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Project acronym: QuantiQTopics: biophysical tools, Q-fever, microfluidics, granuloma, endocarditis, directed cell migration, chemotaxis, granuloma, protein printingDisciplinary fields: infection, biophysics &#38; immunology&#160;Summary: A critical step of the immune response is the recruitment of immune cells from the bloodstream to inflamed or lymphoid tissues, through a set of sophisticated and intricate cellular functions. Recent developments of quantitative in vitro biophysical tools have proven to be instrumental to decipher such complex mechanisms. This project, that involves biophysicists and medical doctors, aims at applying innovative biophysical assays to investigate crucial steps of the leucocytes recruitment cascade and of granuloma formation, and to apply them to the study of Coxiella burnetii infection (i.e., Q fever). First objective is fundamental science: chronic endocarditis suffering patients show defect in granuloma formation. Thus, monocyte functions are key to the pathogenesis of Q fever, and monocyte anomaly or polymorphism might influence the outcome of the infection. The plan is &#160;to develop biophysical methods to tackle the fundamental aspects of granuloma formation, and apply them to Coxiella burnetii infection. Second objective is medical research: recently, anti-phospholipids auto-antibodies have been found in patients developing endocarditis. Due to their ability to alter endothelial cells, the medical question is to know whether these antibodies trigger monocyte recruitment and are a cause for vasculitis and endocarditis. The goal is here to apply our methods to look for an effect of antiphospholipids from patients’sera on the different steps of monocyte recruitment on endothelial cells.Project Interlocutor: Marie-Pierre VALIGNAT, LAI (U1067)Project duration&#160;: 03/01/2018 - 28/02/2021Call for application: Interdisciplinarité 2016Photography credits: Photography by Cassi Josh on Unsplash, Licence