IMMEDIAB is a multidisciplinary and dynamic team of INSERM researchers (DR, CRCN, CRHC), AP-HP physicians (PU-PH, MCU-PH) and university faculty members (MCF) bringing together their expertise to explore the regulatory mechanisms of physiological and physio-pathological immune-inflammatory signalling in type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and associated cardiovascular complications. Beyond a solid base in fundamental science, IMMEDIAB boasts a strong translational aspect with the affiliation of two internationally recognized diabetes units, those of Lariboisière and Bichat hospitals (Paris).
The immune system is mostly known for its anti-infectious and anti-neoplastic protection, yet it plays a significant role in the regulation of systemic metabolic homeostasis. The cross-talk between the immune and the metabolic systems is pivotal in promoting “metabolic health” throughout the life of an organism and plays a fundamental role in its adaptation to ever-changing environmental demands and nutritional availability. Disruptions in this intricate network contribute to the alteration of metabolic states that may culminate in metabolic disorders.
IMMEDIAB’s work deciphers the interaction of innate immune cells, mainly tissue macrophages, within metabolic tissues, such as adipose tissue, liver and pancreas, under physiological and pathophysiological conditions, namely type 2 diabetes.
The principal investigators in our team are experts in basic physiology, cellular biology, molecular biology, epidemiology, and systems biology. We rely on this expertise to deepen our understanding on the cellular and molecular levels, of the immune-metabolic cross-talks and environmental influences on these interactions, as well as their relevance to human disease.
Thus, we are developing large-scale approaches using innovative bioinformatics and complex system modelling tools. Multilevel data integration is indeed a central objective that supports full exploitation of results from our research. Multi-level investigations (epigenomic, genomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic) are carried out on samples from rigorously-phenotyped diabetic subjects with vascular complications and hepatic comorbidities at various disease stages, from whom clinical datasets and biobanks are also being constructed. This strategy generates hypotheses of putative novel cellular and molecular pathophysiological actors, which are then tested through in vitro and ex vivo modelling and in various in vivo models (genetically modified mice, targeted and Cas9-inducible knockouts, diet-induced obesity, T2D and liver disease models). Active recruitment of new patient cohorts, led by clinical team members, allows the efficient return from bench-to-bedside, testing back hypotheses driven by in vitro and in vivo models.
Our team has greatly contributed to the emergence of the field of immunometabolism and continues to work towards discovering new pathways involved in tissue inflammation in obesity and diabetes.
To know more about us and our works, head to our website on the following link: https://www.immediab.com/
