Patrick Collombat PhD

Patrick Collombat Ph.D. is the Scientific Advisor and co-Founder at DiogenX, Marseille, Provence Alpes Cote, France. Patrick Collombat and his research group are studying type I diabetes, an auto-immune disease characterized by the loss of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas (the beta cells). Using mice as a model system, they recently demonstrated that ectopic expression of a single gene (Pax4) in neighboring cells of the pancreas (alpha cells) can induce their regeneration and conversion into insulin-producing cells. Cells generated this way are functional and can literally cure chemically induced diabetes. Patrick Collombat’s work is currently focused on chemically inducing Pax4 with the hope of developing a human application. With other laboratories, they set up several screens and managed to find a compound allowing the activation of Pax4 and the regeneration of insulin-producing cells. Patrick Collombat is trying with his team to decipher the molecular mechanisms involved and to determine whether other compounds might have similar activities. Patrick Collombat’s research is particularly focused on type I diabetes, which is characterized by the loss of beta cells in the pancreas (the ones producing insulin). Using mice as a model system, he and his team recently showed that ectopic expression of Pax4 in alpha cells of the pancreas was able to induce beta cell regeneration and their conversion into insulin-producing cells. It is interesting to note that cells generated this way are functional and can literally cure chemically induced diabetes.