chercheur cnrs IPBS - CNRS UMR5089 TEAM C. GUILHOT - MOLECULAR BACTERIAL PATHOGENESIS TEL: 05-61-17-54-55
EXPERTISE:
mycobacterium, lipids, macrophages
PROJECT:
In spite of the tremendous impact of mycobacterial pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae, on public health, little is known about the molecular mechanisms contributing to their virulence. Our group has pioneered studies on the contribution of specific mycobacterial lipids to pathogenicity. More recently, we have devoted a lot of efforts to explore their role in the host/pathogen cross-talk, from macrophages to animal models of infection.We have developed a strategy that combines genetic engineering and synthetic chemistry with approaches in biochemistry, biophysics and cell biology, to unravel: i) At the cellular level, how lipids contribute to the fate of intracellular bacteria and infected macrophages, and whether this affects impairs bacterial spread from cell-to-cell ii) In infected animals, what is the impact of lipids on bacterial survival and dissemination, tissue-damage induction, and host immune response.