The scientific outreach day of the [organization name] took place on November 18th.Proteomics axis from Biogenouest in Nantes.
With around fifty people registered for the day, the day provided an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas on the theme " Healthy Proteins » (Download the program 👉 here).
Frédéric Pecorari, scientific director of the core facility P2R, began the day with a presentation of the proteomics focus, which has been expanded this year with the integration of the core facility Prot'ICO from Angers, bringing the number of core facilities in the axis to 5.
The day then revolved around a scientific conference by Blandine Monel from the INCIT research unit, and presentations of the 5 core facilities of the axis, each presentation being followed by a communication of the work of researchers using these same core facilities.
Conference
Biomolecule engineering to combat viral infections
by
Blandine Monel – Immunology and New Concepts in Immunotherapy (INCIT, UMR1302), Nantes
Blandine Monel is a Research Fellow in Team 3, "Anti-tumor Immunosurveillance and Immunotherapy," at INCIT. She is affiliated with the group "Optimization of T lymphocyte functions for adoptive transfer (Cancer and viral infections)" and is developing her own research theme on the development of new immunotherapy tools for infectious diseases, thanks to the program .
His presentation was divided into two parts:
– the first part, produced in collaboration with the core facility P2R, described the engineering of stable small molecules, affins, for the neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, via their interaction with the virus's Spike protein. The presentation demonstrated the optimization of affin structures, in the form of monomers, dimers, and trimers, with or without coupling to a human Fc fragment, to achieve maximum efficiency in neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Modeling of the interaction between affins and the virus was also presented. This work is the subject of a recent publication (Maurice T, et al. Optimized pipeline for generating highly potent neutralizing Affitins: Application to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins. Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Nov 27:149321. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149321).
The second part was dedicated to describing new immunological strategies for HIV treatment. The work presented focused on "HIV controllers," patients capable of controlling viral replication without treatment. This control is achieved through a very rapid CD8 T-cell response upon exposure to the virus, involving the proteasome. Blandine Monel's work therefore aims to develop CD8 T-cell-based therapies, firstly at the level of the mechanism of antigen presentation to cells (either classical or involving the proteasome), secondly at the level of CD8 T-cell production, and finally through the development of tools to eliminate infected CD4 cells. These various projects involve the core facilities P2R et m-Shark.
Oral communications from the core facilities and their users.
The five core facilities within the axis then detailed their services and expertise. An example of a project developed on each core facility illustrated the breadth of their scientific and technological capabilities.
Frédéric Pecorari presented the specific features of the P2R core facility, whose production capacity for non-classical MHC/peptide complexes is unique in France. He announced the upcoming acquisition of SEC MALS/DLS equipment and then described two ongoing R&D projects on the core facility:
- Production of anti-MHC/peptide VHH for the detection of MHC/peptide complexes or the construction of biomolecules, by an exclusively in vitro approach, without immunization (Thomas Maurice)
- Production of endotoxin-free recombinant IL34 (Agnès Fortun)
Immune modulation by IL-34 protein re-engineering for novel therapies
Carole Guillonneau, Romain Humeau
UMR1064 CR2TI, Nantes
Carole Guillonneau is co-head of the "T cell development and immunotolerance" research theme at the UMR1064-CR2TI research unit in Nantes. She presented the work carried out by Romain Humeau in his team, which focuses on IL-34 and its role in immune tolerance via regulatory T lymphocytes. IL-34 agonists could therefore be of interest in the context of organ transplantation or the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The work, conducted in collaboration with the P2R and Impact core facilities, consisted of an in silico prediction of the amino acid residues important for the interaction of IL-34 with its receptor, followed by the production of recombinant endotoxin-free IL-34, with optimization of both the quality and quantities produced.
Emmanuelle Com, Protim's technical manager, presented the services offered by the core facility, as well as its technical developments. The various ongoing developments at Protim were detailed, particularly regarding:
- Sample preparation, with optimization of the processing and acquisition of complex and/or small quantity samples
- The development of protein imaging by MALDI mass spectrometry coupled with multiplex IHC (based on antibodies coupled to photo-cleavable peptide probes).
Oncolytic viruses and the tumor microenvironment: focus on extracellular vesicles
Nicolas Boisgerault
UMR-S 1307 CRCI2NA, Nantes
Nicolas Boisgerault is a Research Scientist in Team 1 "ITMI" at CRCI2NA, where he conducts research on new tools for fighting cancer: oncolytic viruses. In addition to their ability to lyse cells and modulate the activity of immune cells, these viruses can be used as vectors for therapeutic molecules. This is the focus of Nicolas's work, as he develops new oncolytic viruses. He also explores the mechanisms by which these viruses use and hijack extracellular vesicles to transfer material. Nicolas has collaborated with the Protim core facility to analyze the contents of extracellular vesicles using mass spectrometry. He is also developing increasingly complex cellular models, such as tumor spheroids, for the study of oncolytic viruses.
