Current lab members:

• Eirini TROMPOUKI, DR2 Inserm
• Veronica Bergo (PhD student based in Freiburg)
• Giang To Vu (PhD student)
• Ahmed Mady (PhD student)
• Nghia Tran Trung (PhD student)
• Laurelly Caliari (Master 1 student)
• Aikaterini Polyzou (bioinformatician)

Lab Alumni:

We investigate the mechanisms that govern hematopoietic stem cell formation during development, adult hematopoietic regeneration and blood diseases. We are mainly focused on the mechanistic intersection of these processes.

In particular, we are currently interested in the interplay between repetitive/transposable elements and innate immune signaling mediated through RNA sensors and how these signals integrate into regulating hematopoiesis. We think that repetitive elements play fundamental roles in developmental and adult hematopoiesis both by signaling through their RNA transcripts and functioning as cis-regulatory elements.

Mission & Goals

Hematopoietic stem cells are formed during development where they actively proliferate to create the adult hematopoietic stem cell pool. We are focusing on signals that regulate this process and we recently identified that repetitive elements expressed during development signal through RIG-I-like receptors to induce inflammatory signals that enhance hematopoietic stem cell formation. Repetitive elements are also induced in adult hematopoiesis, especially during stress situations like chemotherapy. Our goal is to further delineate the role of repetitive elements and inflammation in physiological and pathological hematopoiesis. 

Approach

We use zebrafish, mouse and primary human cells to investigate all aspects of hematopoiesis. We are harnessing the power of different models to fully address the functionality and signals that shape hematopoietic stem cell decisions. We are heavily relying on genome-wide methods like expression, chromatin accessibility, chromatin immunoprecipitation and other assays to deepen our knowledge in the molecular mechanisms that govern hematopoiesis.

Current Projects

Publications

• p16^High immune cell – controlled disease tolerance as a broad defense and healthspan extending strategy
  19 juillet 2024 par Francisco Triana-Martinez
  The ability of an organism to overcome infectious diseases has traditionally been linked to killing invading pathogens. Accumulating evidence, however, indicates that, apart from restricting pathogen loads, organismal survival is coupled to an additional yet poorly understood mechanism called disease tolerance. Here we report that p16^(High) immune cells play a key role in establishing disease tolerance. We found that the FDA-approved BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is a potent and rapid inducer…
• Nucleic acid-induced inflammation on hematopoietic stem cells
  27 décembre 2023 par Giang To Vu
  Hematopoiesis, the process of generating blood cells, starts during development with the primitive, pro-definitive, and definitive hematopoietic waves. The first two waves will generate erythrocytes and myeloid cells, although the definitive wave will give rise to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that are multipotent and can produce most of the blood cells in an adult. Although HSCs are highly proliferative during development, during adulthood they remain quiescent in the bone marrow….
• Transposable elements in normal and malignant hematopoiesis
  28 juillet 2023 par Eline Lemerle
  Transposable elements (TEs) are dispersed repetitive DNA sequences that can move within a genome. Even though hundreds of years of evolution have led to the accumulation of mutations that render most TEs unable to transpose, they still exert multiple important functions. They play a role in hematopoiesis, especially during periods of high cellular plasticity, such as development, regeneration and aging. This is because TEs can populate functional elements, such as enhancers. Furthermore, TE RNA…
• Hematopoietic heterogeneity starts at the hemogenic endothelium
  13 avril 2023 par Eline Lemerle
  No abstract
• Progress and challenges in stem cell biology
  14 février 2023 par Effie Apostolou
  No abstract
• TFEB induces mitochondrial itaconate synthesis to suppress bacterial growth in macrophages
  21 juillet 2022 par Ev-Marie Schuster
  Successful elimination of bacteria in phagocytes occurs in the phago-lysosomal system, but also depends on mitochondrial pathways. Yet, how these two organelle systems communicate is largely unknown. Here we identify the lysosomal biogenesis factor transcription factor EB (TFEB) as regulator for phago-lysosome-mitochondria crosstalk in macrophages. By combining cellular imaging and metabolic profiling, we find that TFEB activation, in response to bacterial stimuli, promotes the transcription of…

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