Spatio-temporal control of nuclear mechanotransduction during Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition

(This conference will take place in English.)

Magali Suzanne, PhD
Principal Investigator
University of Toulouse
National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Center for Integrative Biology (CBI)
Toulouse, France
 

This conference is hosted by David Hipfner and will be held in person in the IRCM André-Barbeau Room.

About this conference

During epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cells generate mechanical forces. How the nucleus reacts to these mechanical cues, ensuring a tight balance between mechano-protection and mechanotransduction, is a key yet unresolved question. Here we dissect the spatio-temporal control of nuclear mechanostransduction during EMT, using Drosophila mesoderm invagination as a model. We found that two conserved pro-EMT genes respond differently to compressive forces: while snail transcription remains unaffected, compression is sufficient to activate twist transcription within seconds. We further revealed a spatially patterned genome-wide transcriptional response to EMT forces, with an apical mechanoprotection contrasting with a permissive basal nuclear environment. The direct recording of nascent transcription in response to a controlled nuclear micromanipulation provides compelling evidence of nuclear heterogeneity in the transcriptional response to forces. Overall, these results reveal that EMT nuclei respond directly and rapidly to mechanical forces, in a spatially defined pattern.

About Magali Suzanne

Dr. Suzanne earned her PhD in 1999 from the University of Toulouse, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Severo Ochoa Centre for Molecular Biology in Madrid, Spain. In 2005, she obtained a CNRS research position and worked at the Institute of Biology Valrose in Nice, France. From 2008 to 2010, she was a visiting scientist at Rockefeller University in New York, USA.

She leads a team at the Center for Integrative Biology in Toulouse. She was awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in 2015, was appointed CNRS Research Director the same year, became an EMBO member in 2022, and received the Louise Basset Prize from the French Academy of Sciences in 2023.

Her team has uncovered how cell death shapes tissues by combining cell biology, biophysics, and modeling approaches. Currently, her research focuses on understanding how the integrity of epithelial tissues—critical for protecting and covering our organs—is maintained.
 

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