UMR 7365 CNRS-University of Lorraine- IMoPA, France (F1)
The topics addressed by the UMR 7365 IMoPA include expertise at the molecular, structural, cellular and integrated levels, complemented by multidisciplinary translational research in cell therapy and regenerative medicine.
The unit has the necessary equipment for cell culture and cellular and molecular biology analyses as well as premises adapted to animal experimentation. The members of the UMR involved in the IRN mainly develop research aiming at proposing therapies related to the use of immunomodulatory cells and biomaterials. They focus on the production, expansion and characterization of cells of therapeutic interest (in particular MSCs) but also on the development of tissue engineering substitutes for osteo-articular purposes.
Moreover, the UMR is part of the UMS2008 IBSLor (Unité Mixte de service, Ingénierie-Biologie-Santé de Lorraine, http://umsibslor.univ-lorraine.fr/) giving access to the use of different technological platforms: Imaging platform (confocal microscopy and CARS), Cytometry and Cell Biology, Proteomics and Transcriptomics.
UMR 7357 CNRS-University of Strasbourg, France (F2)
The ICube laboratory (CNRS UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg) brings a particular expertise in the field of mechanobiology and biomechanics in terms of understanding the behavior, characterization (ex vivo and in vivo by innovative methods of MRI and ultrasound elastography) and multi-scale modeling of biological tissues, from the cell to the organ. Its contribution is also characterized by the development of ultrasound tools for mechanotransduction and cell growth stimulation. The project benefits from the infrastructure and know-how in terms of mechanical tests (ex vivo and in vivo), imaging from the cell to the small animal and the human (multimodality MRI 3T and 7T, ultrasound, optical) and focused ultrasound available via the IRIS platform of the ICube laboratory.
UMR 7369 CNRS-University of Reims Champagne Ardenne, MEDyC, France (F3)
The MEDyC Unit favors transversal approaches at the Physics-Biology-Bioinformatics interface by associating biological (biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology), biophotonic (confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, NTA of extracellular vesicles (Nanosight NS300), 3D and 4D in vivo imaging approaches (X-ray microscopy, FMT, MRI), vibrational infrared and Raman spectroscopies, and molecular modeling (homology modeling, molecular dynamics, molecular docking, molecule/molecule interaction studies, virtual reality).
The support to different high level technological platforms (Tier2 ROMEO supercomputer (equip@meso GENCI), multi-scale molecular modeling platform (PF of the IFB network), Nanomat platform (AFM microscopy), small animal imaging platform, cellular and tissue imaging platform (PICT, IBISA label) of which we have been the initiators, proves to be an important asset for the approaches that we develop
UMR 7274 CNRS-University of Lorraine – LRGP, France (F4)
Cell culture in mechanically stirred bioreactors controlled in temperature and dissolved oxygen (volume between 250 mL and 3 L). Biochemical analysis platform and on-line characterization tools for culture parameters (O2, pH, T°, near infrared, RAMAN, biomass probes).
Cellular and Tissue Therapy Unit-UTCT, France (F5)
The UTCT has developed different strategies for clinical grade production of stem cells and immune cells and performs a transfer of immunomodulation and immunotherapy strategies to the clinic. It also collaborates, with the LRGP and IMoPA, to develop large scale clinical grade stem cell culture. Finally, the UTCT has an expertise in anti-cancer immunotherapy by mastering the generation of CAR T cells in research and development of clinical skills.
UMR 1260 INSERM-University of Strasbourg RNM, France (F6)
The RNM Laboratory will bring its expertise in the preparation of nanofibrous implants for tissue regeneration by 3D printer or electrospinning, the formation and characterization of organoids for regenerative medicine, the optimization and development of a microfluidic chip based on vascularized organoids for the screening of therapeutic molecules.
