Thanks to fast genotyping, researchers hope to gain further insight into the correlation between the genetic profile of an individual, genotype, disease evolution, and phenotype. For this very purpose, a new fast genotyping platform has recently been set up at the Paris VI School of Medicine at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. The tool is the outcome of efforts by the Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le Sida et les hépatites virales (ANRS, national agency for research on Aids and viral hepatitis), INSERM, and Universities of Paris VI and Paris XI. The tool will also contribute to the study of the entire genome in a group of persons and not only one gene. The researchers will be using the tool on a large-scale to determine if the evolution of a disease is associated with particular genetic characteristics and if the response to treatment is influenced by specific genetic factors.
For HIV for instance, scientists will be able to make a genetic comparison between patients in whom the disease progresses fast with patients whose infection develops slowly. Support from INSERM, Paris VI University and the integration of the new tool into the P3S platform at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital means the technology will also be available to teams working on cardiovascular and muscular pathologies or in neuroscience.
The platform is operational thanks to input from three groups: - The immuno-genetic team headed by I. Théodorou at INSERM Unit 543 on Cell and Tissue Immunology and at IFR 113 - The team of epidemiologists headed by L. Meyer at INSERM Unit 822 and at IFR 69 (Bicêtre University Hospital Center, Paris XI University) - The team of biostaticians of genomics headed by P. Broet at IFR 69.
