The impact of exposure to small molecules (<1000 Da) such as environmental pollutants (chlordecone, glyphosate, etc.) or drugs on human health is a major public health concern. However, the mechanisms of action of these small molecules are often poorly understood and several crucial questions deserve to be asked:
• what are their tissue and cellular targets?
• what are their molecular targets?
• what are the responses associated with exposure to these small molecules?
In recent years we have developed mass spectrometry approaches and in particular MALDI imaging, which allow us to answer these different questions (In Situ Absolute Quantification, three-dimensional MALDI imaging, chemical derivation). Our expertise in proteomics will also allow us to identify the target proteins of small molecules and to characterize the disturbances induced at the proteome level.
In addition to the classic rodent model, we plan to apply this technology to the Zebrafish eleuthero embryo model, as this model is gaining increasing attention in toxicology as an alternative to animal testing.
Relevant publications : PubMed
