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How shapes and patterns form during the development of multicellular organisms is a long-standing question in life sciences. This question is of fundamental importance since function (physiology) is intimately linked to structure and since the ontogeny of shapes and patterns is rooted into the histo
Task 1. Identification and characterization of cargoes regulated by glucose starvation. a. What is the extent of starvation-induced endocytosis? To use a combination of proteomics and imaging-based screen to determine the extent of the membrane protein rearrangement during glucose starvation in w
Mitotic cells possess two centrosomes that rapidly promote spindle bipolarization, as they form the spindle poles, and influence spindle positioning through the nucleation of astral microtubules connecting the spindle to the cell cortex. Although almost all animal cells contain centrosomes, oocytes
Cytokinesis is the final step of cell division, partitioning the cytoplasm between the daughter cells. In animal cells, this event is driven by cortical contraction that squeezes the cell into two and requires coordination between cytoskeleton and plasma membrane. Higher plants do not constrict the
During metazoan development, embryonic cells decrease in size by up to two orders of magnitude (from 1.2 mm to 12 µm in Xenopus laevis) as a consequence of multiple rounds of cell division without growth of the early embryo. Using Xenopus, Caenorhabditis elegans or mouse embryos as model organisms,
Intermediate filaments (IFs) are one of the three main components of the cytoskeleton in animal cells, along with actin filaments and microtubules, but they remain the least understood of the three. In the cell, IFs form a large network that connects the plasma membrane to other organelles and the n
Our goal is to decipher the spatiotemporal mechanisms controlled by the planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in spine during specification and morpho-fonctional plasticity that depend on the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton and trans-synaptic adhesions. Because PCP components sculpt cell morpholog
Ageing has long been recognized as a major risk factor for many diseases as it associates with dramatically increased chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. An emerging view in the ageing research field suggests that ageing may be the underlying driving force f
The epithelium of the small intestine is composed of a single layer of cells that line the villi that project into the lumen of the gut, and the crypts that descend into the underlying connective tissue. Dividing stem cells are contained within the crypts and they give rise to five types of speciali
Size-control of the hair-cell bundle for frequency-selective auditory detection – HAIRBUNDLEMORPH
Our ability to communicate with speech or enjoy music relies on acute frequency discrimination over a broad range of sound frequencies. To cope with this requirement, the auditory sensory organ of the ear –the cochlea– is endowed with cellular microphones –the hair cells– that are each tuned to be
Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the construction of multicellular organisms is a central question in biology that can yield key knowledge with a wide range of potential applications ranging from medicine to agriculture. In both plants and animals, the construction of the body plan
A central goal of evolutionary developmental biology is to understand how functional anatomical structures and underlying developmental mechanisms have concomitantly evolved. Progress in large-scale genomic approaches has paved the way for the exploration of this question with an unprecedented resol
During aging, defects in stem cell function contribute to a decline in renewal and repair of adult tissues. It has long been postulated that the accumulation of somatic mutations might contribute to cellular aging. In support of this notion, induced DNA damage or mutations affecting DNA repair compo
The intestine is a critical interface with the environment. By feeding, animals get exposed to toxins or toxicants contaminating nutrients. We have discovered a novel stress response of Drosophila enterocytes: pore-forming toxin or xenobiotics such as caffeine, metallic ions, or paraquat trigger a
Fungi are the cause of a range of infections, some leading to death, and are part of an emerging global microbial threat. Fungal filamentous growth is critical for pathogenicity, in particular ability to invade and evade host cells. Little is known with respect to the physical forces generated by fu
In complex multi-organ animals cells can migrate between distant tissues. This trans-organ migration is commonly used to distribute cells trough the body. This occurs, for example, when cell precursors are sent to target tissues to repopulate organs and maintain body homeostasis. This type of motili
Posterior axis elongation is a major morphogenetic event that produces the typical head-to-tail elongated body shape of vertebrate embryos. Axis elongation involves the three germ layers of the embryo: the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm. Interactions between these layers represent a fundam
Phagocytosis is the mechanism of internalization of large particles of several microns in size and therefore, as other cellular functions dealing with large scales, it involves important mechanical constraints that have been poorly investigated. Phagocytosis is an ideal cellular function to understa
DECIPHERING NEW LIPID EXCHANGE MECHANISMS THAT CONTROL LIPID DISTRIBUTION IN THE CELL – ExCHANGE
ExCHANGE is a 4-years multidisciplinary research project that aims to study at the cellular, molecular and atomic level, novel lipid exchange mechanisms mediated by ORP/Osh proteins and driven by PI4P metabolism. This project will benefit from the collaboration of three complementary teams: a team e
Importantly, defects in sealing zone formation or dynamics lead to altered bone resorption, and ultimately to bone diseases, the most common being osteoporosis. In a context where the number of people suffering from osteoporosis is dramatically increasing worldwide, in particular with due to general
In metazoans, epithelia are compact tissues that function as mechanical and chemical barriers between the body and the environment. During development and throughout adult life, epithelial tissues keep on growing or regenerate in large part thanks to cell division. Importantly, heterogeneity is a ce