosome mRNA decay reveals complex degradation kinetics and suggests a role for co-transcriptional degradation in determining mRNA levels. Mol Microbiol. 2014;94 (2):307-26. doi: 10.1111/mmi.12764. PubMed PMID:25145465 PubMed Central PMC4285177.
- Achcar, F, Fadda, A, Haanstra, JR, Kerkhoven, EJ, Kim, DH, Leroux, AE et al.. The silicon trypanosome: a test case of iterative model extension in systems biology. Adv Microb Physiol. 2014;64 :115-43. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-800143-1.00003-8. PubMed PMID:24797926 PubMed Central PMC4773886.
- Leroux, AE, Haanstra, JR, Bakker, BM, Krauth-Siegel, RL. Dissecting the catalytic mechanism of Trypanosoma brucei trypanothione synthetase by kinetic analysis and computational modeling. J Biol Chem. 2013;288 (33):23751-64. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M113.483289. PubMed PMID:23814051 PubMed Central PMC3745322.
- Pieretti, S, Haanstra, JR, Mazet, M, Perozzo, R, Bergamini, C, Prati, F et al.. Naphthoquinone derivatives exert their antitrypanosomal activity via a multi-target mechanism. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7 (1):e2012. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002012. PubMed PMID:23350008 PubMed Central PMC3547856.
- Verhagen-Oldenampsen, JH, Haanstra, JR, van Strien, PM, Valkhof, M, Touw, IP, von Lindern, M et al.. Loss of ercc1 results in a time- and dose-dependent reduction of proliferating early hematopoietic progenitors. Anemia. 2012;2012 :783068. doi: 10.1155/2012/783068. PubMed PMID:22701168 PubMed Central PMC3371671.
- Haanstra, JR, van Tuijl, A, van Dam, J, van Winden, W, Tielens, AG, van Hellemond, JJ et al.. Proliferating bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei use a negligible part of consumed glucose for anabolic processes. Int J Parasitol. 2012;42 (7):667-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.04.009. PubMed PMID:22580731 .
Supervision of students
If you are interested in an internship look at our Internships page for the available openings and contact me.
Bachelor (Bsc) and master (Msc) students
| Name | Co-supervisor | Project | Bsc/Msc | Year | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josan Yauw | The role of the FBP-activatable LDH in the metabolism of Schistosoma Mansoni | Msc | 2015 | May - October | |
| Lili Cheng | Marco Siderius | THT1-expressing yeast | Bsc | 2015 | March - June |
| Thijs Tinneveld | Liver (cancer) metabolism | Bsc | 2015 | March - July | |
| Alina Renz | Klaas Krab | Personalized Medicine – Modelling of Tumorigenesis | Bsc | 2015 | February - June |
| Jose Gavalda Garcia | Meike Wortel Marijke Wagner | Membrane low affinity transporter increase net substrate uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: an experimental verification | Msc | 2015 | February - June |
| Elena Merino Tejero | Quantification of enzyme activity in HepG2 cells in different nutrient conditions | Msc | 2015-2016 | September 2015 - March 2016 | |
| Dimitri Lindijer | Modelling the redox pathway in Trypanosoma brucei | Bsc | 2015-2016 | August 2015 - April 2016 (50%) | |
| Mariah Kes Eva Mooij | Marijke Wagner | Quantification of glycogen and urea/ammonia production in liver cancer cell lines | Bsc (honours programme 2nd year) | 2016 | July |
| Mandy Koomen | The role of Branched-Chain Amino Acids in Metabolism and Proliferation of HepG2 Cells | Bsc | 2016 | February - June | |
| Nicole Geduld | The carbon balance in liver cancer cells | Bsc | 2016-2017 | Sept 2016 - Feb 2017 | |
| Hakan Cicigul | The dynamics of glycolytic enzyme activities after growth factor stimulation | Guest researcher | 2016-2017 | Okt 2016 - Feb 2017 | |
| Daan van den Akker | Exploration of constraint-based modeling approaches for the identification of hepatocellular carcinoma specific metabolic pathways | Msc (literature thesis UU) | 2017 | May - Aug | |
| Maurice Vink | The dynamics of glycolytic enzyme activities after growth factor stimulation | Bsc | 2017 | Feb - June | |
| Gius Kerster | Marco Siderius | The effect of HIV protease inhibitors on Trypanosoma brucei | Bsc | 2017 | Feb - June |
| Olivier Martin | The role of the FBP-activatable LDH in the metabolism of Schistosoma Mansoni | Msc | 2017 | Feb - June | |
| Stefan Westerink | Amino acid metabolism in liver (cancer) cells | Msc | 2017 | April - Aug | |
| Annabel Dekker | The dynamics of glycolytic enzyme activities after growth factor stimulation | Msc | 2017-2018 | Sept 2017 - Feb 2018 | |
| Joyce IJspelder | Glycolysis as potential target pathway for drugs against Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania | Msc (literature thesis) | 2018 | January - July | |
| Glenn Mollevanger | Metabolism of cancer cell lines | HBO/University of Applied Sciences | 2018 | February - September | |
