NeuroTimone Facility (PFNT)

The PFNT Facility is a coherent set of exploration tools in neurobiology allowing research at the molecular, cellular and integrated levels.

News

  1. CNRS welcome day for Chiara and Maud

    Chiara Bastiancich (GlioME) and Maud Gratuze (SynapTau) participated to the CNRS welcome day in Paris. 

    It was a great opportunity for them to meet the 770 other new recruits of the CNRS in 2023 and to get to know their new scientific ally better!

  2. Brain Awareness Week 2024: SynapTau team

    As part of the Brain Awareness Week 2024, Maud Gratuze from the "Synaptic degeneration and Gliosis" team has been invited to contribute to the webinar: "France Alzheimer: Hope in Research" organized by France Alzheimer association which took place on Tuesday, March 12th. 

    The videos will soon be on the France Alzheimer association's YouTube channel.

  3. Brain week : NOSE team

    Gaelle Guiraudie Capraz from the NOSE Team met pupils from a CM1 and CM2 class at Jean Jaurès elementary school in Velaux as part of Brain Week.

    We hope it will inspire the young one to become future researchers !

  4. First Climate Fresk workshop at the INP !

    On February 8, 2024, 8 INP and 2 NeuroMarseille staff took part in a Climate Fresk workshop, led by our Sustainable Development / Ecoresponsibility referent Louise Greetham, freshly trained by the CNRS to lead these environmental transition workshops. During 3 hours, participants were able to understand the causes of climate change and the issues involved. 
    They also brainstormed solutions to be implemented within our institute in order to reduce our environmental impact. 

     

     

     

  5. HDR defense - Team 4 OligOld

    Dr. Sarah Moyon, team leader of OligOld (team 4) defended her HDR on Friday, February 23rd, 2024, in front of the jury members: Nicolas Andre (APHM, AMU), Pascale Durbec (IBDM, AMU), Patrice Roll (MMG, AMU), Carlos Parras (ICM, Paris), Maria-Cecilia Angulo (IPNP, Paris) and Anna Williams (University of Edinburgh, UK).

  6. Team 9 and PINT new publication is out

    INP team 9 and PINT platform are happy to announce that their work about the Influence of Zinc Ions on the Conformational Stability and Activity of Protein Disulfide Isomerase, authored by Ana Iochabel Soares Moretti, Viktoria E. Baksheeva, Andrei Yu. Roman, Tiphany Coralie De Bessa, François Devred, Hervé Kovacic and Philipp O. Tsvetkov is finally out. A fruitful collaboration between Brazil, Russia and France 

    You can find its early version by clicking below  

  7. Chiara et Thaïs sélectionnées à l'action Parrainage Jeunes Chercheurs de l'association France Alzheimer

    Congratulations to Chiara Bordier (SynapTau team) and Thaïs Lestra (Neural Plasticity and Degeneration team), who have been selected by the France Alzheimer's association for their "Parrainage Jeunes Chercheurs" initiative. The objective of this program is to support young researchers throughout their three-year thesis. We are proud of them!

  8. [ 𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟭 𝗳𝗲́𝘃𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 ] 𝙅𝒐𝙪𝒓𝙣𝒆́𝙚 𝙞𝒏𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒏𝙖𝒕𝙞𝒐𝙣𝒂𝙡𝒆 𝒅𝙚𝒔 𝒇𝙚𝒎𝙢𝒆𝙨 𝙙𝒆 𝒔𝙘𝒊𝙚𝒏𝙘𝒆

    L'AP-HM (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille) a fait le portrait d'Emeline Tabouret pour la 𝙅𝒐𝙪𝒓𝙣𝒆́𝙚 𝙞𝒏𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒏𝙖𝒕𝙞𝒐𝙣𝒂𝙡𝒆 𝒅𝙚𝒔 𝒇𝙚𝒎𝙢𝒆𝙨 𝙙𝒆 𝒔𝙘𝒊𝙚𝒏𝙘𝒆.

Pages

INP in numbers

  • 126 members
  • 44 researchers
  • 48 research assistants
  • 12 post-docs
  • 11 PhD

 

First Climate Fresk workshop at the INP !

On February 8, 2024, 8 INP and 2 NeuroMarseille staff took part in a Climate Fresk workshop, led by our Sustainable Development / Ecoresponsibility referent Louise Greetham, freshly trained by the CNRS to lead these environmental transition workshops. During 3 hours, participants were able to understand the causes of climate change and the issues involved. 
They also brainstormed solutions to be implemented within our institute in order to reduce our environmental impact. 

 

 

 

English

HDR defense - Team 4 OligOld

Dr. Sarah Moyon, team leader of OligOld (team 4) defended her HDR on Friday, February 23rd, 2024, in front of the jury members: Nicolas Andre (APHM, AMU), Pascale Durbec (IBDM, AMU), Patrice Roll (MMG, AMU), Carlos Parras (ICM, Paris), Maria-Cecilia Angulo (IPNP, Paris) and Anna Williams (University of Edinburgh, UK).

