Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
A hallmark of living systems is the management and the storage of information through genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Although the notion of epigenetics was originally given to any regulation beyond DNA sequence, it has often been restricted to chromatin modifications, supposed to behave as cis-markers, specifying the sets of genes to be expressed or repressed. This definition does not take into account the initial view of epigenetics, based on nonlinear interaction networks whose "attractors" can remain stable without need for any chromatin mark. In addition, most chromatin modifications are the steady state resultants of highly dynamic modification and de-modification activities and, as such, seem poorly appropriate to work as long-term memory keepers. Instead, the basic support of epigenetic memory could remain the attractors, to which chromatin modifications belong as do many other components. The influence of chromatin modifications in memory is highly questionable when envisioned as static structural marks, but can be recovered under the dynamic circuitry perspective, thanks to their self-templating properties. Beside their standard repressive or permissive functions, chromatin modifications can also influence transcription in multiple ways such as: (1) by randomizing or inversely stabilizing gene expression, (2) by mediating cooperativity between pioneer and secondary transcription factors, and (3) in the hysteresis and the ultrasensitivity of gene expression switches, allowing the cells to take unambiguous transcriptional decisions.
ISSN: 1420-682X

hal-01063617
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01063617
DOI : 10.1007/s00018-012-0923-7
PUBMED : 22331281

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Red blood cell hemodynamics influence blood rheology and thus circulatory function. Different authors showed that red blood cells are heterogeneous in blood flow. This heterogeneity could be explained by physical characteristics such as morphology, aggregability and deformability, but also by cellular and molecular environment. All these notions are found in sickle cell disease where sickle red blood cells become more rigid, leading to vascular occlusions, increased with an inflammatory context. In a preceding study, our results showed that velocity heterogeneity allow RBC classification, leading to different RBC sub-groups, using a dynamical approach and flow studies. In order to have a better understanding of the physiological meaning of such an heterogeneity, dynamical velocity experiences have been conducted in the case of normal and sickle red blood cells with different endothelial activations by proinflammatory cytokines, under a constant venular flow. Thus, normal and sickle red blood cells are classified into different sub-groups, showing their heterogeneity. Moreover, sub-population velocities and distribution evolve differently according to vascular state or treatment. These results show that red blood cell velocities and rheology depend on vascular environment and red blood cell morphology. However, the physiological meaning of this behavior should be explained by cellular and molecular effects of such activation.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00201461

hal-00201461
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00201461
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00201461/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00201461/file/RBCV_Marianne_v1.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Estrogens are known as steroid hormones affecting the brain in many different ways and a wealth of data now document effects on neurogenesis. Estrogens are provided by the periphery but can also be locally produced within the brain itself due to local aromatization of circulating androgens. Adult neurogenesis is described in all vertebrate species examined so far, but comparative investigations have brought to light differences between vertebrate groups. In teleost fishes, the neurogenic activity is spectacular and adult stem cells maintain their mitogenic activity in many proliferative areas within the brain. Fish are also quite unique because brain aromatase expression is limited to radial glia cells, the progenitor cells of adult fish brain. The zebrafish has emerged as an interesting vertebrate model to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of adult neurogenesis, and notably its modulation by steroids. The main objective of this review is to summarize data related to the functional link between estrogens production in the brain and neurogenesis in fish. First, we will demonstrate that the brain of zebrafish is an endogenous source of steroids and is directly targeted by local and/or peripheral steroids. Then, we will present data demonstrating the progenitor nature of radial glial cells in the brain of adult fish. Next, we will emphasize the role of estrogens in constitutive neurogenesis and its potential contribution to the regenerative neurogenesis. Finally, the negative impacts on neurogenesis of synthetic hormones used in contraceptive pills production and released in the aquatic environment will be discussed
ISSN: 0960-0760

