IGBMC : Institut de la Génétique et de la Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire

• Researchers

  Sophie JARRIAULT

• Post-Doctoral Fellowships

  Arnaud AHIER

  Steven ZURYN

• Phd Students

  Thomas DANIELE

  Marie Charlotte MORIN

• Engineers & Technicians

  Nadine FISCHER

• Master Students

  Aude WILLM

Development & stem cells

In vivo cellular plasticity and direct reprogramming

How differentiated cells can change their identity is a fascinating question in biology and has implications for the development of regenerative medicine strategies. Numerous examples of cellular plasticity in physiological, experimental and pathological settings exist, but precisely how a differentiated cell can change its identity remains unknown. Our research tackles this important question by employing a powerful and innovative model, the nematode C. elegans.
Our work has established the worm as a new model to study cellular reprogramming in vivo at the single cell level. We have shown that direct cell reprogramming events occur during the worm development: for example, a rectal cell changes its identity into a moto-neuron. Because of the C. elegans invariant cellular lineage, our system gives us access to all the steps of the process, including the early ones, a unique asset. We investigate how specific cells, but not their neighbours, become competent to be reprogrammed. We have begun the systematic identification of the molecular networks and the dissection of the cellular requirements underlying direct cell type conversion in vivo. In addition, we are assessing what key aspects have been conserved in cell reprogramming by comparing different cell plasticity events.
Our integrated approach will contribute to unravel the key mechanisms that allow a differentiated cell to become plastic and change its identity. Such knowledge has significant therapeutic implications, as it will deepen our understanding of the initiation of certain cancers, and will improve our ability to reprogram cells for regenerative medicine purposes.

• Current projects

  Our projects are centered on 4 questions and aim at determining the cellular requirements and the molecular circuitry controlling cell plasticity:
  • What makes a cell, but not its neighbours, uniquely able to be reprogrammed, in vivo?
  • What nuclear events potentiate the initiation of in vivo direct reprogramming?
  • How is the cellular potential associated with each intermediate step controlled?
  • Do different plasticity events rely on conserved strategies?

• Collaborations

• Prizes/Awards

  • Sophie JARRIAULT - Prize for fundamental research - Fondation Générale de Santé / Académie des sciences - 2012
  • Sophie JARRIAULT - EMBO Young Investigator Award - European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigator Programme (EMBO YIP) - 2011
  • Sophie JARRIAULT - Young investigator Award - European Federation for Systematic Stem Cell Biology (EuroSyStem) - 2010
  • Sophie JARRIAULT - Scientific Prize - Fondation Schlumberger pour l'Education et la Recherche (FSER) - 2009
  • Sophie JARRIAULT - Scientific Prize - Comité Alsace de la Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) - 2008
  • Sophie JARRIAULT - ATIP starting grant - CNRS - 2006

• News

  • Jan. 24, 2012 - IGBMC, an institute of excellence awarded by the European research council (ERC)
  • Nov. 10, 2011 - Two junior researchers awarded by the prestigious european EMBO programme
  • March 9, 2011 - Transdifferentiation : the doorway to regenerative medecine

• Publications

  • Members of the NODE (Nanog and Oct4-associated deacetylase) complex and SOX-2 promote the initiation of a natural cellular reprogramming event in vivo.

    Kagias K, Ahier A, Fischer N, Jarriault S.

    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A April 9, 2012 ; :0 .

  • Cell plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans: from induced to natural cell reprogramming

    Hajduskova M., Ahier A., Daniele T., Jarriault S.

    Genesis Jan 2012 ; 50:1-17 .

  • Cell plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans: From induced to natural cell reprogramming.

    Hajduskova M, Ahier A, Daniele T, Jarriault S.

    Genesis Sept. 19, 2011 ; :0 .

  • Direct in vivo cellular reprogramming involves transition through discrete, non-pluripotent steps

    Richard J.P., Zuryn S., Fischer N., Pavet V., Vaucamps N., Jarriault S.

    Development Apr 2011 ; 138:1483-92 .

  • [Direct reprogramming - A little worm unveils the cellular transitions.]

    Morin M.C., Jarriault S.

    Med Sci (Paris) Mar 2011 ; 27:331-333 .

  • A strategy for direct mapping and identification of mutations by whole-genome sequencing

    Zuryn S., Le Gras S., Jamet K., Jarriault S.

    Genetics Sep 2010 ; 186:427-30 .

  • A Caenorhabditis elegans model for epithelial-neuronal transdifferentiation

    Jarriault S., Schwab Y., Greenwald I.

    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A March 11, 2008 ; 105:3790-5 .

  • Evidence for functional redundancy between C. elegans ADAM proteins SUP-17/Kuzbanian and ADM-4/TACE

    Jarriault S., Greenwald I.

    Dev Biol Nov. 1, 2005 ; 287:1-10 .

  • Suppressors of the egg-laying defective phenotype of sel-12 presenilin mutants implicate the CoREST corepressor complex in LIN-12/Notch signaling in C. elegans

    Jarriault S., Greenwald I.

    Genes Dev Oct. 15, 2002 ; 16:2713-28 .

  • Delta-1 activation of notch-1 signaling results in HES-1 transactivation

    Jarriault S., Le Bail O., Hirsinger E., Pourquie O., Logeat F., Strong C.F., Brou C., Seidah N.G., Isra l A.

    Mol Cell Biol Dec 1998 ; 18:7423-31 .

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• Job opportunities

  • Post-Doc - Equipe S.Jarriault (H/F)

• Videos

• Thesis subjects