Molecular and cellular virology
INSERM U1019 – CNRS UMR9017 – Lille University – CHU Lille – Institut Pasteur de Lille
Presentation
The MCV team is dedicated to the study of positive-strand RNA viruses. The main objectives are to better understand how these viruses interact with their host at the cellular and molecular level. The studied viral models are hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis E virus (HEV) and coronaviruses. For more than 26 years, the team has been studying the HCV life cycle and it has largely contributed to the understanding of several steps of entry, replication and assembly of this virus. In 2013-2014, after the development of potent antivirals against HCV, the team has expanded its viral models by working on HEV and highly pathogenic coronaviruses like MERS-CoV and, since 2020, SARS-CoV-2. These viruses are emerging in human populations and can be life threatening. Our objective is to better understand the life cycle of these viruses and identify novel antiviral compounds.
Highlights
- Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MCV team has rapidly used its expertise in the field of research on coronaviruses to develop useful tools for SARS-CoV-2. This new virus has rapidly been amplified in cell culture in our BSL3 facility and we have developed a high-throughput screening to interrogate several chemical libraries containing active molecules contained in medicines with the objective of rapidly identifying and characterizing antiviral molecules being or having been licensed for the treatment of other pathologies not linked with viral respiratory infections. This approach can rapidly lead to the repositioning of the most potent molecules for the treatment of COVID-19. Our screening has led us to the rapid identification of a molecule showing a very good antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in addition to interesting pharmacological properties which allow us to propose it for a repositioning to treat COVID-19 patients after validation in a clinical trial that will begin in early 2021.
- Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a major public health problem that affects both developing countries and also industrialized countries like France. Hauts-de-France is a region very affected by this infection. It is important to better understand how this virus works, to treat it better, but also to better diagnose this infection. In our laboratory, we have shown that, during its infectious cycle, HEV produces several forms of its capsid protein ORF2 (structure surrounding and protecting the viral genome), but only one is associated with infectious viral particles. We are currently studying the mechanisms by which these different forms of ORF2 are produced. In addition, we have generated antibodies specifically recognizing the ORF2 forms and are working on the development of a new diagnostic test for hepatitis E.
Members
- Research group on hepatitis E virus
Laurence COCQUEREL
Research director, CNRS, group leader
Cécile-Marie ALIOUAT-DENIS
Lecturer, Lille University
Coline PLÉ
Researcher IPL
Claire MONTPELLIER
Engineer, CNRS
Kévin HERVOUET
PhD student
Karoline METZGER
PhD student
Cyrine BENTALEB
PhD student
Martin FERRIÉ
PhD student
Virginie ALEXANDRE
Technician, IPL
Charline CAMUZET
Technician
Aïcha DEMBÉLÉ
Master 2 student
- Research group on coronaviruses
Sandrine BELOUZARD
Researcher CNRS, group leader
Anne GOFFARD
Professor, Lille University & clinical practitioner, CHU
Lowiese DESMARETS
Post-doc
Dylan JUCKEL
PhD student
Imelda RACZKIEWICZ
PhD student
Adeline DANNEELS
Assistant Engineer, CNRS
- Research group on hepatitis C virus
Yves ROUILLÉ
Research director CNRS, group leader
Muriel LAVIE
Engineer, Inserm
Nathalie CALLENS
Engineer CNRS
Esther MARTIN DE FOURCHAMBAULT
PhD student
Sophana UNG
Technician IPL
- Research group on antivirals
Karin SÉRON
Researcher CNRS, group leader
Thomas MEUNIER
PhD student
Malak AL IBRAHIM
PhD student
Nathan FRANÇOIS
Assistant engineer
Publications
Perrier A, Bonnin A, Desmarets L, Danneels A, Goffard A, Rouillé Y, Dubuisson J, Belouzard S.
Identification of a novel TGN localization signal in the C-terminal domain of the MERS coronavirus M protein.
J Biol Chem, 2019, 294, 14406-14421
Lavie M, Linna L, Moustafa RI, Belouzard S, Fukasawa M, Dubuisson J.
Role of the cytosolic domain of occludin in trafficking and HCV infection.
Traffic, 2019, 20, 753-773
Sahuc ME, Sahli R, Rivière C, Pène V, Lavie M, Vandeputte A, Brodin P, Rosenberg AR, Dubuisson J, Ksouri R, Rouillé Y, Sahpaz S, Séron K.
Dehydrojuncusol, a natural phenanthrene compound extracted from Juncus maritimus is a new inhibitor of hepatitis C virus replication.
J Virol, 2019, 93, e02009-18
Ankavay M., Montpellier C., Sayed I. M., Saliou J-M., Wychowski C., Saas L., Duvet S., Aliouat-Denis C-M., Farhat R., de Masson d’Autume V., Meuleman P., Dubuisson J., Cocquerel L.
New insights into the ORF2 capsid protein, a key player of the hepatitis E virus lifecycle.
Scientific Reports. 2019, 9 (1) p. 6243
Montpellier C, Wychowski C, Sayed IM, Meunier JC, Saliou JM, Ankavay M, Bull A, Pillez A, Abravanel F, Helle F, Brochot E, Drobecq H, Farhat R, Aliouat-Denis CM, Haddad J, Izopet J, Meuleman P, Goffard A, Dubuisson J, Cocquerel L. (2018)
Hepatitis E Virus Lifecycle and Identification of 3 Forms of the ORF2 Capsid Protein.
Gastroenterology, 154, 211-223
Keywords
Viral hepatitis ; HCV ; HEV ; Coronavirus ; MERS-CoV ; SARS-CoV-2