Immunoregulation and Biotherapy (I-BIOT)

Topic

Our team is developing a translational research activity in the field of immunopathology, aiming to decipher the role of immune regulatory mechanisms in normal or pathological immune responses.

Although developed during the evolution of the immune system to protect organisms from an over-expressed and uncontrolled immune response, evidence points to the central involvement of immune regulatory mechanisms in various diseases. These regulation mechanisms can fail, leading to an excessive and not controllable immune response, as in autoimmune diseases, solid organ transplant rejection or during the graft-versus-host disease, (GVHD) the main complication of allogeneic (allo-) haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Conversely, the inhibition of the immune response due to its excessive control or to active immunosuppressive mechanisms could promote tumor emergence and limit the effect of anti-cancer treatments in highly immunosuppressive and immunotherapy-resistant cancers such as the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

All these pathologies represent major health issues with unmet medical needs. This includes the lack of therapeutic or preventive strategies really impacting these diseases, as well as a critical need for innovative reliable prognostic and/or diagnostic biomarkers.

In this setting, the team developed 4 main research axes with distinct and complementary expertise, each contributing to specific work packages addressing the role of specific immune regulation mechanisms in various pathological settings:

• Axis 1. Immune regulation: basic and therapeutic aspects (PIs Dr Jimena Tosello and Dr Mathieu Leclerc);
• Axis 2. Oncology and therapeutic aspects (PIs Pr Ilaria Cascone and Pr Anais Pujals);
• Axis 3. Alloreactivity (PIs Pr Marie Matignon and Dr Benoit Vingert);
• Axis 4. Immuno-intervention in transplantation & cancer. (PI Pr Marie Matignon and Pr José Cohen) illustrating the close interactions between the team and the Clinical Investigation Center in biotherapy to facilitate the transfer of team concepts into the clinic and interaction with industrial partners.

Our team together with the Clinical Investigation Center in biotherapy, the Clinical Hematology and Nephrology Departments and the EFS Cell and Tissue Engineering Unit is a labeled-FOCIS (Federation of clinical immunology societies) Center of Excellence (FCE)

Team Funding