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Huerga-Fernández S, Detry N, Orman-Ligeza B, Bouché F, Hanikenne M, Périlleux C. JOINTLESS Maintains Inflorescence Meristem Identity in Tomato. Plant Cell Physiol 2024:pcae046. [PMID: 38635460 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcae046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
JOINTLESS (J) was isolated in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) from mutants lacking a flower pedicel abscission zone (AZ), and encodes a MADS-box protein of the SVP/AGL24 sub-family. The loss of J function also causes the return to leaf initiation in the inflorescences, indicating a pivotal role in inflorescence meristem identity. Here, we compared j mutants in different accessions that exhibit either an indeterminate shoot growth, producing regular sympodial segments, or a determinate shoot growth, due to the reduction of sympodial segments and causal mutation of the SELF PRUNING (SP) gene. We observed that the inflorescence phenotype of j mutants is stronger in indeterminate (SP) accessions such as Ailsa Craig (AC), than in determinate (sp) ones, such as Heinz (Hz). Moreover, RNA-seq analysis revealed that the return to vegetative fate in j mutants is accompanied by expression of SP, which supports conversion of the inflorescence meristem to sympodial shoot meristem in j inflorescences. Other markers of vegetative meristems such as APETALA2c, and branching genes such as BRANCHED 1 (BRC1a/b) were differentially expressed in the inflorescences of j(AC) mutants. We also found in the indeterminate AC accession that J represses homeotic genes of B- and C-classes, and that its overexpression causes an oversized leafy calyx phenotype and has a dominant negative effect on AZ formation. A model is therefore proposed where J, by repressing shoot fate and influencing reproductive organ formation, acts as a key determinant of inflorescence meristems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Huerga-Fernández
- Laboratory of Plant Physiology InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
| | - Nathalie Detry
- Laboratory of Plant Physiology InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
| | - Beata Orman-Ligeza
- Laboratory of Plant Physiology InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
| | - Frédéric Bouché
- Laboratory of Plant Physiology InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
- Laboratory of Plant Translational Biology, InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
| | - Marc Hanikenne
- Laboratory of Plant Translational Biology, InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
| | - Claire Périlleux
- Laboratory of Plant Physiology InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium
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de Bruin T, De Laender F, Jadoul J, Schtickzelle N. Intraspecific demographic and trait responses to environmental change drivers are linked in two species of ciliate. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:47. [PMID: 38632521 PMCID: PMC11022343 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02241-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over the past decade, theory and observations have suggested intraspecific variation, trait-based differences within species, as a buffer against biodiversity loss from multiple environmental changes. This buffering effect can only occur when different populations of the same species respond differently to environmental change. More specifically, variation of demographic responses fosters buffering of demography, while variation of trait responses fosters buffering of functioning. Understanding how both responses are related is important for predicting biodiversity loss and its consequences. In this study, we aimed to empirically assess whether population-level trait responses to multiple environmental change drivers are related to the demographic response to these drivers. To this end, we measured demographic and trait responses in microcosm experiments with two species of ciliated protists. For three clonal strains of each species, we measured responses to two environmental change drivers (climate change and pollution) and their combination. We also examined if relationships between demographic and trait responses existed across treatments and strains. RESULTS We found different demographic responses across strains of the same species but hardly any interactive effects between the two environmental change drivers. Also, trait responses (summarized in a survival strategy index) varied among strains within a species, again with no driver interactions. Demographic and trait responses were related across all strains of both species tested in this study: Increasing intrinsic growth and self-limitation were associated with a shift in survival strategy from sit-and-wait towards flee. CONCLUSIONS Our results support the existence of a link between a population's demographic and trait responses to environmental change drivers in two species of ciliate. Future work could dive deeper into the specifics of phenotypical trait values, and changes therein, related to specific life strategies in different species of ciliate and other zooplankton grazers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa de Bruin
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Biodiversity Research Center (BDIV), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‑La‑Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Institute of Life-Earth-Environment (ILEE), Namur Institute for Complex Systems (NAXYS), Université de Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Julie Jadoul
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Biodiversity Research Center (BDIV), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‑La‑Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Biodiversity Research Center (BDIV), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‑La‑Neuve, Belgium
