Atherosclerosis, and its complications such as myocardial infarction, represent the leading cause of death worldwide. These cardiovascular diseases are part of a group of cardiometabolic disorders encompassing obesity, hypertension, liver and renal diseases, and diabetes mellitus. While atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction locally affect arteries and the heart, they represent the endpoints of organism-wide processes controlling metabolic homeostasis, blood pressure, and immune homeostasis, thus representing multi-organ diseases. Our research group investigates innate immune cells, in particular monocytes, macrophages and neutrophils, as essential actors in multi-organ disease in atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and cardiometabolic disorders. We apply state-of-the art techniques of single-cell profiling and spatial gene expression analysis in experimental models of cardiometabolic diseases, to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying innate immune cells contribution to atherosclerosis and to tissue remodelling after myocardial infarction.
Research Topics
AIM1 - MACROPHAGES IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS Clément Cochain
Using single-cell profiling methods, we aim to identify functional regulators of macrophage function in atherosclerosis, and in atherosclerosis aggravated by cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity or diabetes
AIM2 - MACROPHAGES IN SCAR FORMATION AND TISSUE FIBROSIS AFTER MI Clément Cochain
We investigate how specific populations of resident and recruited macrophages contribute to cardiac repair and fibrosis after a myocardial infarction.
AIM3 - NEUTROPHILS IN CARDIAC REPAIR AFTER MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION M. Piollet
We investigate how specific subsets of neutrophils interact with immune and stromal cells in the heart after myocardial infarction and how this affects cardiac repair and fibrosis.