Dr. Julie Pannequin - Impact of tumor heterogeneity and plasticity on relapse in colorectal cancer - IPBS-Toulouse, Seminar Room

Julie Pannequin

Functional Genomic Institute, Montpellier, France

Impact of tumor heterogeneity and plasticity on relapse in colorectal cancer

Since cancer has been considered for ages as a disease of proliferation, identification of cancer stem cells has considerably changed this dogma. Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) represent a subpopulation of tumoral cells endowed with self-renewal, tumor initiation and resistance capacities. In the team we are focused on their signaling pathways and plasticity and we are studying more precisely their involvement in tumor recurrence in colorectal cancer. Our research is organized within 2 main axes. The first axis is focused on the deciphering of mechanisms explaining CSC chemoresistance in the aim of identifying innovative strategies to sensitize CSC to these drugs. The second axis proposes to study tumoral dissemination with a special focus on the circulating tumor cell characterization, early dissemination and tumor dormancy.

Selected references

• Bansard L, Bouvet O, Moutin E, Le Gall G, Giammona A, Pothin E, Bacou M, Hassen-Khodja C, Bordignon B, Bourgaux JF, Prudhomme M, Hollande F, Pannequin J, Pascussi JM, Planque C. (2022) Niclosamide induces miR-148a to inhibit PXR and sensitize colon cancer stem cells to chemotherapy. Stem Cell Reports 17(4):835-848.
• Planque C, Rajabi F, Grillet F, Finetti P, Bertucci F, Gironella M, Lozano JJ, Beucher B, Giraud J, Garambois V, Vincent C, Brown D, Caillo L, Kantar J, Pelegrin A, Prudhomme M, Ripoche J, Bourgaux JF, Ginestier C, Castells A, Hollande F, Pannequin J, Pascussi JM. (2016) Pregnane X-receptor promotes stem cell-mediated colon cancer relapse. Oncotarget 7(35):56558-56573.
• Grillet F, Bayet E, Villeronce O, Zappia L, Lagerqvist EL, Lunke S, Charafe-Jauffret E, Pham K, Molck C, Rolland N, Bourgaux JF, Prudhomme M, Philippe C, Bravo S, Boyer JC, Canterel-Thouennon L, Taylor GR, Hsu A, Pascussi JM, Hollande F, Pannequin J. (2017) Circulating tumour cells from patients with colorectal cancer have cancer stem cell hallmarks in ex vivo culture. Gut 66(10):1802-1810.
• Belthier G, Homayed Z, Grillet F, Duperray C, Vendrell J, Krol I, Bravo S, Boyer JC, Villeronce O, Vitre-Boubaker J, Heaug-Wane D, Macari-Fine F, Smith J, Merlot M, Lossaint G, Mazard T, Portales F, Solassol J, Ychou M, Aceto N, Mamessier E, Bertucci F, Pascussi JM, Samalin E, Hollande F, Pannequin J. (2021) CD44v6 Defines a New Population of Circulating Tumor Cells Not Expressing EpCAM Cancers 13(19):4966.