Structural Glycobiology and Neurobiology

Our research projects address the molecular architectures and functional mechanisms of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), sensor domains and lectins, and of enzymes, receptors and cell adhesion molecules with a neurobiological interest.

The CAZymes govern the hydrolysis, conversion or recognition of sugar moieties from glycoconjuguates widely found in animals, fungi, plants and bacteria. These conjugates are involved in key biological processes such as development, fertilization, quality control of protein folding, host-pathogen recognition, immune response, and they can be linked to diseases such as neurodegenerative metabolic diseases. In collaboration with the “Glycogenomics” team we pay particular attention to those glycoside hydrolases that are of interest for biomedical and biotechnological applications.

We also address the function, recognition properties and structure of receptors, enzymes and adhesion molecules involved in central and peripheral neurotransmission, with particular interest for their structure-function relationships, specificity of partner and ligand recognition, conformational dynamics and functional regulation. In particular we have accumulated expertise in the study of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase and of the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the nicotinic receptor to acetylcholine whose malfunctioning has been correlated with neurodegenerative diseases, and to cell adhesion molecules structurally related to the cholinesterases or to other families of proteins and associated with developmental neuronal deficiencies.

Our methodological approaches involve recombinant protein expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems and complementary biochemical, biophysical, functional and structural (X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy) characterization means.

Violla BASSIM

Jean-Baptiste BOITEL

Yves BOURNE

Claire DEBARNOT

Firas FADEL

Pascale MARCHOT

Semeli PLATSAKI

Gerlind SULZENBACHER

Florence VINCENT

Véronique ZAMBONI