Undefined

Team 9 and PINT new publication is out

INP team 9 and PINT platform are happy to announce that their work about the Influence of Zinc Ions on the Conformational Stability and Activity of Protein Disulfide Isomerase, authored by Ana Iochabel Soares Moretti, Viktoria E. Baksheeva, Andrei Yu. Roman, Tiphany Coralie De Bessa, François Devred, Hervé Kovacic and Philipp O. Tsvetkov is finally out. A fruitful collaboration between Brazil, Russia and France 

Undefined

Chiara et Thaïs sélectionnées à l'action Parrainage Jeunes Chercheurs de l'association France Alzheimer

Congratulations to Chiara Bordier (SynapTau team) and Thaïs Lestra (Neural Plasticity and Degeneration team), who have been selected by the France Alzheimer's association for their "Parrainage Jeunes Chercheurs" initiative. The objective of this program is to support young researchers throughout their three-year thesis. We are proud of them!

Undefined

[ 𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟭 𝗳𝗲́𝘃𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 ] 𝙅𝒐𝙪𝒓𝙣𝒆́𝙚 𝙞𝒏𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒏𝙖𝒕𝙞𝒐𝙣𝒂𝙡𝒆 𝒅𝙚𝒔 𝒇𝙚𝒎𝙢𝒆𝙨 𝙙𝒆 𝒔𝙘𝒊𝙚𝒏𝙘𝒆

L'AP-HM (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille) a fait le portrait d'Emeline Tabouret pour la 𝙅𝒐𝙪𝒓𝙣𝒆́𝙚 𝙞𝒏𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒏𝙖𝒕𝙞𝒐𝙣𝒂𝙡𝒆 𝒅𝙚𝒔 𝒇𝙚𝒎𝙢𝒆𝙨 𝙙𝒆 𝒔𝙘𝒊𝙚𝒏𝙘𝒆.

Undefined

Vect-Horus conclut un accord de licence exclusif avec Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Vect-Horus signe un nouvel accord exclusif de licence avec la société Ionis Pharmaceuticals, spécialisée dans le développement de médicaments ciblant les ARN pour le traitement des maladies neurologiques. Vect-Horus, qui est associée à l’INP dans le cadre d’un Laboratoire Commun de Recherche (LabCom) conçoit et développe des vecteurs moléculaires qui permettent une distribution ciblée de molécules thérapeutiques et d’agents d’imagerie dans différents organes et notamment le cerveau. 

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Next seminars

29 Mar 2024 11:00

Team 6: Guest Seminar: Francesca Giordano

Amphi 6 (5e aile verte - 5th green section)

Francesca Giordano

“Ménage à trois”: role of endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites in lipid droplet biogenesis and implication in Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract:  Mitochondria (Mito, key for energy production) and lipid droplets (LD, cellular reserve of energy) are essential for cellular homeostasis/bioenergetics. To preserve their morphological and functional identities Mito and LD require a constant and regulated exchange of lipids with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), major cellular site of lipid synthesis, via membrane contact sites (CS). However, how lipids are shuttled between these organelles and how/where LD originate from the ER is still unclear. Also, dysfunctions of Mito and LD are associated with the pathophysiology of many neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, how such dysfunctions are established and whether they are functionally connected, remain mysterious. We have recently shown that ER subdomains that contact mitochondria or Mito-Associated Membranes (MAM) are hotspots for LD biogenesis, revealing the existence of a novel tripartite association between Mito, ER and nascent LD. We have found that two lipid transfer proteins ORP5 and ORP8 localize to MAM subdomains where LD originate and that their depletion decreases LD biogenesis in HeLa cells and human hepatocytes. We have also found that ORP5 interacts with seipin, a master regulator of LD biogenesis, and modulates its targeting to MAM-LD contacts. We hypothesize that MAM could play a key role in mediating Mito-LD crosstalk in health and in neurodegeneration.  We propose that the early cellular dysfunctions associated to AD involving Mito and LD could be all orchestrated by the MAM. We are currently investigating the function of ORP5/ORP8 and of their binding partners in lipid transfer and storage at MAM-LD contact sites as well as the morphology and remodelling of these contact sites in multiple cell lines including models of AD. Our studies aim to brings novel insights into the metabolic crosstalk between Mito, ER, and LD at membrane contact sites and their implication in neurodegeneration.

 

5 Apr 2024 14:30

Team 8: Aurélie Soubéran

Salle 407 (Batiment Pédagogique)

 

  • Point info par Montse et Denis sur la sécurité des données. 

 

  • Aurélie Soubéran (Presentation in French, slides in english)

Brain tumoroids: revolutionizing treatment prediction and drug development for brain tumors with fast, reproducible and easy-to-use personalized models.

 

Abstract

Background: generation of patient avatar for preclinical therapeutic development is critically needed in neuro-oncology. Our objective was to develop a fast, reproducible and easy-to-use method of tumoroid generation and analysis, available for primary and metastatic brain tumors.

Methods: tumoroids were generated from 84 patients with primary or metastatic brain tumors. Tumoroids were compared with the in situ patient tumors for morphological, cellular, molecular and therapeutic sensitivity characteristics. Predictive factor of tumoroid generation were analyzed.

