Since March 2021, a containment level 3 (NC3) laboratory, which allows the manipulation of active viruses endemic to Quebec, such as the West Nile virus or SARS-CoV-2, has been established at the Center Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie (AFSB) of the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS), in Laval. About thirty NC3 laboratories are authorized in the country by Health Canada. Outside the containment zone, the AFSB Center, under the direction of researchers Laurent Chatel-Chaix and Kessen Patten, conducts research on the Zika virus and dengue virus, which affect tens of millions of people across the country each year. world and which could one day, due to climate change, become endemic in Quebec.
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Doctoral student Hélène Pinatel performs a follow-up check on infected cells in the CL3 laboratory. At present, the laboratory makes it possible to study the West Nile virus, but also the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the human placenta, through a research project by Professor Cathy Vaillancourt. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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Anaïs Anton, the research officer of Professor Laurent Chatel-Chaix, changes the culture medium of cells infected with the West Nile virus. Inside the CL3 laboratory, every manipulation must be carried out under the fume hood, and practically every movement is preceded or followed by disinfection using a vaporizer. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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Laurent Chatel-Chaix discusses with Hélène Pinatel and Anaïs Anton, who carry out operations in the CL3 laboratory. Restricted access to the laboratory is subject to draconian security and disinfection measures, and a mechanism of the hermetic suit allows the ambient air to be filtered. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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In Professor Chatel-Chaix’s laboratory, trainee Geneviève Mercier prepares cells infected with the Zika virus for a PCR test. His research project aims to study how the virus seems to deactivate the immunity of host cells to better infect them. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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Doctoral student Clément Mazeaud takes out the reserves of cell lines that are used in the framework of research at the AFSB Center, which are stored in liquid nitrogen at –195 degrees Celsius. The cryopreservation process makes it possible to keep cells alive in the very long term, because the cold suspends all biological activity. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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The AFSB Center keeps many different cell lines to conduct its experiments: monkey or hamster cells, but also human liver and lung cells, or cancer cells, some of which have been used and replicated for over 40 years.
Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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Clément Mazeaud observes cells under the microscope. The doctoral student seeks to highlight the proteins of host cells that interact with each other during infection with the Zika virus. To be able to interpret his results, he must ensure the number of infected cells during each experiment and uses very simple tools to do this: a microscope, a grid and a calculator. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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This staining technique allows Clément Mazeaud to observe the effects of the modification of a specific protein during the infection of host cells by the Zika virus. Identifying the molecules of the cell essential to the replication of the virus, which could become therapeutic targets, constitutes one of the main lines of research of Laurent Chatel-Chaix’s laboratory. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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Aïcha Sow, who works under the direction of Professor Kessen Patten and the Brain Canada Foundation, is helping to develop a new animal study model that could revolutionize research on the Zika virus. Rather than using mice or macaques to study microcephaly caused by the virus, she uses zebrafish, tiny vertebrates whose neuronal structure is comparable to that of humans. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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Observation of zebrafish larvae infected with the Zika virus. Microcephaly and diseases of the nervous system are visible in just a few days, which greatly speeds up the search. “On Monday, I come across fish. On Tuesday I have eggs. And on Friday, I finished my observations! explains Aïcha Sow enthusiastically. And with 200 eggs per female, the doctoral student can conduct several experiments at the same time. On the left, lines of fish have been modified. Valerian Mazataud Le Devoir
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