LAB. DEVELOPMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (A. De Loof) - Physiology of reproduction and phase transition in locusts. - Identification and physiology of novel peptide hormones from insects and crustaceans: proteomics and peptidomics - Molecular cloning, DNA-sequencing and expression of hormone precursor cSDNAs, analysis of gene expression and regulation. - Localisaiton of peptide/protein hormones by immunocytochemical and in situ hybridisation methods. - Cloning, characterization and functional analysis of insect G protein-coupled receptors and serine protease inhibitors and zinc-metalloprotease enzymes. - Reverse pharmaceological tools for the identification of novel ligands for insect and mammalian orphan receptors. LAB. NEURO-ENDOCRINOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY (F. Vandesande) - Neuroendocrinology of feeding behavior and reproduction in poultry. - Biochemical and morphological neuronal plasticity of the cat and monkey visual system after visual stimulation, visual deprivation and during descriminative learning. LAB. COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY (E. Kühn) - Thyroid function and peripheral thyroid hormone metabolism in vertebrates. - Endocrinology of growth in vertebrates. - Ontogeny of the somatotropic, adrenal and thyroidal axis in chicken. - Different collaborations with other research units in the field of physiology and neuro-endocrinology.
