Exploring Tumor-Specific RNA Splicing in Ovarian Cancer: From Mechanisms to Therapeutic Opportunities

The INSERM U1242 OSS Oncogenesis Stress Signalling laboratory is a translational research structure bringing together biologists and clinicians to better understand oncogenesis of solid tumors. By associating biologists working on cancer stress signaling pathways and cancer clinicians, the laboratory aims at deciphering how tumor cells adapt with stresses. It is composed of 4 teams and comprises about 100 researchers, clinicians, technicians, post-doctoral fellows and students. It is located within the Comprehensive Cancer Center Eugene Marquis - which provides a close proximity to clinicians - and is affiliated to the University of Rennes.

Alternative splicing is a context- and tissue-specific process hijacked by cancers to create tumor-specific transcripts (TSTs). Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is described as one of the cancers that produces the highest number of TSTs. Some TSTs may confer selective advantages to cancers or generate tumor neoantigens, thereby leading to the development of new immunotherapy strategies. The importance of these RNA variants is particularly evident upon stress during the reprogramming of alternative splicing. The IRE1α protein is activated during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mediates conventional (CS) and unconventional (US) splicing. IRE1α activation is associated with a poor prognosis and chemoresistance in EOC. The project aims to identify CS and US variants generated by IRE1α and involved in EOC cell biology with therapeutic potential.

M2 en biologie/biotechnologie 

Début du stage entre Janvier et Mars 2027