Roche dedicated team
Equipe :
Alexandra Benchoua : Research associate (CECS)
Pauline Georges : Associated engineer (CECS)
Claire Boissart : Associated engineer (CECS)
Aurélie Poulet : Associated engineer (CECS)
Karine Giraud-Triboult : Associated engineer (CECS)
Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) do not only represent a wonderful hope for cell-based replacement therapy of monogenic diseases, they are also a unique tool which allow a precise simulation of the key steps governing the early development in humans, in particular the development of the central nervous system. This dramatically increase the possibility to screen for therapeutic molecules since it gives access to otherwise unattainable human cell types. Since 2005, we have focused our work on using hESC to study the molecular mechanisms which control the different steps allowing the eventual production of neurons. This has led to the development of a genuine protocol which allows the formation of neural tube-like structures in vitro and the following isolation and expansion of a particular type of precursor cells named Neural stem cells (NSC) responsible for the eventual production of the three cell types of the brain, neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. We now wish to exploit this “Know-how” by offering the unique potential of these cellular tools to the pharmacological industry.
We have started a first screening project with the Swiss company ROCHE. The goal of this project is to use NSC to screen a library of more than 1,000,000 compounds and identify molecules with a positive effect on human neurogenesis. This project, lead in collaboration with the HTS team of Marc Lechuga, has for objectives not only to produce batches of cells which fulfil industrial quality standards but also to design tests aiming at monitoring, at a large scale and in an automated format, all the aspects of neurogenesis (proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis), and eventually, run the screen. The molecules identified during this campaign could have relevance in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s disease) and psychiatry.
