Cell Communication and Tumoral Microenvironment

Located within the Health Biology Pole of the University of Poitiers, the CoMeT laboratory is a research unit (UR 24 344) created on January 1, 2023 and affiliated with the Faculty of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. As its acronym indicates (Cellular Communication and Tumor Microenvironment), the laboratory studies the established interactions between cancer cells and their tumor microenvironment as well as their implications in tumor progression. More specifically, the research activity of the CoMeT laboratory is based on the expertise of its members in terms of intercellular communication by diffusible factors (neurotrophins and their TRK receptors), vesicular transport (extracellular vesicles, exosomes) and direct communication (gap/ communicating). A particular interest is focused on the ability of these communication systems to interact synergistically and increase the invasive potential of tumor cells through the formation of exosomes and/or invasive structures such as invadopodia. The laboratory's research activity benefits from the variety of skills of its members (biochemists, cell biologists, physiologists) covering all the aspects essential to a study ranging from the molecule to the organism and carried out at different complementary levels, from exploitation of bioinformatics databases (in silico analysis), in vitro and in vivo tests and even patient samples, studied by spatial biology approaches.