Assist. Prof. Sven Vilain
After obtaining his master’s degree in bio-engineering - cell and gene biotechnology at the VUB (Free University in Brussels, Belgium), he pursued a PhD at the KU Leuven, Belgium under the supervision of Prof. Bassem Hassan. During his PhD, he used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to study the role of the proneural gene atonal during neurogenesis. To facilitate this study, he developed novel gene targeting approaches. He continued his scientific career as a Postdoc in the lab of Prof. Patrik Verstreken, where he sought to gain an understanding of the aetiology of Parkinson’s disease. For this purpose, he used Drosophila as a model organism and studied the function of various genes involved in hereditary forms of this disease. Together with his colleagues, he found that mutations in these genes cause defects in presynaptic terminals via different biological pathways. He is currently Assistant Professor at Istanbul Medipol University, Turkey where he uses the axolotl salamander to unravel the mechanisms of regeneration.Selected Publications;
Deficiency of Parkin and PINK1 Impairs Age-Dependent Mitophagy in Drosophila
Cornelissen T, Vilain S, Vints K, Gounko N, Verstreken P and Vandenberghe W. 2018. Deficiency of Parkin and PINK1 Impairs Age-Dependent Mitophagy in Drosophila. eLife 2018;7:e35878 PMID: 29809156
The SAC1 Domain in Synaptojanin is Required for Autophagosome Maturation at Presynaptic Terminals
Vanhauwaert R, Masius R, Kuenen S, Bademosi A, Manetsberger J, Schoovaerts N, Bounti L, Gontcharenko S, Swerts J, Vilain S, Picillo M, Barone P, Gounko NV, Mandemakers W, Bonifati V, Meunier F, Soukup SF* and Verstreken P*. 2017. The SAC1 Domain in Synaptojanin is Required for Autophagosome Maturation at Presynaptic Terminals. EMBO J. 36, 1392-1411 PMID: 28331029
Tau Association with Synaptic Vesicles Causes Presynaptic Pathology
Zhou L*, McInnes J*, Wierda K, Holt M, Herrmann AG, Jackson RJ , Wang Y, Swerts J, Beyens J, Miskiewicz K, Vilain S, Dewachter I, Moechars D, De Strooper B, Spires-Jones TL , De Wit J and Verstreken P. 2017. Tau Association with Synaptic Vesicles Causes Presynaptic Pathology. Nature Communications. 8: 15295. PMID: 28492240
A LRRK2-Dependent EndophilinA Phosphoswitch Is Critical for Macroautophagy at Presynaptic Terminals
Soukup SF, Kuenen S, Vanhauwaert R, Manetsberger J, Hernández-Díaz S, Swerts J, Schoovaerts N, Vilain S, Gounko NV, Vints K, Geens A, De Strooper B, and Verstreken P. 2016. A LRRK2-Dependent EndophilinA Phosphoswitch Is Critical for Macroautophagy at Presynaptic Terminals. Neuron. 92:829-844. PMID: 27720484
Glial Beta-Oxidation Regulates Drosophila Energy Metabolism
Schulz JG, Laranjeira A, Van Huffel L, Gärtner A, Vilain S, Bastianen J, Van Veldhoven PP and Dotti CG. 2015. Glial Beta-Oxidation Regulates Drosophila Energy Metabolism. Scientific Reports 5:7805. PMID: 25588812; PMCID: PMC4295106
PINK1 Loss of Function Mutations Affect Mitochondrial Complex I Activity via NdufA10 Ubiquinone Uncoupling
Morais VA, Haddad D, Craessaerts K, De Bock PJ, Swerts J, Vilain S, Aerts L, Overbergh L, Grünewald A, Seibler P, Klein C, Gevaert K, Verstreken P and De Strooper B. 2014. PINK1 Loss of Function Mutations Affect Mitochondrial Complex I Activity via NdufA10 Ubiquinone Uncoupling. Science. 344:203-7. PMID: 24652937
Fast and Efficient Drosophila Melanogaster Gene Knock-Ins Using MiMIC Transposons
Vilain* S, Vanhauwaert* R, Maes I, Schoovaerts N, Zhou L, Soukup SF, da Cunha R, Lauwers E, Fiers M, and Verstreken P. 2014. Fast and Efficient Drosophila Melanogaster Gene Knock-Ins Using MiMIC Transposons. G3. 4:2381-7 * co-first author. PMID: 25298537; PMCID: PMC4267933
Mutations in the Intellectual Disability Gene Ube2a Cause Neuronal Dysfunction and Impair Parkin-Dependent Mitophagy
Haddad DM, Vilain S, Vos M, Esposito G, Matta S, Kalscheuer VM, Craessaerts K, Leyssen M, Nascimento RM, Vianna-Morgante AM, De Strooper B, Van Esch H, Morais VA, Verstreken P. 2013. Mutations in the Intellectual Disability Gene Ube2a Cause Neuronal Dysfunction and Impair Parkin-Dependent Mitophagy. Mol Cell. 2013 May 14. 50:831-43. PMID: 23685073
Aconitase Causes Iron Toxicity in Drosophila pink1 Mutants
Esposito G, Vos M, Vilain S, Swerts J, De Sousa Valadas J, Van Meensel S, Schaap O, Verstreken P. 2013. Aconitase Causes Iron Toxicity in Drosophila pink1 Mutants. PLoS Genet. 9:e1003478. PMID: 23637640; PMCID: PMC3636082.
LRRK2 Controls an EndoA Phosphorylation Cycle in Synaptic Endocytosis
Matta S, Van Kolen K, da Cunha R, van den Bogaart G, Mandemakers W, Miskiewicz K, De Bock PJ, Morais VA, Vilain S, Haddad D, Delbroek L, Swerts J, Chavez L, Esposito G, Daneels G, Karran E, Holt M, Gevaert K, Moechars DW, De Strooper B and Verstreken P. 2012. LRRK2 Controls an EndoA Phosphorylation Cycle in Synaptic Endocytosis. Neuron. 75:1008-21. PMID: 22998870.
Vitamin K2 Is a Mitochondrial Electron Carrier That Rescues Pink1 Deficiency
Vos M, Esposito G, Edirisinghe JN, Vilain S, Haddad DM, Slabbaert JR, Van Meensel S, Schaap O, De Strooper B, Meganathan R, Morais VA, Verstreken P. 2012. Vitamin K2 Is a Mitochondrial Electron Carrier That Rescues Pink1 Deficiency. Science. 336:1306-10. PMID: 22582012.
The Yeast Complex I Equivalent NADH Dehydrogenase Rescues Pink1 Mutants
Vilain S, Esposito G, Haddad D, Schaap O, Dobreva MP, Vos M, Van Meensel S, Morais VA, De Strooper B and Verstreken P. 2012 The Yeast Complex I Equivalent NADH Dehydrogenase Rescues Pink1 Mutants. PLoS Genet. 2012. 8(1):e1002456. PMID: 22242018; PMCID: PMC3252300
Conditional Mutagenesis in Drosophila
Choi CM*, Vilain S*, Langen M, Van Kelst S, De Geest N, Yan J, Verstreken P, Hassan BA. Conditional Mutagenesis in Drosophila. 2009. Science. 324:54 * co-first author. PMID: 19342580.
Integrating Computational Biology and Forward Genetics in Drosophila
Aerts S*, Vilain S*, Hu S*, Tranchevent LC, Barriot R, Yan J, Moreau Y, Hassan BA, Quan XJ. Integrating Computational Biology and Forward Genetics in Drosophila. 2009. PLoS Genet. 5(1):e1000351. * co-first author. PMID: 19165344; PMCID: PMC2628282.
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