Yva momatiuk biography channel

At the Institut Curie, a tumour specimen circulates from floor to floor. First collected from a patient by a physician in the basement, it then moves up to the pathology department to be prepared for study. It is analysed, cell by cell, using a revolutionary “single-cell” technology, before going up another floor for sequencing. Finally, the bioinformatics specialists clean the dataset produced by the sequencer and apply statistical methods to enable its study. The aim is to understand why a tumour has emerged and is resistant to treatment. Within a few months, the living specimen has become a body of data. “Single-cell methods have accelerated biology , and our work is now based on a multidisciplinary ballet from the physician to the biologist, the data analyst and statistician. It is only through the participation of all these specialists that the whole system works”, explains Céline Vallot, CNRS research professor at the Institut Curie1 and specialist in the epigenetic mechanisms of breast cancer.

Since , Vallot and her team have been using and developing single-cell techniques for their research on cancer. This technology is an innovation that uses a process called microfluidics: one by one, the cells pass through micro-channels to become encapsulated in a micro-droplet of oil containing reagents. At the time of encapsulation, the genetic material in the cell is labelled using a genetic barcode that identifies the cell. This method enables the scientist to work at the scale of the individual cell and try to understand the cellular heterogeneity present within a single tumour. “Before single-cell technology, we performed experiments on groups of millions of cells and then studied the mean expression of the genes involved,” she explains.

Nevertheless, the epigenetics ex

What do a bacterium that causes ulcers, a venomous snail, and a microorganism that contaminates and poisons canned food have in common? They all produce potent toxins that are often lethal to humans. Yet by manipulating these poisons, researchers are now able to redirect their toxicity toward therapeutic purposes.

A microbial toxin to replace aspirin?

For several years, scientists have been focusing their efforts on Buruli ulcer. Caused by the Mycobacterium ulcerans bacterium, this tropical disease results in the necrosis of skin tissue. Strangely enough, affected patients exhibit no symptoms of pain or fever. This lack of fever was first found to be due to the anti-inflammatory activity of mycolactone, a toxin secreted by the bacterium. This toxin acts by inhibiting the functioning of certain white blood cells, causing an immunosuppressive effect. In June , researchers discovered that mycolactone also exerts an analgesic effect by binding to certain neural receptors.1 Hence the idea of exploiting these properties for therapeutic use.

In this context, chemists and biologists screened the different active sites in mycolactone to identify those responsible for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. The chemistry team, led by Nicolas Blanchard, senior researcher at the LCM,2 then synthesized a truncated mycolactone containing the “useful” active sites. When tested on human cells by Caroline Demangel, senior researcher at the Institut Pasteur, and her team, this compound displayed the same beneficial effects as natural mycolactone, but with reduced toxicity. The protective efficacy of truncated mycolactone was then tested on mice suffering from chronic skin inflammation and inflammatory pain. As a result, these symptoms regressed markedly in the rodents, and with no adverse effects.3 “We are now trying to identify in more detail the mechanisms at play at the mo