Germinal Center development and regulation

Coordinator : c. Le-Coz

Scientific objectives


Allergies are major public health problems of increasing prevalence. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 50% people will suffer from at least one type of allergy in 2050.

Our research focuses on deciphering the cellular and molecular mechanisms of allergies, in order to identify potential new therapeutic targets. To assess this, we use in vivo models of allergies (allergic asthma, food allergy, anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis), combined with the use of clinical samples from allergic patients, in collaboration with clinical teams of Toulouse university hospital. We are also specialized in preclinical and clinical development of immunotherapies for allergic diseases.

 

Our projects


Decipher the cellular and molecular mechanisms of allergic shock reactions (anaphylaxis)
Allergic shock, also known as anaphylaxis, is a rapid and systemic allergic reaction which can be fatal. The current paradigm states that in human, anaphylaxis is mostly triggered by allergen-specific IgE antibodies. Upon exposure to an allergen in sensitized patients, such allergen is recognized by IgE bound to their receptor on the surface of mast cells, which lead to the activation of mast cells and the release of histamine responsible for most clinical signs of anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis represents an emergency situation for the medical staff, which makes the study of the mechanisms of human anaphylaxis very difficult. For this reason, several mouse models of anaphylaxis have been generated and used to gain insight into the mechanisms of this allergic reaction.

Our previous results show that, in mice, two main pathways of anaphylaxis coexist : a “classical” pathway induced by IgE antibodies, mast cells and histamine, and an “alternative” pathway induced by IgG antibodies which can activate myeloid cells, leading to the release of platelet-activating factor (PAF). Our research aims at demonstrating that these classical and alternative pathways also coexist in human anaphylaxis. To do so, we use clinical samples from allergic patients, combined with humanized mouse models which allow us to directly assess the mechanisms of anaphylaxis induced by human antibodies.

Development of new immunotherapies for allergic diseases
Allergies are major public health problems for which there is, in most cases, no efficient long-term therapy. The main goal of our research is to develop new immunotherapies which could induce efficient and long-term protection against allergies. We focus on both passive (therapeutic monoclonal antibodies) and active immunotherapies (allergen-specific immunotherapies and vaccine approaches). We use in vivo models of major allergies (asthma, food allergy, anaphylaxis and atopic dermatitis) to test the efficiency of these passive and active immunotherapeutic approaches. In addition, some of the validated immunotherapies are used by the clinicians of our team to treat allergic patients.

Clinical research in severe asthma
The vision of asthma has dramatically changed over the past ten years. This entity is not consider a single disease but encompasses a heterogeneous group of diseases. Asthma in obese subjects is characterized by more severe symptoms and is more difficult to control in clinical practice. An interregional Hospital Clinical Research Project (PHRC) has recently been accepted to study the effect of intragastric balloons in uncontrolled obese asthmatics. Our team is widely involved in academic and industrial clinical trials in severe asthma. We share the coordination, together with the Nantes team, of a network called CRISALIS (Severe Asthma Clinical Research Initiative: a lever for innovation and science) supported by F-CRIN (French Network for Clinical Research Infrastructure) (INSERM). Clinical teams from 11 teaching hospitals work altogether in this network which greatly improve clinical research in severe asthma in France. We are particularly responsible for the group on the role of obesity and other comorbidities in severe asthma.

Other informations


Publications

2025

Noguerol, Julie; Laviolette, Karl; Zahm, Margot; Chaubet, Adeline; Sahal, Ambrine; Détraves, Claire; Torres, Romain; Demont, Clothilde; Adoue, Véronique; Joffre, Carine; Cammas, Florence; van Meerwijk, Joost Pm; Joffre, Olivier P

Heterochromatic gene silencing controls CD4 T cell susceptibility to regulatory T cell-mediated suppression in a murine allograft model Journal Article

In: Nat Commun, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 566, 2025, ISSN: 2041-1723.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2024

Morandi, Elena; Adoue, Véronique; Bernard, Isabelle; Friebel, Ekaterina; Nunez, Nicolas; Aubert, Yann; Masson, Frederick; Dejean, Anne S; Becher, Burkhard; Astier, Anne; Martinet, Ludovic; Saoudi, Abdelhadi

Impact of the Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Genetic Variant Gly307Ser on Human CD8 T-Cell Functions Journal Article

In: Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. e200306, 2024, ISSN: 2332-7812.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Alraies, Zahraa; Rivera, Claudia A; Delgado, Maria-Graciela; Sanséau, Doriane; Maurin, Mathieu; Amadio, Roberto; Piperno, Giulia Maria; Dunsmore, Garett; Yatim, Aline; Mariano, Livia Lacerda; Kniazeva, Anna; Calmettes, Vincent; Sáez, Pablo J; Williart, Alice; Popard, Henri; Gratia, Matthieu; Lamiable, Olivier; Moreau, Aurélie; Fusilier, Zoé; Crestey, Lou; Albaud, Benoit; Legoix, Patricia; Dejean, Anne S; Dorze, Anne-Louise Le; Nakano, Hideki; Cook, Donald N; Lawrence, Toby; Manel, Nicolas; Benvenuti, Federica; Ginhoux, Florent; Moreau, Hélène D; Nader, Guilherme P F; Piel, Matthieu; Lennon-Duménil, Ana-Maria

