Radiotherapy remains unavoidable in most cancer treatments. However, its effectiveness is accompanied by side effects due to the irradiation of healthy cells adjacent to cancer. Thus, understanding the biological consequences responsible for the damage of healthy tissue is essential for the development of methods to prevent, mitigate and treat toxicity induced by exposure to ionizing radiation.
Skeletal striated muscle, which accounts for up to 40% of body mass, is often included in the treatment field. Although the macroscopic consequences of radiotherapy on the muscle tissue are well studied, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in maintaining highly coordinated cellular metabolism and muscular tissue homeostasis, such as intercellular communication between the different myogenic cells that make up muscle.

This M2 internship for 6 months is available from January 2025 in the Laboratory of Radiobiology of Accidental Exposures (LRAcc) within the Department of Research in Radiobiology and Regenerative Medicine (SERAMED) of the Department of Health of the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).

Intercellular communication is vital for a tissue, enabling it to respond to a stress, such as irradiation, and to restore tissue homeostasis. To this end, cells can use microRNAs (miRNAs) as a communication mean. Their main role is to regulate the expression of certain genes in target cells.
The principal objective of this internship is to validate preliminary data identifying potential candidate miRNAs found in cell culture supernatants after irradiation of myogenic cells. To this aim, the candidate will improve the characterization of the expression profile of a panel of candidate miRNAs by quantitative PCR on samples of the murine myogenic C2C7 cell line and compare the profiles obtained between the different myogenic differentiation stages, i.e. myoblasts (proliferative cells), myocytes (differentiated cells) and myotubes (differentiated and polynucleated cells) exposed to different doses of irradiation.
At the end of internship, the candidate could examine the communication impact of the modulation of some of these miRNAs on the different myogenic cells, in terms of cell survival by using MTT assay and activation of DNA damage response by immunostaining.

This internship will allow the selected student to improve his/her technical skills in cell biology and molecular biology. In addition, the candidate will acquire solid knowledge in exposure to ionizing radiation, as well as their consequences on eukaryotic cells.
We are seeking for highly motivated Master 2 student in biology / health sciences, with good knowledge in cellular and molecular biology.

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Nous accordons la même considération à toutes les candidatures, sans discrimination, pour inclure tous les talents.

Quelles que soient les différences, nous souhaitons attirer, intégrer et fidéliser nos candidats et nos collaborateurs au sein d’un environnement de travail inclusif.

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