Claudine Ebel, Manager of the Flow Cytometry Department

Analysing and sorting cells to obtain homogeneous and pure samples

Flow cytometry is a technique for the individual, quantitative and qualitative characterisation of particles suspended in a liquid. Different membrane, cytoplasmic or nuclear markings allow the presence or absence of antigens to be detected. The IGBMC service offers different types of services:

• multiparametric analyses to characterise different cell types and their functions;
• high-speed cell sorting to isolate homogeneous populations for genomic or proteomic analysis.

Sorting can be defined as the physical separation of cells or particles of interest from a heterogeneous population. The cells or particles are labelled with one or more fluorescent antibodies and collected according to user-defined criteria. The labelled cells are transported in droplets of buffer solution. They are passed in front of a laser which detects their labelling and the cells of interest are collected in a collection vessel after passing through an electric field.

A recognised department, which has been involved in a number of successful projects

The Flow Cytometry department at the IGBMC is a department that is at the cutting edge of technology due to its equipment and the expertise of its staff. Its skills have enabled the establishment of numerous internal collaborations and an opening for the entire scientific community in Strasbourg. It is the only platform in the region offering this type of service.

This service has recently had a recognised contribution in articles such as :

• This article, in collaboration with the Chan-Kastner team, where the service isolated cells expressing the Helios gene by cell sorting. Some samples were then processed by the Genomeast platform. The scientists were able to demonstrate the involvement of the Helios gene in the differentiation of megakaryocytes during haematopoiesis (the process of generating blood cells);
• This article, in collaboration with the University Hospital of Strasbourg, the IRFAC and the IBCS, where they participated in demonstrating the strong oncogenic potential of the CDX2 gene in the hematopoietic lineage

The department also provides help and support to users through advice on data implementation and interpretation. Scientists can also benefit from the advice and expertise of the staff throughout the implementation of their study. Training on all the instruments can be offered to certain users to become autonomous.

Its technical manager: Claudine Ebel

Claudine Ebel is in charge of the Flow Cytometry Department. She holds a BTS in biochemistry and was a technician in a medical analysis laboratory for 6 years before joining the LGME (Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Eukaryotes) in 1989. As a member of Christophe Benoist and Diane Mathis' immunology team, she followed them during the creation of the IGBMC. In charge of cell culture, she became involved in cytometry and started to train in it. In 2000, with the departure of the team, she joined the Flow Cytometry Department on a full-time basis. She took over the management of the department in 2008.

Since then, this department has been reinforced by the arrival of Muriel Philipps in 2016. This service, which interacted mainly with the immunology team at the beginning, now works with more than 30 research groups and more than 20 external academic teams. Thanks to its recognised expertise in immunophenotyping and multiparametric analyses, the Flow Cytometry service is very often solicited by IGBMC scientists, external researchers and some start-ups.

If you would like to benefit from the support and expertise of the Flow Cytometry Department, please contact Claudine EBEL (cleb@igbmc.fr) or Muriel Philipps (mkoch@igbmc.fr) directly, or call (+33) 3 88 65 34 28.