Bana Jabri

Professor Bana Jabri's laboratory is interested in a key question: how does our immune system, in constant dialogue with our tissue cells, our diet, our microbes and our nervous system, differentiate between tolerance and disease? 

The team seeks to understand why some individuals develop inflammatory conditions such as coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, food allergies or certain types of immune-mediated epilepsy, while others remain healthy. To answer these questions, the laboratory combines genetics, immunology, neuroimmunology, epigenetics and cutting-edge technologies such as multi-omics, spatial transcriptomics and computational biology.

The objective is twofold:

• to decipher the fundamental mechanisms that govern the balance between tolerance and inflammation in different organs (intestine, liver, brain, skin),
• and to pave the way for new therapeutic strategies capable of preventing or treating a wide spectrum of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Research projects

• Project by Prof. Bana Jabri – Tissue immunity and inflammatory diseases
  Prof. Jabri is interested in the fundamental mechanisms that determine how tissue immunity is built, disrupted and contributes to health or disease. Her research focuses on the processes that shape tolerance or inflammation – from the impact of maternal-foetal infections and environmental factors on neonatal immunity to the epigenetic determinants of T cell differentiation and the immune basis of neuroinflammation.
  These mechanisms are studied in human models of various pathologies, in particular coeliac disease (tissue destruction and scarring, ‘brain fog’), food allergies, IBD and inflammatory epilepsy. The aim is to understand how genetics, epigenetics, the environment—particularly microbes and diet—and tissue signals interact to guide immune responses, and to identify cross-cutting therapeutic strategies.
   
• Project by Dr Fabienne Charbit-Henrion – Prostaglandins and intestinal healing
  Fabienne Charbit-Henrion, a senior registrar in genetics at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, is interested in the role of prostaglandins (PG) in intestinal healing. Her project explores how rare genetic mutations that disrupt this pathway, as well as certain treatments (NSAIDs, corticosteroids), lead to the formation of chronic ulcers. Single-cell and spatial transcriptomic studies will provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of intestinal barrier repair. The generation of patient-derived organoids will enable the testing of relevant therapeutic targets, with strong translational potential for common inflammatory diseases.
   
• Marianna Parlato's project – JAK/STAT and TGF-β signalling in intestinal immunity
  Inserm researcher Marianna Parlato studies the mechanisms that establish and maintain the intestinal barrier, based on patients with early and severe forms of IBD (VEO-IBD). Her work has revealed the central role of JAK/STAT and TGF-β pathways in intestinal homeostasis. The analysis of pathogenic variants in rare patients has led to therapeutic advances, notably the use of JAK inhibitors, which are now commonly used in IBD. This research shows how the study of rare diseases can shed light on the understanding of complex pathologies and guide medical innovation.
   
• Project by Valérie Gaboriau-Routhiau – Host-microbiota interactions
  As a research fellow at INRAE, Valérie Gaboriau-Routhiau explores interactions between microbiota and host, particularly the role of Segmented Filamentous Bacteria (SFB). This symbiotic bacterium, present in several species including humans, plays a key role in postnatal maturation of intestinal immunity but is tending to disappear in industrialised countries. Her work aims to understand the mechanisms of SFB colonisation, its role in immune regulation, and the influence of diet and inter-bacterial competition. This research paves the way for innovative strategies to modulate the microbiota in order to restore a balance that is beneficial to health.

Members of the team

Renan O. Corrêa is a biologist with a master's degree and a PhD in immunology. He specialises in mucosal immunology, host-microbiota interactions, T cell biology, dietary interventions and mouse models. He is currently a senior postdoctoral researcher working to elucidate the intrinsic and environmental mechanisms that influence the polarisation of naive CD4 T cells prior to antigen encounter, and to understand how these processes influence the development of immune-mediated disorders.

Francesca Bruno obtained her PhD in cell biology and neurobiology at the Leibniz Institute on Ageing (Germany) as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme, where she studied the role of the secretory pathway in neurodevelopmental disorders. At the Imagine Institute, she is conducting research on Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare and severe form of childhood epilepsy. By analysing samples of brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid taken from patients, her work aims to elucidate the neuroimmune mechanisms underlying the disease and contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Scientific publications 

1. Bouziat, R., Hinterleitner, R., Brown, J., Stencel-Baerenwald, J., Ikizler, M., Mayassi, T., Meisel, M., Kim, S., Discepolo, V., Pruigssers, A.J., Ernest, J.D., Iskarpatyoti, J.A., Costes, L., Lawrence, I., Palanski, B.A., Varma, M., Zurenski, M.A. Khomandiak, S., McAllister, N., Aravamudham, P., Boehme, K.W., Hu, F., Samsom, J.N., Reinecker, H., Kupfer, S.S., Guandalini, S., Semrad, C.E., Abadie, V., Khosla, C., Barreiro, L.B., Xavier, R.J., Ng, A., Dermody, T.S., Jabri, B.. Reovirus infection triggers inflammatory responses to dietary antigens and development of celiac disease. Science, 356:44-50, 2017. PMID: 28386004. PMCID: PMC5506690
2. Bouziat, R., Biering, S.B., Kouame, E., Sangani, K.A., Kang, S., Ernest, J.D., Varma, M., Brown, J.J., Urbanek, K., Dermody, T.S., Ng, A., Hinterleitner, R., Hwang, S., Jabri, B.. Murine norovirus infection induces TH1 inflammatory responses to dietary antigens. Cell Host Microbe, 14;24(5):677-688, 2018. PMID: 30393830. PMCID: PMC6326098
3. Meisel, M., Hinterleitner, R., Pacis, A., Chen, L., Earley, Z.M., Mayassi, T., Pierre, J.F., Ernest, J.D., Galipeau, H.J., Thuille, N., Bouziat, R., Buscarlet, M., Ringus, D.L., Wang, Y., Li, Y., Dinh, V., Kim, S.M., McDonald, B.D., Zurenski, M.A., Musch, M.W., Furtado, G.C., Lira, S.A., Baier, G., Chang, E.B., Eren, A.M., Weber, C.R., Busque, L., Godley, L.A., Verdú, E.F., Barreiro, L.B., Jabri, B.. Microbial signals drive pre-leukaemic myeloproliferation in a Tet2-deficienthost. Nature, 557(7706):580-584. 2019, PMID: 29769727; PMCID: PMC6238954
4. Mayassi, T., Ladell, K., Gudjonson, H., McLaren, J.E., Shaw, D.G., Tran, M.T., Rokicka, J.J., Lawrence, I., Grenier, J.C., van Unen, V., Ciszewski, C., Dimaano, M., Sayegh, H.E., Kumar, V., Wijmenga C., Green P.H.R., Gokhale, R., Jericho, H., Semrad, C.E., Guandalini, S., Dinner, A.R., Kupfer, S.S., Reid, H.H., Barreiro, L.B., Rossjohn, J., Price, D.A., Jabri, B.. Chronic inflammation permanently reshapes tissue-resident immunity in celiac disease. Cell, 21;176(5):967-981, 2019. PMID: 30739797. PMCID: PMC6667191
5. Ciszewski, C., Discepolo, V., Pacis, A., Doerr, N., Tastet, O., Mayassi, T., Maglio, M., Basheer, A., Al-Mawsawi, L.Q., Green, P., Renata Auricchio, R., Troncone, R., Waldmann, T.A., Azimi, N., Tagaya, Y., Barreiro, L.B., Jabri, B.. Identification of a γc Receptor Antagonist that Prevents Reprogramming of Human Tissue-resident Cytotoxic T Cells by IL15