Cédric, Baron Blanpain (born 6 September 1970) is a Belgian researcher in the field of

stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

(

embryology Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...

, tissue homeostasis and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

). He is a tenured professor of

developmental biology Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

and director of the stem cell and cancer lab at its Faculty of Medicine. He was one of the first researchers in the world to use cell lineage tracing in

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate ...

and he showed for the first time the existence of

cancer stem cells Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells (found within tumors or hematological cancers) that possess characteristics associated with normal stem cells, specifically the ability to give rise to all cell types found in a particular cancer sample ...

solid tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, an ...

. He was selected by

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

as one of '' 10 People who mattered most in 2012'' and he received the outstanding young investigator award of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

Biography

Born in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

in 1970. Cedric Blanpain attended Collège Saint-Hubert for his secondary education. Graduating in 1987, he started medical school with an aim of becoming a psychiatrist. As soon as his first year, he started doing research in human physiology at the Institut de Recherche Inter-Disciplinaire en Biologie Moléculaire and was thereafter introduced to molecular biology by Gilbert Vassart, the director of the IRIBHM. After graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from medical school in 1995, Cedric Blanpain started a specialization in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

. In the third year, he interrupted his clinical education to focus on research. He did his PhD in the lab of Marc Parmentier, dedicated to the study of

G-protein coupled receptors G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-(pass)-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptors, and G protein-linked receptors (GPLR), form a large group of evolutionarily related ...

. During this period, the Parmentier lab characterized the

CCR5 C-C chemokine receptor type 5, also known as CCR5 or CD195, is a protein on the surface of white blood cells that is involved in the immune system as it acts as a receptor for chemokines. In humans, the ''CCR5'' gene that encodes the CCR5 p ...

GPCR and discovered its role as a co-receptor in

HIV infection The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a preventable disease. It can ...

. Cedric Blanpain earned his PhD in 2001 for his work on CCR5 and HIV infection and received the 2002 Galen Award of Pharmacology in recognition of his graduate work. After earning his PhD, Cedric Blanpain went back to finish his board certification in internal medicine, sub-specializing in genetics. From there on, his career would be entirely dedicated to research. In 2002, he earned a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation to study in the USA (Boat of 2002). He did his post-doc with

Elaine Fuchs Elaine V. Fuchs is an American cell biologist known for her work on the biology and molecular mechanisms of mammalian skin and skin diseases, who helped lead the modernization of dermatology. Fuchs pioneered reverse genetics approaches, whic ...

(a lifelong mentor) at the Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development of

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

, studying epidermal stem cells and tissue differentiation. The Fuchs lab was one of the few labs then studying epidermal stem cells. He was also a long-term fellow of NATO and the Human Frontier Science Program during this period. In 2006, he accepted an offer from the Belgian National Research Fund to become an independent group leader at his home institute, the IRIBHM. He established the stem cells and cancer lab at ULB, becoming professor in 2013. He received a starting grant from the ERC in 2008 and a consolidator grant in 2014. He received a career development award from the Human Frontier Science Program. Since 2011, he is also an investigator of the Walloon Excellence in Life Science and Biotechnology (WELBIO). He pioneered the use of lineage tracing in cancer research. Ever since establishing his lab, Blanpain received several international awards, including the EMBO Young Investigator Award and the

Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was a board member and one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her ...

Award for Life Sciences 2012. He has also written several authoritative reviews on stem cells for journals such as

Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, Cell Stem Cell and

Research

Cancer cell of origin, tumor stem cells and heterogeneity

The Blanpain lab has been studying the cells at the origin of epithelial tumors as well as the role and the mechanisms by which

regulate tumor growth and relapse after therapy. His lab showed that

basal cell carcinoma Basal-cell carcinoma (BCC), also known as basal-cell cancer, basalioma, or rodent ulcer, is the most common type of skin cancer. It often appears as a painless, raised area of skin, which may be shiny with Telangiectasia, small blood vessels ru ...

stem from cells of the interfollicular epidermis and

infundibulum An infundibulum (Latin for ''funnel''; plural, ''infundibula'') is a funnel-shaped cavity or organ. Anatomy * Brain: the pituitary stalk, also known as the ''infundibulum'' and ''infundibular stalk'', is the connection between the hypothalamus an ...

