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Ferent

Pleiotropy of morphogens


Our Research

Our research team focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the multiple roles of morphogens during the nervous system development.

During embryonic development, the formation of the brain by the generation, differentiation and finally the precise connection of new neurons is controlled by many molecular factors. Amongst these factors, extracellular secreted molecules, called morphogens, instruct the shape of the nervous system. During neuronal differentiation, cells change from a proliferative state to acquire cell identity, to perform migration and finally to grow axons and connect to other cell types. Thus, cells need to change their responses to their environment to achieve the correct behavior. Our aim is to answer to the following question: how do morphogenic signals control distinct responses during neural development? Our research addresses fundamental questions on how a single (and then multiple) morphogenic signal(s) act at different steps of neuronal development to induce these different responses. We use the murine and human developing cerebral cortex as a model.

Website: ferentlab.fr

Experimental Approaches

  • In vitro primary cell cultures of cortical progenitors and neurons
  • Microfluidic chambers
  • In utero electroporation
  • 3D imaging of embryos
  • Molecular Biology (RNA-seq, ATAC-seq)
  • Biochemistry

Teaching

We are involved in teaching programs such as:

  • Sorbonne Université – Master Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire – «Communication et Signalisation Cellulaire»
  • Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay – M2 FESup SV-BGB Préparation à l’agrégation de Biochimie – «Neurobiologie cellulaire»
  • Sorbonne Université – Master Biologie Intégrative et Physiologie – «Guidage axonal»
Nestin Pax6

Funding

Our research team is supported by INSERM, The ATIP-Avenir program, the Fyssen Foundation and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

People

Julien Ferent
Sara Douceau
Tanya Deutsch Guerrero

Julien Ferent, PhD, CRCN (INSERM), Principal Investigator

Sara Douceau, PhD, Post-doctoral fellow

Tanya Deutsch Guerrero, PhD student, Sorbonne University

Hanna Kavaliova, Undergrade, Alumni

André Heilser, Undergrade, Alumni

Etienne Poidomani, Undergrade, Alumni

Most Recent Publications

Establishing Hedgehog Gradients during Neural Development

Douceau S, Deutsch Guerrero T, Ferent J.

Cells. 2023 Jan 5;12(2):225.

PMID:36672161

Heterozygous Dcc Mutant Mice Have a Subtle Locomotor Phenotype

Thiry L, Lemaire C, Rastqar A, Lemieux M, Peng J, Ferent J, Roussel M, Beaumont E, P Fawcett J, M Brownstone R, Charron F, Bretzner F.

eNeuro. 2022 Mar 8;9(2):ENEURO.0216-18.2021.

PMID:35115383

Extracellular Control of Radial Glia Proliferation and Scaffolding During Cortical Development and Pathology

Ferent J, Zaidi D, Francis F

Front Cell Dev Biol. (2020) 8: 578341

PMID:33178693

The Ciliary Protein Arl13b Functions Outside of the Primary Cilium in Shh-Mediated Axon Guidance

Ferent J, Constable S, Gigante ED, Yam PT, Mariani LE, Legué E, Liem KF Jr, Caspary T, Charron F

PMID:31825820

Boc Acts via Numb as a Shh-Dependent EndocyticPlatform for Ptch1 Internalization and Shh-MediatedAxon Guidance

Ferent J, Giguère F, Jolicoeur C, Morin S, Michaud JF, Makihara S, Yam PT, Cayouette M, Charron F

Neuron. 2019 Jun 19;102(6):1157-1171.e5

PMID:31054872

The Shh receptor Boc is important for myelin formation and repair

Zakaria M, Ferent J, Hristovska I, Laouarem Y, Zahaf A, Kassoussi A, Mayeur ME, Pascual O, Charron F, Traiffort E

Development. 2019 May 2;146(9):dev172502

PMID:31048318

Polarized Dock Activity Drives Shh-Mediated Axon Guidance

Makihara S, Morin S, Ferent J, Côté JF, Yam PT, Charron F.

Dev Cell. 2018 Aug 20;46(4):410-425.e7.

PMID:30078728

Hedgehog: A Key Signaling in the Development of the Oligodendrocyte Lineage

Traiffort E, Zakaria M, Laouarem Y, Ferent J.

J Dev Biol. 2016 Sep 8;4(3):28.

PMID:29615592

Loss of Dcc in the spinal cord is sufficient to cause a deficit in lateralized motor control and the switch to a hopping gait

Peng J, Ferent J, Li Q, Liu M, Da Silva RV, Zeilhofer HU, Kania A, Zhang Y, Charron F.

Dev Dyn. 2018 Apr;247(4):620-629.

PMID:28691197

Cellules souches neurales et signalisation Notch

Traiffort E, Ferent J.

Med Sci (Paris). 2015 Dec;31(12):1115-25.

PMID:26672665

All Team Ferent's Publications

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