Research programs at IDMIT Department are carried out in synergy by four teams organized in research laboratories:
- The Laboratory of “Control of chronic viral infections” (Team-1), Directed by Pr. Olivier Lambotte, study the mechanisms of viral persistence in reservoirs in chronic HIV/SIV infection, focusing in particular on the role of tissue reservoirs, and on the links between the reservoirs and HIV-specific CD8 and CD4 T-cell responses. The work benefits from access to HIV-1-infected patients in different clinical situations, and in particular HIV controllers, as well as the macaque HIV/AIDS model.
- The Laboratory of “Transmission and Immunity” (Team-2), Directed by Dr. Roger Le Grand, focused on antiviral immunity, with the specific aim of identifying correlates of protection, which are important for prevention strategies, such as vaccination. Studies on the generation of durable and oriented adaptive responses by vaccination are undertaken, together with studies deciphering transmission events in viral infections. The team aims also to identify and to characterize molecular and cellular immune mechanisms at the local level and in the periphery, following exposure to vaccines and in virulent challenge models.
- The Laboratory of Autoimmune diseases (Team-3) Directed by Pr. Xavier Mariette, which study new mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, such as primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and autoimmune demyelinating diseases. In particular, this team investigates the role of NK cells and B-cell activation in pSS and RA, focusing in particular on genetic and epigenetic regulation. Studies benefit from large access to RA and pSS cohorts and the development of mouse and NHP models, to elucidate the mechanisms of lymphomagenesis in autoimmunity, potentially providing insight into the pathogenesis of individual diseases.
- The Laboratory of « Normal and Pathological T Cell Memory” (Team-4) Directed by Pr. Yassine Taoufik, which study the mechanisms by which CD8 memory precursors are generated and mature into highly functional memory T-cell subsets, including tissue-resident memory cells, together with the long-term maintenance of these subsets. Or particularly interested is the study of the CD4 helper signals sequentially provided by the various CD4 T-cell subsets throughout the process of memory CD8 T-cell differentiation. Studies in mouse models are complemented by translational programs in humans, focusing on the mechanisms underlying defects in the generation and maintenance of CD8 T-cell memory in chronic human viral infections and their relationship to viral persistence (HIV, EBV, JC virus).