Our research areas

The overall objective of the project is to identify dietary lipids of interest for oncology/hematology, notably regarding their impact on disease pathophysiology in tumor niches and on response/resistance to treatment. The fundamental and clinical project is positioned at the intersection of the two fields of cancer and nutrition, with specific expertise in the chemistry/biochemistry of lipids from adipose tissues, tumors and cell membranes. The objective is to identify and use both natural and synthetic patentable lipids, with specific modes of action, to improve the efficacy of anticancer therapy, restrain tumor progression and prevent metastases and/or malnutrition. The project is focused on lipids (PUFAs, ELs, sterols and CL) that will act on both the host and the tumor of cancer patients. These dietary lipids, stored in adipose tissues, act on molecular actors of tumors including the tumor microenvironment. More precisely, they have been shown to act on molecular actors of energy metabolism and calcium signaling (ion channels and exchangers).

The project is composed of two interconnected mechanistic research axes studying the role of PUFAs, ELs, CL and sterols on i) calcium signaling and ii) energy metabolism, respectively coordinated by Marie Potier-Cartereau/ William Raoul and Jean François Dumas/Amélie Foucault. This will be performed in the framework of translational/clinical research coordinated by Gaëlle Fromont and Emmanuel Gyan.

1) Translational and clinical studies

Translational projects will rely on pre-existing and prospective collections of both solid tumors and leukemias, declared to the French Ministry of Research and included in the labeled biobank of Tours CHU.
Collections will be used for proteomic, transcriptomic and metabolic characterization, as well as to determine their lipid composition (lipidomics), in relation to tumor aggressiveness.
Data obtained from the collections of human samples will lead to hypotheses to be mechanistically tested. Conversely, bioresources from human tumors will allow to validate mechanistic findings and genomic signatures.

2) Calcium signaling

WP1. Identification of the lipidome from paired adipose tissues and tumors associated with onco-complexes expression (calciome) and link to tumor aggressiveness.
WP2. Characterization of calcium controlling lipid-sensitive ion channel complexes.
WP3. Biological effects of lipid candidates and functional characterization of their mechanism of action.

3) Oxidative and energy metabolism

WP1. Mechanisms of action of lipids on metabolism as modulators of cancer complications.
WP2 Original strategies for optimizing metabolic analyses and identification of metabolic reprogramming parameters as potential clinical biomarkers of cancer progression.
WP3. Nutritional and pharmacological approaches for the modulation of metabolic changes.