Cell shape sensing licenses dendritic cells for homeostatic migration to lymph nodes Journal Article

In: Nat Immunol, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1193–1206, 2024, ISSN: 1529-2916.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Marrocco, Remi; Bernard, Isabelle; Joulia, Emeline; Barascud, Rebecca; Dejean, Anne S; Lesourne, Renaud; Saoudi, Abdelhadi

Positive regulation of Vav1 by Themis controls CD4 T cell pathogenicity in a mouse model of central nervous system inflammation Journal Article

In: Cell Mol Life Sci, vol. 81, no. 1, pp. 161, 2024, ISSN: 1420-9071.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Joulia, Emeline; Michieletto, Michaël F; Agesta, Arantxa; Peillex, Cindy; Girault, Virginie; Dorze, Anne-Louise Le; Peroceschi, Romain; Bucciarelli, Florence; Szelechowski, Marion; Chaubet, Adeline; Hakim, Nawad; Marrocco, Rémi; Lhuillier, Emeline; Lebeurrier, Manuel; Argüello, Rafael J; Saoudi, Abdelhadi; Costa, Hicham El; Adoue, Veronique; Walzer, Thierry; Sarry, Jean-Emmanuel; Dejean, Anne S

Eomes-dependent mitochondrial regulation promotes survival of pathogenic CD4+ T cells during inflammation Journal Article

In: J Exp Med, vol. 221, no. 2, 2024, ISSN: 1540-9538.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2023

Sabatier, Marie; Birsen, Rudy; Lauture, Laura; Mouche, Sarah; Angelino, Paolo; Dehairs, Jonas; Goupille, Léa; Boussaid, Ismael; Heiblig, Maël; Boet, Emeline; Sahal, Ambrine; Saland, Estelle; Santos, Juliana C; Armengol, Marc; Fernández-Serrano, Miranda; Farge, Thomas; Cognet, Guillaume; Simonetta, Federico; Pignon, Corentin; Graffeuil, Antoine; Mazzotti, Céline; Avet-Loiseau, Hervé; Delos, Océane; Bertrand-Michel, Justine; Chedru, Amélie; Dembitz, Vilma; Gallipoli, Paolo; Anstee, Natasha S; Loo, Sun; Wei, Andrew H; Carroll, Martin; Goubard, Armelle; Castellano, Rémy; Collette, Yves; Vergez, François; Mas, Véronique Mansat-De; Bertoli, Sarah; Tavitian, Suzanne; Picard, Muriel; Récher, Christian; Bourges-Abella, Nathalie; Granat, Fanny; Kosmider, Olivier; Sujobert, Pierre; Colsch, Benoit; Joffre, Carine; Stuani, Lucille; Swinnen, Johannes V; Guillou, Hervé; Roué, Gael; Hakim, Nawad; Dejean, Anne S; Tsantoulis, Petros; Larrue, Clément; Bouscary, Didier; Tamburini, Jerome; Sarry, Jean-Emmanuel

C/EBPα Confers Dependence to Fatty Acid Anabolic Pathways and Vulnerability to Lipid Oxidative Stress-Induced Ferroptosis in FLT3-Mutant Leukemia Journal Article

In: Cancer Discov, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1720–1747, 2023, ISSN: 2159-8290.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2022

Yang, Cui; Blaize, Gaëtan; Marrocco, Rémi; Rouquié, Nelly; Bories, Cyrielle; Gador, Mylène; Mélique, Suzanne; Joulia, Emeline; Benamar, Mehdi; Dejean, Anne S; Daniels-Treffandier, Hélène; Love, Paul E; Fazilleau, Nicolas; Saoudi, Abdelhadi; Lesourne, Renaud

THEMIS enhances the magnitude of normal and neuroinflammatory type 1 immune responses by promoting TCR-independent signals Journal Article

In: Sci Signal, vol. 15, no. 742, pp. eabl5343, 2022, ISSN: 1937-9145.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Espino, Ana; Gouilly, Jordi; Chen, Qian; Colin, Philippe; Guerby, Paul; Izopet, Jacques; Amara, Ali; Tabiasco, Julie; Al-Daccak, Reem; Costa, Hicham El; Jabrane-Ferrat, Nabila

The mechanisms underlying the immune control of Zika virus infection at the maternal-fetal interface Journal Article

In: Front Immunol, vol. 13, pp. 1000861, 2022, ISSN: 1664-3224.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Jabrane-Ferrat, Nabila; Costa, Hicham El

Decidua Basalis: An Ex Vivo Model to Study HIV-1 Infection During Pregnancy and Beyond Journal Article

In: Methods Mol Biol, vol. 2407, pp. 205–213, 2022, ISSN: 1940-6029.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2021

