Best oral communication award to Diane Lechevalier

This award  was attributed to Diane Lechevalier, Resident in Dermatology at Angers University Hospital for her work performed during her Master at MINT. The work was entitled "Assessement of melanoma cells in the endo-mesemchymal transition".

Abstract: The endothelio-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a phenotypic transition process allowing endothelial cells to acquire mesenchymal properties. It is a source of Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs), which are essential for tumor development by promoting immunosuppression, invasion and metastatic spread. Inhibition of EndMT could thus be used therapeutically.

The objective of our study was to evaluate the influence of melanoma cell secretion on the induction of EndMT. The acquisition of the α-SMA mesenchymal marker and the decrease of the vWF endothelial marker were demonstrated in endothelial cells treated with conditioned melanoma cell medium. The proteomic study of the secretoma showed a large amount of the SPARC protein. We therefore suggest that SPARC is an inducer of EndMT.