Personnel

During my PhD in Pharmacology in Milan, Hospital San Raffaele Institute, I followed two main projects and was involved in different collaborations ranging from immune system biology to cell metabolism. In these studies I strengthened my knowledge in pharmacology and deepen my expertise in microscopy. The analysis of mitochondrial shape and metabolism in muscle cells using live microscopy methods has been the bridge putting my interest toward skeletal muscle physiology and imaging and pushed me to move to E.R. Gomes’s team (2008-2012). In this period I optimized a cellular model allowing to study the formation of mature muscle myofibers from primary myoblasts, with a functional contractile system, organized triads and peripherally positioned nuclei. In 2013 I joined the team of France Piétri-Rouxel, Myology Research Center (Sorbonne University – INSERM U974 – Association Institute of Myology) in Paris (France). In the team, I developed studies focused on a key aspect of skeletal muscle physiopathology: the mass maintenance. In particular, we discovered that CAVβ1E is the upstream player activating GDF5 signaling and that CAVβ1E /GDF5 is a fundamental axis for the maintenance of skeletal muscles after nerve injury as well as during age-related muscle atrophy (Traoré et al, SciTranslMed 2019). In addition, we have shown that an analogous of CAVβ1E is expressed in human muscle and that its levels are correlated with skeletal muscle mass and aging. Our data suggest that GDF5, that is altered as in aging, a major public health concern, or neuromuscular disorders, in which nerve-muscle connections are disrupted, could be a therapeutic measure to improve muscle mass and strength. As a result of these hypotheses, two patent applications have been filed indicating GDF5 as a potential therapeutic treatment. The elucidation of molecular mechanisms and the establishment of therapeutic use are the objectives of my ongoing scientific projects.