The immuno-PAS project aims to design and demonstrate the immunomodulatory properties of new ON/OFF photoresponsive molecular tools on T and NK cells, through serine/Tim-3 binding, targeting thus applications in GVHD and autoimmune diseases. To this aim, the effects of swPS will be evaluated on T and NK cells isolated from GVHD patients. The originality of this approach consists in using two-photon absorbing photoswitches that should allow a better spatial and temporal selectivity compared to UV-Vis chromophores reported to date, thanks to the irradiation at a focal point rather than in a plane. The decreased photobleaching, and therefore photodegradation, is another notable advantage of two-photon absorption, that should allow more precise phenotype analysis of cells.

To achieve those objectives, the project will benefit from an interdisciplinary consortium gathering chemists (A. Pasc and M. Mourer in L2CM), physicists (M. Tanaka, Heidelberg Univ.) and biologists (V. Décot-IMoPa).