https://joliot.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/Engineering-antibodies-accommodate-antigenic-drift-SARS-CoV-1-2.aspx Website of the Frédéric-Joliot Institute of Life Sciences which includes 4 departments: I2BC, DMTS, NeuroSpin and Service hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ). The teams are mainly located at the CEA Paris-Saclay center and at the Orsay hospital. en-US https://www.cea.fr/Style%20Library/Themes/drf/instituts/images/logo-cea-joliot-2023.png https://joliot.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Cyanine-5-huwentoxin-IV-imaging-agent-lung-cancer.aspx A team from SIMoS (DMTS) has demonstrated the ability of a peptide derived from a spider venom toxin to detect overexpressed sodium channels in a metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line. Biotechnology ; Biomarkers ; Cell and molecular imaging ; Cancer SIMOPRO Scientific result Mon, 10 Nov 2025 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Llama-antibodies-therapeutic-avenues-against-schizophrenia.aspx Researchers from SIMoS (DMTS) contributed to the characterization of a nanobody (VHH) designed by scientists at the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle in Montpellier. They performed tritium labeling and biodistribution tracking of this VHH, which can specifically activate a glutamate receptor involved in schizophrenia. This work was published in Nature. Biotechnology SIMOPRO Scientific result ; Article preclinical model;animal models; Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Monoclonal-antibodies-production-targeted-cell-fusion.aspx Researchers at SPI (DMTS) have developed a high-yield strategy for producing monoclonal antibodies by preselecting the antibody-producing cells most likely to form viable hybridomas. This represents a step towards a wider use of this technology which should help to further reduce the number of animals to be immunised. Biotechnology SPI Scientific result ; Article animal models; Fri, 05 Sep 2025 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Institute/2025/COVID-PATH.aspx ​​The COVID-PATH project was officially launched on March 12, 2025, to investigate the gastrointestinal impact of SARS-CoV-2 and its link to Long COVID​. Infectious diseases ; Proteomics ; Metagenomics ; Virus Researchers SPI Europe ; Academic partnerships ; Article Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Progression-SARS-Cov-2-echelle-corps-entier.aspx Le laboratoire BioMaps (SHFJ) a collaboré à une étude dirigée par IDMIT (CEA-Jacob) montrant en imagerie TEP sur le modèle animal primate la progression de SARS –Cov-2 en phase aigüe et trois mois après l’infection, notamment dans les poumons et le cerveau. Virus ; Cell and molecular imaging Scientific result ; Article préclinique;modèle animal; Wed, 02 Apr 2025 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Optimized-toxin-MQ232-snake-venom-renal-diseases.aspx Researchers at SIMoS, SPI (DMTS) and BioMaps (SHFJ) report the development of a new molecule, MQ232, derived from mambaquaretin. As a specific antagonist of the vasopressin V2 receptor, MQ232 is a promising drug candidate for the treatment of renal pathologies. Health ＆ life sciences ; Diseases ; Biotechnology SHFJ Scientific result ; Article animal models;preclinic; Thu, 20 Mar 2025 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2025/Universal-identification-pathogenic-viruses-proteotyping.aspx Researchers at Li2D (SPI/DMTS, Marcoule) have proposed an innovative tandem mass spectrometry proteotyping method for the universal identification of pathogenic viruses, requiring no prior knowledge of sample composition. A step towards improved diagnosis of viral infections Virus ; Mass spectrometry ; Biodetection ; CBRN-E threats SPI Scientific result ; Article Wed, 29 Jan 2025 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2024/Structure-transmembrane-region-SARS-CoV-2-nsp3-protein.aspx An I2BC team has revealed the structure of the C-terminal transmembrane region of the SARS-CoV-2 protein nsp3, essential for virus replication. This region self-assembles into hexamers that form molecular pores on the surface of double-membrane vesicles, the sites of viral genome replication. Nsp3 therefore appears to be a promising therapeutic target. Structural biology ; Virus SB2SM Scientific result Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2024/Functionalization-B-subunit-Shigatoxin-vaccine-tool.aspx Researchers at SIMoS (DMTS) describe the synthesis, engineering and evaluation of the properties of the B subunit of bacterial Shiga toxin (STxB), administered mucosally, as a vaccine tool. Their results confirm the value of using a synthetic STxB in an anti-tumor and anti-infectious vaccination strategy. Biotechnology ; Vaccine SIMOPRO Scientific result préclinique; Fri, 26 Jan 2024 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2023/Click-Chemistry-optimized-drug-delivery-nanomicelles.aspx Researchers at SCBM have used a click-and-release chemistry approach to mass-release an anti-cancer drug into cells from cleavable nanomicelles, thanks to a bioorthogonal activation process. A step towards the development of new nanomedicines Chemistry ; Biotechnology SCBM Scientific