hal-01174214
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174214
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174214/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174214/file/Steroid%20modulation%20of%20neurogenesis.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.06.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
Background: Myosin II (or Myosin Heavy Chain II, MHCII) is a family of molecular motors involved in the contractile activity of animal muscle cells but also in various other cellular processes in non-muscle cells. Previous phylogenetic analyses of bilaterian MHCII genes identified two main clades associated respectively with smooth/non-muscle cells (MHCIIa) and striated muscle cells (MHCIIb). Muscle cells are generally thought to have originated only once in ancient animal history, and decisive insights about their early evolution are expected to come from expression studies of Myosin II genes in the two non-bilaterian phyla that possess muscles, the Cnidaria and Ctenophora. Results: We have uncovered three MHCII paralogues in the ctenophore species Pleurobrachia pileus. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the MHCIIa /MHCIIb duplication is more ancient than the divergence between extant metazoan lineages. The ctenophore MHCIIa gene (PpiMHCIIa) has an expression pattern akin to that of ``stem cell markers'' (Piwi, Vasa...) and is expressed in proliferating cells. We identified two MHCIIb genes that originated from a ctenophore-specific duplication. PpiMHCIIb1 represents the exclusively muscular form of myosin II in ctenophore, while PpiMHCIIb2 is expressed in non-muscle cells of various types. In parallel, our phalloidin staining and TEM observations highlight the structural complexity of ctenophore musculature and emphasize the experimental interest of the ctenophore tentacle root, in which myogenesis is spatially ordered and strikingly similar to striated muscle formation in vertebrates. Conclusion: MHCIIa expression in putative stem cells/proliferating cells probably represents an ancestral trait, while specific involvement of some MHCIIa genes in smooth muscle fibres is a uniquely derived feature of the vertebrates. That one ctenophore MHCIIb paralogue (PpiMHCIIb2) has retained MHCIIa-like expression features furthermore suggests that muscular expression of the other paralogue, PpiMHCIIb1, was the result of neofunctionalisation within the ctenophore lineage, making independent origin of ctenophore muscle cells a likely option.
ISSN: 1471-2148

hal-01544486
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544486
DOI : 10.1186/1471-2148-12-107

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
High-mass-resolution imaging mass spectrometry promises to localize hundreds of metabolites in tissues, cell cultures, and agar plates with cellular resolution, but it is hampered by the lack of bioinformatics tools for automated metabolite identification. We report pySM, a framework for false discovery rate (FDR)-controlled metabolite annotation at the level of the molecular sum formula, for high-mass-resolution imaging mass spectrometry (https://github.com/alexandrovteam/pySM). We introduce a metabolite-signal match score and a target-decoy FDR estimate for spatial metabolomics. © 2017 Nature America, Inc., part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.
Nature Methods

hal-01467553
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467553
DOI : 10.1038/nmeth.4072
PUBMED : 27842059

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Diploid budding yeast undergoes rapid mitosis when it ferments glucose, and in the presence of a non-fermentable carbon source and the absence of a nitrogen source it triggers sporulation. Rich medium with acetate is a commonly used pre-sporulation medium, but our understanding of the molecular events underlying the acetate-driven transition from mitosis to meiosis is still incomplete. We identified 263 proteins for which mRNA and protein synthesis are linked or uncoupled in fermenting and respiring cells. Using motif predictions, interaction data and RNA profiling we find among them 28 likely targets for Ume6, a subunit of the conserved Rpd3/Sin3 histone deacetylase-complex regulating genes involved in metabolism, stress response and meiosis. Finally, we identify 14 genes for which both RNA and proteins are detected exclusively in respiring cells but not in fermenting cells in our sample set, including CSM4, SPR1, SPS4 and RIM4, which were thought to be meiosis-specific. Our work reveals intertwined transcriptional and post-transcriptional control mechanisms acting when a MATa/α strain responds to nutritional signals, and provides molecular clues how the carbon source primes yeast cells for entering meiosis. Our integrated genomics study provides insight into the interplay between the transcriptome and the proteome in diploid yeast cells undergoing vegetative growth in the presence of glucose (fermentation) or acetate (respiration). Furthermore, it reveals novel target genes involved in these processes for Ume6, the DNA binding subunit of the conserved histone deacetylase Rpd3 and the co-repressor Sin3. We have combined data from an RNA profiling experiment using tiling arrays that cover the entire yeast genome, and a large-scale protein detection analysis based on mass spectrometry in diploid MATa/α cells. This distinguishes our study from most others in the field-which investigate haploid yeast strains-because only diploid cells can undergo meiotic development in the simultaneous absence of a non-fermentable carbon source and nitrogen. Indeed, we report molecular clues how respiration of acetate might prime diploid cells for efficient spore formation, a phenomenon that is well known but poorly understood.
ISSN: 1874-3919

hal-01122122
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122122
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122122/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122122/file/Integrated%20RNA-%20and%20protein%20profiling%20of%20fermentation.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.jprot.2015.01.015

