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Rewiring Physiology: New Concepts in Inter-Organ Communication

FSER seminar organized by François Leulier from July 14 – 19th 2025

Participants

Zayna CHAKER (Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon  – Lyon , France), Marika CHARALAMBOUS (Francis Crick Institute – London, Royaume-Uni), Miguel CONSTANCIA (University of Cambridge – Cambridge, Royaume-Uni), Zoi DIAMANTOPOULOU (CRUK Scotland Institute – Glasgow, Royaume-Uni), Ana DOMINGOS (University of Oxford – Oxford, Royaume-Uni), Isabel ESPINOSA MEDINA (Janelia Research Campus HHMI – Ashburn, États-Unis), Alessandro FURLAN (Karolinska Institutet – Stockholm, Suède), Alison GEORGE (New Scientist – London, Royaume-Uni), Florent GINHOUX (Singapore Immunology Network – Singapore, Singapour), Karen GUILLEMIN (University of Oregon – Eugene, États-Unis), Dafni HADJIECONOMOU (Institut du Cerveau (ICM) – Paris, France), François LEULIER (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon – Lyon, France), Gary LEWIN (Max Delbrück Center – Berlin, Allemagne), Irene MIGUEL-ALIAGA (Francis Crick Institute – London, Royaume-Uni), Norbert PERRIMON (Harvard Medical School – Boston, États-Unis), Maria RODRIGUEZ COLMAN (University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht – Utrecht, Pays-Bas), Jonathan SCHERTZER (McMaster University – Hamilton, Canada), Gilles STORELLI (Centre for Organismal Studies / Heidelberg University – Heidelberg, Allemagne).

Résumé

3D fly gut

La communication inter-organes est essentielle à la physiologie des organismes, permettant des réponses coordonnées aux programmes de développement et aux défis environnementaux. Ce séminaire, organisé à la Fondation des Treilles, a réuni des chercheurs de divers domaines – physiologie, biologie du développement, immunologie, neurosciences, métabolisme, recherche sur le microbiote et biologie des systèmes – afin d’examiner comment les organes communiquent au-delà des paradigmes endocriniens classiques. Les participants ont exploré de nouveaux médiateurs tels que les cellules immunitaires, les neurones, les métabolites microbiens et les vésicules extracellulaires, ainsi que la plasticité des réseaux inter-organes en réponse à la nutrition, aux signaux microbiens, à la reproduction, aux rythmes circadiens et aux maladies. Parmi les 17 scientifiques invités, 6 étaient de jeunes enseignants-chercheurs, favorisant des échanges dynamiques à différentes étapes de carrière. Par des discussions interdisciplinaires et des séances de brainstorming dédiées, la rencontre visait à formuler une « nouvelle physiologie » centrée sur une communication inter-organes multicouche, adaptative et contextuelle.

Summary

Inter-organ communication is central to organismal physiology, enabling coordinated responses to developmental programs and environmental challenges. This seminar, held at the Fondation des Treilles, brought together researchers from diverse fields—including physiology, developmental biology, immunology, neuroscience, metabolism, microbiota research, and systems biology—to examine how organs communicate beyond classical endocrine paradigms. Participants explored emerging mediators such as immune cells, neurons, microbial metabolites, and extracellular vesicles, as well as the plasticity of inter-organ networks in response to nutrition, microbial cues, reproduction, circadian rhythms, and disease. Of the 17 invited scientists 6 were junior faculties, fostering dynamic exchanges across career stages. Through interdisciplinary discussions and dedicated brainstorming sessions, the meeting aimed to articulate a “new physiology” centered on multi-layered, adaptive, and context-dependent communication between organs.

Introduction

Physiology has traditionally described organ function through relatively linear pathways, often centered on circulating peptide hormones. However, growing evidence indicates that physiological regulation emerges from a dense, multi-directional web of communication between organs, integrating neural, immune, metabolic, microbial, and mechanical signals. Understanding this complexity—and its remarkable plasticity—has become essential for addressing major questions in development, metabolism, reproduction, and disease.

The seminar “The Physiology of Inter-Organ Communication” was conceived to reassess how organs communicate, why this communication is so multifaceted, and how it is rewired in response to environmental and physiological challenges. By assembling experts and early-career investigators working across model organisms and conceptual frameworks, the meeting sought to build a shared language for a rapidly evolving field.

Report

Beyond Hormones: Expanding the Repertoire of Inter-Organ Signals

A central theme of the seminar was the diversification of known inter-organ mediators. Several contributions highlighted immune cells as dynamic sentinels that integrate local tissue cues with systemic physiology, shaping homeostasis across organs. Similarly, neuronal circuits—both autonomic and enteric—emerged as key conduits for long-range communication, influencing metabolic regulation, reproduction, and organ growth.

Non-canonical messengers were also prominently discussed. Microbial metabolites, such as lactate and other postbiotics, were presented as potent systemic signals linking gut microbial activity to liver, adipose tissue, muscle, and pancreas function. Extracellular vesicles and metabolites further blur the boundaries between classical signaling categories, operating across distinct temporal and spatial scales.

Environmental Perturbations and Organismal Plasticity

Environmental context strongly modulates inter-organ communication. Nutrition, microbial composition, circadian rhythms, and reproductive state were recurrent axes of discussion. Pregnancy and lactation, for example, were examined as profound physiological transitions requiring coordinated metabolic, neural, and organ growth adaptations. Likewise, juvenile development was presented as a window of heightened plasticity during which diet–microbiota–host interactions can durably shape physiology.

Across talks and discussions, organismal plasticity emerged as a unifying concept: the ability of physiological systems to dynamically reconfigure inter-organ communication networks to maintain stability or optimize fitness under changing conditions. Rather than static wiring diagrams, inter-organ communication appears as a flexible, context-dependent architecture.

Model Organisms as Conceptual Engines

The diversity of model systems—ranging from Drosophila and zebrafish to rodents and naked mole rats—was a major strength of the meeting. Comparative approaches revealed conserved principles of inter-organ communication while also exposing species-specific strategies. In particular, genetically tractable models enabled functional dissection of complex communication pathways, offering insights difficult to obtain in mammalian systems alone.

These discussions underscored the value of cross-species dialogue in identifying generalizable mechanisms and testing emerging hypotheses about physiological integration.

Towards a “New Physiology”

Two dedicated brainstorming sessions, moderated by a science journalist, focused on articulating key open questions and future directions for the field. Participants debated whether different classes of inter-organ mediators operate on distinct time scales, how redundancy and robustness are achieved, and how physiological setpoints are established and reset. These exchanges laid the groundwork for a prospective white paper and a broader conceptual framework for what several participants termed a “new physiology”—one that explicitly embraces complexity, plasticity, and multi-organ integration.

Perspectives and Outlook

By fostering dialogue across disciplines and career stages, the seminar helped crystallize emerging ideas and identify shared challenges. The insights generated have implications not only for basic physiology but also for medicine, nutrition, and environmental health. More broadly, the meeting highlighted the need for conceptual tools capable of integrating heterogeneous signals into coherent models of organismal function.

The discussions at the Fondation des Treilles represent a step toward such integration, emphasizing that understanding physiology today requires thinking across organs, systems, and scales.


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
ldiebold (20 janvier 2026). Rewiring Physiology: New Concepts in Inter-Organ Communication. Les carnets de la Fondation des Treilles. Consulté le 16 février 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15j1e