result Fri, 10 Nov 2023 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2023/Model-cyanobacterium-production-high-value-terpenes.aspx Through two publications, an I2BC team demonstrates the high biotechnological potential of the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 for the photosynthetic production of high value-added organic compounds, the terpenes. Photosynthesis ; Microalgae ; Biotechnology SB2SM Scientific result Fri, 10 Feb 2023 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/Discovery-natural-peptide-black-mamba-venom.aspx ​A team from SIMoS (DMTS) identifies and characterizes a toxin isolated from black mamba venom, whose specific anticholinergic properties at the type 2 acetylcholine receptor, a regulator of arterial tone, position it as a potential drug candidate for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Health ＆ life sciences ; Biotechnology SIMOPRO Scientific result ; Article Mon, 21 Nov 2022 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/Engineering-antibodies-accommodate-antigenic-drift-SARS-CoV-1-2.aspx Researchers from SIMoS and SPI (DMTS) demonstrate that molecular engineering of llama antibodies, capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-1, allows to obtain optimized antibodies with very high affinities for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, the culprits of the Covid-19 epidemic. Biotechnology ; Virus SPI Scientific result Thu, 22 Sep 2022 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2022/How-to-make-biodrugs-less-immunogenic.aspx SIMoS team, in collaboration with Bicêtre Hospital, shows that certolizumab pegol, a pegylated monoclonal antibody fragment for anti-inflammatory use, is less likely to trigger an adverse immune response than the non-pegylated form. Health ＆ life sciences ; Biotechnology SIMOPRO Scientific result Mon, 20 Jun 2022 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Institute/2021/Deeptope-start-up-Simos.aspx Deeptope, founded in February 2021 from a technology developed at the DMTS Laboratory of Cellular Immunology and Biotechnology (LICB), is a company of therapeutic antibody engineering that provides antibody optimization and characterization services to biotech or pharmaceutical firms with the goal of increasing the quality of antibodies in a very short timeframe. Biotechnology ; Pharmacology News ; Article Mon, 29 Nov 2021 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2021/Vers-test-quantitatif-MS-diagnostic-specifique-COVID-19.aspx Le LEMM, en collaboration avec le LI2D et l’AP-HP, développe un test de diagnostic spécifique de la Covid-19 par spectrométrie de masse qui permettrait aussi la quantification de la charge virale du patient. Objectif à terme : adapter la méthode pour la rendre plus sensible et compatible avec les équipements d’analyse des hôpitaux. Diagnosis ; Mass spectrometry ; Virus Researchers SPI Scientific result SARS-CoV-2; Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Synthetic-biology-increase-diversity-diketopiperazines.aspx Researchers from I2BC (SBIGeM), in collaboration with teams from Sorbonne University, have characterized cyclodipeptide oxidases in vivo and shown that they are valuable tools for producing dehydrogenated 2,5-diketopiperazines, precursors of bioactive molecules of pharmaceutical interest, in Escherichia coli using synthetic biology approaches. Fundamental Research ; Health ＆ life sciences ; Biotechnology Scientific result Fri, 25 Sep 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/SARS-CoV-2-detection-mass-spectrometry-rapidity.aspx A team from SPI in Marcoule detected by mass spectrometry, in 3 minutes and without specific reagents, signature peptides of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in clinical samples (nasopharyngeal swabs). It thus provides a proof of concept of the use of this method as a possible alternative to PCR, currently the reference method. Mass spectrometry ; Virus ; Biodetection ; Diagnosis Scientific result Thu, 06 Aug 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Proteomic-analysis-SARS-CoV-2-infected-cells.aspx In order to optimize the amplification of quality inactivated virus, for the manufacture of a vaccine, a team from SPI (CEA Marcoule) used mass spectrometry to analyze the dynamics of the proteome of SARS-CoV-2 infected cells, at two multiplicities of infection. With more than 3,220 identified host proteins, researchers are also starting to decipher the processes and cellular networks impacted by this virus. Virus ; Mass spectrometry ; Proteomics News Mon, 06 Jul 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Mapping-Ebola-T-cell-response.aspx SIMoS researchers, in collaboration with Genopole, Excellgene, Vaxeal holding SA (Switzerland), used a large-scale approach to map and characterize the response of CD4 T-cells from healthy donors, against two proteins from the Ebola-Zaire virus. They observed a strong response to the viral nucleoprotein (NP) and suggest that components of NP may be included in the design of new Ebola vaccines. Virus ; Vaccine Scientific result Wed, 24 Jun 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Proteomics-SARS-CoV-2-signature-peptides.aspx SPI researchers (Marcoule) used