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Résumé : PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Malaria represents one of the most important selective factors affecting human populations. Several inherited diseases of red blood cells lead to resistance at the erythrocytic stage. Among patients who experience hereditary elliptocytosis related to mutations of erythrocyte membrane proteins, molecular studies have shown the prevalence of particular spectrin mutations in patients from black ethnic extraction, leading one to question the selection of new malaria-resistant genes. RECENT FINDINGS: Prospective epidemiological and molecular studies in West Africa have confirmed the prevalence (between 0.6 and 1.6%) of particular spectrin mutations related to hereditary elliptocytosis. These studies have also revealed the frequency of alpha-spectrin chain polymorphisms, associated in cis with elliptocytogenic spectrin mutations and defining particular spectrin allele haplotypes. Culture studies of Plasmodium falciparum in elliptocytes bearing such elliptocytogenic alleles of spectrin showed that these alleles are supplementary genetic factors of malaria resistance in vitro. SUMMARY: Certain instances of spectrin mutations or polymorphisms have not yet been shown to constitute new factors of innate resistance to malaria in vivo. Epidemiological surveys of hereditary elliptocytosis and parasite culture studies, however, have argued that the relationships between parasite and spectrin-based skeleton should be examined more closely and the molecular interactions between parasite ligands and particular spectrin chain domains should be characterized.
ISSN: 1065-6251

inserm-00128119
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00128119
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00128119/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00128119/file/Dhermy_et_al_figures.pdf
DOI : 10.1097/MOH.0b013e3280d21afd

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
Background: Increasingly, similarity networks are being used for evolutionary analyses of molecular datasets. These networks are very useful, in particular for the analysis of gene sharing, lateral gene transfer and for the detection of distant homologs. Currently, such analyses require some computer programming skills due to the limited availability of user-friendly freely distributed software. Consequently, although appealing, the construction and analyses of these networks remain less familiar to biologists than do phylogenetic approaches. Results: In order to ease the use of similarity networks in the community of evolutionary biologists, we introduce a software program, EGN, that runs under Linux or MacOSX. EGN automates the reconstruction of gene and genome networks from nucleic and proteic sequences. EGN also implements statistics describing genetic diversity in these samples, for various user-defined thresholds of similarities. In the interest of studying the complexity of evolutionary processes affecting microbial evolution, we applied EGN to a dataset of 571,044 proteic sequences from the three domains of life and from mobile elements. We observed that, in Borrelia, plasmids play a different role than in most other eubacteria. Rather than being genetic couriers involved in lateral gene transfer, Borrelia's plasmids and their genes act as private genetic goods, that contribute to the creation of genetic diversity within their parasitic hosts. Conclusion: EGN can be used for constructing, analyzing, and mining molecular datasets in evolutionary studies. The program can help increase our knowledge of the processes through which genes from distinct sources and/or from multiple genomes co-evolve in lineages of cellular organisms.
ISSN: 1471-2148

hal-01544799
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544799
DOI : 10.1186/1471-2148-13-146

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Liver X Receptors (LXRs) α and β and the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α (PPARα) are transcription factors that belong to class II nuclear receptors. They drive the expression of genes involved in hepatic lipid homeostasis and therefore are important targets for the prevention and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). LXRs and PPARα are regulated by endogenous ligands, oxysterols and fatty acid derived molecules, respectively. In the liver, pharmacological activation of LXRs leads to the over-expression of genes involved in de novo lipogenesis, while PPARα is critical for fatty acid catabolism in nutrient deprivation. Even if these two nuclear receptors seemed to play opposite parts, recent studies have highlighted that PPARα also influence the expression of genes involved in fatty acids synthesis. In this study, we used pharmacological approaches and genetically engineered mice to investigate the cross-talk between LXRs and PPARα in the regulation of genes responsible for lipogenesis. We first investigated the effect of T0901317 and fenofibrate, two synthetic agonists of LXRs and PPARα, respectively. As expected, T0901317 and fenofibrate induce expression of genes involved LXR-dependent and PPARα-dependent lipogenic responses. Considering such overlapping effect, we then tested whether LXR agonist may influence PPARα driven response and vice versa. We show that the lack of PPARα does not influence the effects of T0901317 on lipogenic genes expression. However, PPARα deficiency prevents the up-regulation of genes involved in ω-hydroxylation that are induced by the LXR agonist. In addition, over-expression of lipogenic genes in response to fenofibrate is decreased in LXR knockout mice as well as the expression of PPARα target genes involved in fatty acid oxidation. Altogether, our work provides in vivo evidence for a central interconnection between nuclear receptors that drive hepatic lipid metabolism in response to oxysterol and fatty acids.
ISSN: 0300-9084

inserm-00872582
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00872582
DOI : 10.1016/j.biochi.2012.09.028
PUBMED : 23063693

