Christine Belloir

 CV HAL

PhD, INRAE Researcher

• PhD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology (2019, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté)
• CNAM Engineer, Life sciences, Biochemistry and food industry technologies (2002)

Christine Belloir works in the UMR CSGA's SuPeR team. She studies the molecular mechanisms involved in the perception of flavour, and more specifically those involved in the first stage of the detection of sapid molecules and odorants. Her expertise lies in the design and specialist management of the biotechnological developments needed to study the functionality of olfactory or taste receptors (sweet, bitter, umami and kokumi). Christine Belloir uses a variety of approaches, ranging from molecular biology and cell biology to biochemistry and structural biology. She is developing eukaryotic cell systems with heterologous expression (HEK293 cells) to measure the functional activity of receptors via various cellular tests based on the measurement of intracellular second messengers (cAMP, calcium, IP3). As a specialist, she uses a coherent set of biological techniques to produce and purify various recombinant proteins (olfactory and gustatory receptors, OBP). She then uses biochemical and biophysical techniques (microcalorimetry, SEC-MALS, circular dichroism) to determine the binding parameters of ligands (odorants and sapid molecules). She is also in charge of the cell culture lab (BSL2), where she designs and develops various cell models as part of scientific projects both within and outside the Unit.

GPCR, taste receptors, olfactory receptors, cell culture, calcium imaging, cellular assays

• Lagunas A, Belloir C, Lalis M, Briand L, Topin J, Gorostiza P, Samitier J. (2024) Ligand discrimination in hOR1A1 based on the capacitive response. Biosens Bioelectron. Dec 2;271:117000. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2024.117000. PMID: 39626347
• Belloir C, Jeannin M, Karolkowski A, Scott C, Briand L. (2024) A receptor-based assay to study the sweet and bitter tastes of sweeteners and binary sweet blends: The SWEET Project. Chem Senses. Nov 8:bjae041. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjae041. PMID: 39513415
• Belloir C, Karolkowski A, Thomas A, Menin R, Briand L. (2024) Modulation of bitter taste receptors by yeast extracts.  Food Res Int. Aug;190:114596. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114596. Epub 2024 Jun 3. PMID: 38945612
• Laffitte A, Belloir C, Neiers F, Briand L. (2022) Functional Characterization of the Venus Flytrap Domain of the Human TAS1R2 Sweet Taste Receptor. Int J Mol Sci. Aug 16;23(16):9216. doi: 10.3390/ijms23169216. PMID: 36012481
• Belloir C, Brulé M, Tornier L, Neiers F, Briand L. (2021) Biophysical and functional characterization of the human TAS1R2 sweet taste receptor overexpressed in a HEK293S inducible cell line. Sci Rep. Nov 15;11(1):22238. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-01731-3.
• Bouysset C, Belloir C, Antonczak S, Briand L, Fiorucci S. (2020) Novel scaffold of natural compound eliciting sweet taste revealed by machine learning.  Food Chem. Sep 15;324:126864. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126864. Epub 2020 Apr 18. PMID: 32344344
• Belloir C, Savistchenko J, Neiers F, Taylor AJ, McGrane S, Briand L. (2017) Biophysical and functional characterization of the N-terminal domain of the cat T1R1 umami taste receptor expressed in Escherichia coli. PLoS One. Oct 30;12(10):e0187051. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187051. eCollection 2017.
• Belloir C, Neiers F, Briand L. (2017) Sweeteners and sweetness enhancers.  Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. Jul;20(4):279-285. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000377. PMID: 28399012
• Belloir C, Miller-Leseigneur ML, Neiers F, Briand L, Le Bon AM. (2017) Biophysical and functional characterization of the human olfactory receptor OR1A1 expressed in a mammalian inducible cell line. Protein Expr Purif. Jan;129:31-43. doi: 10.1016/j.pep.2016.09.006. Epub 2016 Sep 15. PMID: 27642093
• Raliou M, Grauso M, Hoffmann B, Schlegel-Le-Poupon C, Nespoulous C, Débat H, Belloir C, Wiencis A, Sigoillot M, Bano SP, Trotier D, Pernollet JC, Montmayeur JP, Faurion A, Briand L. (2011) Human genetic polymorphisms in T1R1 and T1R3 taste receptor subunits affect their function. Chem Senses. Jul;36(6):527-37. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjr014. Epub 2011 Mar 21. PMID: 21422378