Publication in Nature 2018: Tumor transition state and the origin of the metastasis

Pastushenko I, Brisebarre A, Sifrim A, Fioramonti M, Renvenco T, Boumahdi S, Van Keymeulen A, Brown D, Moers V, Lemaire S, De Clercq S, Minguijon E, Cédric Balsat C, Sokolow Y, Dubois C, de Cock F, Scozzaro S, Sopena F, Lanas A, D’Haene N, Salmon I, Marine JC, Voet T, Sotiropoulou P and Blanpain C.
Identification of the tumour transition states occurring during EMT.
Nature. 2018 Apr;556(7702):463-468. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0040-3. Epub 2018 Apr 18.
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Publication in Science 2018: Early step of cardiac development revealed

Lescroart F, Wang X, Lin X, Swedlund B, Gargouri S, Sànchez-Dànes A, Moignard V, Dubois C, Paulissen C, Kinston S, Göttgens B,Blanpain C.
Defining the earliest step of cardiovascular lineage segregation during gastrulation by single cell RNA-seq.
Science. 2018 Mar 9;359(6380):1177-1181. doi: 10.1126/science.aao4174. Epub 2018 Jan 25.
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Publication in Cell Stem Cell 2016/2017 : the origin of EMT revealed

Latil M, Nassar D, Beck B, Boumahdi S, Wang L, Brisebarre A, Dubois C, Nkusi E, Lenglez S, Checinska A, Vercauteren Drubbel A, Devos M, Declercq W, Yi R, Blanpain C.
Cell-Type-Specific Chromatin States Differentially Prime Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumor-Initiating Cells for Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition. Cell Stem Cell.2017 Feb 2;20(2):191-204.e5. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2016.10.018. Epub 2016 Nov 23.
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Pr. Cédric Blanpain elected as a member of Academia Europaea

Founded in 1988, Academia Europaea is a European, non-governmental association acting as an Academy.  Its 3800 members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research.   Academia Europaea supports  the advancement and propagation of excellence in scholarship anywhere in the world.

Publication in Nature 2015 : the cells at the origin of breast cancers identified

Van Keymeulen A, Lee M.Y., Ousset M, Rorive S, Brohée S, Wuidart A, Bouvencourt G, Giraddi R, Dubois C, Salmon I, Sotiriou C, Phillips W.A., Blanpain C.
Reactivation of multipotency by oncogenic PIK3CA induces breast tumor heterogeneity.
Nature 2015  Sep 3;525(7567):119-23. doi: 10.1038/nature14665. Epub 2015 Aug 12.
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Grant received from the Fonds Erasme : convention d’excellence 2015-2021

A biomedical research group led by Prof. Isabelle Salmon, Head of the pathologic anatomy service at the Erasme Hospital, was granted a 1.800.000 euros subsidy in order to analyse the tumoral heterogeneity in the patients-derivated xenografts and their incidence for the specialised medicine.  The lab of stem cells and cancer is very active in this nice project.  Project presentation on the Fonds Erasme web site

An EMBO long-term fellowship for Maylis Raphael

Maylis Raphael has been working in the lab as a post-doctoral researcher since 2015.  The fellowship she received from EMBO, a prestigious organization of more than 1800 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences, will permit her to carry on her research on the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Publication in Cell Stem Cell 2015 : a new mechanism involved in tumour initiation, growth and progression in skin squamous cell carcinoma uncovered

Beck B, Lapouge G, Rorive S, Drogat B, Desaedelaere K, Delafaille S, Dubois C, Salmon I, Willekens K, Marine JC, Blanpain C.
Different levels of Twist1 regulate skin tumor initiation, stemness, and progression.
Cell Stem Cell. 2015 Jan 8;16(1):67-79. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2014.12.002.
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Publication in Nature Cell Biology 2014 : definition of the early lineage segregation during early mammalian heart development

Lescroart F, Chabab S, Lin X, Rulands S, Paulissen C, Rodolosse A, Auer H, Achouri Y, Dubois C, Bondue A, Simons BD, Blanpain C.
Early lineage restriction in temporally distinct populations of Mesp1 progenitors during mammalian heart development.
Nat Cell Biol. 2014 Sep;16(9):829-40. doi: 10.1038/ncb3024. Epub 2014 Aug 24.
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Publication in Nature 2014 : the molecular mechanisms regulating tumour initiation and cancer stem cells functions in skin squamous cell carcinoma uncovered

Boumahdi S, Driessens G, Lapouge G, Rorive S, Nassar D, Le Mercier M, Delatte B, Caauwe A, Lenglez S, Nkusi E, Brohée S, Salmon I, Dubois C, del Marmol V, Fuks F, Beck B, Blanpain C.
SOX2 controls tumour initiation and cancer stem-cell functions in squamous-cell carcinoma.
Nature. 2014 Jul 10;511(7508):246-50. doi: 10.1038/nature13305. Epub 2014 Jun 8.
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ERC consolidator grant to Pr. Cedric Blanpain

For the second time, Pr. Blanpain was granted a funding from the European Research Council (ERC).  Named EXPAND, this new project – a consolidator grant – aims to define the cellular dynamics leading to tissue expansion.  

Cédric Blanpain had already got an ERC starting grant in 2007 for the Cancerstem project.  During his first ERC Starting Grant (CancerStem, 2007-2012), Blanpain and colleagues uncovered new populations of stem cells and progenitor cells in the epidermis, prostate and mammary gland, and identified the cancer cell of origin in these different tissues. Using novel genetic approaches, they demonstrated the existence of cancer stem cells within their natural microenvironment and identified intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms regulating their functions.

Now, in his new ERC Consolidator Grant (EXPAND, 2014-2019), he studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating tissue expansion and cell fate decision during growth and repair of epithelial tissues.

Publication in Nature Cell Biology 2012 : molecular mechanisms leading to basal cell carcinoma initiation uncovered

Youssef KK, Lapouge G, Bouvrée K, Rorive S, Brohée S, Appelstein O, Larsimont JC, Sukumaran V, Van de Sande B, Pucci D, Dekoninck S, Berthe JV, Aerts S, Salmon I, del Marmol V, Blanpain C.
Adult interfollicular tumour-initiating cells are reprogrammed into an embryonic hair follicle progenitor-like fate during basal cell carcinoma initiation.
Nat Cell Biol. 2012 Dec;14(12):1282-94. doi: 10.1038/ncb2628. Epub 2012 Nov 25.
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