Our team aims to Identify, to Understand, to Block and to Hijack bacterial nanomachines that challenge human health.
Bacterial nanomachines play a pivotal role in bacterial life processes, for the good but also for the bad. Nanoscale dynamic protein protein interaction (PPI) drives the assembly of the myriad of protein components that build these nanomachines. Our VN2M team seeks to understand the molecular intimacy and the atomic architecture of these powerful biological nanomachines with the objective of deciphering how they work and regulate their activity. Our knowledge is then used to develop original and “chirurgical” strategies to interfere with the assembly and functioning of the virulence nanomachines, just like a “grain of sand in the nanomachine’s gears”. Our molecules or peptides will allow to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in the future. Ultimately, our increasing level of detail in the building of such “molecular cathedral” will feed our synthetic biology initiative to mimic and hijack such powerful engines for biotechnological applications, notably in cancer treatment.
Our research revolves around 5 themes :
The Elephant in the Room: Exploring the Role of the Type VI Secretion System in the physiology Acinetobacter baumannii Acinetobacter baumannii is a major opportunistic
L’équipe NanoBacVir (Nanomachines Bactériennes de Virulence), qui regroupe les équipes PELICIC et DURAND, obtient le statut d’Équipe de Recherche Labellisée Inserm (U 1362) à compter
Le canal membranaire du T6SS : des preuves moléculaires à sa dynamique et à sa structure chez Acinetobacter baumannii Les systèmes de sécrétion de type
The type VI secretion system (T6SS) of Gram-negative bacteria inhibits competitor cells through contact-dependent translocation of toxic effector proteins. In Proteobacteria, the T6SS is anchored
The LCB is happy to welcome a 14th team. This is Eric Durand’s team : “Virulence Nano-Macromolecular Machinosome” (VN2M). The team aims to Identify, to
This axis explores whether the T6SS nanomachine relies on integration with other cellular processes—including cell envelope transport systems and housekeeping functions—to assemble and operate.
This axis is dedicated to deciphering the structural assembly and architecture of T6SS across diverse bacterial pathogens (Acinetobacter baumannii, Bacteroides fragilis, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis…).
This research axis investigates T6SS function within a collection of clinical isolates from patients with various pathologies, aiming to develop first-in-class virulence inhibitors targeting major ESKAPE pathogens.
Group leader / Research director (DR-INSERM)
Assistant engineer (AI-CNRS)
PhD student (PhD-CNRS)
PhD student (PhD-CNRS)
