This ‘krediet aan navorsers’application is a part of my FWO postdoctoral project that deals with the identification of new therapeutic targets to prevent epithelial barrier disruption in systemic inflammatory disorders. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a highly mortal inflammatory disease, associated with systemic inflammation and organ dysfunction. SIRS can have a sterile cause or can be initiated by an infection, called sepsis. The prevalence is high and available treatments are ineffective and mainly supportive. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new treatments. It is believed that the brain is one of the first organs affected during SIRS.Neurological complications are caused by deregulation of brain homeostasis which is a consequence of brain barrier leakage. Our group recently identified the epithelial blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) as the first and most important barrier which is disrupted during the pathogenesis of SIRS, and which results in a dampened anti-inflammatory response. In this project, we want to identify new molecules involved in BCSFB disruption by performing a proteome, miRNA and mRNA analysis on in vivo collected CSF and/or choroid plexus samples, before and after systemic stimulus. In conclusion, we want to identify which molecules are involved in BCSFB disruption under systemic inflammatory conditions and this will allow us to discover new potential therapeutic targets to treat SIRS and sepsis by preventing epithelial brain barrier disruption.