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Georis I, Ronsmans A, Vierendeels F, Dubois E. Differing SAGA module requirements for NCR-sensitive gene transcription in yeast. Yeast 2024; 41:207-221. [PMID: 37357465 DOI: 10.1002/yea.3885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen catabolite repression (NCR) is a means for yeast to adapt its transcriptome to changing nitrogen sources in its environment. In conditions of derepression (under poor nitrogen conditions, upon rapamycin treatment, or when glutamine production is inhibited), two transcriptional activators of the GATA family are recruited to NCR-sensitive promoters and activate transcription of NCR-sensitive genes. Earlier observations have involved the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) chromatin remodeling complex in these transcriptional regulations. In this report, we provide an illustration of the varying NCR-sensitive responses and question whether differing SAGA recruitment could explain this diversity of responses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Evelyne Dubois
- Labiris, Brussels, Belgium
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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Feys O, De Tiège X. From cryogenic to on-scalp magnetoencephalography for the evaluation of paediatric epilepsy. Dev Med Child Neurol 2024; 66:298-306. [PMID: 37421175 DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.15689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a neurophysiological technique based on the detection of brain magnetic fields. Whole-head MEG systems typically house a few hundred sensors requiring cryogenic cooling in a rigid one-size-fits-all (commonly adult-sized) helmet to keep a thermal insulation space. This leads to an increased brain-to-sensor distance in children, because of their smaller head circumference, and decreased signal-to-noise ratio. MEG allows detection and localization of interictal and ictal epileptiform discharges, and pathological high frequency oscillations, as a part of the presurgical assessment of children with refractory focal epilepsy, where electroencephalography is not contributive. MEG can also map the eloquent cortex before surgical resection. MEG also provides insights into the physiopathology of both generalized and focal epilepsy. On-scalp recordings based on cryogenic-free sensors have demonstrated their use in the field of childhood focal epilepsy and should become a reference technique for diagnosing epilepsy in the paediatric population. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) contributes to the diagnosis and understanding of paediatric epilepsy. On-scalp MEG recordings demonstrate some advantages over cryogenic MEG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Odile Feys
- Department of Neurology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles, Hôpital Erasme, Bruxelles, Belgium
- Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et Neuroimagerie Translationnelles, Université libre de Bruxelles, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Xavier De Tiège
- Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et Neuroimagerie Translationnelles, Université libre de Bruxelles, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Bruxelles, Belgium
- Department of Translational Neuroimaging, Université libre de Bruxelles, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles, Hôpital Erasme, Bruxelles, Belgium
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Feys O, Ferez M, Corvilain P, Schuind S, Rikir E, Legros B, Gaspard N, Holmes N, Brookes M, Wens V, De Tiège X. On-Scalp Magnetoencephalography Based On Optically Pumped Magnetometers Can Detect Mesial Temporal Lobe Epileptiform Discharges. Ann Neurol 2024; 95:620-622. [PMID: 38050959 DOI: 10.1002/ana.26844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Odile Feys
- Department of Neurology, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Maxime Ferez
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Pierre Corvilain
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sophie Schuind
- Department of Neurosurgery, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Estelle Rikir
- Department of Neurology, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Benjamin Legros
- Department of Neurology, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Gaspard
- Department of Neurology, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Niall Holmes
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Center, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Matthew Brookes
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Center, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Vincent Wens
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Translational Neuroimaging, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Xavier De Tiège
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Translational Neuroimaging, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
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Nachit M, Dioguardi Burgio M, Abyzov A, Garteiser P, Paradis V, Vilgrain V, Leclercq I, Van Beers BE. Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with heterogeneous pattern of fat infiltration in skeletal muscles. Eur Radiol 2024; 34:1461-1470. [PMID: 37658893 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-023-10131-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the association between fat infiltration in skeletal muscles (myosteatosis) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS In a cross-sectional cohort of 72 histologically proven NAFLD patients (n = 38 with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; NASH), among which 20 had HCC diagnosed on biopsy, we used proton density fat fraction (PDFF) at MRI to evaluate myosteatosis in skeletal muscles (mean fat fraction and first order radiomic-based pattern) at the third lumbar level, namely in erector spinae (ES), quadratus lumborum (QL), psoas, oblique, and rectus muscles. RESULTS PDFFES was 70% higher in patients with HCC when compared to those without HCC (9.6 ± 5.5% versus 5.7 ± 3.0%, respectively, p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression, PDFFES was a significant predictor of the presence of HCC (AUC = 0.72, 95% CI 0.57-0.86, p = 0.002) independently from age, sex, visceral fat area, and liver fibrosis stage (all p < 0.05). The relationship between PDFFES and HCC was exacerbated in patients with NASH (AUC = 0.79, 95% CI 0.63-0.86, p = 0.006). In patients with NASH, radiomics features of heterogeneity such as energy and entropy in any of the paraspinal muscles (i.e., ES, QL, or psoas) were independent predictors of HCC. EnergyES identified patients with HCC (n = 13) in the NASH population with AUC = 0.92 (95% CI 0.82-1.00, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION In patients with NAFLD, and more specifically in those with NASH, the degree and heterogeneity of myosteatosis is independently associated with HCC irrespective of liver fibrosis stage. