UMR 1166 – Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases
Headed by Dr Wilfried Le Goff
Created in 2014, this joint research unit is entirely devoted to research into cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, focusing on four main areas: atherothrombosis and coronary heart disease, genomics of cardiomyopathies and heart failure, atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmias, lipids and atherosclerotic vascular diseases.
The UMR is run by 5 teams
Team 1 – Genomics and Physiopathology of Myocardial Diseases
Headed by Pr Philippe CHARRON
Cardiomyopathies and channelopathies are the main hereditary heart diseases and the main causes of sudden death and heart failure in young people. Despite improvements in the management of these diseases, new knowledge of their genetic causes and underlying pathophysiology is needed to identify new therapeutic targets or strategies and better prevent the devastating complications of these diseases.
In addition, recent advances have led to a new understanding of the complex interaction between genetic architecture (rare and frequent variants) and environmental factors (such as sport and myocarditis). This new knowledge and this new paradigm have important consequences for our overall understanding of cardiac cell physiology, as well as for the pathophysiology of complex diseases such as heart failure and arrhythmia.
Team 2 – Atherothrombosis and Applied Pharmacology
Headed by Dr Michel ZEITOUNI
Study of cardiovascular diseases mainly linked to atherothrombosis, from therapeutic strategies to preventive education.
Expertise in cardiovascular epidemiology and randomised clinical trials.
Team 3 – Molecular and Cellular Plasticity in Cardiovascular Disease
Led by Dr Sophie NADAUD and Dr Elise BALSE
Cardiovascular diseases, such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure and arterial hypertension, are the main causes of mortality worldwide in modern countries, and their morbidity and prevalence will continue to increase in the coming years as the population ages. In France, they led to more than one million hospital admissions in 2016.
Pulmonary hypertension is a rare, life-limiting cardiovascular disorder characterised by occlusive remodelling of the distal pulmonary vasculature, ultimately leading to right heart failure. Cardiovascular diseases are often complex disorders that share common pathophysiological mechanisms. Our team is interested in deciphering the molecular and cellular players involved in the remodelling processes that lead to these diseases. These alterations are associated with complex rearrangements at tissue and cellular level, and we are studying the molecular and cellular plasticity drivers that characterise cardiovascular remodelling during atrial fibrillation, heart failure, senescence and pulmonary hypertension.
Team 4 – Cellular and Systemic Lipid Metabolism in Diseases
Led by Dr Wilfried Le GOFF and Dr Maryse GUERIN
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death worldwide, notably due to the increasing prevalence of obesity and associated metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes. These metabolic disorders are associated with altered lipid metabolism at both cellular and systemic levels. Dyslipidaemia, characterised by altered circulating concentrations of lipoproteins and lipids, is a major component in the development of CVD. The mechanisms by which lipids contribute to the development of metabolic disorders are multiple and involve alterations in signalling and regulatory pathways at the cellular level and in the composition and function of circulating lipoproteins at the systemic level. Through cross-disciplinary approaches, our team is interested in identifying the mechanisms underlying these alterations in lipid metabolism in order to propose new therapeutic targets to reduce the occurrence and development of CVD. In this context, our research team aims to propose new pathways, candidate genes and biomarkers in CVD.
Team 5 – Metabolic diseases, diabetes and co-morbidities
Led by Fabienne FOUFELLE and Frédéric JAISSER
Understanding the mechanisms involved in the development of insulin resistance in the liver, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle and in impaired insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells in type 2 diabetes. The team is studying the mechanisms that contribute to the disruption of insulin signalling (insulin resistance) and how inflammation is formed at the molecular level in the liver and adipose tissue of obese individuals, a mechanism that contributes to local and systemic insulin resistance.
UMR 1146 – Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (LIB) CNRS – INSERM
Team A – Cardiovascular Imaging
Led by Nadjia KACHENOURA, DR INSERM
Our multidisciplinary team (Sorbonne University, Inserm, CNRS) is developing new cardiac and vascular imaging biomarkers combining cardiovascular and metabolic phenotypes for a more precise characterisation of physiology and disease. Our research focuses on :
- The development and validation of cardiac and vascular image processing software
- Clinical translation to assess the contribution of our imaging biomarkers
Research Unit 938 Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine
3 of the 13 teams in this unit are part of the IHU-ICAN
Team 9 – Lipodystrophies, metabolic and hormonal adaptations, and ageing
Headed by Pr Bruno FÈVE
Study of the pathophysiological mechanisms of lipodystrophies of genetic origin, or acquired during HIV infection or treatment with glucocorticoids, as well as associated reproductive disorders. In vivo (animal models, patient cohorts) and in vitro studies of the links between lipodystrophies, insulin resistance, ageing of adipose tissue and reproductive disorders.
