Guy Tran Van Nhieu

Principal Investigator, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France

Visiting 6 May – 30 Jul 2019

About Prof Nhieu’s Research

The Intercellular communication and microbial infections lab investigates how pathogenic bacteria express virulence determinants that enable them to colonize and invade host cell tissue.

These determinants could be surface proteins that act as “adhesins” or “invasins” that target host cell receptors, thereby providing the mechanical bacterial link to the cell surface. Other virulence determinants can be secreted in the extracellular medium and acting as pore, or by penetrating into host cells, can affect the integrity of an epithelial barrier.

The team’s research is focused on the characterization of the function of virulence determinants and signaling pathways involved in bacterial-induced cytoskeletal reorganization and cell invasion. To gain insights into the functional coordination of these effectors during bacterial infection, we are developing a combination of genetic, cellular, molecular and imaging techniques in order to characterize dynamic aspects of bacterial cell interactions, using Shigella, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and Streptococcus pneumoniae, as bacterial models.

The approaches are revealing original aspects concerning the function of bacterial effectors, intercellular communication induced by bacterial invasion, as well as early recognition events the initial steps of host cell interaction.

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