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T cell Differentiation and physiology of the memory response

from basic science:
  • homeostasis
  • hematopoiesis
to the translational research:
  • autoimmune diseases
  • transplantation
  • immunodeficiency
  • cancer
Sophie Ezine
Flora Zavala
Lymphopoiesis and immunoregulatory hematopoietic progenitors

Sophie Ezine: I earned my PhD degree from the University Paris 6 (UPMC) and then performed a postdoctoral fellowship. I trained at the department of Pathology (Stanford Medical center, USA) with Pr Irving L. Weissman. From then I became interested in T cells and more specifically, their origin. My scientific domains are: hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and T cell commitment, T cell differentiation and migration of bone-marrow progenitors to the thymus.

Flora Zavala: I earned my PhD degree from Paris 11 University and then performed my post-doctoral training at the department of medicinal chemistry of Kyoto University, Japan, with Pr. Osamu Hayaishi. From then, I became interested in immunology and particularly neuroimmunology. My present scientific domains are focused on the role of hematopoietic growth factors and progenitors in the regulation of autoimmune and allogeneic immune responses.

Focus

  • Molecular and cellular mechanisms of T cell commitment (S. Ezine)
  • Regulatory functions of hematopoietic progenitor sub-populations emerging in adaptive hematopoiesis (F Zavala)

Introduction

At the apex of the hematopoietic hierarchy, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) self-renew to maintain lifelong hematopoiesis. As HSCs differentiate, they upregulate Flt3 cytokine receptor expression to generate non-renewing multipotent progenitors (MPPs). The identification of downstream developmentally restricted progenitors, such as IL-7Rαhi common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) established that development of related cell lineages proceeded via lineage-restricted intermediates. The mechanism by which some descendants of HSCs differentiate into lymphoid progenitors is not well understood but may involve signals from the bone marrow niche, cytokines, and transcription factors (SE).

We are also interested in investigating the feed-back control on immune responses of hematopoietic progenitor sub-populations emerging in adaptive hematopoiesis taking place in infectious and inflammatory conditions (FZ).

Research objectives

S. Ezine

BM transplants are expected to ensure continuous blood cell production in patients with hematological diseases and to correct congenital defects or acquired autoimmune disorders. The choice of cells to be transplanted is of major importance. Multipotent precursors from the bone marrow (BM) home to the thymic environment, which induces their entry into the T-lineage program. In the objectives to identify the early thymic events following BM grafts, in vivo and in vitro approaches associated with molecular analysis are performed.

F. Zavala

Infections and inflammation trigger an emergency hematopoiesis aiming at replenishing the immune system with cells that can effectively contribute to immune defense. We hypothesized that the control of potentially deleterious immune responses and of excessive inflammation that may result in chronic immune diseases might be exerted by the emerging hematopoietic progenitor subsets endowed with immunoregulatory properties. We aim to characterize such regulatory progenitors.

5 main publications

  • Montandon R, Korniotis S, Layseca-Espinosa E, Gras C, Mégret J, Ezine S, Dy M and Zavala F: Innate pro-B cell progenitors protect against type 1 diabetes by regulating autoimmune effector T cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2013 110 (24): E2199.
  • Korniotis S, Gras C, Letscher H, Montandon R, Mégret J, Siegert S, Ezine S, Fallon PG, Luther SA, Fillatreau S and Zavala F. Treatment of ongoing autoimmune encephalomyelitis with activated B-cell progenitors maturing into regulatory B cells. Nature Commun 2016.
  • Layseca-Espinosa E, Korniotis S, Montandon R, Gras C, Bouillié M, Gonzalez-Amaro R, Dy M, Zavala F. CCL22-producing CD8α- myeloid dendritic cells mediate regulatory T cell recruitment in response to G-CSF treatment. J Immunol. 2013.
  • Zepponi V, Michaels Lopez V, Martinez-Cingolani C, Boudil A, Pasqualetto V, Skhiri L, Gautreau L, Legrand A, Megret J, Zavala F, Ezine S. Lymphoid Gene Upregulation on Circulating Progenitors Participates in Their T-Lineage Commitment. J Immunol. 2015.
  • Peaudecerf L, Lemos S, Galgano A, Krenn G, Vasseur F, Di Santo JP, Ezine S, Rocha B. Thymocytes may persist and differentiate without any input from bone marrow progenitors. J Exp Med. 2012.
Last 30 publications

2017

  • Gonçalves P, Ferrarini M, Molina-Paris C, Lythe G, Vasseur F, Lim A, Rocha B, Azogui O. A new mechanism shapes the naïve CD8+ T cell repertoire: The selection for full diversity. Mol Immunol. 2017 Feb 14;85:66-80. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2017.01.026. [Epub ahead of print]
  • 2016

