Thematic Axis : Immunology, Inflammation and Immunotherapy

Head of the axis : Jenny Valladeau -Guilemond

The “Immunology, Inflammation and Immunotherapies” axis gathers the complementary expertise of 9 research teams. Its goal is to understand how our immune system interacts with cancer cells as well as the influence of the inflammation on cancer. Different types of cancers such as melanoma, breast cancer, gastric and colon cancer are analyzed. In addition to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating immune and cancer cell functions, a large effort is made to develop new therapies using the immune system to eliminate tumors, and to evaluate efficiency of drugs.

Cancer Immune Surveillance and Therapeutic Targeting

Teal leader: Christophe Caux
Caux team aims to understand the mechanisms and actors of innate immune sensing of the pre-cancer state and the contribution of innate immune cells to anti-tumor surveillance mechanisms in immune active tumors.

Cancer cell plasticity in melanoma

Team leaders: Julie Caramel & Stéphane Dalle
The Caramel/Dalle team characterizes how cancer cell plasticity promotes immune escape in melanoma and how the crosstalk between melanoma cell states and the tumor immune microenvironment contributes to resistance to immunotherapies.

Gastroenterology and Technologies for Health

Team leaders: Benjamin Gibert & Thomas Walter
“Gastroenterology and Technologies for Health” team aims at better understanding the biology of small intestine neuroendocrine tumors and in particular to understand the tumor microenvironment and why this pathology is totally resistant to immunotherapies.

Inflamasomme and cancer

Team leader: Virginie Petrilli
Team Petrilli investigates the impact of the inflammasome and the associated inflammatory cell death pyroptosis on the activation of the anti-tumoral immunity.

Molecular Regulation of Cancer Immunity

Team leader: Yenkel Grinberg-Bleyer
The team « Molecular Regulation of Cancer Immunity » explores the molecular mechanisms (signal transduction pathways and transcription factors) that orchestrate the function of T lymphocytes in cancer. A special attention is given to the NF-kappaB family of transcription factors in the context of immune responses and immunotherapy in melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

Onco-pharmacology

Team leaders: Lars Jordheim & Charles Dumontet
The team Jordheim/Dumontet works on the activation of the innate immune system to treat cancer, as well on the effect of cancer treatments on immune cells.

Targeting non-canonical protein functions in cancer

Team leaders: Toufic Renno
The team Renno has identified a novel ERK/MyD88 protein-protein interaction as a therapeutic target and developed small molecule inhibitors that effectively eliminate cancer cells and activate the immune system. In addition, our research focuses on MyD88 regulation and its role in cancer, aiming to develop innovative therapeutic strategies.

TGF-beta and immune response

Team leader: Julien Marie
The team MARIE studies the role of the immune system in the initiation and control of cancer.

Antigen presentation, T-cells and cancer

Team leaders: Stéphane Depil & Jenny Valladeau-Guilemond
The aim of the team is to develop new immunotherapies through the identification of new tumor antigens, pathways and molecules enhancing antigen presentation within the tumor, and T cell engineering.