CV Science

Jean Marc PASCUSSI PhD Cell Biology

Course and current status

2010: Team "Signalling and Cancer", Dir D. Joubert & F. Hollande, CNRS 5203 - INSERM U661 UM1&2. Institut de génomique fonctionnelle (Dir JP Pin) , 141 rue de Navacelle, 34 Montpellier, France

2006-2010: Team "nuclear receptor and drug metabolism", INSERM U632, Dir P Maurel, 1919 route de Mende, 34 Montpellier, France.

2001-2006: Team "liver physiology", INSERM U128, Dir C Balny, 1919 route de Mende, 34 Montpellier, France.

2000-2001: Postdoctoral position National Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences (NIEHS), Triangle park research, Chapell Hill, NC- USA

Scientific summary

Role of xenobiotic receptors CAR and PXR isoforms in chemoresistance and tumoral drug metabolism in colon cancer patients

The aim of the project is to clarify the role of the nuclear receptors CAR and PXR in colon cancer cells and colon cancer stem cells chemotherapeutics response and their implications for interindividual variability in response to anticancer drugs. Indeed, according to their role as masters xenobiotic responsive receptors linking DME genes expression to environment stimuli, CAR and PXR might contribute to the well-known intra- and inter-subject variability in anticancer drugs response. Environmental, genetic or epigenetic factors affecting CAR or PXR (expression or activation levels) may affect the cytotoxic threshold of tumor cells to chemotherapy which can consequently mask or attenuate pharmacogenetic associations. To achieve these goals parallel approaches in cellular models and in human tumor samples are used. Several cell lines expressing constitutive or inducible CAR and PXR isoforms are already available, that have proven useful to decipher the role of PXR in the chemoresistance to irinotecan (CTP11) or its active metabolite SN38 (Raynal, 2010, Mol Cancer).