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The siRNAlz project aims to develop a siRNA-based nanomedicine that can be used to regulate a specific genetic risk factor involved in the pathobiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The achievement of effective RNA-based therapies for AD relies on the development of cutting-edge nanotechnologies with

Most anti-cancer treatments aim at generating burst of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), the most toxic DNA lesion. Several drawbacks are associated with these therapies: (i) their inherent toxicity, (ii) the relapse when the cancer stem cell is not shattered, and (iii) the emergence of resistance to

Despite all improvements in the diagnosis of infectious diseases in the last 20 years, the socioeconomic burden of bloodstream infections (BSI) is still high for every country all around the world. Approximately 20% of global mortality worldwide (11 million deaths per year) is related to sepsis. Thu

Ferroptosis, first coined in 2012, is a regulated cell death (RCD) characterized by iron-dependent accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides associated with an insufficient capacity to eliminate these oxidation products. This RCD has significant implications in diverse pathologies, including Parkinson an

Obesity is the most serious public health problem in recent decades. It is associated with multiple comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes or myocardial infarction. Treatment options remain quite limited: on the one hand, surgical interventions with good weight loss results, but with significant and

Cancer still constitutes major public health around the world. Developing new treatments belonging to the class of targeted therapies, such as therapeutic antibodies (Abs), is highly recommended to improve cancer patients' care. However, the overall clinical efficacy of naked antibodies remains limi

IL-4 and IL-13 play key roles in the pathogenesis of asthma and are appealing therapeutic targets for the treatment of asthma. These cytokines interact with a common partner, IL-4Ra, within two types of activated trimers and can thus be modulated simultaneously. Dupilumab, a human monoclonal antibod

Immunotherapy is applied to many tumors to inhibit the growth of cancer cells using recombinant antibodies directed against specific targets. Therapeutic efficacy may depend on antibody binding to inhibit target activity and/or stimulation of the main immune response pathways. Recently, the three pa

Recombinant protein production is a multi-billion euro market with critical applications for industy and medicine. Various methods of production are available using cellular organisms of all domains of life. Yet, most rely on expensive, and time-consuming steps performed in dedicated facilities to o

ActiDecorp is an interdisciplinary French-German project gathering organic, coordination and radiochemists, nuclear toxicologists, physiologists, and pharmacists from 4 complementary teams willing to design decorporating agents able to treat accidental poisoning by actinides (An = U/Np(VI), Np/Pu(IV

The increase of antimicrobial resistance is a major threat for individual and public health. Consequently, new weapons to fight the emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria are quickly required. The ESKAPE pathogens are at the frontline of these problematic life-threatening drug resistant nosocomial pa

Mucosal tissues are composed by a specialized epithelium covered by a mucus layer, and are the main portal of entry of most of pathogens. The induction of local (mucosal) immune response is highly desirable in order to effectively prevent mucosal infection and transmission, especially against rapidl

Chronic pain not only causes physical suffering but also affects daily life, leading to symptoms such as irritability, aggression, withdrawal, and loss of autonomy. Additionally, it increases the risk of developing mood disorders. Therefore, managing chronic pain is a significant public health chall

Anti-tumour virotherapy represents a promising alternative to conventional anti-cancer treatments. Oncolytic viruses (OV) infect tumour cells more efficiently than healthy cells, leading to tumour destruction via direct lysis and/or induction of an anti-tumour immune response. Work in our laboratory

Lipiodol® is a contrast product developed by Guerbet and used in particular to assess tubal patency in the context of female infertility. Several studies have shown that its use increases the chances of pregnancy in the following months. The objective of this project, presented by an academic team w

The primary goal of this research project is to build and evaluate a new vaccinal protein vector optimized for intranasal vaccination against respiratory infections. This new, bi-functional vector is purposed:

Drug resistant Enterobacterale are a major threat to global healthcare, and it has become clear in the last years that new tools are urgently needed to combat these bacteria. In the endeavour to develop new antibiotics against these Gram-negative bacteria, a major hurdle is the bacterial expression