Zhang, Jiang; Gras, Stéphanie Le; Pouxvielh, Kevin; Faure, Fabrice; Fallone, Lucie; Kern, Nicolas; Moreews, Marion; Mathieu, Anne-Laure; Schneider, Raphaël; Marliac, Quentin; Jung, Mathieu; Berton, Aurore; Hayek, Simon; Vidalain, Pierre-Olivier; Marçais, Antoine; Dodard, Garvin; Dejean, Anne; Brossay, Laurent; Ghavi-Helm, Yad; Walzer, Thierry

Sequential actions of EOMES and T-BET promote stepwise maturation of natural killer cells Journal Article

In: Nat Commun, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 5446, 2021, ISSN: 2041-1723.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Costa, Hicham El; Gouilly, Jordi; Abravanel, Florence; Bahraoui, Elmostafa; Peron, Jean-Marie; Kamar, Nassim; Jabrane-Ferrat, Nabila; Izopet, Jacques

Effector memory CD8 T cell response elicits Hepatitis E Virus genotype 3 pathogenesis in the elderly Journal Article

In: PLoS Pathog, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. e1009367, 2021, ISSN: 1553-7374.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2020

Weulersse, Marianne; Asrir, Assia; Pichler, Andrea C; Lemaitre, Lea; Braun, Matthias; Carrié, Nadège; Joubert, Marie-Véronique; Moine, Marie Le; Souto, Laura Do; Gaud, Guillaume; Das, Indrajit; Brauns, Elisa; Scarlata, Clara M; Morandi, Elena; Sundarrajan, Ashmitha; Cuisinier, Marine; Buisson, Laure; Maheo, Sabrina; Kassem, Sahar; Agesta, Arantxa; Pérès, Michaël; Verhoeyen, Els; Martinez, Alejandra; Mazieres, Julien; Dupré, Loïc; Gossye, Thomas; Pancaldi, Vera; Guillerey, Camille; Ayyoub, Maha; Dejean, Anne S; Saoudi, Abdelhadi; Goriely, Stanislas; Avet-Loiseau, Hervé; Bald, Tobias; Smyth, Mark J; Martinet, Ludovic

Eomes-Dependent Loss of the Co-activating Receptor CD226 Restrains CD8 T Cell Anti-tumor Functions and Limits the Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy Journal Article

In: Immunity, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 824–839.e10, 2020, ISSN: 1097-4180.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

2019

Gehrmann, Ulf; Burbage, Marianne; Zueva, Elina; Goudot, Christel; Esnault, Cyril; Ye, Mengliang; Carpier, Jean-Marie; Burgdorf, Nina; Hoyler, Thomas; Suarez, Guadalupe; Joannas, Leonel; Heurtebise-Chrétien, Sandrine; Durand, Sylvère; Panes, Rébecca; Bellemare-Pelletier, Angélique; Sáez, Pablo J; Aprahamian, Fanny; Lefevre, Deborah; Adoue, Veronique; Aabidine, Amal Zine El; Ahmad, Maqbool Muhammad; Hivroz, Claire; Joffre, Olivier; Cammas, Florence; Kroemer, Guido; Gagnon, Etienne; Andrau, Jean-Christophe; Amigorena, Sebastian

Critical role for TRIM28 and HP1β/γ in the epigenetic control of T cell metabolic reprograming and effector differentiation Journal Article

In: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, vol. 116, no. 51, pp. 25839–25849, 2019, ISSN: 1091-6490.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Mansuy, Jean-Michel; Costa, Hicham El; Gouilly, Jordi; Mengelle, Catherine; Pasquier, Christophe; Martin-Blondel, Guillaume; Izopet, Jacques; Jabrane-Ferrat, Nabila

Peripheral Plasma and Semen Cytokine Response to Zika Virus in Humans Miscellaneous

2019, ISSN: 1080-6059.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Adoue, Véronique; Binet, Bénédicte; Malbec, Agathe; Fourquet, Joanna; Romagnoli, Paola; van Meerwijk, Joost P M; Amigorena, Sebastian; Joffre, Olivier P

The Histone Methyltransferase SETDB1 Controls T Helper Cell Lineage Integrity by Repressing Endogenous Retroviruses Journal Article

In: Immunity, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 629–644.e8, 2019, ISSN: 1097-4180.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

Collaborations
Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD, Université de Stanford, USA

Stephen J. Galli, MD, Université de Stanford, USA

Philipp Starkl, PhD, CeMM, Vienne, Autriche

Thomas Marichal, PhD, GIGA Institute, Liège, Belgique

Dr Nicolas Gaudenzio, UDEAR, Toulouse

Dr Pierre Bruhns Institut Pasteur, Paris

Hal Hoffman, MD, UC San Diego, USA

Dr. Vincent Serra, CSO NEOVACS, Paris

Impact on the society
Allergies are major public health problems of increasing prevalence and for which there is, in most cases, no efficient long-term therapy. Our team studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms of allergies, in order to identify potential new therapeutic targets. We develop and test new immunotherapeutic approaches to treat allergic diseases. To do so, we analyze clinical samples from allergic patients and use “humanized” mouse models of allergies, which allow us to directly assess the efficiencies of innovative therapies targeting key human proteins involved in allergic reactions. Our team is composed of scientists and clinicians, which allows us to perform both basic and translational research on allergies.

Partenaires Equipe L. REBER