Frans van Nieuwenhoven

Assistant Professor

Dr Frans van Nieuwenhoven received his PhD in 1996 at Maastricht University on a thesis about the biological significance of fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP) in cardiac fatty acid uptake and on the use of FABP as plasma marker for myocardial tissue damage. From 1996-2005, he was post-doc in Maastricht and Utrecht studying myocardial metabolism and the role of growth factors in long term renal and cardiac complications of diabetes mellitus. During this period he was trained in physiology, and he was registered as Medical Physiologist by the Dutch Committee for Medical-Biological Research Training (SMBWO) in 2001. In 2005, he was appointed as Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiology at Maastricht University, investigating cardiomyocyte-fibroblast interaction and the role of paracrine growth factor signalling in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.

An important focus of the research is the effect of electro-mechanical stimulation on the heart and on the isolated cardiac cell types: cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts. Aside from neurohumoral and local paracrine factors, it is becoming increasingly evident that electrical and mechanical signaling significantly determine cardiac structure and function both in health and in disease. Currently, the possible beneficial effect of electromechanical stimulation of the heart to improve myocardial infarct healing is studied. The effects of electromechanical stimulation are explored both in vivo and in vitro. Cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts are isolated from adult hearts and cultured separately and in co-culture, and the influence of electrical and mechanical stimulation is determined. Finally, 3D-cultures of cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts in engineered heart matrix are used to study the cellular function in a more physiological environment.

Department of Physiology
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

2023
- van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Schroen, B., Barile, L., van Middendorp, L., Prinzen, F. W., & Auricchio, A. (2023). Plasma Extracellular Vesicles as Liquid Biopsy to Unravel the Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiac Reverse Remodeling Following Resynchronization Therapy?Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(2), Article 665. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12020665
2022
- Ploeg, M. C., Munts, C., Seddiqi, T., ten Brink, T. J. L., Breemhaar, J., Moroni, L., Prinzen, F. W., & van Nieuwenhoven, F. A. (2022). Culturing of Cardiac Fibroblasts in Engineered Heart Matrix Reduces Myofibroblast Differentiation but Maintains Their Response to Cyclic Stretch and Transforming Growth Factor beta 1. Bioengineering, 9(10), Article 551. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9100551
- D'Alessandro, E., Winters, J., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Schotten, U., & Verheule, S. (2022). The Complex Relation between Atrial Cardiomyopathy and Thrombogenesis. Cells, 11(19), Article 2963. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11192963
- Bouwmeester, S., van Loon, T., Ploeg, M., Mast, T. P., Verzaal, N. J., van Middendorp, L. B., Strik, M., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Dekker, L. R., Prinzen, F. W., Lumens, J., & Houthuizen, P. (2022). Left atrial remodeling in mitral regurgitation: A combined experimental-computational study. PLOS ONE, 17(7), Article e0271588. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271588
- Koopsen, T., Van Osta, N., Van Loon, T., Van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Prinzen, F. W., Van Klarenbosch, B. R., Kirkels, F. P., Teske, A. J., Vernooy, K., Delhaas, T., & Lumens, J. (2022). A Lumped Two-Compartment Model for Simulation of Ventricular Pump and Tissue Mechanics in Ischemic Heart Disease. Frontiers in physiology, 13, Article 782592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.782592
2021
- D'Alessandro, E., Scaf, B., van Oerle, R., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., van Hunnik, A., Verheule, S., Schotten, U., Ten Cate, H., & Spronk, H. M. H. (2021). Thrombin generation by calibrated automated thrombography in goat plasma: Optimization of an assay. Research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis, 5(8), Article e12620. https://doi.org/10.1002/rth2.12620
- D'Alessandro, E., Scaf, B., Munts, C., van Hunnik, A., Trevelyan, C. J., Verheule, S., Spronk, H. M. H., Turner, N. A., ten Cate, H., Schotten, U., & van Nieuwenhoven, F. A. (2021). Coagulation Factor Xa Induces Proinflammatory Responses in Cardiac Fibroblasts via Activation of Protease-Activated Receptor-1. Cells, 10(11), Article 2958. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10112958
- Wang, S. J., Schianchi, F., Neumann, D., Wong, L. Y., Sun, A. M., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Zeegers, M. P., Strzelecka, A., Col, U., Glatz, J. F. C., Nabben, M., & Luiken, J. J. F. P. (2021). Specific amino acid supplementation rescues the heart from lipid overload-induced insulin resistance and contractile dysfunction by targeting the endosomal mTOR-v-ATPase axis. Molecular Metabolism, 53, Article 101293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2021.101293
- Ploeg, M. C., Munts, C., Prinzen, F. W., Turner, N. A., van Bilsen, M., & van Nieuwenhoven, F. A. (2021). Piezo1 Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Mediates Stretch-Induced Nppb Expression in Adult Rat Cardiac Fibroblasts. Cells, 10(7), Article 1745. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10071745
2019
- Blythe, N. M., Muraki, K., Ludlow, M. J., Stylianidis, V., Gilbert, H. T. J., Evans, E. L., Cuthbertson, K., Foster, R., Swift, J., Li, J., Drinkhill, M. J., van Nieuwenhoven, F. A., Porter, K. E., Beech, D. J., & Turner, N. A. (2019). Mechanically activated Piezo1 channels of cardiac fibroblasts stimulate p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activity and interleukin-6 secretion. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 294(46), 17395-17408. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA119.009167

Overview

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MLDS grant Sabine Daemen

15 November 2024

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3 October 2024

Frans van Nieuwenhoven

Assistant Professor