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Partner 19 - Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier

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University and research group information

Inserm is the only French public research body entirely dedicated to human health. Its researchers are committed to studying all diseases, whether common or rare, through their research in the fields of biology, medicine and public health.

INSERM U540 60 Rue de Navacelles 34090 Montpellier: Our scientific projects are focused on some major Public Health problems as are hormone-dependent cancers (breast, prostate, ovary and endometrium), environmental endocrine disruptors and their interferences in human reproduction and carcinogenesis and finally hormone substitutive treatments for menopause symptoms and their consequences on cancer risk increase.

Our major fundamental research activities are dedicated to:

- the analysis of the mechanism of transcriptional activation of different nuclear receptors (ERalpha  and ERbeta, AR and PPAR) in cells sensitive or resistant to hormone therapies with a particular attention onto the identification of new cofactors, the study of expression, regulation and role of certain cofactors, to their interactions with other transcription factors (AP-1) and other signaling pathways (growth factors, PPAR receptors), as well as the role of the irreversible inactivation of the expression of certain genes in the acquisition of the resistance phenomenon

- the study of the effects of different target genes of hormones or their antagonists on the major cell biological functions relevant to carcinogenesis (differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, migration, angiogenesis) with clinical targeted objectives (prognosis or therapy)

The first priority transfer researches are targeted on to:

- the design and set up of preventive strategies or early advanced therapies after identification of new risk or progression markers (cath-D, cofactors, PTPL1, fibulin-1, Fra-1, IL-8, ER) and of the specificity of action of new molecules (SERMs, PPAR ligands…);

- the identification of endocrine disruptor impacts on human reproduction and increase in risk factors for hormone-dependent cancer.

Contribution to CASCADE

The aim of our group is to:

- establish nuclear and dioxin receptor profiling (in vitro and in vivo) of various chemicals (pesticides, alkylphenols, flame retardants, etc)

- evaluate nuclear and dioxin receptor activities of environmental (river water and sediments) and biological (serum, adipose tissue) samples

- purify and identify nuclear and dioxin receptor ligands from environmental and biological samples.

Representative scientific articles as relevant to CASCADE

Augereau P, Badia E, Fuentes M, Rabenoelina F, Corniou M, Derocq D, Balaguer P, Cavailles V. Transcriptional regulation of the human NRIP1/RIP140 gene by estrogen is modulated by dioxin signalling. Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Apr;69(4):1338-46.

Seimandi M, Lemaire G, Pillon A, Perrin A, Carlavan I, Voegel JJ, Vignon F, Nicolas JC, Balaguer P. Differential responses of PPARalpha, PPARdelta, and PPARgamma reporter cell lines to selective PPAR synthetic ligands. Anal Biochem. 2005 Sep 1;344(1):8-15.

Pillon A, Servant N, Vignon F, Balaguer P, Nicolas JC. In vivo bioluminescence imaging to evaluate estrogenic activities of endocrine disrupters. Anal Biochem. 2005 May 15;340(2):295-302.

Pillon A, Boussioux AM, Escande A, Ait-Aissa S, Gomez E, Fenet H, Ruff M, Moras

D, Vignon F, Duchesne MJ, Casellas C, Nicolas JC, Balaguer P. Binding of estrogenic compounds to recombinant estrogen receptor-alpha: application to environmental analysis. Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Mar;113(3):278-84.

Gomez E, Pillon A, Fenet H, Rosain D, Duchesne MJ, Nicolas JC, Balaguer P, Casellas C. Estrogenic activity of cosmetic components in reporter cell lines: parabens, UV screens, and musks. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2005 Feb 27;68(4):239-51.