cell division Archives - Centre de recherche de l'Institut Curie

Replication program and genome instability

DNA replication must adapt to changes in chromatin organization associated with cell differentiation and development, whose deregulation can challenge genome stability and leads to mutations, cancer and many other genetic diseases. However, despite intensive studies, the mechanisms that coordinate where and when replication initiates in the human genome remain poorly known. Our team focuses on […]

Cytoskeletal Architecture and Cell Morphogenesis

Our team explores how the cytoskeleton is organized, how it controls the establishment of functional membrane domains devoted to polarized cell growth or cell division, and how it is remodeled at mitotic entry for the assembly of the mitotic spindle and contractile ring, two complex molecular machines promoting chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Most our studies […]

Systems Biology of Cell Polarity and Cell Division

Our team studies cell polarization, a process which involves a reorganization of the cell cytoskeleton and movement of cellular organelles, usually triggered by external cues. We are particularly interested in cell polarity in the context of cell migration and cell division. We develop and use innovative tools based on nano and micro-fabrication techniques, to control […]

Biology of centrosomes and genetic instability

Known as the main microtubule organizing center of animal cells (MTOCs), the centrosome participates in the organization of the microtubule network within the cell. It is formed of two centrioles surrounded by a structured matrix of proteins called the pericentriolar material (PCM). While the centrioles are involved in the recruitment of the proteins that form […]

Regulation of microtubule dynamics and functions

Microtubules are key cytoskeletal elements involved in a large number of functions in eukaryotic cells. They assemble from a protein dimer of a- and b-tubulin, two highly similar and conserved proteins. Tubulins are subject to a large variety of posttranslational modifications (Fig. 1), which provide a rapid and reversible mechanism to diversify microtubule functions in cells. […]