Clostridioides difficile, an anaerobic Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium, is responsible for a wide spectrum of infections ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis. The use of antibiotic therapy raises concerns about the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria at hos

Atherosclerosis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease affecting the large and medium-sized arteries. The main danger of atherosclerosis lies in the rupture of the plaques which leads to severe complications (heart attacks, stroke). Although treatments which rest on the drug delivery are daily i

Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a toxigenic bacterium responsible for severe nosocomial intestinal infections. About 500.000 patients are infected every year in the USA, causing 13.000 deaths, according to the American CDC. To treat such intestinal infections, only 2 antibiotics are recom

The study of solid tumor development and metastatic progression has mainly focused on biochemical signals regulating downstream signaling pathways. The power of the extracellular compartment, and especially the non-cellular fraction, has only recently been appreciated as a potential supply for pro-

Chronic Granulomatous Disease(CGD) is a rare genetic disease of innate immunodeficiency affecting phagocytes (neutrophils, macrophages) of patients by dysfunction of the membrane NADPH oxidase complex. This enzyme is responsible for the production of microbicidal toxic oxygen derivatives (ROS). The

Beta-hemoglobinopathies are genetic anemias caused by a reduced or abnormal synthesis of the adult hemoglobin beta-chain. The clinical severity is alleviated by the persistent production of the fetal beta-like gamma-globin chain in adulthood. BCL11A is the major fetal gamma-globin transcriptional re

The main goal of this project is to use an integrative approach to develop novel antimicrobial molecules targeting ribosomal trans-translation in multi-resistant pathogenic bacteria. Trans-translation is performed by the hybrid transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) and its protein partner SmpB. Given the a

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suffer from chronic lung inflammation, tissue remodeling and persistent airflow limitation. Although corticosteroids and bonchodilatators can reduce the mortality risk, they still marginally improve lung function. There is an urgent need to

The overall 5-year survival for pancreatic and hepatic cancer patients has not evolved much over the past decades, indicating that current therapeutic approaches are often inefficient. Poor therapeutic outcomes are due to the impenetrability of the tumor mass to drugs. The tumor is protected by a de

Antibiotic resistance is a dramatic health challenge and development of new antibiotics efficient against Gram-negative bacteria of the ESKAPE group is an emergency. In this project, we propose the development of effective first-in-class antibiotics to tackle bacterial resistance by acting on a nove

The constant need for immunization to prevent life-threatening diseases worldwide is urging the search for new vaccines. Progress in the development of modular virus-like particles for antigen (Ag) delivery is currently impaired by difficulties in the grafting of large Ag. We recently established a

Cerebral vascular and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oscillations are at the origin of the intracranial pressure (ICP). The compliance of the craniospinal system dampens the systolic vascular expansion, which is vital for good brain perfusion. However, the measurement of this compliance is not accessible

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) complex remains one of the most prevalent deadly infectious diseases worldwide. TB treatments are long, and patients’ adherence is hampered by frequent side effects, entailing premature treatment arrest and exposing to disease relapse. To

Platelet activation must be tightly regulated to allow a rapid response to vascular injury and invading pathogens, whilst preventing excessive bleeding and thrombosis. Central to these responses are the structurally-distinct immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-containing receptors

Fibrosis is defined as an excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as certain collagens, and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in chronic diseases. Major efforts have focused on preventing ECM synthesis, but these have been unsuccessful and conceptually unsu

Chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are immune-related disorders characterized by inappropriate inflammation. Their incidence has increased dramatically in Western countries in recent decades, supporting a role for environmental fa

The overall aim of the NoToBAlz project is to develop an innovative theranostic approach, gathering a new nanobody-based strategy (i.e. small functional fragments of heavy chain antibodies), a straightforward route of administration (i.e. nose to brain) and an adapted molecules delivery system (i.e

Impairment in extracellular matrix (ECM) regulation is involved in cancers and fibrosis and therefore represents a promising therapeutic target. Our aim is to focus on the positive effects that reactive oxygen species (ROS) exert on ECM remodeling. Indeed, in LUMOS project we propose an innovative s

