Group N. Pujol: Mechanobiology & innate immunity in C. elegans
RATIONALE :
We have previously shown that skin damage or infection in C. elegans activate an immune response in the epidermis based on the upregulation of antimicrobial peptides (PMID: 29487136, 27129311, 21575913, 19380113, 19164535, 18636113, 18394898, 15048112). As C. elegans doesn’t have any motile immune cells, the skin, composed of an apical extracellular matrix (aECM) and its underlying epidermis, detects its own damage (reviewed in PMID: 33992157, 26716073, 25086774). We have recently proposed that changing the mechanical properties of the aECM is also a trigger of the immune response in the epidermis (PMID: 29487136, 36913486). Using interdisciplinary approaches, our aim is now to decipher how the epidermis is sensing the mechanical state of the aECM. Our studies are expected to give fundamental insights into how the aECM physical properties affect epidermal immunity in other animals.
OBJECTIVES :
- characterise the cellular structure(s) relaying aECM tension to the epidermis, through cell biology & high resolution microscopy
- define the biophysical properties of the skin and formulate a predictive model
- identify the key components of the mechano-sensing and signalling pathway through forward and reverse genetics.
We are welcoming students on rotation: please contact pujol@ciml.univ-mrs.fr
More informations here : Comment la peau perçoit-elle les blessures? | ANR; Nathalie Pujol - Web of Science Core Collection ; https://x.com/Pujol_lab
https://anr.fr/Projet-ANR-22-CE13-0037
https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/917766
