4CS Laboratory (Channels and Connexins in Cancer and Cell Stemness) resulting from 4CS team in STIM Laboratory is a laboratory from Poitiers University and from CNRS (UMR 6041).

4CS Laboratory is composed of 9 researchers and professors (2 CNRS, 1 PU-PH, 1 Pr, 5 MCU), 6 engineers and  technicians  from Poitiers University with 2 of them shared with another research group.  One Assistant engineer from CNRS helps the director in managing the laboratory, 2 engineers from CNRS are working for common technical platforms shared with other laboratories of « Pôle Biologie Santé ».

The general objectives of 4CS unit are to better characterize how ion channels and connexins participate to physiological properties and cellular plasticity in stem cells and invasive cells from different organs. We also aim at investigating, how the pathological remodeling of calcium/connexin signaling promote cancer progression and whether their pathological signaling pathways can be targeted to improve cancer treatment.

Our research projects revolve around two main themes

• Roles of calcium channels and connexins in the dynamics of stem cells (normal and cancerous) and invasive cancer cells: self-renewal, proliferation, cell migration, dissemination and metastasis formation.
• Involvement of calcium channels and connexin in response/resistance to treatment and development of new therapeutic strategies, based on the modulation of the identified pharmaceutical targets.

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