The study of molecular mechanisms that govern cellular differentiation is key to the understanding of development, metabolism but also to the understanding of carcinogenesis. This research axis seeks to address the role of sumoylation-mediated gene control during cellular differentiation with a primary focus on adipose stem cells.
The global rise of the obesity epidemic and associated diseases such as diabetes and cancer has rendered indispensable the study of adipose tissue formation and biology using powerful cellular systems and multi-disciplinary approaches. We use state of the art high-throughput methods (ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, MS, etc.) and classical biochemistry to identify the dynamics of chromatin-bound factors’ sumoylation during adipocyte differentiation in human adipose stem cells, 3T3L1 cells and mouse models.

The iconic X shape of condensed mitotic chromosomes has en described in the 19th century, but we still know little about the structural organization of mitotic chromatin and its consequences on chromatin functions such as transcription. In this project we investigate mitotic chromatin architecture and its impact on transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Mitotic poisons are used in the clinic against many cancers. However, they trigger deleterious side effects and their mechanisms of action remain unclear. There is therefore a need for a better understanding of mitotic events including mitotic gene expression. To address mitotic transcription we use high-throughput methods such as nascent RNA-seq, ChIP-seq or Hi-C and classical biochemistry.