Biology subjects

Deffieu, M. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Deffieu, M. S..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Monitoring the dynamics of exosomes through the tracking of Rab7 partners

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in cell-cell signaling, and their dysregulation is linked to various pathologies. EVs can originate from the plasma membrane as microvesicles, or form within endosomal compartments that fuse with the plasma membrane, releasing their intraluminal vesicles in the extracellular space as exosomes. However, distinguishing between these two types of EVs is challenging due to their common protein markers, necessitating cumbersome isolation methods. To overcome this limitation, we developed an innovative tool using Rab7-mediated proximity labelling and mass spectrometry. This technological advancement enables the covalent labeling of Rab7 partners allowing the tracking of intracellular and extracellular exosomal cargoes.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2023

LC3B conjugation machinery promotes autophagy-independent HIV-1 entry in CD4+ T lymphocytes

HIV-1 entry into CD4+ T lymphocytes relies on the viral and cellular membranes fusion, leading to viral capsid delivery in the cytoplasm of target cells. The conjugation of ATG8/LC3B protein, process referred to as ATG8ylation and mainly studied in the context of autophagy, occurs transiently in the early stages of the HIV-1 replication cycle in CD4+ T lymphocytes. Despite numerous studies investigating the interplays of HIV-1 with autophagy machinery, the impact of ATG8ylation in the early stages of HIV-1 infection remains unknown. Here we found that HIV-1 exposure leads to the rapid enrichment of LC3B towards the target cell plasma membrane, in close proximity with the incoming viral particles. Furthermore, we demonstrated that ATG8ylation is a key event that facilitates HIV-1 fusion with target CD4+ T cells. Interestingly, this effect is independent of the canonical autophagy pathway as ATG13 silencing does not prevent HIV-1 entry. Together, our results provide an unconventional role of LC3B conjugation subverted by HIV-1 to achieve a critical early step of its replication cycle. TeaserHIV-1 induces LC3B enrichment towards its target cell entry site and uses the conjugation of this protein to favor its entry step.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Trans-synaptic dwelling of SARS-CoV-2 particles perturbs neural synapse organization and function

SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with short- and long-term neurological and psychiatric complications, referred to as neuroCOVID. These symptoms are relatively heterogenous and fluctuating, hampering the discovery of molecular mechanisms underlying viro-induced brain perturbations. Here, we show that the human cerebral cortex poorly supports SARS-CoV-2 dissemination using post-mortem COVID-19 patient samples, ex vivo organotypic cultures of human brain explants and stem cell-derived cortical organoids. Despite restricted infection, the sole exposure of neural cells to SARS-CoV-2 particles is sufficient to induce significant perturbations on neural synapse organization associated to electrical activity dysfunction. Single-organoid proteomics revealed that exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is associated to trans-synaptic proteins upregulation and unveiled that incoming virions dwell at LPHN3/FLRT3-containing synapses. Our study provides new mechanistic insights on the origin of SARS-CoV-2-induced neurological disorders. One-Sentence SummarySARS-CoV-2 modulates neural plasticity and electrical activity as viral particles lodge at the trans-synaptic interface.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Pharmacological perturbation of intracellular dynamics as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral strategy

SARS-CoV-2 (CoV2) is the viral agent responsible for the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccines are being deployed all over the world with good efficacy, but there is no approved antiviral treatment to date. This is particularly needed since the emergence of variants and the potential immune escape may prolong pandemic spreading of the infection for much longer than anticipated. Here, we developed a series of small molecules and identified RG10 as a potent antiviral compound against SARS-CoV-2 in cell lines and human airway epithelia (HAE). RG10 localizes to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, perturbing ER morphology and inducing ER stress. Yet, RG10 does not associate with SARS-CoV-2 replication sites although preventing virus replication. To further investigate the antiviral properties of our compound, we developed fluorescent SARS-CoV-2 viral particles allowing us to track virus arrival to ER membranes. Live cell imaging of replication-competent virus infection revealed that RG10 stalls the intracellular virus-ER dynamics. Finally, we synthesized RG10b, a stable version of RG10, that showed increased potency in vitro and in HAE with a pharmacokinetic half-life greater than 2 h. Together, our work reports on a novel fluorescent virus model and innovative antiviral strategy consisting of the perturbation of ER/virus dynamics, highlighting the promising antiviral properties of RG10 and RG10b.

microbiology↗