Cellular and Chemical Biology (UMR3666 / U1143)

Le Dr Raphaël Rodriguez, chef de l’équipe Chemical Biology (CNRS UMR3666 / Inserm U1143), est le lauréat 2023 du Prix Liliane Bettencourt pour les sciences du vivant. Cette distinction vient récompenser ses travaux sur la conception de petites molécules pour disséquer les processus cellulaires liés au cancer, à l’inflammation et au vieillissement.

The result of solving a series of technological challenges, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized the work of the scientific community. Dr Raphael Rodriguez, head of the Chemical Biology team (CNRS UMR3666 / Inserm U1143) at Institut Curie tells the genesis in an article published in Nature Biotechnology on October 16th.

For the 1st time, researchers from Institut Curie, the CNRS and Inserm have uncovered a previously unknown chain of biochemical reactions. This chain involves copper and leads to metabolic and epigenetic alterations that activate inflammation and tumorigenesis. But there is more; the research team developed a “drug prototype” capable of mitigating both the mechanisms of inflammation and the processes potentially involved in metastatic spread. These results were published in the journal Nature on April 26, 2023.

A membrane receptor is like a lock, a ligand is like a key and when one binds to the other, cell activity is triggered. Although this relatively simple pattern often works, a team at Institut Curie has just revealed in Nature Cell Biology that it is not always as simple as that: for the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, vital in several pathologies, it all happens in the endosome.

The 3rd international symposium dedicated to Chemical Biology was held last January 12th and 13th at Institut Curie. The 2023 edition drew a prestigious crowd, with world reknowed speakers.

For its 10th edition, the TEMTIA conference is coming to France for the very first time, taking place at Institut Curie from November 7 to 10. For the event, the two co-chairs of TEMTIA, Prof. Alain Puisieux, Director of the Institut Curie Research Center and Pierre Savagner, Inserm researcher at Gustave Roussy, take a closer look at the challenges surrounding molecular and cellular aspects of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) at the root of metastatic cancer progression.