Degenerative and vascular cognitive discorders
Presentation
This team, made up of clinical and pre-clinical researchers, is multidisciplinary. It is located at the interface between neurology, pharmacology and imaging. The research project is focused on the translational, transnosographic and multimodal study of cognitive disorders associated with degenerative processes or neurovascular lesions, starting from the observation that the mechanisms are entangled.
- Neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and cognition
Project
Mechanisms leading to neuronal dysfunction in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease remain unknown. Chronic neuroinflammation, as defined by the sustained classical activation of microglial cells, is constantly observed in the brain of patients and likely play an important role in the neurodegenerative process. My project team is focused on decoding the molecular pathways leading to alterations in the innate immune response and to the establishment of chronic neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative disorders. We use both computational approaches (protein network analysis, multi-agent modelisation) and experimental models (toxin-based and transgenic models) with the ultimate goal to discover novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Our studies identified specific metabolism pathways (i.e. glycosphingolipid or iron metabolism) as candidate targets to effectively modulate microglia activation and neural processes underlying cognitive functions.
Team : Karim Belarbi, Marie-Amandine Bonte, David Devos, Anne-Sophie Roland, Bernard Gressier
Highlights
Exploring the protein network behind neuroinflammation. We recently used text-mining, gene functional enrichment, protein-protein and drug–protein interaction analysis to better characterize the network behind neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease. The obtained data highlight 8 key proteins in Parkinson's disease neuroinflammation as well as pharmacological compounds acting on them. As such, this study may facilitate the prioritization of biomarkers for the development of target-engagement assessment and therapeutic strategies against Parkinson's disease.
Visualization of research trends based on large-scale publication data analysis: enjoy our latest article on glucocerebrosides ! Read here: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.558090
Our latest review on glycosphingolipids and neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease has just been published in Molecular Neurodegeneration. Read here: https://rdcu.be/b8FA7
Publications
Protein network exploration prioritizes targets for modulating neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease. Bonte MA, El Idrissi F, Gressier B, Devos D, Belarbi K. International Immunopharmacology, in press.
Glycosphingolipids and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease. Belarbi K, Cuvelier E, Bonte MA, Desplanque M, Gressier B, Devos D, Chartier-Harlin MC. Molecular Neurodegeneration, 2020 Oct 17;15(1):59.
Desplanque M, Bonte MA, Gressier B, Devos D, Chartier-Harlin MC, Belarbi K. Trends in glucocerebrosides research: a systematic review. Frontiers in Physiology 2020 Oct 29;11:558090.