Photo © LABÉO: The ImpedanCELL team. Erika HUE (LABÉO site research engineer), Stéphane PRONOST (LABÉO site scientific manager), Christine FORTIER (LABÉO site quality manager), Emilie BROTIN (Baclesse site research engineer) and Christophe DENOYELLE (Baclesse site scientific manager).
Article from Prisme, the research journal of the Université de Caen Normandie(No. 12 - July 2021)
Most study methods in cell biology are "snapshot" analyses carried out at a time "t". Opening the "black box" could sum up the experiments carried out on the ImpedanCELL platform to access the full range of biological response data. ImpedanCELL boasts unique know-how, equipment and skills in Europe for real-time, high-throughput analysis of cellular activity. Interview with Christophe Denoyelle and Stéphane Pronost, scientific managers of the two ImpedanCELL platform sites, at the Centre de lutte contre le cancer Francois Baclesse and LABÉO respectively.
What does the ImpedanCELL platform offer?
ImpedanCELL is an original platform for studying cell activity in real time, unrivalled in Europe in terms of its level of equipment and the diversity of questions studied. It features innovative technologies for continuous, label-free monitoring of cell dynamics. It is ideally suited to large-scale, multi-disciplinary projects, and offers a wide range of analysis possibilities. It makes its expertise and know-how available to any academic or industrial partner, offering all or part of the analyses, in collaboration or as a service, depending on user requirements. It is also involved in the basic training of scientific and medical curricula, to raise awareness among students and the scientific community of the use of these new technologies.
What innovative technologies are available on the platform?
ImpedanCELL offers two types of technology: impedance measurement (xCELLigence®) and real-time cell imaging (IncuCyte® S3). Impedance measurement, carried out over several days, every 30 seconds to 15 minutes depending on the experiment, coupled with morphological observation, enables highly accurate characterization of both early and late events in the cellular response. These parameters are useful, for example, in oncology, to assess the efficacy of a treatment on cancer cells over time, but also in microbiology, to verify the efficacy of antiviral treatments on human or animal cells, or of antibiotics on bacterial biofilms. ImpedanCELL is also equipped with real-time cell imaging systems to visualize cells in phase contrast or fluorescence, providing further proof of the efficacy of an approach.
What are the possible fields of application? Particularly in oncology.
ImpedanCELL's CLCC Baclesse site (Bât. Recherche), is at the service of research units to meet their needs in fields as varied as oncology, physiology, neuroscience, marine biology and so on. For example, in collaboration with UMR 1086 ANTICIPE and chemistry teams from Caen (CERMN) and Rennes (Institut des sciences chimiques), nearly 2,000 molecules from various chemical libraries have been screened using xCELLigence® technology. This work enabled the identification of molecules capable of inducing the death of chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells, some of which have been the subject of an international patent application and a maturation process supported by Normandie Valorisation. ImpedanCELL has recently acquired imaging modules to study the viability and cell death of 3D models, thus complementing the development of the ORGAPRED platform, dedicated to the production of tumor organoids for predictive and research purposes.
And what about virology?
ImpedanCELL has a second site at LABÉO, and its equipment is deployed at the Normandie Équine Vallée platform in Saint-Contest. Access to an L2 containment area enables us to respond to additional requests to work on equine pathogens, and to carry out all activities linked to virology and bacteriology. ImpedanCELL was recently used as part of a thesis in equine health, on the development of a treatment for equine herpesvirus 1. Nearly 3,000 molecules were screened using xCELLigence® technology! This research was the subject of recent publications, which identified in vitro molecules effective against this virus responsible for serious infections in horses. The platform also welcomed a team from the École Nationale Vétérinaire de Nantes (ONIRIS), for research on respiratory viruses in pigs.
ImpedanCELL is pre-labeled IBiSA. What are the changes and prospects?
The IBiSA label, for "Infrastructure en biologie, santé & agronomie" (Infrastructure in Biology, Health & Agronomy), is recognition of our technical and scientific expertise, but also a guarantee of the quality of our services, and offers greater national visibility. ImpedanCELL has grown steadily thanks to the support of Europe, the French State, the Normandy Region and the strong backing of our supervisory bodies, who have enabled us to acquire state-of-the-art equipment. The creation of a statutory research engineer position was also a major factor in obtaining this label of excellence. The objectives of the ImpedanCELL platform are now to maintain a level of excellence and reference in this technology, particularly for research teams in Normandy, to extend its services to new disciplines such as cardiology and immunology, and to continue to increase the platform's visibility and attractiveness through new partnerships.
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