Plasticity
Plasticity: the phd project
We investigate plasticity as a driver of immune escape in CLL. We focus on the emergence of regulatory tumor B-cell states and the conditions under which co-expression of key factors such as FOXP3 and TGFβ1 reflects a functional switch toward immune tolerance (Mékinian A et al., Cancer Gene Therapy 2023). This axis involves Marie Ducroux (PhD student), Estelle Bonte (Master’s student), and Laure Aubard (IE, flow cytometry/cell sorting), combining expertise in immune profiling, cellular phenotyping, and functional assays. By characterizing the transcriptional programs underlying this plasticity, including regulators such as IRF4, we aim to define tumor-associated regulatory signatures linked to immune dysfunction. These findings are expected to provide novel biomarkers of disease progression and to identify strategies to restore anti-tumor immune responses (Grant SFR PEPS 2025).