Membrane organization/dynamics and epithelial differentiation
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Group Leader Pierre J. Courtoy Christophe Pierreux Contact Pierre J. Courtoy de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain CELL - B1.75.02, Avenue Hippocrate 75, B-1200 Brussels phone (direct) : 32 (0)2 764 75 69 phone (secretary) : 32 (0)2 764 75 41 fax : 32 (0)2 764 75 43 e-mail: Pierre Courtoy Christophe Pierreux de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain CELL - B1.75.02, Avenue Hippocrate 75, B-1200 Brussels phone (direct) : 32 (0)2 764 65 22 phone (secretary) : 32 (0)2 764 75 41 fax : 32 (0)2 764 75 43 e-mail: Christophe Pierreux Group members > |
Research topics
This group focuses on intertwined topics related to the control of membrane organization/dynamics and polarity during epithelial differentiation.
1. Membrane organization/dynamics: Using live cell imaging, multiphoton microscopy, electron microscopy and subcellular fractionation, this team aims at defining new rules governing the formation and maintenance of distinct micrometric lipid domains at the plasma membrane and during polarized endocytic trafficking, as well as their significance in human disease.
2. Epithelial differentiation: Using various mouse models and cultured explants, this team addresses the reciprocal paracrine interactions between epithelial ans stromal cells that control (i) the exocrine (pancreas) or endocrine (thyroid) monolayer differentiation during embryogenesis, and (ii) provide potential targets against dedifferentiation of epithelial cells in precancerous stages and in cystinosis.
3. PICT : The Platform for Imaging Cells and Tissues is not only a core facility providing access and training to high-throughput, high-resolution and multiphoton confocal imaging as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy, but also an established tradition of expertise, advice and collaborations within the Institute, the health research campus of the UCL, as well as national and international partnerships, both academic and industrial.