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Epigenetics is most often reduced to chromatin marking in the current literature, whereas this notion was initially defined in a more general context. This restricted view ignores that epigenetic memories are in fact more robustly ensured in living systems by steady-state mechanisms with permanent molecule renewal. This misconception is likely to result from misleading intuitions and insufficient dialogues between traditional and quantitative biologists. To demystify dynamic epigenetics, its most famous image, a Waddington landscape and its attractors, are explicitly drawn. The simple example provided, is sufficient to highlight the main requirements and characteristics of dynamic gene networks, underlying cellular differentiation, de-differentiation and trans-differentiation.
ISSN: 0248-4900

inserm-00920766
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00920766
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00920766/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00920766/file/Dynamic_Epigenetics.pdf
PUBMED : 24111561

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Portland Press
Résumé : International audience
For cellular fitness and survival, gene expression levels need to be regulated in response to a wealth of cellular and environmental signals. TFs (transcription factors) execute a large part of this regulation by interacting with the basal transcription machinery at promoter regions. Archaea are characterized by a simplified eukaryote-like basal transcription machinery and bacteria-type TFs, which convert sequence information into a gene expression output according to cis-regulatory rules. In the present review, we discuss the current state of knowledge about these rules in archaeal systems, ranging from DNA-binding specificities and operator architecture to regulatory mechanisms.
ISSN: 0300-5127

hal-01542965
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01542965
DOI : 10.1042/BST20120312

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Pre-association of CD95 at the plasma membrane is mandatory for efficient death receptor signaling. This homotrimerization occurs through self-association of an extracellular domain called the pre-ligand assembly domain (PLAD). Using novel molecular and cellular tools, we confirmed that CD95-PLAD is necessary to promote CD95 multimerization and plays a pivotal role in the transmission of apoptotic signals. However, while a human CD95 mutant deleted of the previously described PLAD domain (amino acids 1 to 66) fails to interact with its wild-type counterpart and trigger autonomous cell death, deletion of amino acids 1 to 42 does not prevent homo- or hetero (human/mouse)-oligomerization of CD95, and thus does not alter transmission of the apoptotic signal. Overall, these findings indicate that the region between amino acids 43 to 66 corresponds to the minimal motif involved in CD95 homotypic interaction and is necessary to convey an efficient apoptotic signal. Interfering with this PLAD may represent a new therapeutic strategy for altering CD95-induced apoptotic and non-apoptotic signals.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-00873708
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00873708
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00873708/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00873708/file/Precise_Mappingsur the_CD95-accepted.pdf
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0046236

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Society of Hematology
Résumé : International audience
Sickle cell disease is characterized by painful vaso-occlusive crises during which abnormal interactions between erythroid adhesion molecules and vessel-wall proteins are thought to play a critical role. Hydroxyurea, the only drug with proven benefit in sickle cell disease, diminishes these interactions, but its mechanism of action is not fully understood. We report that, under hydroxyurea, expression of the unique erythroid laminin receptor Lu/BCAM was increased, but red blood cell adhesion to laminin decreased. Because Lu/BCAM phosphorylation is known to activate cell adhesion to laminin, it was evaluated and found to be dramatically lower in hydroxyurea-treated patients. Analysis of the protein kinase A pathway showed decreased intracellular levels of the upstream effector cyclic adenosine monophosphate during hydroxyurea treatment. Using a cellular model expressing recombinant Lu/BCAM, we showed that hydroxyurea led to decreased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels and diminished Lu/BCAM phosphorylation and cell adhesion. We provide evidence that hydroxyurea could reduce abnormal sickle red blood cell adhesion to the vascular wall by regulating the activation state of adhesion molecules independently of their expression level.
ISSN: 0006-4971

inserm-00821117
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00821117
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00821117/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00821117/file/Bartolucci_Blood_2010.pdf
DOI : 10.1182/blood-2009-12-257444