Results: tumoroids were generated from 74 gliomas, 7 brain metastases and 3 rare primary tumors. Median time of tumoroid generation was 5 days. All tumoroids had histological tumor features including tumor cells, microvascular proliferation and necrotic areas. Molecular and histological profiles of tumoroids, including methylation profiling, were similar to those of in situ patient tumors. Median generation time was 5 days and success rate was 65 %. It was higher for high grade glioma and brain metastases versus IDH mutated low grade gliomas. Neither other clinical, neuro-imaging, histological nor molecular factors were predictive of tumoroid generation success for high grade gliomas. By using MACSimaTM technology we determine the cellular spatial composition of tumoroids and stability overtime of these subsets was validated by flow cytometry. We showed that tumoroid treatment responses were correlated to those of patient. Finally we validated a dedicated 3D analysis workflow for preclinical therapeutic development.

Conclusion: patient-derived tumoroids offer a robust, user-friendly, and reproducible preclinical model valuable for therapeutic development in neuro-oncology, allowing their integration into forthcoming early-phase clinical trials.

12 Apr 2024 14:30

Team 3: Guest seminar: Maxime Donadieu

Amphi 7 (5e aile rouge - 5th floor red section)

Maxime Donadieu

Maxime Donadieu is a French visiting post-doctoral fellow. After a Bachelor in Biology with a major in Computational Neurosciences (2009-2012, Aix Marseille University), he decided to continue with a Master in Cellular Neurosciences (2013-2015, Aix Marseille University). He was recruited by Siemens S.A.S in 2015, in collaboration with the CRMBM lab (UMR 7339, Aix Marseille University), as an Engineer and also a PhD student. His PhD was focused on the development and the application of MR spectroscopy sequences on healthy subject and MS patients at high (3T) and ultra-high (7T) fields. He defended his PhD in December 2017 and moved in TNS lab in April 2018. The core of his project in TNS is to develop and use translational imaging (conventional, non-conventional MRI and PET scan) but also histology and immunochemistry on EAE marmoset model to understand and quantify the de/remyelination and neurodegenerative processes. The main objective of this project is to develop a remyelinating therapy relevant for MS patient.

Marmoset EAE as a faithful model to study multiple sclerosis

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a widely used preclinical model to study pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), develop and optimize imaging techniques and test potential new therapeutics. Rodent EAE is the most common animal model in the MS field. However, despite its high level of pathological complexity compared to other models, it rarely develops lesions in the brain and hardly replicates key aspects of the disease.

Marmoset EAE has shown remarkable similarities with MS from both imaging, histological and molecular points of view. EAE WM lesions generally develop in the brain around a central vein and slowly expand over time. During the acute inflammatory phase, WM lesions present T and B lymphocyte infiltration and activated macrophages/microglia alongside myelin loss and neuronal damage.

Cortical pathology has taken a major role in disease progression. However, detecting cortical lesion in vivo using clinical MRI is challenging. Moreover, little is known about cortical lesion formation and development. Cortical pathology also occurs in marmoset EAE and is now actively being investigated in vivo using MRI sequences. Mimicking human MS, marmoset EAE presents subtype of cortical lesions disseminated in time and space over the EAE disease course. Those lesions feature demyelination with relative sparing of neuronal somata; activated macrophages/microglia as well as T and B cell infiltrates and in nearby meninges without any follicular organization.

Remyelination is a crucial aspect of tissue repair and became an important therapeutic target in the MS field. Marmoset EAE presents spontaneous remyelination in nearly half of WM lesions detected both by conventional MRI and histology. Relative to histology, MRI can predict myelination status with high sensitivity and specificity; opening a path to study in vivo putative remyelinating therapies in marmoset.

In summary, marmoset EAE shows remarkable similarities with human MS with respect to WM, gray matter, and SC pathologies, and thus places itself as a promising model to study the overall mechanisms and dynamics of MS.

19 Apr 2024 14:30

Team 11: Guest seminar : Valérie Delague

Salle 52 (5e étage aile rouge - 5th floor red section)

  • Point vulgarisation assuré par Gaelle Capraz sur "La poussière de cellules".

 

  • Valérie Delague is invited by Gaelle Capraz

 

  • Valerie Delague is a human geneticist and molecular biologist. While setting-up and leading the Molecular Genetics lab, during 7 years (1997-2004), at the Medical Genetics Unit (UGM) at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, she obtained her PhD in Genetics in 2001. Since 2004, she is an Inserm Researcher in the MMG Research Unit, where she is focusing her research on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and other Inherited Peripheral Neuropathies, as an Inserm Research Director (DR2 Inserm) and leader of her own research group, “Genetics and physiopathology of Inherited Peripheral Neuropathies (IPN)”. She has a strong expertise in the genetics of this class of neuromuscular diseases with 62 publications, including the description of 3 new disease causing genes in the pathology. She is well-known for expertise in the field of recessive diseases in a context of consanguinity. She is also responsible of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform at the MMG.
  • She will present the platform's activities and technologies "Genomics and Bioinformatics Marseille"

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