| Malu Steenwijk | Marijke Wagner | Development of assays to screen for inhibitors of glucose transport in Trypanosoma brucei | Msc | 2018 | February - June |
| Thijs van der Heijden | Does Trypanosoma brucei adapt to glucose transport inhibition? | Msc | 2019 | January - July | |
| Mick de Bree | Kill curves of glucose transport inhibition | Bsc | 2019 | February - May | |
| Deborah Jekel | Rosanne Hertzberger | Growth and metabolims of Lactopbacillus crispatus | Bsc | 2019 | February - May |
| Marlieke Oostdam | Towards a semi-highthrougput test system for glucose transport inhibition | Msc | 2019 | February - June | |
| Jikke Wijninga | Metabolism of T. brucei in the adipose tissue | Msc (literature thesis) | 2019 | March - September | |
| Ritesh Panchoe | Rosanne Hertzberger | Glycogen metabolism of vaginal bacterial species | Msc | 2019 | April - September |
| Federica Spiga | Oxygen consumption in liver cancer cells | volunteer (1st year bachelor) | 2019 | August | |
| Claire Ribbers | Enzyme activities in liver cancer cells | Bsc | 2019 | September-December | |
| Senin Ermesilia | Liver cancer cells: growth, flux and enzyme activities | HBO/University of Applied Sciences | 2019/2020 | September - June | |
| Ruben Kramer | Eradication of African sleeping sickness by 2030, possible or not? | Bsc (literature thesis | 2020 | January | |
| Alexander Woudstra | Rosanne Hertzberger | Metabolism of vaginal bacterial species | Msc | 2019 | November - March |
| Julia Beets | Bottlenecks in liver cancer glycolysis | Bsc | 2020 | February - May | |
| Antoon Kouwenhoven | Pranas Grigaitis | Integration of thermodynamics data into large-scale metabolic networks | Bsc | 2020 | February - May |
| Maaike Janz | Semi-high throughput assay for glucose transport inhibitors | Msc | 2020 | March - August | |
| Daniel Centanni | Antitrypanosomal drugs in the context of inborn errors of metabolism | Bsc | 2020 | April - August | |
| Tom Belleman | The effect of inhibition of glycolytic enzymes in liver cancer cells | Bsc | 2020 | August - November | |
| Line Dignum | Semi-high throughput assay for glucose transport inhibitors | Msc | 2021 | February - May | |
| Koen Wessels | Recycling glucose transport inhibitors | Msc | 2021 | February - May | |
| Victoria Ramirez | Eunice van Pelt-Kleinjan/Pranas Grigaitis | Erythroblast genome scale modelling | Msc | 2021 | February - May |
| Dora Schüller | Pranas Grigaitis | Erythroblast genome scale modelling | Msc | 2021/2022 | August - February |
| Niels Moorman | Which glycolytic enzyme is the bottleneck of glycolytic flux in HepG2? | Bsc | 2021/2022 | October - February | |
| Ruben Bos | The construction and validation of a genome scale metabolic model for T. brucei | Msc | 2022 | March - July | |
| Emma Snijders | Finding new treatment options against Trypanosoma brucei: glycolysis as a drug target | Msc | 2022 | February - June | |
| Sanne Peters | The role of glycerol in adipose tissue manifestation ofmetabolism of Trypanosoma brucei when it resides in the adipose tissue | Msc (lit thesis) | 2021/2022 | November - January | |
| Leon Steenbergen | Probiotic candidates that stimulate a trained immune response against Plasmodium falciparum infection | Msc (lit thesis) | 2021/2022 | October - February | |
| Angela Perkovic | Pranas Grigaitis | Create an improved and expanded genome-scale metabolic model of Trypanosoma brucei | Msc | 2022/2023 | September - July |
| Daniel Groskamp | Dissecting metabolism of Head and Neck Cancer cell lines | Msc | 2022/2023 | September - March | |
| Daniel de Bruijn | Genome Scale Models for Trypanosomatids: An Assessment of Their Current and Future Value | Msc (lit thesis) | 2022/2023 | August - January | |
| Anjani Bisseswar | The potential side effects of glucose transport inhibitors on immune cells, pancreatic cells and muscle cells | Msc (lit thesis) | 2020 | April - July | |
| Rex Sadeghzadeh | Understanding Glycerol consumption by bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei | Bsc | 2024 | February - May | |
| Christiane Waldring | The effect of pyruvate on growth and metabolism of head and neck cancer cells | Bsc | 2024 | February - May | |
| Juan Montoya | The effect of pyruvate on growth and metabolism of head and neck cancer cells | Bsc | 2023 | July - November | |
| Maria Fernandes Pinto Fachada | The effect of pyruvate on growth and metabolism of head and neck cancer cells | Bsc | 2023 | February - May | |
| Marcello Driel | Repurposing glucose transport inhibitors against Trypanosoma brucei | Bsc | 2023 | February - June |
Links
LinkedIn profile Jurgen Haanstra
Google Scholar Jurgen Haanstra
Contact information
Email: j.r.haanstra[at]vu[dot]nl
Systems Biology Lab
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
room O|2 01W57
De Boelelaan 1108
1081 HZ Amsterdam
Tel: 020-5987193
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