Home Research and training
Solid-State NMR of Molecular Assemblies

photo1




Dr. Antoine Loquet

Research officer (CR1), CNRS

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +33(0)540002212

http://www.loquetlab.org/




Bio

Antoine Loquet graduated from the University of Lyon / Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon. He did his PhD (2006-2009) under the guidance of Anja Böckmann (IBCP Lyon), working on the development of Solid-State NMR to solve protein structures. In 2008 he joined the group of Beat Meier (ETH Zürich) to study prion fibrils by Solid-State NMR. He then focused his research on molecular assemblies by Solid-State NMR as an EMBO postdoctoral fellow with Adam Lange at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen, Germany). There, he developed Solid-State NMR methods to determine atomic structures of large biological supramolecular assemblies. He obtained a CNRS position in 2013 at the CBMN (Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects) in Bordeaux. In 2014, he was recruited as a group leader at the IECB and since 2016, he is leading the group "NMR of Membranes and Protein Assemblies" at CBMN. His current research concentrates on the structural investigation of molecular assemblies using Solid-State NMR.


In 2015, A. Loquet was awarded an ERC Starting Grant to study the mechanisms of molecular assembly in complex biomolecular systems.


Keywords / Expertise / Techniques

Structural biology, biophysics, amyloid fibrils, nanoparticles, chemistry of wine, tannin – protein interaction, lipids, membrane



Summary

Self-assembly is a fundamental process by which individual subunits assemble into ordered macromolecular entities, such as filaments, fibrils, oligomers, tubes, pores or nanomachines. In biology, protein assemblies are involved in crucial cellular processes, ranging from the propagation of neurological disorders to the initiation and execution of viral and bacterial infections. The group aims at investigating atomic structures, assembly processes and molecular interactions of such sophisticated assemblies. We develop and apply modern Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SSNMR) techniques to capture structural and dynamic details at the atomic scale. Molecular assemblies either involved in cellular processes or engineered by supramolecular chemistry constitute the current research activities.

Furthermore, we study tannin-lipid interactions in the field of oenology and health. In oenology, tannins are responsible for the astringency and the bitterness of red wines. The former implicates an interaction between tannins and saliva proteins during mouth lubrication, while the latter results from an interaction between tannins and taste receptors. Julie Géan (Mdc, Université Bordeaux, IUT Périgueux) investigates tannin-lipid interactions and the anti-oxidant efficiency of tannins in membranes by liquid and solid-state NMR.




Selected publications

  • Daskalov A, Habenstein B, SabatĂ© R, Berbon M, Martinez D, Chaignepain S, Coulary-Salin B, Hofmann K, Loquet A, Saupe SJ. (2016) Identification of a novel cell death-inducing domain reveals that fungal amyloid-controlled programmed cell death is related to necroptosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 113(10):2720-5
  • Habenstein B, Loquet A. (2015) Solid-state NMR: An emerging technique in structural biology of self-assemblies. Biophys Chem., 210:14-26
  • Daskalov A, Habenstein B, Martinez D, Debets AJ, SabatĂ© R, Loquet A, Saupe SJ. (2015) Signal transduction by a fungal NOD-like receptor based on propagation of a prion amyloid fold. PLoS Biol., 13(2):e1002059
  • Habenstein B, Loquet A, Hwang S, Giller K, Vasa SK, Becker S, Habeck M, Lange A. (2015) Hybrid Structure of the Type 1 Pilus of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl., 54(40):11691-5
  • Falson P, Bartosch B, Alsaleh K, Tews BA, Loquet A, Ciczora Y, Riva L, Montigny C, Montpellier C, Duverlie G, PĂ©cheur EI, le Maire M, Cosset FL, Dubuisson J, Penin F. (2015) Hepatitis C Virus Envelope Glycoprotein E1 Forms Trimers at the Surface of the Virion. J Virol., 89(20):10333-46
  • Fasshuber HK, Lakomek NA, Habenstein B, Loquet A, Shi C, Giller K, Wolff S, Becker S, Lange A. (2015) Structural heterogeneity in microcrystalline ubiquitin studied by solid-state NMR. Protein Sci., 24(5):592-8
  • Demers JP, Habenstein B, Loquet A, Kumar Vasa S, Giller K, Becker S, Baker D, Lange A, Sgourakis NG. (2014) High-resolution structure of the Shigella type-III secretion needle by solid-state NMR and cryo-electron microscopy. Nat Commun., 5:4976

Research team

  • Dr. Antoine LOQUET, Team leader
  • Dr. Julie GEAN, Associate professor (Mdc, UniversitĂ© Bordeaux, IUT PĂ©rigueux)
  • Axelle GRELARD, Research engineer (IR CNRS, CBMN)
  • Dr. Birgit HABENSTEIN, CNRS research officer (CR2)
  • Dr. Denis MARTINEZ, Post-doc (Fondation pour la Recherche MĂ©dicale)
  • Ahmad SAAD; PhD (UniversitĂ© Bordeaux, CIVB)
  • MĂ©lanie BERBON, Engineer (IE, Fondation pour la Recherche MĂ©dicale)


This team is part of the Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects (CNRS UMR5248 CBMN)


 
Banner
Banner
Banner
Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie
2, Rue Robert Escarpit - 33607 PESSAC - France
Tel. : +33 (5) 40 00 30 38 - Fax. : +33 (5) 40 00 30 68
Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved. Réalisation Little Big Studio