ORCiD
Academic interests
My main interest is understanding the underlying mechanisms of cell differentiation and identity maintenance in the light of external factors. I have a particular interest for endocrine cells namely adipocytes and steroidogenic cells.
I am also an advocate of open science and science dissemination.
Background
I did a PhD in Clermont-Ferrand, France, working on the role of a post-translational modification called SUMOylation in the differentiation of adrenocortical cells.
Publications
Dufour, Damien, Sandra Kristine Stølen Bryne, Florian Dapsance, et al. ‘Mechanisms of Sexually Dimorphic Adipose Tissue Remodelling upon Prolonged Breastfeeding’. Preprint, Physiology, 10 September 2025. BioRxiv
Dufour, D. Zhao X, Chaleil F, Nothnagel PMC, Bjørås M, Lefrançois-Martinez AM, et al. Pharmacological inhibition of SUMOylation with TAK-981 mimics genetic HypoSUMOylation in murine perigonadal white adipose tissue. Adipocyte. 2025 Dec 31;14(1):2474107
Dapsance, F., Hou, J., Dufour, D. Boccara C., Briand N., Martinsen O.G. (2023) Adipose tissue characterization with electrical impedance spectroscopy and machine learning. IEEE Sens. Lett. 1–4Dufour, D. Timing of food intake affects energy expenditure. Nat Rev Endocrinol (2023)
Dufour, D., Dumontet, T., Sahut-Barnola, I. et al. Loss of SUMO-specific protease 2 causes isolated glucocorticoid deficiency by blocking adrenal cortex zonal transdifferentiation in mice. Nat Commun 13, 7858 (2022).
Wilmouth, J., Olabe, J., Garcia-Garcia, D., Lucas C., Guiton, R., Roucher-Boulez, F, Dufour, D., et al. (2022) Sexually dimorphic activation of innate antitumour immunity prevents adrenocortical carcinoma development. Sci. Adv. 8, eadd0422.
Sahut-Barnola, I., Lefrancois-Martinez, A.-M., Dufour, D., Botto, J.-M., Kamilaris, C., Faucz, F.R., Stratakis, C.A., Val, P., and Martinez, A. (2022). Steroidogenic factor-1 lineage origin of skin lesions in Carney complex syndrome. Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Djari, C., Sahut-Barnola, I., Septier, A., Plotton, I., Montanier, N., Dufour, D., Levasseur, A., Wilmouth, J., Pointud, J.-C., Faucz, F.R., et al. (2021). Protein kinase A drives paracrine crisis and WNT4-dependent testis tumor in Carney complex. Journal of Clinical Investigation 131, e146910.
Dumontet, T., Sahut-Barnola, I.,Dufour, D.., Lefrançois-Martinez, A., Berthon, A., Montanier, N., Ragazzon, B., Djari, C., Pointud, J., Roucher-Boulez, F., et al. (2019). Hormonal and spatial control of SUMOylation in the human and mouse adrenal cortex. FASEB j. 33, 10218–10230.
Ishaq*, A., Dufour*, D., Cameron, K., von Zglinicki, T., and Saretzki, G. (2018). Metabolic memory of dietary restriction ameliorates DNA damage and adipocyte size in mouse visceral adipose tissue. Experimental Gerontology 113, 228–236. (* equal contribution)