Assistant Professor in Pharmacology
PhD
Tel: +33(0)1.80.00.63.28
Area of research
Gut-brain axis, Immunopsychiatry, Nutrition, Neuropharmacology, Neurobiology of anxiety/depression.
Expertise
Dr. Cussotto has a strong expertise in microbiology, animal behaviour, translational research, molecular biology, and immunohistochemistry.
Research Theme
Dr Sofia Cussotto graduated from a Master of Pharmacy in 2016 at University of Milan. For her Master thesis, she carried out a research internship at University College Cork (Ireland), in the laboratory of Prof. John Cryan. More and more fascinated by the gut-brain connection, she pursued a PhD in the same laboratory. Specifically, she tested the hypothesis that certain psychotropic medications would influence the gut microbiota and vice versa, changes in microbiota would affect drug’s pharmacokinetics. From 2019 to 2022 she carried out her postdoc in Dr. Lucile Capuron’s lab (INRAE), with a translational research approach at the interface between preclinical and clinical experiments, while keeping a strong focus on neuroscience and adding a nutritional component. During her postdoc she has focused on the link between nutritional status and depressive symptoms, with emphasis on the potential mediating role of inflammation.
Selected Publications
Vancassel S, Fanet H, Castanon N, Moncheaux De Oliveira C, Cussotto S, Capuron L, Tetrahydrobiopterin modulates the behavioral neuroinflammatory response to an LPS challenge in mice, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, In Press.
Cussotto S, Delgado I, Oriolo G, Kemper J, Begarie D, Dexpert S, Sauvant J, Leboyer M, Aouizerate B, Martin-Santos R, Schaefer M, Capuron L, Low Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Predict Reduced Response to Standard Antidepressants in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder, Depression&Anxiety. 2022 Mar, 39(5):407-418.
Delgado I, Cussotto S, Anesi A, Dexpert S, Aubert A, Aouizerate B, Beau C, Forestier D, Ledaguenel P, Magne E, Mattivi F, Capuron L, Association between the indole pathway of tryptophan metabolism and subclinical depressive symptoms in obesity: a preliminary study, Int J of Obesity. 2022 Apr; 46(4):885-888.
Cussotto S, Aouizerate B, Capuron L, From Gut to Brain: Microbiota Depletion in Mice as a Tool to Explore Causality, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2021 May;94:4-5.
Cussotto S*, Delgado I*, Anesi A, Dexpert S, Aubert A, Beau C, Forestier D, Ledaguennel P, Magne E, Mattivi F, Capuron L, Tryptophan metabolic pathways are altered in obesity and are associated with systemic inflammation, Front Immunol. 2020 Apr; 11:557. *equal
Cussotto S*, Walsh J*, Golubeva AV, Zhadov AV, Strain CR, Fouhy F, Stanton C, Dinan TG, Hyland N, Clarke G, Cryan JF, Griffin B, The gut microbiome influences the bioavailability of olanzapine in rats, EBioMedicine. 2021 Apr;66:103307. *equal
Cussotto S, Clarke G, Dinan TG, Cryan JF (invited chapter). Psychotropic drugs and the microbiome. Modern Trends in Psychiatry. Basel, Karger, 2021, vol. 32
Bastiaanssen TFS*, Cussotto S*, Claesson MJ, Clarke G, Dinan TG, Cryan JF, Gutted! Unravelling the Role of the Microbiome in Major Depressive Disorder, Harvard Rev Psych.2020 Jan;28:26-39. *equal
Cryan JF, O’Riordan, KJ, Cowan CSM, Bastiaanssen TFS, Boehme M, Codagnone MG, Cussotto S, Fulling C, Golubeva AV, Guzzetta KE, Long-Smith CM, Lyte JM, Martin J, Moloney GM, Morelli E, Morillas E, O’Connor R, Pereira J, Peterson VL, Rea K, Ritz NL, Sandhu KV, Sherwin E, Spichak S, van de Wouw M, Ventura Silva AP, Wallace-Fitzsimons SE, Hyland N, Clarke G, Dinan TG. The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis, Physiol Rev. 2019 Oct 1; 99(4):1877-2013.
Cussotto S, Clarke G, Dinan TG, Cryan JF, Psychotropics and the Microbiome: A Chamber of Secrets. Psychopharmacology. 2019 May; 236:1411-1432.
Cussotto S, Strain CR, Fouhy F, Strain RG, Peterson VL, Clarke G, Stanton C, Dinan TG, Cryan JF, Differential Effects of Psychotropic Drugs on Microbiome Composition and Gastrointestinal Function, Psychopharmacology. 2019 May; 236(5):1671-1685.
Cussotto S, Sandhu KV, Dinan TG, Cryan JF, The Neuroendocrinology of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: A Behavioural Perspective, Front Neuroendocrinol. 2018 Oct; 51:80-101.
Cussotto S, Cryan JF, O’Leary OF, The hippocampus and dorsal raphe nucleus are key brain areas associated with the antidepressant effects of lithium augmentation of desipramine, Neuroscience Letters, 648 (2017), pp. 14-20.