proteomics to identify signature peptides of the SARS-CoV-2 virus expressed in vitro. A "short list" of 14 identified and characterized peptides allows to consider developments in targeted mass spectrometry, making this direct and rapid large-scale approach, implantable in hospitals, a potential tool of choice in the detection of the virus responsible for Covid-19. Proteomics ; Virus Scientific result Fri, 05 Jun 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Institute/2020/Identification-attenuated-covid-virus-variants.aspx An opinion article, published in Environmental Microbiology, and written by an international consortium initiated by three researchers of Joliot Institute, proposes an original way of research on Covid-19 through the identification by sequencing of attenuated variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in populations at risk with little or no symptoms. Virus ; Genomics ; Vaccine Tue, 12 May 2020 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Press/The-way-is-now-open-for-the-development-of-a-broad-spectrum-drug-candidate-for-several-pathogenic-viruses,-bacteria-and-tox.aspx Health ＆ life sciences ; Toxicology ; Virus News ; Press release Fri, 21 Feb 2020 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2020/Magnetic-sensors-ultra-sensitive-biochips.aspx Researchers from IRAMIS collaborated with a team from SPI (LERI) for the development of a microfluidic biochip ("lab-on-chip") based on ultra-sensitive magnetic sensors with giant magnetoresistance (GMR sensors), capable of individually and effectively detect magnetically-labeled biological targets. Biotechnology ; Biodetection ; Physics Scientific result Wed, 08 Jan 2020 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2019/A-ferredoxin-to-fuel-metabolic-pathways.aspx Researchers at BIAM and I2BC@Saclay, in collaboration with Japanese colleagues from Okayama University and Ehime, have characterized in a cyanobacterium a minor protein that diverts part of the energy from photosynthesis to secondary metabolic pathways. This discovery is promising to exploit these metabolic pathways in a biotechnological process of bioenergy production. Biotechnology ; Bioenergy ; Photosynthesis Scientific result Mon, 14 Oct 2019 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2018/retro-2-is-widening.aspx ​Two Research Teams from SIMOPRO and SCBM, in collaboration with Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Jilin University, showed that anti-ricin compounds Retro-2, discovered at CEA during researches against bioterrorism, inhibit two families of viruses important for public health (Ebola and Marburg filovirus and enterovirus EV71). These results broaden the antiviral spectrum of Retro-2 type compounds. Virus ; Infectious diseases Scientific result Fri, 16 Mar 2018 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Science/2018/biotechnological-approach-new-bioactive-molecules.aspx ​Muriel Gondry's Research Team (I2BC@Saclay / SBIGeM), in collaboration with SIMOPRO and Biomolecules Laboratory of the Sorbonne University's one, produced 200 cyclodipeptides containing non-natural amino acids by luring and diverting the cellular machinery for the synthesis of proteins. This unprecedented approach significantly increases the diversity of these bioactive molecules. Biotechnology ; Structural biology Scientific result Mon, 05 Mar 2018 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/news/Institute/2017/ZIKAlliance_Kickoff.aspx ​​CEA Frédéric Joliot Institute is part of ZIKAlliance, a project of the European Union focused on studying infection by the Zika virus and preparing for possible epidemics. Health ＆ life sciences ; Virus News Thu, 16 Feb 2017 11:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/ARCHIVES/IBITECS_anglais/News/2015/societal_resilience_trophy_2015.aspx ​​On September 17, the jury for Societal Resilience Trophies of the French High Committee for Civil Defence (HCFDC) awarded to the team of Laurent Bellanger (CEA-IBITECS) the price of technological innovation​​​ for the development of the diagnostic test for Ebola virus disease, named Ebola eZYSCREEN®​​.​ CBRN-E threats ; Virus ; Biodetection News Thu, 17 Sep 2015 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/ARCHIVES/I2BM_anglais/News/Scientific_news/Articles/2015/Modulating-cerebral-cholesterol-new-avenue-research-treat-Alzheimer.aspx Two French research teams have recently shown in a rodent model that overexpression of an enzyme capable of eliminating excess cholesterol in the brain can act in a beneficial way on the tau component of the disease to completely correct it. Alzheimer's disease ; Gene and cell therapy ; Biotechnology MIRcen Scientific result Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:00:00 GMT https://www.cea.fr/drf/joliot/en/Pages/ARCHIVES/I2BM_anglais/News/Scientific_news/Articles/2015/Bio-magnet-for-targeted-medical-imaging.aspx The CEA-IBEB has partnered with the CEA-I2BM to develop original MRI contrast agents. Nano-magnets produced by bacteria may reveal targets at the molecular level. Biotechnology ; Cell and molecular imaging ; MRI ; Diagnosis ; Nanomedicine LBC Scientific result Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:00:00 GMT