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
About 1-6% of the genetic ancestry of modern humans today originates from admixture with archaic humans. It has recently been shown that autosomal genomic regions with a reduced proportion of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestries (NA and DA) are significantly enriched in genes that are more expressed in testis than in other tissues. To determine whether a cellular segregation pattern would exist, we combined maps of archaic introgression with a cross-analysis of three transcriptomic datasets deciphering the transcriptional landscape of human gonadal cell types. We reveal that the regions deficient in both NA and DA contain a significant enrichment of genes transcribed in meiotic germ cells. The interbreeding of anatomically modern humans with archaic humans may have introduced archaic-derived alleles that contributed to genetic incompatibilities affecting meiosis that were subsequently purged by natural selection.
ISSN: 0737-4038

hal-01578587
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01578587
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01578587/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01578587/file/J%C3%A9gou%20et%20al%20-%20Meiotic%20Genes%20Are%20Enriched.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/molbev/msx141

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Résumé : International audience
HLA-G is a nonclassical major histocompatibility complex molecule first described at the maternal-fetal interface, on extravillous cytotrophoblasts. Its expression is restricted to some tissues in normal conditions but increases strongly in pathological conditions. The expression of this molecule has been studied in detail in cancers and is now also beginning to be described in infectious diseases. The relevance of studies on HLA-G expression lies in the well known inhibitory effect of this molecule on all cell types involved in innate and adaptive immunity, favoring escape from immune control. In this review, we summarize the features of HLA-G expression by type of infections (i.e, bacterial, viral, or parasitic) detailing the state of knowledge for each pathogenic agent. The polymorphism, the interference of viral proteins with HLA-G intracellular trafficking, and various cytokines have been described to modulate HLA-G expression during infections. We also discuss the cellular source of HLA-G, according to the type of infection and the potential role of HLA-G. New therapeutic approaches based on synthetic HLA-G-derived proteins or antibodies are emerging in mouse models of cancer or transplantation, and these new therapeutic tools may eventually prove useful for the treatment of infectious diseases.
ISSN: 2314-8861

hal-01063925
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01063925
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01063925/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01063925/file/Immunomodulatory%20Properties%20of%20HLA-G.pdf
DOI : 10.1155/2014/298569

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Transmembrane CD95L (Fas ligand) can be cleaved to release a promigratory soluble ligand, cl-CD95L, which can contribute to chronic inflammation and cancer cell dissemination. The motility signaling pathway elicited by cl-CD95L remains poorly defined. Here, we show that in the presence of cl-CD95L, CD95 activates the Akt and RhoA signaling pathways, which together orchestrate an allosteric activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE1. Pharmacologic inhibition of Akt or ROCK1 independently blocks the cl-CD95L-induced migration. Confirming these pharmacologic data, disruption of the Akt and ROCK1 phosphorylation sites on NHE1 decreases cell migration in cells exposed to cl-CD95L. Together, these findings demonstrate that NHE1 is a novel molecular actor in the CD95 signaling pathway that drives the cl-CD95L-induced cell migration through both the Akt and RhoA signaling pathways.
ISSN: 2045-2322

hal-01334067
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01334067
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01334067/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01334067/file/Cleaved%20FAS%20ligand%20CC-BY.pdf
DOI : 10.1038/srep28008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: The TGF-β transforming growth factor is the most pleiotropic cytokine controlling a broad range of cellular responses that include proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The context-dependent multifunctional nature of TGF-β is associated with complex signaling pathways. Differential models describe the dynamics of the TGF-β canonical pathway, but modeling the non-canonical networks constitutes a major challenge. Here, we propose a qualitative approach to explore all TGF-β-dependent signaling pathways. RESULTS: Using a new formalism, CADBIOM, which is based on guarded transitions and includes temporal parameters, we have built the first discrete model of TGF-β signaling networks by automatically integrating the 137 human signaling maps from the Pathway Interaction Database into a single unified dynamic model. Temporal property-checking analyses of 15934 trajectories that regulate 145 TGF-β target genes reveal the association of specific pathways with distinct biological processes. We identify 31 different combinations of TGF-β with other extracellular stimuli involved in non-canonical TGF-β pathways that regulate specific gene networks. Extensive analysis of gene expression data further demonstrates that genes sharing CADBIOM trajectories tend to be co-regulated. CONCLUSIONS: As applied here to TGF-β signaling, CADBIOM allows, for the first time, a full integration of highly complex signaling pathways into dynamic models that permit to explore cell responses to complex microenvironment stimuli.
ISSN: 1752-0509

inserm-00978313
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00978313
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00978313/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00978313/file/1752-0509-8-30.pdf
DOI : 10.1186/1752-0509-8-30