rather than hair follicles. In 2018, his lab identified the cell population in basal cell carcinoma that mediates

vismodegib Vismodegib, sold under the brand name Erivedge, is a medication used for the treatment of basal-cell carcinoma (BCC). The approval of vismodegib on January 30, 2012, represents the first Hedgehog signaling pathway targeting agent to gain U.S. Foo ...

resistance. They also showed that the administration of Vismodegib in combination with a Wnt inhibitor leads to tumor eradication, a potential new strategy against BCC. They defined for the first time the quantitative dynamics of tumor initiation at the single cell level from the activation of the

oncogene An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. In tumor cells, these genes are often mutated, or expressed at high levels.

to the development of invasive tumors and demonstrated that the capacity of oncogene expressing cells to induce tumor formation depends on the specific clonal dynamics of the oncogene targeted stem cells at the origin of the cancer. The Blanpain lab has been studying the different cell states of the epithelio-mesenchymental transition that invasive tumor undergo: they demonstrated that different epidermal stem cells are responsible for invasive

squamous cell carcinoma Squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC), also known as epidermoid carcinoma, comprises a number of different types of cancer that begin in squamous cells. These cells form on the surface of the skin, on the lining of hollow organs in the body, and on the ...

, that hair follicle lineage is primed to undergo EMT during

tumorigenesis Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, genetic, and epigenetic levels and abn ...

. They characterized the different transitional states of tumor cells during EMT, in particular they showed that specific subpopulations have higher potential to undergo EMT and

metastasize Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...

. By screening a large panel of cell surface markers, Blanpain and colleagues identified the existence of different tumor subpopulations in skin and mammary primary tumors associated with different stages of EMT from epithelial to completely

mesenchymal Mesenchyme () is a type of loosely organized animal embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that give rise to most tissues, such as skin, blood, or bone. The interactions between mesenchyme and epithelium help to form nearly ever ...

states passing through intermediate hybrid states. Although all EMT subpopulations presented similar tumor propagating cell capacity, they displayed different cellular plasticity, invasive and metastatic potential. The lab also showed the role of PIK3CA in inducing heterogeneity in breast tumors, especially its role in reprogramming

basal cells The stratum basale (basal layer, sometimes referred to as ''stratum germinativum'') is the deepest layer of the five layers of the epidermis, the external covering of skin in mammals. The stratum basale is a single layer of columnar or cuboida ...

into luminal ones and vice versa. They showed that cell fate reprograming during tumorigenesis correlated with the cell of origin, tumor type and different clinical outcomes of breast tumors. His team showed the first experimental evidence for the existence of

during unperturbed solid tumor growth in vivo. They also showed the role of

VEGF Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, ), originally known as vascular permeability factor (VPF), is a signal protein produced by many cells that stimulates the formation of blood vessels. To be specific, VEGF is a sub-family of growth factors ...

in regulating cancer stem cells. In

, his group also identified a novel population of cancer stem cells in

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the Human skin, skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells (biology), cells that have the ability to invade or metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. It occurs when skin cells grow ...

s expressing Sox2, they demonstrated by lineage ablation that Sox2 cancer stem cells are essential for tumor initiation and progression in primary tumors and identified the gene network regulated by Sox2 in primary tumour cells in vivo as well as several direct Sox2 target genes controlling critical tumor functions. They also demonstrated the role of the Twist1 gene in cancer for tumor maintenance and growth, within squamous cell carcinoma again.

Breast Gland Development

Using lineage tracing of basal cells and luminary mammary gland cells during

embryonic development In developmental biology, animal embryonic development, also known as animal embryogenesis, is the developmental stage of an animal embryo. Embryonic development starts with the fertilization of an egg cell (ovum) by a sperm, sperm cell (spermat ...

and

post-natal The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

development, the Blanpain lab showed that different mammary tissue lineages stem from multipotent embryonic progenitors. These multipotent progenitors are replaced soon after birth by unipotent stem cells. His group developed new techniques to perform quantitative lineage tracing to unravel the multilineage differentiation potential of stem cells during development and adult

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

. Using novel lineage tracing strategies, they demonstrated that ER positive cells in the mammary gland developed and are maintained in adult gland through unipotent progenitors that are restricted to

hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physio ...

receptor expressing cells. The differentiation of the multipotent progenitors into basal cells is mediated through p63 activation. Finally, these multipotent progenitors express similar genes as breast tissue tumors (e.g. Sox11, Stmn1 and Mdk), showing that reactivation of multipotency is involved in tumorigenesis.

