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
Résumé : International audience
To assess prognostic factors for survival and describe Model for End-Stage liver disease (MELD) dynamics in human immunodeficiency virus+/hepatitis C virus+ (HIV+/HCV+) patients after an initial episode of hepatic decompensation.An HIV+/HCV+ cohort of patients experiencing an initial decompensation episode within the year preceding enrollment were followed prospectively. Clinical and biological data were collected every 3 months. Predictors for survival were identified using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox models. A 2-slope-mixed linear model was used to estimate MELD score changes as a function of survival.Sixty seven patients were included in 32 centers between 2009 and 2012 (72% male; median age: 48 years [interquartile ratio (IQR):45-52], median follow-up: 22.4 months [range: 0.5-65.3]). Overall survival rates were 86%, 78%, and 59% at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Under multivariate analysis, the MELD score at initial decompensation was predictive of survival, adjusted for age, type of decompensation, baseline CD4 counts, and further decompensation during follow-up as a time-dependent variable. The adjusted hazard ratio of death was 1.32 for a score 3 points higher (95% CI: [1.06-1.63], P = 0.012). MELD score kinetics within the 6 months after initial decompensation differed significantly between non-deceased and deceased patients, with a decreased (-0.49/month; P = 0.016), versus a flat (+0.06/month, P = 0.753) mean change in score.MELD is an effective tool to predict survival in HIV+/HCV+ patients with decompensated cirrhosis. A non-decreasing MELD score within 6 months following this initial decompensation episode may benefit from privileged access to liver transplantation in this poor prognosis population
Medicine

hal-01205351
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01205351
DOI : 10.1097/MD.0000000000001239
PUBMED : 26222860