NAmur Research Institute for LIfe Sciences
Henri-François Renard
Dynamics of membranes and endocytosis
Unconventional endocytosis and its pathophysiological functions: unravelling the molecular mechanisms for their exploitation as pharmacological targets in cancer
Prof. Henri-François Renard PhD
UNamur, Department of biology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology (URBC)
Research portal UNamur | ORCID | ResearchGate | LinkedIn | Personal website
Expertise and research interests
Prof. Henri-François Renard conducts research in cell biology and more particularly in the field of endocytosis and membrane trafficking. He works on the discovery and the characterization of new endocytic modalities, with a special focus on those that are independent from the well-described clathrin coat protein. He is particularly interested in the multiple functions of the membrane curvature sensing/inducing BAR domain-containing proteins in these fascinating processes. One important goal of his research is also to better understand the physiological role of these newly described endocytic processes, especially in pathophysiological contexts such as cancer. More generally, he aims to explore the functions of BAR domain proteins in every cellular process involving nanometer-scale deformations of plasma membrane, in order to understand how cells sense and interpret these mechanical signals. His expertise also covers biophysics (model membranes, nanostructured surfaces) and imaging technologies (fluorescence microscopy, super-resolution, live cell imaging). Henri-François Renard works in close contact with a network of collaborators, within which the lab of Prof. Pierre Morsomme at the UCLouvain occupies a special place.
Group members
PhD students: Emilie Rigaux and Shiqiang Xu
Alumni: Dr. François Tyckaert and Dr. Natacha Zanin
Research projects
- ONGOING Role of clathrin-independent endocytosis in cancer cell migration. Ongoing PhD thesis by Emilie Rigaux.
- ONGOING Role of clathrin-independent endocytosis in cancer cell immunogenicity. Ongoing PhD thesis by Shiqiand Xu. Joint PhD programme at UNamur, NARILIS (Prof. Henri-François Renard), UCLouvain, LIBST (Prof. Pierre Morsomme) and UCLouvain, de Duve Institute (Prof. Pierre van der Bruggen). In collaboration with Institut Curie, Paris, France.
- BAR domain proteins in endocytosis: a missing link between membrane curvature, cargo sorting, and signaling? FRS-FNRS Mandat d'Impulsion Scientifique (MIS) granted to Prof. Henri-François Renard
- Role of membrane trafficking in colorectal cancer. Postdoctoral research by Dr. Natacha Zanin.
Selected publications
Ledoux B, Zanin N, Yang J, Mercier V, Coster C, Dupont-Gillain C, Alsteens D, Morsomme P, Renard HF. Plasma membrane nanodeformations promote actin polymerization through CIP4/CDC42 recruitment and regulate type II IFN signaling. Sci Adv. 2023 Dec 15;9(50):eade1660.
Lemaigre C, Ceuppens A, Valades-Cruz CA, Ledoux B, Vanbeneden B, Hassan M, Zetterberg FR, Nilsson UJ, Johannes L, Wunder C, Renard HF, Morsomme P. N-BAR and F-BAR proteins - Endophilin-A3 and PSTPIP1 - control clathrin-independent endocytosis of L1CAM. Traffic. 2023 Feb 27.
Tyckaert F, Zanin N, Morsomme P, Renard HF. Rac1, actin cytoskeleton and microtubules are key players in clathrin-independent endophilin-A3-mediated endocytosis. J Cell Sci. 2022 Jun 15:jcs.259623.
Renard HF, Boucrot E. Unconventional endocytic mechanisms. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2021 Apr 13;71:120-129.
Renard HF, Tyckaert F, Lo Giudice C, Hirsch T, Valades-Cruz CA, Lemaigre C, Shafaq-Zadah M, Wunder C, Wattiez R, Johannes L, van der Bruggen P, Alsteens D, Morsomme P. Endophilin-A3 and Galectin-8 control the clathrin-independent endocytosis of CD166. Nat Commun. 2020 Mar 19;11(1):1457.
