David Michonneau’s team – Translational Immunology in Immunotherapy and Hematology (TIGITH)

Acquired aplastic anemia (AAA) is a rare hematologic disorder characterized by immune-mediated destruction of hematopoietic progenitors, which can evolve into a myeloid malignancy in 15 to 20% of cases. Our projects aim to characterize the immune response underlying AAA in the bone marrow of patients and to identify the molecular mechanisms driving clonal evolution in AAA. This research is based on a multicenter cohort of bone marrow samples from the RIME biocollection of the French National Reference Center (https://aplasiemedullaire.com/) and leverages single-cell transcriptomic and genomic approaches.

MAIT cells (Mucosal-Associated Invariant T cells) are lymphocytes associated with mucosal tissues and characterized by the expression of an invariant TCR α-chain, Vα7.2. Their regulatory role in the immune response remains poorly understood. The team aims to characterize the interactions between MAIT cells and other immune cell populations, particularly in the context of the alloimmune response, and to develop innovative therapies based on the generation of CAR MAIT cells to target tumor pathologies, using in vitro approaches and murine models of solid cancers.