TEAM
Research scientists
Alexandre Alcaïs
Sabine Plancoulaine
Audrey Grant
Aurélie Cobat
Graduate students
Quentin Vincent
Ghislain Grange
Technical staff
Cécile Fligny
Jérome Flatot
Lucile Jannière
Les 5 meilleures publications

1. Bandiera S. et al. Nuclear outsourcing of RNA interference components to human mitochondria. PLoS One. (2011). 6(6):e20746.
2. Warman ML. et al. Nosology and classification of genetic skeletal disorders: 2010 revision. Am J Med Genet A. (2011). 155A(5):943-68.
3. Jardin F. et al. Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas with CDKN2A deletion have a distinct gene expression signature and a poor prognosis under R-CHOP treatment: a GELA study. Blood. (2010). 116(7):1092-104.
4. Bandiera S. et al. microRNAs in diseases: from candidate to modifier genes. Clin Genet. (2010). 77(4):306-13.
5.
 Girard M. et al. miR-122, a paradigm for the role of microRNAs in the liver. J Hepatol. (2008). 48(4):648-56.
 
Human genetics of infectious diseases: Complex predisposition
Our team aims to identify the main genes involved in the determinism of common infectious diseases mostly in adults. It is also involved in the development of statistical methods in genetic epidemiology, as data analyses often raise methodological issues that we search to solve. Our studies of infectious diseases focus on infections due to virulent mycobacteria and certain oncogenic viruses, and the main results obtained during the last years include:


  1. identification by positional cloning of major leprosy susceptibility variants of the PARK2/PACRG and LTA genes, identifying new pathophysiological pathways,
  2. mapping of the first major locus conferring predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and of the two first major loci controlling infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
  3. dissection of intra-familial transmission of HHV-8 in endemic populations, with the detection of a major gene predisposing to infection by this virus,
  4. demonstration that current HCV infection has a strong familial component explained by both specific modes of intrafamilial viral transmission and by genetic predisposition to infection,
  5. mapping of two loci conferring predisposition to HTLV-1 infection in childhood.

We will extend our work on TB and leprosy by studying new phenotypes (infection phenotypes in TB, reversal reactions in leprosy), and collecting new samples. We will also initiate a project investigating the genetic basis of Buruli ulcer, the third most common mycobacterial disease. We will continue our work on HTLV-1, HHV-8 and HCV infections, with identification of the loci we have detected and the initiation of new studies focusing on the severe clinical diseases following these infections. Fondation Imagine, cliquez pour zoomer… Together with the other team of the unit, we are investigating the genetic control of some of these infections from the perspectives of both Mendelian predisposition to rare phenotypes (e.g. severe TB or Kaposi’s sarcoma) and complex predisposition to common phenotypes (e.g. pulmonary TB or HHV-8 infection). Taking advantage of the recent advances in high-throughput genotyping, we are also planning genome-wide association studies of several infectious diseases (TB, leprosy, and HCV-related phenotypes). All these projects are being conducted in large field studies that we are coordinating, and involve many collaborators. The identification of host genes involved in human infectious diseases will provide new keys to understanding the pathogenesis mechanisms underlying disease development, with potentially major practical implications for the control of infectious diseases.





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