Team 11 – Metabolic and biliary fibroinflammatory diseases of the liver
Led by Dr Jérémie GAUTHERON
Studying genetic defects in the ABCB4 phosphatidylcholine transporter, responsible for hereditary diseases, the cell death mechanisms that promote inflammation and hepatic fibrosis during NAFLD, and the sub-populations of hepatic myofibroblasts involved in fibrosis and the stroma of cholangiocarcinoma.
Team 12 – IGF system, foetal and postnatal growth
Led by Prof. Irène NETCHINE
Study of the pathophysiology of foetal growth linked to imprinting pathologies in patients born small for gestational age or with excessive growth. Study in patients, mouse models and iPS approach.
UMR 1269 – Nutrition and Obesity: Systems Approaches (nutriomics)
Metabolic diseases, diabetes and co-morbidities team
Prof. Karine CLÉMENT
This research unit conducts a wide range of fundamental and translational research into obesity and related metabolic disorders. It aims to explore the disturbances in the inter-organ dialogue and particularly the role of adipose tissue and the intestine, the microbiota, in these dialogues, and to identify new ways of stratifying the disease and new therapies to improve cardiometabolic health.
The team’s 5 main themes are :
- Progression of obesity and associated complications: role of the intestinal microbiota
- The intestine, a key player in metabolic disorders
- Remodelling of adipose tissue
- Systems biology and data integration
- Translating our fundamental research into benefits for patients
Portraits of young researchers
Nadine SUFFEE
UMR 1166 Team 3, Cellular and Molecular Plasticity in Cardiovascular Disease
Dr Nadine Suffee is a researcher specialising in the mechanisms of development of atrial cardiomyopathy, focusing on the role of progenitors, the immune response and the remodelling of adipose-fibrous tissue in the epicardium. At UMRS1166/IHU ICAN, she is examining the role of macrophages and epicardial precursors in atrial cardiomyopathy
Louis PARKER
Cardiovascular Imaging (iCV), Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (LIB)
Louis Parker studied mechanical engineering at the University of Western Australia, where he discovered an interest in biomechanics during his Masters project at the VascLab. Fascinated by the diversity of issues related to these research topics, he pursued a PhD on aortic dissection and then worked as a post-doctoral fellow at KTH in Stockholm. Louis then realised the importance of imaging for precise models, particularly 4D MRI, which led him to apply for a Marie-Curie fellowship at LIB with Dr Nadjia Kachenoura.
Carine BEAUPERE
PhD, in Prof. Bruno Fève’s “Lipodystrophies, metabolic and hormonal adaptations, and ageing” team at the CRSA.
Carine Beaupère has focused her career on the study of ageing since her Masters. Her PhD at the CRSA focused on bone ageing in HIV patients. After a 4-year post-doctorate in Boston, focusing on the regulation of longevity in the yeast model, she returned to the CRSA in Bruno Fève’s team for a second post-doctorate. In 2023, Carine was recruited as an INSERM researcher. Her work focuses on metabolic ageing and strategies to delay it, with the aim of preventing various diseases.
Jérémie GAUTHERON
CRCN Inserm HDR, Team leader at the Saint-Antoine Research Centre. UMR 938, Biliary and Fatty Liver Diseases
Jérémie Gautheron holds a bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a master’s degree in molecular biology from UPMC. In 2008, he began his thesis focusing on ubiquitination in the NF-kappaB pathway, followed by a post-doctorate in Germany studying necroptosis in liver diseases. Returning to France in 2017, Jérémie led a research group demonstrating the potential of necroptosis inhibitors in the treatment of steatohepatitis. In 2022, Jérémie Gautheron took over as co-director of the UMR 938 team and assumed full management from September 2023.
Eloïse GIABICANI
Centre de Référence des Maladies Endocriniennes Rares de la Croissance et du Développement (CRESCENDO) – UMR 938 team headed by Pr. Irène Netchine.
Dr Eloïse Giabicani is a paediatric specialist with expertise in paediatric endocrinology and diabetology, and also holds a Master 2 in Endocrinology and Metabolism. Her university thesis explored the pathophysiological role of diseases subject to parental imprinting in growth and the IGF system. Her professional career combines basic research and clinical practice, with a focus on foetal growth restriction. She is committed to translating basic research discoveries into tangible solutions for her patients.
