Biomedical research institute
Biomedical research institute
Team leaders:
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Catherine Postic |  |
Tarik Issad |
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Alteration of energy balance is a cornerstone in the development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, the prevalence of which is steadily increasing all over the world. Our team is interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the control of energy homeostasis. More specifically, we aim at understanding how genetic and environmental modifications may affect biological functions, leading to the development of these pathologies. |
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Insulin, secreted by the beta-cells of the pancreas in response to food intake, plays a major role in the regulation of energy metabolism, through fine-tuning of nutrient utilisation and storage in different tissues. Our team aims at better characterizing the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity, and at elucidating how their perturbation may result in insulin resistance and in the alterations of metabolic pathways that are observed in diabetes, obesity and hepatic steatosis.
To improve our knowledge of the cellular and molecular regulation of insulin and glucose signalling in physiological and pathological conditions, we intend to:
i) determine the mechanisms involved in the control of fatty acid synthesis through hepatic lipogenesis, in physiological conditions as well as in hepatic diseases (NAFLD);
ii) evaluate the contribution of glucose metabolism in liver/pancreas and intestine/pancreas inter-organ dialogues;
iii) analyse insulin signalling mechanisms involved in the metabolic and mitogenic effects of the hormone;
iv) study the role of O-GlcNAcylation (a reversible post-translational modification induced by hyperglycaemia) in the regulation of cell signalling and in the glucotoxicity phenomenon in hepatocytes, pancreatic beta-cells and macrophages;
v) establish new tools, based on the BRET technology, for the study of protein-protein interactions in living cells, and for the development of high-throughput screening assays for drug discovery;
Altogether, our studies aim at identifying new therapeutic targets in the context of metabolic diseases.