Université de Strasbourg

Luc Dupuis

Biography - Luc Dupuis

Central and Peripheral Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration (MCPN), University of Strasbourg and Inserm

Luc Dupuis, USIAS Fellow 2019, crédit: Th. Kuchel

As research director, Luc Dupuis heads a laboratory of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in Strasbourg, France. The laboratory, Central and Peripheral Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration (MCPN), is entirely focused on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and front-temporal dementia. His past research provided evidence that weight loss is clinically and therapeutically relevant in ALS, and elucidated the underlying central mechanisms. His team further characterised the role of serotonin neurons in ALS, both in mouse models and patients. More recently, his lab characterised the mechanisms of FUS-mediated ALS by using conditional knock-in mice (FUS is a member of a family of multifunctional DNA/RNA-binding proteins).

Luc Dupuis has been awarded several national and international prizes, including the European Network to cure ALS (ENCALS) Young Investigator Award 2013, the Frick Foundation Award 2013 and the 2018 “Eliane et Gérard Pauthier” Prize from the Fondation de France.

Project - Role of the lateral hypothalamic area in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

01/05/2019 - 31/10/2021

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the major adult-onset motor neuron disease, characterised by a progressive paralysis leading to death within three to five years after the onset of symptoms. ALS is associated with a dramatic loss of weight, which is a recognised prognostic factor. Importantly, a recent clinical trial provided proof of concept that high calorie diet could extend the lifespan of at least a subset of patients. Very recently, Luc Dupuis’ team has collected multiple evidence suggesting that a small region of the brain, called the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), could play a critical role in ALS-related weight loss.

In this USIAS fellowship project, the aim is to define the role of the LHA and its major neuronal populations in weight loss and the disease progression of ALS. For this purpose, Dr. Dupuis will use a translational approach combining original animal models, with state-of-the-art neuroscience techniques such as viral tracing and chemogenetics. The results will be validated in tissues of patients affected with ALS.

Assistant Engineer biography - Stéphane Dieterlé

Central and Peripheral Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration (MCPN), University of Strasbourg & Inserm

Stéphane Diéterlé

Stéphane Dieterlé obtained a BTS (French national state diploma) in biotechnology and, subsequently, a professional degree in biotechnology. He carried out his internship at the INSERM laboratory "Central and Peripheral Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration". Since 2013, he has been working in Dr. Luc Dupuis’ team as an assistant engineer, where he puts his knowledge into practice by accompanying the students within the team. For the past six years, Stéphane Dieterlé has worked with five PhD students, as well as two post-docs on a total of 10 projects. This wealth of experience and his involvement naturally provided the opportunity to co-author seven scientific publications, the most recent of which was published in Nature Neuroscience (Pichiarelli et al. 2019).

Stéphane Dieterlé is passionate about science and, in particular,  molecular biology and biochemistry. He is always willing to offer his expertise and technical solutions to the members of his laboratory, and is always interested in developing new techniques on both mouse and cell models.

He was pleased to join the USIAS project. This subject is important to him as he participated in the first results on the hypothalamus in 2014-2016 in collaboration with a PhD student, Dr. Pauline Vercruysse (Vercruysse et al. 2016). They consequently showed that weight loss and energy metabolisms were connected with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

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