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease, often of early-life onset, for which the prevalence continues to increase in industrialized countries, affecting approximately 15-30% of children and 2-10% of adult. AD remains challenging to treat, therefore the CadoRNA project is design

Mutations in the gene encoding the CFTR protein affect mucus-producing epithelia, including the lungs and gastrointestinal tract. In the lungs, viscous mucus obstructs the bronchi, creating an environment conducive to chronic bacterial infection, which leads to the destruction of the lung parenchyma

Enteroviruses (EVs) are pathogens of increasing public health concern with recurrent emerging agents. Although many EVs are associated with mild clinical manifestations, they can lead to serious complications such as encephalitis, meningitis, pneumonia, myocarditis and poliomyelitis. Given the large

Giardiasis is a widespread intestinal parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Giardia intestinalis. This digestive parasitosis is considered a neglected disease by the World Health Organization (WHO). Giardiasis is very common, affecting children in particular, and can go unnoticed in some patient

Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy related to a placentation defect. PE is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Moreover, women who had PE and adults born preterm are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases which are the leading cause

Genome editing mediated by CRISPR-Cas9 has shown great promise for the treatment of retinal dystrophies (RD). Currently, adeno-associated viruses are the most widely used vectors for retinal gene therapies but their small packaging capacity and permanent transgene expression makes them suboptimal fo

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in western countries. It can be dichotomically divided into steatosis, associated with a benign outcome, and steatohepatitis (NASH), characterized by progression to fibrosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and increased mor

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a public health threat causing 1.2 million deaths worldwide every year. In particular, the ability of bacteria to form biofilms makes them more resistant to antibiotic treatments, which constitutes a major medical challenge. TARGET-QS is a multidisciplinary project

The OTARI project aims to understand how organometallic-containing azoles are able to escape resistance in fungi and to use this knowledge to develop better antifungal agents. The project leaders have recently shown that known antifungal agents containing a triazole structure, such as fluconazole (F

Myocardial infarction, which is involved in 20% of deaths in Europe, corresponds to a blood flow arrest (= ischemia) that deprives the heart of its vital oxygen and nutrient requirements, the deleterious effects of which are time dependent. This is followed, spontaneously or after medical interventi

Restoring immune tolerance without inducing global immunosuppression using innovative antigen-specific therapeutic molecules is the main challenge of the Cure RA consortium (2018-2025), a collaborative project between 4 academic teams and the Arthritis R&D Company. As a proof of concept, we have dem

Hemophilia A is a rare X-linked bleeding disorder that results from insufficient levels of procoagulant factor VIII. Replacement therapy using exogenous factor VIII remains the most efficient strategy to prevent or treat bleeds. It is however limited by the short half-life of factor VIII, that impos

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common lethal autosomal recessive genetic disease in Caucasian populations. Partial or total loss-of-function of the CFTR chloride channel causes mucus thickness and accumulation in the respiratory and digestive tracts. In lungs, the cycles of infection and inflammat

Clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) represents 85% of kidney cancers and 3% of adult cancers. The majority of RCCs present an inactivation of the VHL gene inducing the constitutive stabilization of HIF-1/2 transcription factors and leading to the overexpression the pro-inflammatory cytokines like

Despite significant progress made towards understanding the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, only few efficient treatments are currently available. Early diagnosis for this disease is also a challenge. This project aims to investigate the phenomenon that are known to occur before the cognitiv

Bacterial pathogens causing Nosocomial Infections (NIs) pose increasing challenges to hospitals due to their increasing resistance to antibiotics. Metallic surfaces and fabrics in physical contact with infected patients are contaminated. Bacteria can proliferate on these substrates increasing the ri

Many mycobacteria are human pathogens: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the etiological agent of tuberculosis, caused nearly 1.6 million deaths in 2021, and Mycobacterium abscessus (Mab) induces lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis or weakened defences. Treatments exist but they are lon