  • Korniotis S, Gras C, Letscher H, Montandon R, Mégret J, Siegert S, Ezine S, Fallon PG, Luther SA, Fillatreau S, Zavala F. Treatment of ongoing autoimmune encephalomyelitis with activated B-cell progenitors maturing into regulatory B cells. Nat Commun. 2016 Jul 11;7:12134.
  • Zavala F, Korniotis S, Montandon R. Characterization and Immunoregulatory Properties of Innate Pro-B-Cell Progenitors. Methods Mol Biol. 2016;1371:79-88. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3139-2_5.
  • Engert A, Balduini C, Brand A, Coiffier B, Cordonnier C, Döhner H, de Wit TD, Eichinger S, Fibbe W, Green T, de Haas F, Iolascon A, Jaffredo T, Rodeghiero F, Salles G, Schuringa JJ; EHA Roadmap for European Hematology Research. The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research: a consensus document. Haematologica. 2016 Feb;101(2):115-208.
  • Goudin N, Chappert P, Mégret J, Gross DA, Rocha B, Azogui O. Depletion of Regulatory T Cells Induces High Numbers of Dendritic Cells and Unmasks a Subset of Anti-Tumour CD8+CD11c+ PD-1lo Effector T Cells. PLoS One. 2016 Jun 24;11(6):e0157822. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157822.
  • Hamel Y, Mauvais FX, Pham HP, Kratzer R, Marchi C, Barilleau É, Waeckel-Enée E, Arnoux JB, Hartemann A, Cordier C, Mégret J, Rocha B, de Lonlay P, Beltrand J, Six A, Robert JJ, van Endert P. A unique CD8(+) T lymphocyte signature in pediatric type 1 diabetes. J Autoimmun. 2016 Sep;73:54-63.
  • Chaves-Ferreira M, Krenn G, Vasseur F, Barinov A, Gonçalves P, Azogui O, Cumano A, Li Z, Pellegrini S, Rocha B, Laderach D. The cyclin D1 carboxyl regulatory domain controls the division and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. Biol Direct. 2016 Apr 29;11:21.
  • Peaudecerf L, Krenn G, Gonçalves P, Vasseur F, Rocha B. Thymocytes self-renewal: a major hope or a major threat? Immunol Rev. 2016 May;271(1):173-84. doi: 10.1111/imr.12408. Review.
  • Baas M, Besançon A, Goncalves T, Valette F, Yagita H, Sawitzki B, Volk HD, Waeckel-Enée E, Rocha B, Chatenoud L, You S. TGFβ-dependent expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 controls CD8(+) T cell anergy in transplant tolerance. Elife. 2016 Jan 29;5:e08133. doi: 10.7554/eLife.08133.
  • 2015

  • Lopez VM, Ezine S. [Thymic epithelial populations: recently reunified through a unique stem cell]. Med Sci (Paris). 2015 Jun-Jul;31(6-7):591-3.
  • D'Aveni M, Rossignol J, Coman T, Sivakumaran S, Henderson S, Manzo T, Santos e Sousa P, Bruneau J, Fouquet G, Zavala F, Alegria-Prévot O, Garfa-Traoré M, Suarez F, Trebeden-Nègre H, Mohty M, Bennett CL, Chakraverty R, Hermine O, Rubio MT. G-CSF mobilizes CD34+ regulatory monocytes that inhibit graft-versus-host disease. Sci Transl Med. 2015 Apr 1;7(281):281ra42. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3010435. PubMed PMID: 25834108.
  • Zepponi V, Michaels Lopez V, Martinez-Cingolani C, Boudil A, Pasqualetto V, Skhiri L, Gautreau L, Legrand A, Megret J, Zavala F, Ezine S. Lymphoid Gene Upregulation on Circulating Progenitors Participates in Their T-Lineage Commitment. J Immunol. 2015 May 29. pii: 1403219. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 26026063.
  • 2014

  • Cherrier M. [Innate lymphoid cells: new players of the mucosal immune response]. Med Sci (Paris). 2014 Mar;30(3):280-8.
  • Cording S, Medvedovic J, Cherrier M, Eberl G. Development and regulation of RORγt(+) innate lymphoid cells. FEBS Lett. 2014 Nov 17;588(22):4176-81.
  • Glauzy S, André-Schmutz I, Larghero J, Ezine S, Peffault de Latour R, Moins-Teisserenc H, Servais S, Robin M, Socié G, Clave E, Toubert A. CXCR4-related increase of circulating human lymphoid progenitors after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 12;9(3):e91492. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091492. eCollection 2014. PubMed PMID: 24621606; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3951398.
  • 2013

  • Montandon R, Korniotis S, Layseca-Espinosa E, Gras C, Mégret J, Ezine S, Dy M, Zavala F. Innate pro-B-cell progenitors protect against type 1 diabetes by regulating autoimmune effector T cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 11;110(24):E2199-208.
  • Sung HC, Lemos S, Ribeiro-Santos P, Kozyrytska K, Vasseur F, Legrand A, Charbit A, Rocha B, Evaristo C. Cognate antigen stimulation generates potent CD8(+) inflammatory effector T cells. Front Immunol. 2013 Dec 16;4:452.
  • Boudil A, Skhiri L, Candéias S, Pasqualetto V, Legrand A, Bedora-Faure M, Gautreau-Rolland L, Rocha B, Ezine S. Single-cell analysis of thymocyte differentiation: identification of transcription factor interactions and a major stochastic component in αβ-lineage commitment. PLoS One. 2013 Oct 1;8(10):e73098. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073098. eCollection 2013. PubMed PMID: 24098325; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3787938.
  • Layseca-Espinosa E, Korniotis S, Montandon R, Gras C, Bouillié M, Gonzalez-Amaro R, Dy M, Zavala F. CCL22-producing CD8α- myeloid dendritic cells mediate regulatory T cell recruitment in response to G-CSF treatment. J Immunol. 2013 Sep 1;191(5):2266-72.
  • 2012

  • Peaudecerf L, Lemos S, Galgano A, Krenn G, Vasseur F, Di Santo JP, Ezine S, Rocha B. Thymocytes may persist and differentiate without any input from bone marrow progenitors. J Exp Med. 2012 Jul 30;209(8):1401-8.
  • Ribeiro-dos-Santos P, Turnbull EL, Monteiro M, Legrand A, Conrod K, Baalwa J, Pellegrino P, Shaw GM, Williams I, Borrow P, Rocha B. Chronic HIV infection affects the expression of the 2 transcription factors required for CD8 T-cell differentiation into cytolytic effectors. Blood. 2012 May 24;119(21):4928-38.
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