Prof. Dr. Paul Quax

Paul Quax is a vascular biologist by training, head of Experimental Vascular Surgery, chair of Cardiovascular Research Theme at the LUMC and chairman of Leiden Vascular Medicine. He obtained his PhD in 1991 at the University of Leiden and worked in the cardiovascular research field ever since. His research interests are the pathophysiological aspects of vascular remodeling in general, ranging from atherosclerosis to angiogenesis, from post-interventional vascular remodeling to basic aspects of vascular and endothelial cell biology. Current research focusses on inflammatory and immune modulation in vascular remodeling in general and vein graft remodeling in particular, the role of non-coding RNAs in vascular remodeling and most recently the role of the microvascular bed in the regulation of pathological and regenerative processes of cardiovascular remodeling. Imaging of vascular remodeling is in all these processes of high importance and therefor the NIPAC project fits very well in his research. He has published more than 260 peer reviewed papers, is member of several grant reviewing boards and editorial boards of cardiovascular journals.

Most recent publications

Short-term Pre-operative Methionine Restriction Induces Browning of Perivascular Adipose Tissue and Improves Vein Graft Remodeling in Mice
Kip P, Sluiter TJ, MacArthur MR, Tao M, Jung J, Mitchell SJ, Kooijman S, Kruit N, Gorham J, Seidman JG, Quax PHA, Aikawa M, Ozaki CK, Mitchell JR and de Vries MR
Short-term preoperative methionine restriction (MetR) shows promise as a translatable strategy to modulate the body's response to surgical injury. Its application, however, to improve post-interventional vascular remodeling remains underexplored. Here, we find that MetR protects from arterial intimal hyperplasia in a focal stenosis model and adverse vascular remodeling after vein graft surgery. RNA sequencing reveals that MetR enhances the brown adipose tissue phenotype in arterial perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) and induces it in venous PVAT. Specifically, PPAR-α was highly upregulated in PVAT-adipocytes. Furthermore, MetR dampens the post-operative pro-inflammatory response to surgery in PVAT-macrophages and . This study shows for the first time that the detrimental effects of dysfunctional PVAT on vascular remodeling can be reversed by MetR, and identifies pathways involved in browning of PVAT. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential of short-term pre-operative MetR as a simple intervention to ameliorate vascular remodeling after vascular surgery.
Role of LCN2 in a murine model of hindlimb ischemia and in peripheral artery disease patients, and its potential regulation by miR-138-5P
Saenz-Pipaon G, Jover E, van der Bent ML, Orbe J, Rodriguez JA, Fernández-Celis A, Quax PHA, Paramo JA, López-Andrés N, Martín-Ventura JL, Nossent AY and Roncal C
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a leading cause of morbimortality worldwide. Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) has been associated with higher risk of amputation or mortality in PAD and might be involved in muscle regeneration. Our aim is to unravel the role of LCN2 in skeletal muscle repair and PAD.
Non-coding RNAs versus protein biomarkers to diagnose and differentiate acute stroke: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Florijn BW, Leontien van der Bent M, Nguyen TMT, Quax PHA, Wermer MJH, Yaël Nossent A and Kruyt ND
Stroke diagnosis is dependent on lengthy clinical and neuroimaging assessments, while rapid treatment initiation improves clinical outcome. Currently, more sensitive biomarker assays of both non-coding RNA- and protein biomarkers have improved their detectability, which could accelerate stroke diagnosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis compares non-coding RNA- with protein biomarkers for their potential to diagnose and differentiate acute stroke (subtypes) in (pre-)hospital settings.
Myeloid PHD2 Conditional Knockout Improves Intraplaque Angiogenesis and Vascular Remodeling in a Murine Model of Venous Bypass Grafting
Sluiter TJ, Tillie RJHA, de Jong A, de Bruijn JBG, Peters HAB, van de Leijgraaf R, Halawani R, Westmaas M, Starink LIW, Quax PHA, Sluimer JC and de Vries MR
Intraplaque angiogenesis occurs in response to atherosclerotic plaque hypoxia, which is driven mainly by highly metabolically active macrophages. Improving plaque oxygenation by increasing macrophage hypoxic signaling, thus stimulating intraplaque angiogenesis, could restore cellular function and neovessel maturation, and decrease plaque formation. Prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) regulate cellular responses to hypoxia. We therefore aimed to elucidate the role of myeloid PHD2, the dominant PHD isoform, on intraplaque angiogenesis in a murine model for venous bypass grafting.
The Intriguing World of Vascular Remodeling, Angiogenesis, and Arteriogenesis
Quax PHA and Deindl E
Vascular remodeling is a very general feature related to angiogenesis and arteriogenesis, which are involved in neovascularization processes [...].