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Sphingolipids, in particular ceramide, have been described as important components of cellular signalling pathways. Ceramide can be produced via multiple mechanisms including through the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin by acid and neutral sphingomyelinase or by a de novo synthesis pathway. Recent studies have identified sphingomyelinases and ceramide synthases as important targets for γ-irradiation and chemotherapeutic drugs. Likewise, common cancer treatment modalities, such as γ-irradiation and many chemotherapeutic agents, induce cell death via the generation of ceramide. This suggests that the manipulation of ceramide production and metabolism could offer promising a means for the enhancement of anti-tumor therapies. The focus of this mini-review will be to discuss contemporary evidence suggesting that ceramide forming pathways and ceramide itself are important targets for the treatment of tumors and the development of novel tumor treatment strategies.
ISSN: 0304-3835

hal-00682458
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00682458
DOI : 10.1016/j.canlet.2011.07.010
PUBMED : 21862212

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Infection by hepatitis C virus is a worldwide health problem. An inadequate Th2 cytokine response promotes the fibrosis-cirrhosis fate. Immune-modulating molecules favoring a Th2 profile, such as HLA-G molecules of the HLA class Ib family, may play a role in chronic hepatitis. HLA-G contributes to the escape of tumors, and their involvement in viral infections has been increasingly described. The aim of this work was to study the expression of HLA-G in the liver, its cellular source and its regulation in cases of chronic C hepatitis. METHODS: HLA-G cells in blocks of liver derived from patients infected with HCV were labeled by immunohistochemistry and enumerated. Double immunofluorescence allowed the identification of the cellular source. HLA-G secretion by a human mast cell line was quantified by ELISA after various stimulations. After treatment with IFN-α real-time PCR was performed to determine the kinetics of cytokine expression profiles, followed by heat map clustering analysis. RESULTS: The number of HLA-G + cells was significantly associated with the area of fibrosis. For the first time, we identify the HLA-G+ cells as being mast cells. HLA-G secretion was significantly induced in human mast cells stimulated by IL-10 or interferons of class I. The transcriptome of the secretome of this cell line stimulated by IFN-α revealed that i) the HLA-G gene is upregulated late, ii) T lymphocytes and NK cells are recruited. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest an autocrine loop in the genesis of HCV liver fibrosis, based on mast cells expressing HLA-G.
ISSN: 0168-8278

hal-00874106
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00874106
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00874106/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00874106/file/Amiot-Expression-HLA-G-revised.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.jhep.2013.09.006

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Chaperone synthesis in response to proteotoxic stress is dependent on a family of transcription factors named heat shock factors (HSFs). The two main factors in this family, HSF1 and HSF2, are co-expressed in numerous tissues where they can interact and form heterotrimers in response to proteasome inhibition. HSF1 and HSF2 exhibit two alternative splicing isoforms, called α and β, which contribute to additional complexity in HSF transcriptional regulation, but remain poorly examined in the literature. In this work, we studied the transcriptional activity of HSF1 and HSF2 splicing isoforms transfected into immortalized Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (iMEFs) deleted for both Hsf1 and Hsf2, under normal conditions and after proteasome inhibition. We found that HSF1α is significantly more active than the β isoform after exposure to the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Furthermore, we clearly established that, while HSF2 had no transcriptional activity by itself, short β isoform of HSF2 exerts a negative role on HSF1β-dependent transactivation. To further assess the impact of HSF2β inhibition on HSF1 activity, we developed a mathematical modelling approach which revealed that the balance between each HSF isoform in the cell regulated the strength of the transcriptional response. Moreover, we found that cellular stress such as proteasome inhibition could regulate the splicing of Hsf2 mRNA. All together, our results suggest that relative amounts of each HSF1 and HSF2 isoforms quantitatively determine the cellular level of the proteotoxic stress response.
ISSN: 1932-6203

inserm-00814784
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00814784
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00814784/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00814784/file/journal.pone.0056085.pdf
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0056085