Professor
INRS-Institut Armand Frappier
531 boul. des Prairies, Laval
(Québec) H7V 1B7
Tel. 450-687-5010
Fax. 450-686-5301
albert [dot] descoteaux [at] inrs-iaf [dot] uquebec [dot] ca (Email)
Research interests
Because of their potent microbicidal and tumoricidal capacities, macrophages play a major role in the immune response. Macrophage functions are not constitutive, being rather acquired (activation) in the presence of molecules such as cytokines or microbial-derived products. Binding of these molecules at the surface of a resting macrophage triggers intracellular signalling pathways, which culminate in the acquisition of phenotypes allowing the macrophage to perform specific immune functions. One of my objectives is to gain a better knowledge of the molecular mechanisms leading to macrophage activation in the context of host defense. We concentrate our efforts on the role of a family of kinases known as protein kinase C (PKC), which play a key role in intracellular signalling.
We also investigate the interaction between the intracellular parasite Leishmania and the macrophage. Leishmania evolved various strategies to avoid or manipulate host immune defenses. One of these strategies consists in modulating host cell intracellular signalling pathways. Since Leishmania interferes with macrophage activation through inhibition of PKCs, studying the underlying mechanisms will enhance our understanding of macrophage function regulation. Another strategy used by intracellular parasites, including the promastigote form of Leishmania, consists in remodelling the vacuole in which they replicate. Defining the underlying mechanisms will contribute to our knowledge of basic microbial pathogenesis problems..
Selected Publications
- Shio MT, Eisenbarth SC, Savaria M, Vinet AF, Bellemare MJ, Harder KW, Sutterwala FS, Bohle DS, Descoteaux A, Flavell RA, Olivier M. (2009)
- Malarial Hemozoin activates the NLRP3 inflammasome through Lyn and Syk kinases. PLoS Pathogens 5: In Press.
- Hardy PO, Diallo TO, Matte C, Descoteaux A. (2009)
- Roles of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and p38 MAPK in the regulation of protein kinase C-a activation in interferon-g-stimulated macrophages. Immunology In Press.
- Winberg M, Holm Å, Särndahl E, Vinet AF, Descoteaux A, Magnusson K-E, Rasmusson B, Lerm M. (2009)
- Leishmania donovani lipophosphoglycan inhibits phagosomal maturation via action on membrane rafts. Microbes and Infection 11: 215-222.
- Vinet AF, Fukuda M, Descoteaux A. (2008)
- The exocytosis regulator Synaptotagmin V controls phagocytosis in macrophages. Journal of Immunology, 181: 5289-5295.
- Garg R, Lodge R, Descoteaux A, Tremblay MJ. (2008)
- Leishmania infantum promastigotes reduce HIV-1 entry in macrophages through a lipophosphoglycan-mediated disruption of lipid rafts. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 197: 1701-1708.
- Lodge R, Diallo TO, Descoteaux A. (2006)
- Leishmania donovani lipophosphoglycan blocks NADPH oxidase assembly at the phagosome membrane. Cellular Microbiology 8:1922-1931
- Lodge R, Descoteaux A. (2006)
- Phagocytosis of Leishmania donovani amastigotes is Rac1-dependent and occurs in the absence of NADPH oxidase activation. European Journal of Immunology 36: 2735-2744
- Angers I, Sancho-Shimizu V, Descoteaux A, Gewirtz AT, Malo D. (2006)
- Tlr5 is not primarily associated with susceptibility to Salmonella typhimurium infection in MOLF/Ei mice. Mamm Genome. 17: 385-97.
- Flandin JF, Chano F, Descoteaux A.(2006)
- RNA interference reveals a role for TLR2 and TLR3 in the recognition of Leishmania donovani promastigotes by interferon-gamma-primed macrophages. Eur J Immunol. 36: 411-20.
- Lodge R, Descoteaux A. (2005)
- Leishmania donovani promastigotes induce periphagosomal F-actin accumulation through retention of the GTPase Cdc42. Cell Microbiol. 7: 1647-58.
- Lodge R, Descoteaux A. (2005)
- Modulation of phagolysosome biogenesis by the lipophosphoglycan of Leishmania.Clin Immunol. 114: 256-65. Review.
- Rasmusson B, Descoteaux A. (2004)
- Contribution of electron and confocal microscopy in the study of Leishmania-macrophage interactions. Microsc Microanal. 10: 656-61. Review.
- Ng Yan Hing JD, Desjardins M, Descoteaux A. (2004)
- Proteomic analysis reveals a role for protein kinase C-alpha in phagosome maturation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 319: 810-6.
- Giroux, M., Schmidt, M., Descoteaux, A. (2003).
- IFN-gama-induced MHC class II expression: transactivation of CIITA promoter IV by IRF-1 is regulated by protein kinase C-alpha. J Immunol. 15;171(8):4187-94
- Holm, A., Tejle, K., Gunnarsson, T., Magnusson, K.E., Descoteaux, A. , Rasmusson, B. 2003.
- Role of protein kinase C alpha for uptake of unopsonized prey and phagosomal maturation in macrophages.Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 302: 653-658.
- Chano, F., Descoteaux, A. (2002)
- Modulation of lipopolysaccharide-induced NF-IL6 activation by protein kinase C-alpha in a mouse macrophage cell line. European Journal of Immunology 32: 2897-2904
- Descoteaux, A. , Avila, H.A., Zhang, K., Turco, S.J., Beverley, S.M. (2002)
- Leishmania LPG3 is a GRP94 homolog required for synthesis of phosphoglycans implicated in parasite virulence but not viability.The EMBO Journal 21: 4458-4469
- Estève, P.O., Chicoine, E., Robledo, O., Aoudjit, F., Descoteaux, A. , Potworowski, E.F., St-Pierre, Y. (2002)
- Protein kinase C-zeta regulates, via NF-kappa B, the IL-1 and TNF-alpha induced transcription of the matrix metalloproteinase-9 gene in glioma cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 277: 35150-35155
- Descoteaux A , Turco SJ. (2002)
- Functional aspects of the Leishmania donovani lipophosphoglycan during macrophage infection. Microbes and Infection 4: 975-981.