Nicolas Gillet

My research activity has always been focused on viruses, their interaction with the immune response and their ability to promote cell transformation.

My lab specializes in the study of APOBEC3 enzymes. These proteins are cytidine deaminases restricting viruses by introducing C-to-U mutations in their genome Albeit very potent at protecting the host against viral infections, these proteins can also ‘misbehave’ and accidentally mutate the cellular genome. Indeed, APOBEC3-related mutations are present in 50% of all human tumors.
We combine in silico, in vitro and in vivo approaches to determine: i. which viruses trigger APOBEC3 expression, ii. how viruses can evade APOBEC3 restriction, iii. under which circumstances the APOBEC3 proteins can incorrectly access and edit the cellular genome.