Programming bacteria to detect disease

Bacteria have a bad reputation and are often seen as enemies causing many diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera. However, bacteria can also be our allies as evidenced by the exploding work on our bacterial flora or microbiota, which plays a major role in our body functions. Since the advent of biotechnology, researchers have engineered bacteria to produce therapeutic molecules. The team of Jerome Bonnet at the CBS (Inserm/CNRS/University of Montpellier), together with teams from CNRS, the Montpellier University Hospital and from Stanford University went further and transformed bacteria in "micro-spies" able to detect and report the presence of biomarkers of disease in urine or blood. These bacteria are able to detect the abnormal presence of glucose in the urine of diabetic patients. This work marks the first step towards the use of programmable cells for medical diagnosis.

 

New publication: "Detection of pathological biomarkers in human clinical samples via amplifying genetic switches and logic gates"
Authors: Alexis Courbet, Drew Endy, Eric Renard, Franck Molina et Jérôme Bonnet
Journal: Science Translational Medicine, 2015 May 27;7(289):289ra83.
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Variable Effect of Kinase Inhibitors on Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Breast tumors belonging to the triple negative subgroup (TN) (no estrogen, no progesterone and no ERBB2 receptors expressed) are the most aggressive and have the worst prognosis due to lack of specific therapies. The tyrosine kinases of the ABL family are responible for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and may be implicated in TN breast cancer too. Here we tested the ABL kinase inhibitors used for CML in TN cell lines. We unexpectedly found opposite effects of these inhibitors dependending on the TN cell line tested. Thus, ABL inhibitors may be beneficial only for a subset of TN patients and very dangerous for others.

 

New publication: ABL Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition Variable Effects on the Invasive Properties of Different Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lines.
Authors: Chevalier C, Cannet A, Descamps S, Sirvent A, Simon V, Roche S, Benistant C
Journal: PLoS One, 2015 Mar 24;10(3)
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Le CBS participe à la Fête de la Science

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Le Cente de Biochimie Structurale ouvre ses portes et organise plusieurs évenements pour fêter les 80 ans du CNRS à l'occasion de l'édition 2019 de la Fête de la Science.

 

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Visite guidée du Centre de Biochimie Structurale

Centre de Biochimie Structurale

Visite des principaux plateaux techniques et instruments disponibles au CBS pour étudier les structures du vivant.

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FBI : Enquête aux frontières du visible

Centre de Biochimie Structurale

Un jeu de type "escape game" pour découvrir les formidables outils d'investigation offerts par les techniques d'imagerie du vivant.

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Exposition/Atelier : "Voir l'invisible"

Village des Sciences

Une exposition et des animations pour découvrir et s'émerveiller du vivant à l'échelle microscopique. Atelier de pliage d’un microscope en carton.

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Les super-pouvoirs des micro-organismes

Village des Sciences

Une exposition animée par l'équipe IGEM Montpellier pour découvrir les super-pouvoirs des micro-organismes qui nous entourent ! Une plongée dans l'ADN et la Biologie Synthétique.

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Two CBS students receive prizes for youg researchers

Congratulations to Patrice Rassam (PhD student 2008-2012 in the team of P.E. Milhiet) who has just been selected to receive the "Prix du Jeune Chercheur" of the Société Francaise de Biophysique. He will recieve his prize and give an oral presentation during the EBSA Congress in Dresden, Germany, July 2015.

Congratulations to Linnea Olofsson (PhD student 2010-2014 in the team of E. Margeat) who will recieve the prize « Les Grandes Avancées en Biologie-Santé » from the Pôle BioSanté Rabelais on June 3rd 2015 (Genopolys).

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