Epithelial stem cells

After he started work at the Fuchs lab, Blanpain was part of a world-first: isolating stem cells based on their quiescence using

histone H2B Histone H2B is one of the 5 main histone proteins involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and long N-terminal and C-terminal tails, H2B is involved with the structure of the nucleosomes. Struc ...

-fluorescent protein. The paper, cited more than 1900 times, has been seminal in subsequent work on stem cells. Using

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a Lineage (evolution), cell lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Mon ...

, Blanpain managed to isolate hair follicle bulge stem cells and demonstrated their multi-potency (the fact that a single bulge stem cell can differentiate into all epidermal cell lineages). He also transplanted these mouse HF stem cells through grafts, leading to hair growth. Furthermore, he co-authored several papers characterizing the role of Wnt/Beta-Catenin stabilization in precocious bulge stem cell activation and the role of

Notch signaling pathway The Notch signaling pathway is a highly Conserved sequence, conserved cell signaling system present in most animal, animals. Mammals possess four different Notch proteins, notch receptors, referred to as NOTCH1, NOTCH2, Notch 3, NOTCH3, and NOTC ...

in promoting spine cell development.

CCR5 and HIV

Cedric Blanpain started his research career working on the

co-receptor which had been characterized by the Parmentier lab. He worked on understanding the function of the

receptor Receptor may refer to: * Sensory receptor, in physiology, any neurite structure that, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse *Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and respond ...

and how the

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

interacts with it. The young researcher showed that

endocytosis Endocytosis is a cellular process in which Chemical substance, substances are brought into the cell. The material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds off inside the cell to form a Vesicle (biology and chem ...

of the HIV is essential to the cell's infection. He was able to find the first

chemokine Chemokines (), or chemotactic cytokines, are a family of small cytokines or signaling proteins secreted by cells that induce directional movement of leukocytes, as well as other cell types, including endothelial and epithelial cells. In addit ...

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.antibodies An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that caus ...

that could mediate the

oligomerization In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relativ ...

of the receptor. He also studied the Delta32 inactivating

allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...

of CCR5 which prevents HIV infection

Awards and honors

*Member of the

Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium (, ), founded on 19 September 1841 by royal decree of King Leopold I, is an academy that brings together Belgian scientists. It is headquartered in Brussels at the Palace of Academies. History The Roya ...

Member of Academia Europaea Membership of the Academia Europaea (MAE) is an award conferred by the Academia Europaea to individuals that have demonstrated "sustained academic excellence". Membership is by invitation only by existing MAE and judged during a peer review selecti ...

*Long-Term Fellowship (2003-2006) and Career Development Award (2006-2009) Human Science Frontier Program *Two ERC grants: Starting 2008-2013 (CancerStem) and Consolidator 2014-2018 (EXPAND) * EMBO Young Investigator Award *Outstanding Young Investigator Award of the ISSCR 2012 *Fondation ULB award 2010 *Joseph Maisin Award for basic biomedical Science- “Prix Quinquennal’’ Belgian National Scientific Research Fund (FNRS) 2015. *Principal investigator of the Walloon Excellence in Life Science and Biothechnology (WELBIO) since 2011 * Fondation Leducq 22q11 Deletion Syndrome Grant *

award for life sciences 2012 *

: “ 10 scientists who mattered most in 2012” *Bauchau Chair award 2012 *Fond Gaston Ithier Award 2010 *Research Fellowship of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

(2002-2003) * Collen Research Fellowship of the Belgian American Educational Foundation (2002-2003) * Galien Award in Pharmacology 2001 *Prix Fleurice Mercier 1992 (medical school valedictorian) *Elevated to the nobility rank of Baron by King Philip in 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanpain, Cédric Belgian medical researchers Living people 1970 births People from Uccle Université libre de Bruxelles