Celebrating the career of Emeritus Prof. Michel Jadot with a scientific meeting on “The fascinating world of lysosomes”

The endosomal and lysosomal system is a complex and highly dynamic network of compartments involved in many processes, including subcellular trafficking, macromolecule degradation as well as signaling. As a biologist and expert in subcellular fractionation methods, Michel Jadot has made remarkable contributions to the understanding of lysosomal function/dysfunction and how lysosomal proteins are targeted to lysosomes.

On April 4, 2024, NARILIS celebrated Michel's four decades of research. Approximately 100 researchers gathered for the occasion and delved into the fascinating world of lysosomes through presentations by five distinguished guest speakers. Prof. Eeva-Liisa Eskelinen (University of Turku, Finland) opened the meeting with a talk on the small GTPase Rab24 and its role in autophagy, a lysosomal degradation pathway. Prof. Judith Klumperman (UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands) gave an overview on their recent developments in correlative light and electron microscopy techniques to study the endo-lysosomal system. She also provided insights into the role of the HOPS complex, a well-established regulator of lysosomal fusion, in health and disease. Dr. Bruno Gasnier (Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences, France) shed light on the critical role of lysosomes during mammalian embryo development. Using a mouse model of cystinosis, a lysosomal storage disease, his group discovered a strong genetic interaction between cystinosin and the lysosomal transporter PQLC2, which manifests as an embryonic lethality when both genes are inactivated. Prof. Wim Annaert (KU Leuven, Belgium) discussed the molecular biology of membrane trafficking in the context of Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on the role of presenilin/gamma-secretase in lysosomal function and homeostasis. Finally, Prof. Peter Lobel (Rutgers University, Piscataway, USA), a longstanding collaborator of Michel Jadot, went back over his research on lysosomal enzyme targeting, emphasizing the mannose-6-phosphate-dependent mechanism in directing lysosomal enzymes to the lysosome. His laboratory has been at the forefront of applying mass spectrometry methods to lysosomal proteome and disease discovery. Combined with Michel Jadot’s expertise in subcellular fractionation by centrifugation methods, this led to the emergence of subcellular proteomic profiling approaches.

The program also featured several abstract-selected short talks given by promising young scientists: Thomas Jacqmin (UNamur), Dr. Dario Priem (UGent), Andréa Bleret (UCLouvain), Dr. Anaïs Bécot (Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris), Ranabir Chakraborty (Institut Pasteur, Paris) and Karen Libberecht (UHasselt). Attendees also had the opportunity to discover additional research projects through poster presentations.

To conclude the meeting, Prof. Marielle Boonen (UNamur) presented a retrospective on the career of Michel Jadot, highlighting his remarkable contributions to the field of lysosomal biology. She warmly thanked Michel for being her mentor at all stages of her academic journey, from her doctoral thesis to the establishment of her own research group at the UNamur.

The day ended with a drink and a festive walking dinner, attended by Michel's former colleagues, close collaborators, students and family.

The organizers (Marielle Boonen, Thierry Arnould, Alison Forrester, Pierre Morsomme and Caroline Canon) would like to thank all the sponsors of the event for their support: Analis, Dulis, Greiner Bio-one, Promega, Sarstedt, Sartorius, FNRS, as well as the Biomedical sciences and Medicine departments of the UNamur, the BCMB doctoral school and NARILIS.

https://www.narilis.be/events/the-fascinating-world-of-lysosomes