ProteoToul

ProteoToul gathers a research team and a high-end facility with expertise in proteomics, structural mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics.

The objective of ProteoToul is to develop efficient strategies in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics and structural MS, associated to dedicated bioinformatics tools, to obtain new insights into protein function, regulation and dynamics.

Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry of Biomolecules

ProteoToul research group is one of the 17 teams of the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology (IPBS) in Toulouse.

Proteomics and structural MS represent complementary and powerful approaches for understanding of complex biological systems MS is a key technology in proteomics strategies offering various platforms with specific capabilities contiuously improving in terms of sensitivity, mass resolution and acquisition speed. Majoor advances in proteomics and structural MS can also be attributed to the optimization of biochemical protocols and analytical methods for sample preparation before data acquisition, and to the development of sophisticated bioinformatics software for efficient data analysis.

Based on our expertise in MS and proteomics, research projects are pursued to characterize several biological systems.

Our multidisciplinary expertise and state-of-the-art equipment in MS and informatics allows the in-depth analysis of complex proteomes and the characterization of pivotal proteins in cells

Role of human proteasome complexes

We are interested in understanding the structure/activity relationships of human proteasome, a large multi-catalytic complex in charge of intracellular protein degradation and a therapeutic target for some cancers.

We developed integrated strategies using in-vivo crosslinking, affinity-purification and quantitative proteomics to characterize the diversity of proteasome complexes and their dynamics in various cells, physiological and pathological contexts.

We also designed an MS-based quantitative method to measure the quantities of several proteasome subtypes in patient samples.

We then optimized structural MS approaches to determine the structural features that govern protein-protein interactions and allosteric changes during proteasome association to its regulatory protein complexes.

Immunoproteomics

We developed efficient large-scale quantitative proteomic analyses (interactomics, phosphoproteomics) to obtain a detailed characterization of different cells from the adaptative and innate immune systems. This further permits us to get new insights into the molecular mechanisms of the inflammatory and immune responses. Major efforts have been invested to decipher, at the cellular and molecular levels, the functional mechanisms of T lymphocytes.

We analysed in mouse primary T cells the signalosome of several key components of the TCR pathway using optimized interactomics and phosphoproteomics strategies.

Characterization of mycobacterial proteins

We are interested in the characterization of proteins and protein complexes that play a role in the formation of the mycomembrane and in the targeting of proteins to the plasma membrane, mycomembrane and extracellular medium.

We also developed an expertise in the analysis of O-mannosylated proteins in mycobacteria to study their implication in the virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Proteomics Facility of Toulouse

ProteoToul Services is a high-end facility in proteomics and structural mass spectrometry.

Our long-lasting expertise in mass spectrometry and proteomics permits us to conduct a variety of strategies to identify and quantify complex proteomes and to characterize proteins

SCIENTIFIC OFFER

The range of services is regularly enriched with up-to-date methodologies developed thanks to the integrated work and shared expertise of ProteoToul Services with ProteoToul Research.

ProteoToul Services offers several types of analyses that cover all aspects of proteomics from protein identification to large-scale differential quantitative analysis of complex proteomes.

Post-translational modifications analysis either on a single protein or on a global scale can be performed as well as identification and quantification of protein partners. Targeted proteomics analyses can also be implemented for the validation and quantification of proteins of particular interest.

Complementary structural mass spectrometry approaches have been set up and are available for the characterization of intact proteins and the analysis of protein assemblies.

A wide range of application domains are handled (e.g. animal and plant biology, health, microbiology).

EQUIPMENT

MS-based proteomics is a rapidly evolving field. ProteoToul Services is equipped with the latest generations of mass spectrometers coupled to chromatographic systems (nanoLC-MS/MS) for data acquisition and with dedicated bioinformatics tools for data analysis.

ACTIVITY

ProteoToul Services works with academic laboratories and private companies. Depending on the objective of the projects, these are handled as fee-for-service for individual analyses or as a collaborative funded research project.

A service or research contract can also be established with industrial partners.

ProteoToul Services follows a quality management system and is certified ISO 9001 since 2006 and NFX 50-900 since 2014.

Bioinformatics for Proteomics

ProteoToul Bioinformatics group develops new bioinformatic tools for mass spectrometry data processing and data management.

It ensures the development of the technical means necessary for the acquisition, processing and safeguarding of data generated by the research team and the associated facility.

As such, ProteoToul Bioinformatics:

provides a suitable working environment (hardware and software) for all scientific activities,
offers professional bioinformatics support (data analysis), training and expertise to the scientific staff (researchers, engineers, students, postdocs, …),
develops algorithms and dedicated tools for the processing of mass spectrometry data.