Team
Systems Biology of cell Polarity and Cell Division (Bio6)
Presentation
Our team studies different processes happening in the cell: cell migration, cell volume/mass regulation, cell division. We are interested by processes involving the cytoskeleton, organelles and their relation with mechanosensitivity. We develop and use innovative tools based on nano and micro-fabrication techniques, to control and modulate the main physical and chemical parameters of the cell micro-environment.
These tools are coupled with high quality quantitative microscopy, and used alongside molecular and cell biology techniques, to obtain a quantitative description of the cell behavior. As well as highlighting new basic concepts about cell behavior, our multidisciplinary approach leads to the development of novel tools with potential applications in biomedical research.
The focus of our current research is how cells proliferate and migrate when space is limited. We want to understand how cells (immune cells and cancer cells) can produce efficient motion under confinement and squeeze through small holes, and how physical constrains affect dividing cells.
Our current project on cell proliferation under external constrains has been awarded an ERC Consolidator grant (2013-2018). An ERC Synergy Grant (2023-2028), in collaboration with the teams of Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil, Giorgio Scita and Raphaël Voituriez, was also obtained in order to study the impact of cell shapes on cell behaviour and fate
Matthieu Piel is author of more than 352 publications, with more than 20000 citations (h-index 73). He holds four patents, and is a co-founder of the CYTOO company, and of the Pierre-Gilles de Gennes Institute for Microfluidics.
Mr Piel has also taught at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research, and he is currently teaching Cell Biology and Biophysics in several master courses in Paris.
Mr Piel was awarded the Bronze medal of CNRS in 2012, then elected EMBO member in 2016 ; and also won the Grand Prix Jean Hamburger of research in medecine from the City of Paris in 2018. Finally, in 2023, Mr Piel obtained the Prix de Recherche de la Fondation Allianz-Institut de France and was awarded the Silver medal of CNRS.
Here is a video, produced for French television, in which Matthieu Piel explains his motivations:
L’ETINCELLE_MATTHIEU_PIEL from HELIOX Films on Vimeo.
Here is a video that we produced for the ASCB about the life of a dendritic cell:
ASCB Celldance 2016 – Piel from ASCB on Vimeo.
Techniques and tools we created and use
- Micropatterning: We have demonstrated that micro-patterns of extra-cellular matrix molecules are able to determine the polarity and division axis of cultured cells (see publication). This discovery was patented and licensed to a start-up company (CYTOO, created in 2008) and we have kept developing this technology.
Microchannels: We use microfabricated channels to study cell migration and to mimic the micro-environment of the cell in the body. See poster below (Download PDF):
- Confinement devices: We developed tools to confine the cell to very low height and we have exploited them to understand how mechanical constrains affect cell division and migration.
- Cell volume measurement: We published a technique to measure precisely the cell volume with exclusion fluorescence (see publication) and showed that mammalian cells swell during mitosis (see publication).
Team members
Damien Cuvelier (Teacher and Researcher in Physics and Chemistry): Studies the mechanical properties of the nuclear membrane subjected to physical constraints.
Camille Plancke (Study Engineer): Lab Manager and technical support in various Research Projects carried out in the team.
Theresa Jakuszeit (Post-doctoral researcher): Studies the migration of immune cells within a complex environment. In collaboration with the team of Raphaël Voituriez (IBPS - UMR 8237 - Laboratory Jean Perrin).
Kotryna Vaidziulyte (Post-doctoral researcher): Studies the deformation of circulating tumor cells subjected to mechanical stresses.
Judith Pineau (Post-doctoral researcher): Investigating cell and nuclear deformation in multicellular contexts.
Melissa Quintanilla (Post-doctoral researcher): Investigating the effect of the mechanical properties of large, ingested cargos on immune cell migration.
Vanessa Nunes (Post-doctoral researcher): Dissecting the mechanisms regulating nuclear volume, tension and nuclear envelope surface area.
Solène Ludwig (PhD student): Studies the physico-chemistry of the nucleoplasm.
PhD students under joint supervision
Anumita Jawahar (PhD student): Studies the heterogeneity of the cell cortex in polarized cells.
In collaboration with the team of Olivia Du Roure and Julien Heuvingh (ESPCI - UMR 7636) and Mathieu Coppey (Institut Curie - UMR168 - Cell physics and cancer).
Sarah Sadik (PhD student): Investigates the mechanical and dynamic interactions between the nuclear envelope and chromatin.
In collaboration with the team of Antoine Coulon (Institut Curie - UMR168 - Cell physics and cancer).
Baptiste Vauléon (PhD student): Investigates the mechanical properties of the actin cell cortex.
In collaboration with the team of Olivia Du Roure and Julien Heuvingh (ESPCI - UMR 7636 - Physics and Mechanics of Heterogeneous Media).
