CV Science

Alain-Pierre Gadeau PhD

Course and current status

Alain-Pierre Gadeau is senior researcher at French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in the Biology of Cardiovascular Diseases research unit U1034 at Bordeaux, France. He performed his education in Bordeaux University to obtain his PhD in plant biology. Then, he joined a cardiovascular team to perform a Post Doc and obtained a full researcher position at INSERM. He directed a team involved in understanding the role of the Hedgehog signaling in vessel physiology and diseases. He is currently deciphering the role of the proton exchange NHE1 in heart failure.

He was member of INSERM scientific committee (1999-2002) and of INSERM scientific board council (2002-2007). He is currently director of the Biological and Medical Sciences of the University of Bordeaux where he is involved in animation and scientific strategy for research units et Bordeaux research in Cancer (BRIC), Immunoconcept, Cell Biology (IBGC), Fondamental Microbiology and Pathology (MFP), Genetics ofRare Diseases and Métabolisme (MRGM), and Biology of Cardiovascular Diseases (BMC).. He is also strongly involved in the board of French Atherosclerosis from 2010 and was thé président (2021-2023).

Scientific summary

He was first involved in atherosclerosis research in the identification of mechanisms of vessel intimal thickening. He was one of the first to describe Osteopontin in smooth muscle cells. More specifically he described its role in differentiation/proliferation and identified its expression in injured vessels. During this time, he was in collaboration with his colleague Claude Desgranges, also involved in the study of the role of extracellular nucleotides in smooth muscle cell function and intimal thickening. He demonstrated the ability of extracellular nucleotides to modulate Osteopontin expression in smooth muscle cells and he has been able to decipher the transcriptional mechanisms of Osteopontin expression under nucleotide and growth factor stimulation. (Renault MA et al J Biol Chem. 2005 ;Pillois X et al Circ Res. 2002 ;Chaulet H et al Circ Res. 2001 ; Gadeau AP et al Arterioscler Thromb. 1993)

Moreover he developed different studies to identify the multiple functions of Osteopontin in calcification, bone repair, liver fibrosis and heart failure. (Mohamed IA et al PLoS One. 2015 ;Renault MA et al Circ Heart Fail. 2010 ;Monfoulet L et al Bone. 2010; Gadeau AP, Chaulet H, J Histochem Cytochem. 2001; Lorena D et al J Hepatol. 2006)

In collaboration with Jean-François Arnal in Toulouse, he detailed the mechanisms of estrogen action on endothelial repair into the carotid artery in vivo, comparing endo and perivascular injury. These two experimental approaches differ mainly by the fact that smooth muscle cells were removed by perivascular injury allowing to show that endothelial repair is independent of smooth muscle cells. Moreover he demonstrated the role of Osteopontin in estrogen-mediated increased repair rate. (Billon-Galés A et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 ;Leen LL et al Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008 ;Filipe C et al Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2008 ;Billon A et al Am J Pathol. 2008)

His current project deals with the understanding of the role of the Hedgehog signaling in vessel physiology and diseases.understanding the role of the Hedgehog signaling in vessel physiology and diseases. He was able to show in particular the importance of this signaling in muscle-nerve-vessel crosstalk during ischemic muscle repair. In particular he has shown that dysfunction of the hedgehog signaling pathway is a reason for impaired ischemic muscle repair with aging. Moreover he was recently able to demonstrate that impaired Hedgehog signaling pathway in vessels is sufficient to induce neuropathy that could be one reason for diabetic neuropathy. He has also developed a concept of autocrine action of Hedgehog protein in smooth muscle cells homeostasis and function that he is intended to extend to endothelial cells. (Chapouly C et al Cardiovasc Res. 2016 ;Yao Q et al Blood. 2014 ;Renault MA et al Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2013 ;Renault MA et al Circ Res. 2013 ;Renault MA et al Circ Res. 2013)