Jean-Luc Puel

Academic and scientific Track :

Jean-Luc Puel started his scientific career in Montpellier in 1983 in the Inserm’s laboratory U254 (Laboratoire Neurobiologie de l'Audition) directed by Professor Rémy Pujol. In 1986, he defended his PhD thesis "frequency selectivity in rats during development and after ototoxic drugs administration" and joined Professor Richard P. Bobbin's laboratory (Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Louisiana State University, New-Orleans) as a post-doctoral fellow. During his postdoctoral training, he developed several research programs on the pharmacology of the cochlea. In 1989, he came back to France and was appointed as a researcher by the CNRS to develop pharmacological therapies of the inner ear. In 1998, Jean-Luc Puel became Director of Research at the CNRS. Later on, he obtained a position of Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Montpellier 1 and became director of the “Research centre for hearing aids” (CREFA) in 2001. During this period, he actively participated with Christian Hamel, Jean Valmier and Alain Privat to the creation of the Institute of Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM-Inserm U583). This institute, in which he manages the team of “Physiology and Therapy of the Inner Ear”, has been inaugurated in 2003.
Main achievements :
During his career, Jean-Luc Puel published 88 papers in international journal (h‑index : 27), 25 book chapters and more than 200 communications or posters. He is member of the Editorial Board for International Journals, scientific committees and societies. In addition to the fundamental researches, he took out 3 patents for potential tinnitus and deafness treatments and promoted clinical transfer of fundamental research.

Research interests :

Jean-Luc Puel's research interests are focused on the normal and pathological functioning of the inner ear. They include researches on the maintenance of cochlear fluid homeostasis, on the coding of the sensory message and on the promotion of post-traumatic regeneration of sensory epithelia. Interests are also clinically oriented researches on cochlear pathologies such as tinnitus and deafness.
 
 
    •    Ion homeostasis and hereditary deafness
    •    Integration of the sensory message and tinnitus
    •    Degeneration and protection of the cochlea
    •    Clinical transfer

10 selected publications :  

• Menardo J, Tang Y, Ladrech S, Lenoir M, Casas F, Michel C, Bourien J, Ruel J, Rebillard G, Maurice T, Puel J-L, Wang J (2012) Oxidative stress, inflammation, and autophagic stress as the key mechanisms of premature age-related hearing loss in SAMP8 mouse Cochlea. Antioxid Redox Signal 16:263–274.
• Fasquelle L, Scott HS, Lenoir M, Wang J, Rebillard G, Gaboyard S, Ventéo S, François F, Mausset-Bonnefont A-L, Antonarakis SE, Neidhart E, Chabbert C, Puel J-L, Guipponi M, Delprat B (2011) Tmprss3, a transmembrane serine protease deficient in human DFNB8/10 deafness, is critical for cochlear hair cell survival at the onset of hearing. J Biol Chem 286:17383–17397.
• Nouvian R, Neef J, Bulankina AV, Reisinger E, Pangršič T, Frank T, Sikorra S, Brose N, Binz T, Moser T (2011) Exocytosis at the hair cell ribbon synapse apparently operates without neuronal SNARE proteins. Nat Neurosci 14:411–413.
• Ruel J, Chabbert C, Nouvian R, Bendris R, Eybalin M, Leger CL, Bourien J, Mersel M, Puel J-L (2008) Salicylate enables cochlear arachidonic-acid-sensitive NMDA receptor responses. J Neurosci 28:7313–7323.
• Ruel J, Emery S, Nouvian R, Bersot T, Amilhon B, van Rybroek JM, Rebillard G, Lenoir M, Eybalin M, Delprat B, Sivakumaran TA, Giros B, Mestikawy el S, Moser T, Smith RJH, Lesperance MM, Puel J-L (2008) Impairment of SLC17A8 encoding vesicular glutamate transporter-3, VGLUT3, underlies nonsyndromic deafness DFNA25 and inner hair cell dysfunction in null mice. Am J Hum Genet 83:278–292.
• Nouvian R (2007) Temperature enhances exocytosis efficiency at the mouse inner hair cell ribbon synapse. J Physiol (Lond) 584:535–542.
• Wang J, Ruel J, Ladrech S, Bonny C, van de Water TR, Puel J-L (2007) Inhibition of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase-mediated mitochondrial cell death pathway restores auditory function in sound-exposed animals. Mol Pharmacol 71:654–666.
• Venail F, Wang J, Ruel J, Ballana E, Rebillard G, Eybalin M, Arbones M, Bosch A, Puel JL (2007) Coxsackie adenovirus receptor and alpha nu beta3/alpha nu beta5 integrins in adenovirus gene transfer of rat cochlea. Gene Ther 14:30–37.
• Brugeaud A, Travo C, Demêmes D, Lenoir M, Llorens J, Puel J-L, Chabbert C (2007) Control of hair cell excitability by vestibular primary sensory neurons. J Neurosci 27:3503–3511.
• Khimich D, Nouvian R, Pujol R, Tom Dieck S, Egner A, Gundelfinger ED, Moser T (2005) Hair cell synaptic ribbons are essential for synchronous auditory signalling. Nature 434:889–894.