Immuno-pharmacology and interactomics
The Immuno-Pharmacology and Interactomics group focuses on the mechanisms that lead to cellular signaling disregulation and their impact in health and disease.
Activities
Altered cellular signalling and immune dysregulation are hallmarks of most auto-immune, inflammatory and chronic viral diseases. The expression, signalling and activity of chemokines and IFN are often altered in these pathologies but the molecular mechanisms and fine regulation at play are not completely understood. Most viruses have evolved strategies to hijack, bypass or lure these signal transducers and cellular effectors to favour their replication and/or to corrupt or evade immunity.
Our research interests revolve around two axes:
- Fundamental research aiming at gaining new insights into the complex structural and cellular mechanisms that lead to altered cellular signalling and cell transformation.
- Translational research aiming at developing novel tools and therapeutic approaches to interfere or modulate these processes and viral replication.
Projects & clinical trials
Some of the group’s research projects include:
- Studying the structure and function of human chemokine receptors CXCR4, CXCR7 and CXCR3 and viral receptors and deciphering homeostatic and pathogenic molecular interactions, signalling and intracellular trafficking induced by their endogenous and viral ligands.
- Designing novel chemokine-receptor inhibitors interfering with chemokine receptor signalling as well as with HIV entry and developing viral tools for applied research and for determining viral tropism as well as resistance to entry inhibitors.
- Studying the molecular mechanisms of HIV assembly and viral protein trafficking, paying particular care to the impact of subtype-related variability.
- Investigating the molecular mechanisms leading from chronic inflammation to cancer development in chronic viral infections, focusing on the role of the Interferon-induced proteins APOBEC3 and SAMHD1 in cellular DNA damage, viral integration of DNA viruses and cellular homeostasis.
Featured team members
-
Ana
Alonso Bartolomé PhD Student -
Nadia
Beaupain Laboratory Technician -
Ester
Cassano PhD Student -
Andy
Chevigne Group Leader -
Manuel
Counson Laboratory Technician -
Joy
Darcis PhD Student -
Shawn
Jenjak Visiting Researcher -
Rafael
Luis PhD Student
Scientific publications
-
Heterogeneous expression of the atypical chemokine receptor ACKR3 in glioblastoma patient-derived tissue samples and cell cultures – 01/12/2024
-
Patient-based multilevel transcriptome exploration highlights relevant chemokines and chemokine receptor axes in glioblastoma – 30/09/2024
-
Development of a NanoBRET Assay Platform to Detect Intracellular Ligands for the Chemokine Receptors CCR6 and CXCR1 – 01/01/2024
-
Cannabidiol negatively modulates adenosine A2A receptor functioning in living cells – 17/07/2023
-
Multivalent CXCR4-targeting nanobody formats differently affect affinity, receptor clustering, and antagonism – 01/09/2024
-
Novel Small-Molecule Atypical Chemokine Receptor 3 Agonists – 08/08/2024
-
The Multidimensional Regulatory Role of ACKR3 on the Opioid Network – Shedding Light on Unexpected Ligands, Functions and Trafficking Patterns of Atypical Chemokine Receptors – 17/07/2024
-
Fluorophore-Labeled Pyrrolones Targeting the Intracellular Allosteric Binding Site of the Chemokine Receptor CCR1 – 10/06/2024
-
GRK specificity and Gβγ dependency determines the potential of a GPCR for arrestin-biased agonism – 03/07/2024
-
Investigating the Chemokine Receptor Network: from Molecular Aspects of CXCR3 to a Patient-based Study in Glioma – 26/04/2024
Related News
Job vacancies
There are no jobs matching this page at the moment. You can view all jobs via the button below.