NARILIS supports three new collaborative research projects between UNamur and CHU UCL Namur

End 2021, NARILIS launched a call for projects with the aim to strengthen the links between basic and clinical research and to promote the emergence of new synergies between the UNamur and the CHU UCL Namur. Three research proposals have just been selected for funding! A grant of 50.000 EUR will be exceptionally allocated by NARILIS to each of these three projects.

ROLE OF ENDOPHILIN-A3-DEPENDENT ENDOCYTOSIS IN THE ADHESIVE AND MIGRATORY MECHANISMS OF TUMOR CELLS IN COLORECTAL CANCERS

The first project will be directed by Prof. Henri-François Renard, cell biologist at UNamur, and Prof. Marie-Cécile Nollevaux, pathologist at the CHU UCL Namur. This project builds on the recent discovery of a previously uncharacterized mechanism of endocytosis mediated by the BAR domain protein endoA3 (Renard et al., 2020). Henri-François Renard showed that this unconventional endocytic mechanism modulates the abundance of the tumor marker CD166, exposed at the surface of some cancer cells, thereby regulating their adhesive and migratory properties. The project promoters propose here to conduct a clinical study to further investigate the role of endoA3-dependent endocytosis in the biology and prognosis of colorectal cancers. To this aim, the researchers will first produce a monoclonal antibody against endoA3 that will be necessary for diagnosis purposes, and in a second step, carry out immunohistochemistry studies in patient biopsies.

OPTIMIZATION OF HUMAN PRIMARY ADIPOSE SAMPLE (CRYO)PRESERVATION, CELL ISOLATION AND CULTURE IN ORDER TO CHARACTERIZE THE ESTROGENIC COMPONENT IN LIPEDEMA

The second project will be conducted by Prof. Thierry Arnould and Prof. Patsy Renard, cell biologists at the UNamur, Dr. Christine Deconinck, plastic surgeon at the CHU UCL Namur (site Sainte-Elisabeth) and involves a collaboration with Dr. Morgane Canonne, coordinator of the research laboratory of the CHU UCL Namur (site Godinne). They propose an original and ambitious project which aims to investigate the role of estrogen signaling in the initiation and development of lipedema. To tackle this emerging research topic, the researchers will first set up a protocol of isolation of adipose-derived stem cells and differentiated adipocytes from tissue samples isolated from lipedema-affected patients and build an invaluable cryopreserved bank of primary adipose tissue samples. This unique material will allow them to further study the in vitro response of these cells to estrogen and to perform proteomic analyses and comparison with healthy individuals.

LUNG ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IN PRE-TRANSPLANT BRAIN DEATH

The third project is a collaboration between Prof. Nathalie Kirschvink, Dr. Sophie Dogné and Prof. Bruno Flamion from the UNamur and Prof. Benoît Rondelet and Prof. Asmae Belhaj from the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery department of the CHU UCL Namur (site Godinne). Their proposal is focused on the exploration of endothelial dysfunction in the lung during brain death. Preservation of the endothelial function in grafts is indeed a key component in posttransplantation outcomes. The researchers will here investigate glycocalyx integrity following brain death using the porcine brain death model developed by the CHU UCL Namur. Moreover, they also plan to characterize endothelial dysfunction in transplanted human lungs. Thanks to the NARILIS grant, a pressure myograph will be acquired. This tool will be used to measure ex vivo the endothelium-dependent vasodilation on small lung arteries of human and pig lung biopsies.