Biology subjects

Bare, Y.

Publications and source records attributed to Bare, Y..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Monitoring the dynamics of exosomes through the tracking of Rab7 partners

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in cell-cell signaling, and their dysregulation is linked to various pathologies. EVs can originate from the plasma membrane as microvesicles, or form within endosomal compartments that fuse with the plasma membrane, releasing their intraluminal vesicles in the extracellular space as exosomes. However, distinguishing between these two types of EVs is challenging due to their common protein markers, necessitating cumbersome isolation methods. To overcome this limitation, we developed an innovative tool using Rab7-mediated proximity labelling and mass spectrometry. This technological advancement enables the covalent labeling of Rab7 partners allowing the tracking of intracellular and extracellular exosomal cargoes.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Targeting monocytic Occludin impairs monocyte transmigration and HIV neuroinvasion

Transmigration of circulating monocytes from the bloodstream toward the central nervous system (CNS) represents a hallmark of neuroinflammation and plays an important role during viral encephalitis and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The molecular mechanisms involved in monocyte transmigration through endothelia has been extensively studied, but how monocytes locally unzip tight junction-associated proteins (TJAPs) of the endothelium composing the neurovascular unit (NVU) to reach the CNS remains poorly understood. Here, we show that human circulating monocytes express the TJAP Occludin (OCLN) to promote transmigration through cerebral microvessel endothelial cells. Silencing monocytic OCLN (mOCLN) impairs monocyte transmigration, while mOCLN overexpression increases transmigration. Using high-resolution live cell imaging, we observed that mOCLN clusters at the monocyte-endothelium interface during the transmigration process, forming a transient ring of mOCLN at the site of diapedesis. Furthermore, we designed OCLN-derived peptides targeting its extracellular loop (EL) 1 or 2 to prevent potential trans-homotypic interactions of mOCLN with endothelial OCLN. We found that transmigration of human monocytes was significantly inhibited upon treatment with the EL2 peptide in vitro and in zebrafish embryos, while preserving vascular integrity. Monocyte transmigration toward the brain is an important process for HIV neuroinvasion and here, we showed that the treatment of transmigrating monocytes with the EL2 peptide prevents the dissemination of HIV to cerebral organoids. In conclusion, our study identifies an important role for monocytic OCLN during transmigration and provides a proof-of-concept for the development of mitigation strategies to prevent HIV neuroinvasion.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Pharmacological perturbation of intracellular dynamics as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral strategy

SARS-CoV-2 (CoV2) is the viral agent responsible for the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccines are being deployed all over the world with good efficacy, but there is no approved antiviral treatment to date. This is particularly needed since the emergence of variants and the potential immune escape may prolong pandemic spreading of the infection for much longer than anticipated. Here, we developed a series of small molecules and identified RG10 as a potent antiviral compound against SARS-CoV-2 in cell lines and human airway epithelia (HAE). RG10 localizes to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, perturbing ER morphology and inducing ER stress. Yet, RG10 does not associate with SARS-CoV-2 replication sites although preventing virus replication. To further investigate the antiviral properties of our compound, we developed fluorescent SARS-CoV-2 viral particles allowing us to track virus arrival to ER membranes. Live cell imaging of replication-competent virus infection revealed that RG10 stalls the intracellular virus-ER dynamics. Finally, we synthesized RG10b, a stable version of RG10, that showed increased potency in vitro and in HAE with a pharmacokinetic half-life greater than 2 h. Together, our work reports on a novel fluorescent virus model and innovative antiviral strategy consisting of the perturbation of ER/virus dynamics, highlighting the promising antiviral properties of RG10 and RG10b.

microbiology↗