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 : In Suriname, Saramaka (descendants from fugitives slaves of the XVIIth century) still have a widely used traditional pharmacopoeia. The Bitter-cup is a good example because of the place it keeps on the Paramaribo's markets stands. We conducted an ethnopharmacological study in order to detail its uses: rum or water left to macerate in the cup overnight, the content is drunk straight in the morning either as a tonic, stomachic, febrifuge or antimalarial remedy. In order to close the controversy about its botanical origin, we proceeded to an anatomical study of woods and cups found at the market. Chemicals fingerprints by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) were simultaneously established. The two methods, complementary, allowed us to identify Quassia amara L. as cups source. In vitro assays of the macerates on Plasmodium falciparum did not show any antimalarial activity, while some fractions, obtained by semi-preparative HPLC, did show a high activity against parasites.
Les Saramaka du Suriname, descendants d'esclaves échappés des plantations au XVIIème siècle, ont une pharmacopée traditionnelle encore vive. Le Bitter-cup, ou " gobelet amer ", en est un exemple puisqu'il garde encore sa place sur les étals des marchés de Paramaribo. Nous avons mené une enquête ethnopharmacologique afin de détailler ses usages : mis à macérer pendant une nuit avec du rhum ou de l'eau, le contenu est bu d'un trait au matin comme tonique amer, stomachique, fébrifuge ou encore antimalarique. Pour mettre fin aux controverses que suscite sa provenance botanique, nous avons procédé à une étude anatomique du bois et des gobelets provenant du marché, ainsi qu'à l'établissement de signatures chimiques par Chromatographie Liquide Haute Performance (CLHP). Ces deux méthodes complémentaires nous ont permis d'identifier Quassia amara L. comme source des gobelets. Des tests in vitro sur Plasmodium falciparum n'ont pas confirmé l'activité antipaludique, mais après un fractionnement bioguidé par CLHP semi-préparative, certaines fractions se montrent très performantes contre les parasites.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00636165

tel-00636165
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00636165
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00636165/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00636165/file/thesePharma_Odonne.PDF