Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases
Infinity, Inserm, CNRS
Toulouse University
CHU Purpan
31024 Toulouse
France
Lab Website:
www.infinity.inserm.fr/en/research-teams/team-1-j-van-meerwijk/
Research Interests:
My project aims to better understand the biology of Foxp3 regulatory T cells (Tregs) in homeostasis and the mechanisms involving Tregs in the control of autoimmune diseases and anti-tumor responses. My research is organized around the following axes.
- Study of the biology and function of “ex-Tregs”, a population of conventional T lymphocytes which have been Tregs at some time in their life and have lost this status.
- Study of the metabolic adaptation of Tregs in non-lymphoid tissues.
- Study of the mechanisms of Treg mediated suppression in autoimmune diseases and cancers involving molecules of the TNF family.
- Study of new therapeutic approaches to these diseases involving Tregs.
Most of my research is carried out using genetically modified mice in which the expression of a gene of interest is eliminated specifically in Tregs. We thus generated conditional KO mice for receptors of the TNF family (TNFR2, 4-1BB), co-stimulatory molecules (ICOS) or molecules regulating cell metabolism (AMPK, LKB1). As a reference model of autoimmune diseases, we use experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of multiple sclerosis. These projects notably require the use of multiparametric flow cytometry and transcriptomics technology.
