Chemistry & Biology, Modeling & Immunology for Therapy
Team Composition
Staff
Mathieu Rodero, CR
Armelle Melet, MCU
Sabrina Guermah, ADT
Researcher
Dominique Cathelin
Post Docs
Birgit Caspar
PhD Students
Nassima Bekaddour
Thomas Moreau
Margaux Cescato
Severine Grinberg
Industrial Partnership
Created in 2012, the research axes of the team focus on the regulation of cytokine production during viral infection and inflammation in autoimmune diseases.
Scientific projects and goals:
- Drug discovery:
The laboratory generates and optimizes original screening assays dedicated to the identification of immune modulatory molecules. These assays are used to screen in house or external libraries.
Once identify, the lab have an establish work flow to validate lead compounds, going from in house chemical optimization, evaluation on in vitro and vivo model of inflammation and infection, to evaluation on material from patients with autoimmune disease such as lupus.
We have recently shown that some small endogenous amines regulate interferon and cytokine production in innate immune cells by engaging the chemokine receptor CXCR4. Our future projects aim to design, synthetize and characterize small compounds able to modulate inflammation through CXCR4. Furthermore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanism by which natural amines regulate innate immunity. Our discoveries have a great potential in clinics for treating auto-immune diseases like lupus or chronic infectious diseases as HIV.
- Pathophysiology of pediatric rheumatoid diseases.
Our recent work highlight the association between circulating interferon levels and diseases activity in patients suffering of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). Interferon levels could also be used to stratified patients with distinct clinical pictures, suggesting a different roles depending on JDM subtypes. We now aim to better characterize the overall inflammatory profiles of JDM patients in order to stratify patients early on during the diseases history in order to adapt treatment regimen.
Chemistry & Biology, Modeling & Immunology for Therapy
Team composition
Researcher
Dominique Cathelin
Post Docs
Birgit Caspar
PhD Students
Nassima Bekaddour
Thomas Moreau
Margaux Cescato
Severine Grinberg
Industrial Partnership
Created in 2012, the research axes of the team focus on the regulation of cytokine production during viral infection and inflammation in autoimmune diseases.
Scientific projects and goals:
- Drug discovery:
The laboratory generates and optimizes original screening assays dedicated to the identification of immune modulatory molecules. These assays are used to screen in house or external libraries.
Once identify, the lab have an establish work flow to validate lead compounds, going from in house chemical optimization, evaluation on in vitro and vivo model of inflammation and infection, to evaluation on material from patients with autoimmune disease such as lupus.
CXCR4 dependent immune regulation in inflammatory and infectious models.
We have recently shown that some small endogenous amines regulate interferon and cytokine production in innate immune cells by engaging the chemokine receptor CXCR4. Our future projects aim to design, synthetize and characterize small compounds able to modulate inflammation through CXCR4. Furthermore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanism by which natural amines regulate innate immunity. Our discoveries have a great potential in clinics for treating auto-immune diseases like lupus or chronic infectious diseases as HIV.
- Pathophysiology of pediatric rheumatoid diseases.
Our recent work highlight the association between circulating interferon levels and diseases activity in patients suffering of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). Interferon levels could also be used to stratified patients with distinct clinical pictures, suggesting a different roles depending on JDM subtypes. We now aim to better characterize the overall inflammatory profiles of JDM patients in order to stratify patients early on during the diseases history in order to adapt treatment regimen.
Main Publications
Heyek S, et al: Cerpegin-derived furo[3,4-c]pyridine-3,4(1H,5H)-diones enhance cellular response to interferons by de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibition Eur J Med Chem. 2019
Smith N, et al: Control of TLR7-mediated type I IFN signaling in pDCs through CXCR4 engagement-A new target for lupus treatment. Sci Adv 2019
Gitiaux C*, Bondet V* et al. Inhibition of IFNα secretion in cells from patients with JDM under TBK1 inhibitor treatment revealed by single-molecular assay technology. Rheumatology 2019
Müller J et al. Semen inhibits Zika virus infection of cells and tissues from the anogenital region. Nat Commun. 2018
Smith N et al. Natural amines inhibit activation of human plasmacytoid dendritic cells through CXCR4 engagement. Nat Commun. 2017
Science outreach
CNRS inc: Une-molecule-prometteuse-pour-traiter-le-lupus .
AFM Teleton: Myosites : Des maladies dues aux interférons ?
France 2-TV5 monde: Impact du cerveau sur nos défenses immunitaires (diffusion le 1 Septembre 2017)