Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Landes Bioscience
Résumé : International audience
In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
Autophagy

hal-00735751
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00735751
PUBMED : 22966490

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
Respiratory illnesses have been linked to children's exposures to water-damaged homes. Therefore, understanding the microbiome in water-damaged homes is critical to preventing these illnesses. Few studies have quantified bacterial contamination, especially specific species, in water-damaged homes. We collected air and dust samples in twenty-one low-mold homes and twenty-one high-mold homes. The concentrations of three bacteria/genera, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Streptomyces sp., and Mycobacterium sp., were measured in air and dust samples using quantitative PCR (QPCR). The concentrations of the bacteria measured in the air samples were not associated with any specific home characteristic based on multiple regression models. However, higher concentrations of S. maltophilia in the dust samples were associated with water damage, that is, with higher floor surface moisture and higher concentrations of moisture-related mold species. The concentrations of Streptomyces and Mycobacterium sp. had similar patterns and may be partially determined by human and animal occupants and outdoor sources of these bacteria.
Indoor Air

hal-00877905
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00877905
DOI : 10.1111/ina.12035
PUBMED : 23397905