Le jeudi 16 mai 2024, Monsieur Loïc ROUAUD, titulaire d'un Master en sciences biomédicales à finalité approfondie et d'un Certificat de formation à la recherche en sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques, présentera l'examen en vue de l'obtention du grade de Doctorat en sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques, sous la direction de Madame Agnès NOËL.

Cette épreuve consistera en la défense publique d'une thèse intitulée : "Treg-independent GARP functions in the tumour microenvironment".

Le jury sera composé de :

Chantal HUMBLET (Présidente), Christophe DEROANNE (Secrétaire), Pierre COULIE (UCLouvain), Bernard MARI (Univ. Côte d'Azur), Agnès NOËL, Ingrid STRUMAN, Nicolas VAN BAREN (UCLouvain).

Résumé de la thèse :

TGF-β1 plays a dual role in cancer, it suppresses tumorigenesis by inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells, but it promotes tumour growth and metastases by inhibiting anti-tumour immune responses. Produced by cells in a latent form, TGF-β1 must be released from the Latency Associated Peptide to exert its activity. Although most cells produce latent TGF-β1, only a few activate it through cell type-specific mechanisms. Tregs activate TGF-β1 from its latent form presented by a surface protein Glycoprotein A Repetitions Predominant or GARP. We address the possibility that GARP is produced by tumour stromal cells such as fibroblasts (FRC) and lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC). This project aims to characterize the putative GARP functions expressed by tumour stromal cells and its possible contribution to immunosuppression. Bioinformatics analysis of scRNAseq databases highlighted that GARP expression levels are highly correlated with fibroblastic, blood, and lymphatic endothelial signatures. To investigate the potential role of GARP, we are conducting immunohistochemical staining on lymph nodes issued from patients with breast tumours or cervix cancer. Together, our analysis revealed the presence of GARP in non-Treg cells including LEC, BEC and FRC cells. This finding extends the panel of cell types producing GARP that are worth studying.