After lunch, we met with Alexandra Jeudy for a presentation of the CristalO core facility, where she is the technical manager. Alexandra presented the core facility, whose activities are divided into two main areas: crystal growth and crystallography. CristalO has expertise in determining the three-dimensional structures of proteins, including structure comparison, guiding functional studies, understanding structure-function relationships, and possessing tools for identifying interaction sites.
Alexandra then detailed CristalO's expertise in studying protein-ligand complexes, particularly for marine bacterial proteins. The core facility has conducted screening studies of marine enzyme ligands to identify the enzyme's natural substrate. It also develops various ligand diffusion solutions, including soaking, co-crystallization, and slow diffusion.
Targeting the "mysterious" enzyme NQO2 (quinone reductase) by small 7-azaindoles-type chemical compounds
Claire Delehouzé & Stéphane Bach
UMR8227 LBI2M / SeaBeLife Biotech & Kissf core facility, Roscoff
Claire Delehouzé and Stéphane Bach, from the LBI2M research unit, then presented their work on the quinone reductase enzyme NQO2 via videoconference. This study originated from a screening of necroptosis inhibitors, a cell death mechanism involved in numerous human diseases and regulated by protein kinases. This screening identified molecules containing a 7-aza-indole core, whose cellular targets include the quinone reductase NQO2. Claire and Stéphane's work aimed to characterize the interaction between NQO2 and the ligand identified by the screen, using various methods: Cellular Thermal Shift Assay, enzyme assay, and crystallography, which involved the CristalO core facility.
Mike Maillasson, co-technical lead of the Imp@ct core facility, then described Imp@ct's capabilities for studying molecular interactions at different levels: protein profiling, kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of interactions, screening of interaction modulators, and statistical and bioinformatic data analysis. Mike then detailed two projects conducted on the core facility:
- study of the FAMIIB protein, involved in a rare genetic disease, Poikilodermia, and which plays a role in the regulation of the Ubiquitin-proteasome system, by structural and proteomic approaches (collaborative project);
- development of a pipeline for generating new chemical ligands (R&D project of the core facility).
Innovative approaches to study protein interactions and identify chemical modulators
Hélène Munier-Lehman
UMR-S 1124 HealthFex, Paris
Hélène Munier-Lehmann is a Research Fellow in the SysTox team of the "Health and Functional Exposomics – HealthFex" research unit in Paris. During her presentation, she discussed two projects:
- New approaches to inhibiting retrovirus integration, for which she collaborated with the Imp@ct core facility and used the national chemical library.
- Identification of anti-SARS Cov-2 compounds, targeting the NSP3 protein and the E envelope protein, also with the use of compounds from the national chemical library.
Prot'ICO core facility: Space biology without preconceptions – implementation of proteomic exploration tools in pico-quantities in Western France
François Guilloneau
core facility Prot'ICOAngers
Participants finally had the opportunity to discover the Prot'ICO core facility, newly integrated into Biogenouest's proteomics research area. François Guillonneau, head of the core facility, described Prot'ICO's proteomics activities and presented the new services and offerings it is currently developing, notably spatial proteome analysis following laser microdissection of cells. Cell sorting, isolation, and sample preparation steps, including lysis and digestion, are automated using CellenOne equipment. This new approach will also allow for analyses to be performed on small sample volumes (biopsies).
The impact of lung cancer cells on the vascular compartment
Lucas Treps
UMR-S1307 CRCI2NA, Nantes
Lucas Treps, a Research Scientist in Team 1 ITMI at CRCI2NA, concluded the scientific day with a presentation of his research on the interactions of endothelial cells with the tumor microenvironment. Endothelial cells undergo an EndoMT-type transition when exposed to tumor cell culture medium (conditioned medium): they lose their endothelial cell phenotype and acquire a mesenchymal phenotype. In the study presented, a proteomic analysis of the conditioned medium was performed to identify the proteins involved in the EndoMT transition. A kinase profile was also conducted under co-culture conditions between endothelial and tumor cells. Finally, more complex cell models such as MultiCellular Tumor Spheroid (MCTS), including HUVEC cells, were used to analyze the endothelial compartment of the tumor microenvironment.
Thank you to all the participants and speakers
See you at the next Proteomics Axis Day in 2026 with Biogenouest