Inserm Unit 1197 / University of Paris-Saclay, France (F7)
The Inserm Unit 1197 will bring its expertise in:
The culture, characterization and functional studies of endothelial cells (endothelial progenitors or mature endothelial cells) and mesenchymal stem cells
Production of clinical grade extracellular vesicles: Production, characterization and functional studies of extracellular vesicles from endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells
culture and analysis of endothelial cells under flow conditions
animal models (mice) to study tissue regeneration (burn and skin wound models) and vascular repair (ischemia models)
Department of Pathophysiology, Wuhan, China (C1)
The Department of Pathophysiology, a member of Wuhan University, contributes to outstanding research in the field of cell engineering, particularly on mesenchymal stem cells and their immunoregulatory properties. This in vitro and in vivo work has applications in sepsis, diabetes, cerebral ischemia and multiple sclerosis. He also collaborates with the Department of Biomedical Engineering to develop tissue-engineered substitutes for the nervous system.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan, China (C2)
Thanks to its multidisciplinary team, the Biomedical Engineering Department has high-level skills in the design of biomaterials (films, gels, sponges, microspheres, nanoparticles) and in the evaluation of their physical, chemical and biological properties. On the technical level, the department has the know-how to isolate and cultivate immune cells that are particularly complex to obtain, in particular macrophages, T lymphocytes and Schwann cells. The department is equipped with a « hot presser », a freeze-dryer and a bioreactor allowing to perform cell culture while subjecting the cells to mechanical constraints. The department has also developed several animal models for nerve and skin tissue engineering.
Department of Pharmacology, Wuhan, China (C3)
The Department of Pharmacology’s research focuses on fetal programming and more specifically on the impact of drug and xenobiotic (caffeine, nicotine, ethanol and dexamethasone) impregnation on stem cells during pregnancy. Thanks to their internationally recognized expertise in the field of signal transduction and intracellular regulation, the Department’s researchers are interested in the links between this prenatal exposure and intrauterine growth retardation, the occurrence of chronic, osteoarticular and bone diseases in adults. They also seek to identify target organs and genes as well as biomarkers to assess xenobiotic toxicity during fetal development.
Department of Joint Surgery, Wuhan, China (C4)
The Department of Joint Surgery conducts high quality research on the understanding of degenerative osteoarticular pathologies. It has a clinical platform of patients (osteoarthritis, cruciate ligament rupture, cartilage lesions…).
Liao-Bin CHEN also collaborates with the Department of Pharmacology to study the impact of xenobiotic exposure during pregnancy on intrauterine growth retardation and the risk of fetal osteoarthritis in adulthood.
Department of Hematology, Wuhan, China (C5)
The Department of Hematology of Zhongnan Hospital is one of the top 100 hematology centers in China. It has a well-recognized basic and applied research activity focused on hematological diseases (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, leukemia, myeloma, GvHD, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)…). He is particularly interested in understanding the pathological mechanism leading to relapse or drug resistance, in preventing GvHD and in the consequences of the DNA methyltransferase DNMT3 mutation in leukemia cells. It also has the equipment and know-how for hematological diagnosis MICM (Morphology, Immunology, Cytogenetics and Molecular), FISH, hematopoietic stem cell culture, AML, MM, CML, Animal model of Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Research Center Calmette Hospital, Kunming, China (C6)
The Biomedical Research Center brings together scientists with strong expertise in basic research but also in medical research with strong clinical interactions in liver tissue engineering. The main specificities consist in using innovative methods of design and analysis of support matrices (decellularized tissues and organs, bio-printing) but also in understanding mechanotransduction phenomena and cell-environment interactions.
National Engineering Center of Cell Products, Tianjin, China (C7)
The research center consists of a Stem Cell Bank, a clinical grade cell production laboratory, a CDMO platform and a research laboratory. It has internationally renowned expertise in the expansion and differentiation of different stem cell populations (embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial progenitors…). This cutting-edge research is focused, among other things, on graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), sepsis, diabetes, cardiac/cerebral ischemia or even multiple sclerosis and pulmonary and hepatic injuries. For this purpose, the center has specific animal models for each of the above-mentioned pathologies.