Uliège

Participant number: 6

Legal Name: Uliege

Dr Agnès Noël

Description of the legal entity:

Established since two centuries, the ULiège welcomes more than 23.000 students, of whom a quarter are of international origin (132 nationalities), plus 3.500 teachers and researchers. ULiège has links with 1.000 institutions world-wide, integrated in vast international academic and scientific networks, which makes it a fully engaged actor in the vast European and International higher education and research area.

The Laboratory of Biology of Tumor and Development (LBTD) belongs to the GIGA-Cancer in the GIGA-Research Center (ULg), a major multidisciplinary center of research in life sciences composed of >600 researchers (https://www.giga.uliege.be/cms/c_4113263/fr/portail-giga). In this center, the PI’s team members have access to fully equipped and staffed core facilities: GIGA-Imaging, GIGA Mouse Facility and Transgenics, GIGA Proteomics, GIGA Genomics, GIGA-Viral Vectors Platforms. Facilities necessary and available to the project also include biohazard cell culture hood, incubator, XCellIgence, IncuCyte Zoom System, laboratory space equipped for DNA and RNA isolation/analysis and Western immunoblotting.

In the TheraLymph project, Agnès Noel and collaborators will bring an expertise in pathological lymphangiogenesis and original experimental in vivo and in vitro models of (lymph)angiogenesis (ear sponge assay, spheroid assay, lymphatic ring assay) and lymphoedema (irradiation/surgery-induced lymphedema. They will also provide access to an expertise in Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics (collaboration with Dr P. de Tulio (at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines CIRM),.

Curriculum Vitae:

Prof. Agnes NOEL (female):

Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Liège (Belgium), Director of the GIGA-Cancer Institute, and Head of the Laboratory of Biology of Tumor and Development (LBTD, 40 researchers). She has gained a recognized expertise in molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in pathological lymphangiogenesis, tissue remodelling process, lymphedema and tumor microenvironment.  H index: 75

Staff:

Dr Pascal de Tulio (PhD, FNRS Research Director), University of Liège, CIRM: expertise in NMR-metabolomics.

Dr Erik Maquoi (PhD, FNRS Research Associate), University of Liège, LBTD: expertise in matrix remodeling and in several in vitro assays using for instance the IncuCyte Zoom System.

Tania Durré (PhD), University of Liège, LBTD: expertise in lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

Marie Ebroin (PhD student), University of Liège, LBTD : expertise in lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

Professor J.L Nizet (PhD, MD, head of Dept. of Plastic surgery, CHU, Liège): expertise in regenerative medicine.

ULIEGE Main tasks in the project per WP

  • WP5: ULIEGE is WP leader and implicated in knockdown of therapeutic target in vitro (Task 5.2), Overexpression of therapeutic target in vitro (Task 5.3)
  • WP6: Validation of biological activity in preclinical models (Task 6.3)

WP9 ULIEGE will contribute to dissemination and communication activities.

List of up to 5 relevant publications, and/or products, services (including widely-used datasets or software), or other achievements relevant to the call content

  1. Durré T, Morfoisse F, Erpicum C, Ebroin M, Blacher S, García-Caballero M, Deroanne C. Louis T, Balsat C, Van de Velde M, Kaijalainen S, Kridelka F, Engelholm L, Struman I, Alitalo K, Behrendt N, Paupert J, and Noel A. uPARAP/Endo180 receptor, a gatekeeper of VEGFR-2/VEGFR-3 heterodimerization during pathological lymphangiogenesis. Nature Communication, 2018 ; 9(1):5178. IF= 12.35
  2. Collignon E*, Canale A*, Al Wardi C, Bizet M, Calonne E, Dedeurwaerder S, Garaud S, Naveaux C, Barham W, Wilson A, Bouchat S, Hubert P, Van Lint C, Yull F, Sotiriou C, Willard-Gallo K, Noel A*, Fuks F*. Immunity drives TET1 regulation in cancer through NF-κB. Sci Adv. 2018 Jun 20;4(6):eaap7309. *co-authors and cosenior authors IF= 11.5
  3. Sounni NE, Cimino J, Blacher S, Primac I, Truong A, Mazzucchelli G, Paye A, Calligaris D, Debois D, De Tullio P, Mari B, De Pauw E, Noel A. Blocking lipid synthesis overcomes tumor regrowth and metastasis after antiangiogenic therapy withdrawal. Cell Metab 2014 ; 20(2) :280-94. IF=17,565
  4. Paye A, Truong A, Yip C, Cimino J, Blacher S, Munaut C, Cataldo D, Foidart JM, Maquoi E, Collignon J, Delvenne P, Jerusalem G, Noel A*, Sounni NE*. EGFR Activation and Signaling in Cancer Cells Are Enhanced by the Membrane-Bound Metalloprotease MT4-MMP. Cancer Res 2014 ; 74(23) :6758-70. *cosenior authors. IF=9,329

5. Bruyere F, Melen-Lamalle L, Blacher S, Roland G, Thiry M, Moons L, Frankenne F, Carmeliet P, Alitalo K, Libert C, Sleeman JP, Foidart JM & Noel A. – Modeling lymphangiogenesis in a three-dimensional culture system. Nat Methods.2008; 5(5):431-7. IF = 15.478, CI= 78

List of up to 5 relevant previous projects or activities, connected to the subject of this proposal

– Partner of 4 European projects (FP4, FP5 and FP6)

– Coordinator of FP7 project: « Microenvimet » n° (HEALTH-F2-2008-201279)- 03/2008 – 02/2012

– Coordinator of FP7 Marie Curie project: « Tumorlymphainhibit » FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF: n° 625862 ; 2014 – 2016

– Coordinator of BEIPD-COFUND-IPD project: « Study of the molecular mechanisms underlying the guidance of lymphatic endothelial cells in a gradient of lymphangiogenic factor »; 10/2016 – 09/2018

– Fondation contre le cancer; FAF-F/2018/1241; 2019 – 2022- coordinator « Implication of lymphatic heterogeneity and plasticity in metastatic dissemination »

Infrastructure and/or major items of technical equipment

Infrastructure/Equipment available: The team of Agnès NOEL has access to the platform facilities of the GIGA institute at the University of Liège (http://www.giga.uliege.be/cms/c_5594/en/technology-platforms): 1) GIGA-Genotranscriptomic platform

2) GIGA-Proteomic platform

3) GIGA-Imaging and Flow Cytometry

4) GIGA-Bioinformatics

5) GIGA-Mouse Facility and Transgenics.

The team has the expertise required in cellular and animal models with access to all facilities required.

Operational capacity

Fully operational

We are determined to find a treatment.