Deux domaines différents de la physique des collisions ont fait l’objet de mes travaux de thèse réalisés dans le cadre d'une cotutelle entre l'Université Moulay Ismail, Meknes-Maroc et l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris-France: le premier concerne les collisions ion-atome/molécule dans le régime des énergies intermédiaires (keV), alors que le second vise le domaine des collisions électron-atome assistées par un champ laser intense. Bien que distincts, les deux thèmes sont interconnectés puisqu'il s'agit principalement d'étudier, dans des approches non-perturbatives, les phénomènes de diffusion et la dynamique électronique des collisions de cibles atomiques et moléculaires soumis à de fortes et très courtes perturbations. La première partie porte spécifiquement sur la modélisation des processus de transfert électronique et d'ionisation induits lors de collisions d'ions et de cibles atomiques et moléculaires. L'étude porte particulièrement sur les phénomènes d'interférences de type Young, de multi-diffusion et de diffraction Fraunhofer observés au cours de ces processus. La deuxième partie de thèse repose sur une étude des processus de diffusion élastiques et inélastiques induits lors de collisions assistées par un champ laser intense. L'étude s’appuie sur l’analyse spécifique des transitions "libre-libre" au cours lesquelles la cible reste dans son état fondamental après la collision, et des phénomènes de résonance dans le processus d'excitation simultanée électron-photon de la cible. / This work has been performed as a joint PhD between Université Moulay Ismail, Meknes-Morocco, and Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris-France. It concerns two different areas of collision physics: the first part of my research covers the study of ion-atom/molecule collisions in the intermediate energies (keV) , while the second deals with laser-assisted electron-atom scattering. The two subjects are interconnected since both concern the description of electronic processes occurring in scattering events and the study of highly non linear response of atomic and molecular targets to high or short time-dependent perturbations. The first part of the thesis focuses specifically on the modeling of electron transfer and ionization processes induced in collisions of ions and atomic/molecular targets. My work concentrates mainly on the phenomena of Young-type interferences, multi-scattering and Fraunhofer diffraction observed during these processes. The second part concerns the study of elastic and inelastic processes induced in electron-atom collisions in the presence of a strong laser field. The investigations focus on free, free transitions, in which the target remains in its initial state after the collision, and resonance phenomena in more complex processes where the target is simultaneously excited by the the electron-projectile and the radiation and when collisional and radiative interactions are strong enough to concurrently modify the internal state of the target

<p>Lung cancer is the third most prevalent cancer in the world; however it is the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for ~85% of the lung cancer cases. The current strategies to treat NSCLC patients with frequent causal genetic mutations is through targeted therapeutics. Approximately 10-35% of NSCLC patient tumors have activated mutations in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) resulting in uncontrolled cellular proliferation. The standard-of care for such patients is EGFR-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), a class of targeted therapeutics that specifically inhibit EGFR activity. One such EGFR-TKI used in this study is erlotinib. Following erlotinib treatment, tumors rapidly regress at first; however, over 50% of patients develop erlotinib resistance within a year post treatment. Development of resistance remains to be the major challenge in treatment of NSCLC using EGFR-TKIs such as erlotinib. </p> <p>In approximately 60% of cases, acquired erlotinib resistance in patients is attributed to a secondary mutation in EGFR, whereas in about 20% of cases, activation of alternative signaling pathways is the reported mechanism. For the remaining 15-20% of <a>cases</a> the mechanism of resistance remains unknown. Therefore, it can be speculated that the common methods used to identify genetic mutations in tumors post erlotinib treatment, such as histologic analysis and genetic screening may fail to identify alterations in epigenetic mediators of erlotinib resistance, also including microRNAs (miRNAs). MiRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally negatively regulate their target transcripts. Hence, in this study two comprehensive screens were simultaneously conducted in erlotinib sensitive cells: 1) a genome-wide knock-out screen, conducted with the hypothesis that loss of function of certain genes drive erlotinib resistance, 2) a miRNA overexpression screen, conducted with the hypothesis that certain miRNAs drive the development of erlotinib resistance when overexpressed. The overreaching goal of the study was to identify novel drivers of erlotinib resistance such as microRNAs or other epigenetic factors in NSCLC.</p><p>The findings of this study led to the identification of a tumor suppressive protein and an epigenetic regulator, SUV420H2 (KMT5C) that has never been reported to be involved in erlotinib resistance. On the other hand, the miRNA overexpression screen identified five miRNAs that contribute to erlotinib resistance that were extensively analyzed using multiple bioinformatic tools. It was predicted that the miRNAs mediate erlotinib resistance via multiple pathways, owing to the ability of each miRNA to target multiple transcripts via partial complementarity. Importantly, a correlation between the two screens was identified clearly supporting the use of two simultaneous screens as a reliable technique to determine highly significant miRNA-target interactions. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that epigenetic factors, such as histone modifiers and miRNAs function as critical mediators of erlotinib resistance, possibly belonging to the 15-20% of NSCLC cases with unidentified mechanisms involved in erlotinib resistance.</p><p></p>