Pr. Günther Weber is a member of the INSERM unit of Nutrition, Growth and Cancer (Inserm U1069, University of Tours), a multidisciplinary single team unit focusing on the influence of lipids and cell membrane modifications on cancer. His research, until 2006 performed at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, has encompassed the genetics of inheritable cancer, and the regulation of metastatic development in particular of breast cancer. He is the author of 100 publications (4000 citations, h = 30), obtained 6 patents on the growth factor VEGFB and the activities of the LL-37 peptide, and supervised or co-supervised 10 PhD students and 3 postdocs. In 2006 he was recruited to a CNRS unit (GICC, U6239) at the University of Tours, the first 2 years supported by a grant from the Studium, and in 2008 appointed professor at the University of Tours.
Since 2011 as member of Inserm U1069, his research is focusing on the influence of a natural peptide (LL-37) on breast cancer development. LL-37 has initially been characterized as part of the innate immunity, but has now been recognized as contributing to metastatic development in multiple cancer forms. Its unique mechanism of action on the cancer cell depends on its interaction with sulfated glycoaminoglycans and proteoglycans on the cellular surface. The characterization of the interaction of the peptide with sulfated oligosaccharides, combining experimental and in silico modeling approaches, aims to develop an antagonist for its interaction with the cell surface, thus leading to a potential therapeutic approach.