Maria Rodriguez-Colman, PhD. Associate Professor at Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM), University Medical Centrum Utrecht (UMC Utrecht), The Netherlands, invitée par Lucie Brisson et Thomas Mathivet, équipe 1 de BRIC.
« Driving forces: Metabolism in tumor development dynamics”
The Rodriguez Colman Lab investigates the Metabolism of Stem Cells and Cancer. We use organoids as model systems, heterocellular structures that recapitulate the complexity of in vivo tissue dynamics, including stem cell differentiation and cellular plasticity. Our research integrates bioenergetics, metabolomics, and other omics approaches with cutting-edge 4D live imaging to capture metabolic changes across different scales with high temporal resolution. By genetically introducing fluorescent-based reporters, we monitor metabolite levels within distinct cellular compartments while simultaneously tracking cell type specification. This long-term live imaging data is analyzed using machine learning-based single-cell tracking coupled with advanced analytical pipelines.
In this presentation, I will discuss our findings on how lactate, traditionally considered a metabolic waste product of tumors, plays a regulatory role in cancer stem cell differentiation and plasticity through the epigenetic modulation of oncogenes such as MYC. www.RodriguezColmanLab.org