Signaling and cancer progression

Our team has a long-lasting expertise in the signaling field in cancer by working for several decades on two oncogenic families: the RAF Ser/Thr kinases (Peyssonnaux and Eychene, Biol Cell 2001) and the MAF transcription factors (Eychene et al., Nat Rev Cancer 2008).

Our team has developed a strong expertise in the field of intracellular signaling in vitro and in vivo, in particular on the MAPK/ERK and TGF pathways and on the modulation of the activity of transcription factors (TF) by their post-translational modifications (phosphorylation , ubiquitination…). We have developed complex animal models including genetically engineered mouse models with genetic tracing and orthotopic grafting including patient-derived xenografts (PDX). Our work have focused on two families of oncoproteins: the RAF kinases (Peyssonnaux and Eychene, Biol Cell 2001; Druillennec S et al., Mol Cell Oncol 2017) and the MAF transcription factors (Eychene et al. , Nat Rev Cancer 2008; Rocques et al., Mol Cell 2007).

Our studies have gradually led us to focus on two types of cancer in which these two families of oncoproteins play an essential role: medulloblastoma and melanoma.

Our current projects focus on pediatric cancers, mainly MEDULLOBLASTOMA (a cerebellar tumor) and, also through various collaborations, on AT/RT (atypical rhabdoid teratoid tumor) and retinoblastoma (tumor of the retina). Our main goal is to better understand their biology and to understand RADIOTHERAPY failure.