Research Gaëlle Boulet | Gaëlle Boulet

Research team

Laboratory of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (LAMB)

Experimental induction of miltefosine resistance in intracellular Leishmania donovani and L. infantum amastigotes to study the influence of resistance on the interaction between drug, host and parasite 01/02/2014 - 31/12/2014

Abstract

Miltefosine (MIL) was recently positioned as first-line therapy for visceral leishmaniasis. Its long half-life and low adherence could promote resistance. To safeguard MIL-efficacy, resistance mechanisms and their cell biological and clinical implications should be studied proactively. This study aims to experimentally induce MIL-resistance to assess the effect of resistance on MIL-uptake and parasite-macrophage interaction.

Researcher(s)

Promoter: Boulet Gaëlle

Research team(s)

Laboratory for Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH)

Project type(s)

Research Project

Characterization of a novel Leishmania 'stealth' phenotype by development of monoclonal antibodies and gene expression profiling. 01/01/2014 - 31/01/2015

Abstract

The goal of this project is to characterize this novel phenotype and to develop the tools to allow us to routinely etect 'stealth' amastigotes. This wil be done by developing monoclonal antibodies that can discriminate 'stealth' from regular amastigotes using immunofluorescent stainings and to evaluate differential gene expression between 'stealth' and regular amastigotes in macrophages.

Researcher(s)

Promoter: Boulet Gaëlle

Research team(s)

Laboratory for Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH)

Project type(s)

Research Project

Live cell imaging of phosphatidylserine-annexin A5-mediated pinocytosis: study of targeted drug delivery for cervical cancer 01/01/2011 - 30/11/2011

Abstract

Targeted drug delivery requires targeting agents that guide therapeutic compounds to the diseased lesion. Annexin A5 (anxA5) binds with high affinity to membranes bearing phosphatidylserine (PS) and opens a portal for cell entry. This PS-anxA5-mediated pinocytic pathway has been described for cells undergoing apoptosis and in tumour cells. PS is also exposed on the cell surface of virus-infected cells and endothelial cells of tumour blood vessels. Therefore, anxA5 coupled to drugs may be a useful tool in anti-cancer or anti-virus therapy. This study aims to get a better insight into the cell entry and intracellular processing of anxA5. Live cell imaging techniques will be used for the real-time tracking of anxA5 in several cell lines. In the context of the human papillomavirus-induced cervical carcinogenesis, this study will determine whether viral infection and/or neoplasia are essential for anxA5 internalisation, and will try to identify the specific circumstances of PS exposure and cell entry. Additionally, the effect of the conjugation of therapeutic molecules to anxA5 on cell entry, subcellular trafficking and cell viability will be evaluated.