Lionel PoulinCentre d'infection et d'immunité de Lille (CIIL) - CNRS / Inserm / Université de Lille
Mes recherches
After the PhD in Belgium, on the immunology of transplantation with mouse models, I decided to study the diversity of antigen presenting cells. Antigen presenting cells include several subsets of macrophages and dendritic cells, which are specialized cells in acquiring, processing, and presenting antigens to T cells to induce for instance protective immune responses against tumors, such as tumor-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. At the Immunological Center of Marseille-Luminy, I contributed to the identification of mouse conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1) within the skin dermis, and subsequently to their higher cross-presentation ability, a process aiming at presenting exogeneous antigens to CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. After this mouse discovery, I pioneered the DC characterization in human tissues and contributed to the identification of human cDC1 cells, these cells have been highlighted now as critical for immunotherapy success by stimulating anti-tumor immunity. At the Pasteur Institute of Lille, thanks to the ATIP-Avenir, I discovered and patented that type I IFN is a regulator of monocyte-derived antigen presenting cells by acting on monocyte precursors. I obtained the associate professor position at CNRS in 2014 (CRCN).
Mon projet ATIP-Avenir
Unravel human dendritic cell subsets by the use of innovative approaches
The dendritic cell (DC) system of antigen-presenting cells (APC) controls immunity and tolerance. This group of cells is heterogeneous in terms of cell-surface markers, function, and anatomic location. The unresolved issues on DC heterogeneity are a major complicating factor in developing a unified model of DC function in vivo and represent an important hurdle in the development of DC-based immunotherapies, for example against viral and microbial diseases. There are multiple DC subsets in both mouse and human, however a lot of mouse DC subsets are still waiting for a human equivalent. In the mouse, these subsets have been established taking into account not only a set of markers to define them, but also their localisation (e.g., lymphoid or non-lymphoid tissues), and the precursors and transcription factors required for their development. However, the lack of tools and the restricted access to samples have hampered the level of knowledge in human DC biology. To reach this therapeutic final aim against microbial diseases, we will need to find if this mouse DC diversity exist also in human. In this research proposal, we aim to unravel that question by investigating the existence of a specific human DC subset predicated to have an important role against extracellular bacteria. We will reach this aim more in an ontogenetic point of view using in vitro and in vivo approaches to bypass the actual limitations that encounter the field.