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT Our data suggest that myosteatosis could be used as a biomarker of HCC in the ever-expanding NAFLD population and pave the way for further investigation in longitudinal studies. KEY POINTS • HCC in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and more specifically in those with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is independently associated with severe fatty infiltration (myosteatosis) of paravertebral skeletal muscles. • Association between myosteatosis and HCC is independent from liver fibrosis stage. • Histogram-based radiomics features of myosteatosis predicts the risk of HCC in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Nachit
- Laboratory of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
| | - Marco Dioguardi Burgio
- Laboratory of Imaging Biomarkers, Center of Research On Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France
- Department of Radiology, Beaujon University Hospital Paris Nord, AP-HP, Clichy, France
| | - Anton Abyzov
- Laboratory of Imaging Biomarkers, Center of Research On Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Garteiser
- Laboratory of Imaging Biomarkers, Center of Research On Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France
| | - Valérie Paradis
- Team "From Inflammation to Cancer in Digestive Disease", Center of Research on Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France
- Department of Pathology, Beaujon University Hospital Paris Nord, AP-HP, Clichy, France
| | - Valérie Vilgrain
- Laboratory of Imaging Biomarkers, Center of Research On Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France
- Department of Radiology, Beaujon University Hospital Paris Nord, AP-HP, Clichy, France
| | - Isabelle Leclercq
- Laboratory of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bernard E Van Beers
- Laboratory of Imaging Biomarkers, Center of Research On Inflammation, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France
- Department of Radiology, Beaujon University Hospital Paris Nord, AP-HP, Clichy, France
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Anania S, Farnir M, Peiffer R, Boumahd Y, Thiry M, Agirman F, Maloujahmoum N, Bellahcène A, Peulen O. Identification of myoferlin as a mitochondria-associated membranes component required for calcium signaling in PDAC cell lines. Cell Commun Signal 2024; 22:133. [PMID: 38368370 PMCID: PMC10874564 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-024-01514-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an aggressive cancer type with one of the lowest survival rates due to late diagnosis and the absence of effective treatments. A better understanding of PDAC biology will help researchers to discover the Achilles' heel of cancer cells. In that regard, our research team investigated the function of an emerging oncoprotein known as myoferlin. Myoferlin is overexpressed in PDAC and its silencing/targeting has been shown to affect cancer cell proliferation, migration, mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism. Nevertheless, our comprehension of myoferlin functions in cells remains limited. In this study, we aimed to understand the molecular mechanism linking myoferlin silencing to mitochondrial dynamics. METHODS Experiments were performed on two pancreas cancer cell lines, Panc-1 and MiaPaCa-2. Myoferlin localization on mitochondria was evaluated by immunofluorescence, proximity ligation assay, and cell fractionation. The presence of myoferlin in mitochondria-associated membranes was assessed by cell fractionation and its function in mitochondrial calcium transfer was evaluated using calcium flow experiments, proximity ligation assays, co-immunoprecipitation, and timelapse fluorescence microscopy in living cells. RESULTS Myoferlin localization on mitochondria was investigated. Our results suggest that myoferlin is unlikely to be located on mitochondria. Instead, we identified myoferlin as a new component of mitochondria-associated membranes. Its silencing significantly reduces the mitochondrial calcium level upon stimulation, probably through myoferlin interaction with the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptors 3. CONCLUSIONS For the first time, myoferlin was specifically demonstrated to be located in mitochondria-associated membranes where it participates to calcium flow. We hypothesized that this function explains our previous results on mitochondrial dynamics. This study improves our comprehension of myoferlin localization and function in cancer biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandy Anania
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Martin Farnir
- STAR Institute, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Août 19, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Raphaël Peiffer
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Yasmine Boumahd
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Marc Thiry
- Cellular and Tissular Biology, GIGA-Neurosciences, Cell Biology L3, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Ferman Agirman
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Naima Maloujahmoum
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Akeila Bellahcène
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium
| | - Olivier Peulen
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA-Cancer, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium.
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Medicines (CIRM), Mitochondria Adaptation in Cancer Group, Pathology Institute B23, Université de Liège, Liège, B-4000, Belgium.
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Mwema A, Gratpain V, Ucakar B, Vanvarenberg K, Perdaens O, van Pesch V, Muccioli GG, des Rieux A. Impact of calcitriol and PGD 2-G-loaded lipid nanocapsules on oligodendrocyte progenitor cell differentiation and remyelination. Drug Deliv Transl Res 2024:10.1007/s13346-024-01535-8. [PMID: 38366115 DOI: 10.1007/s13346-024-01535-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating and inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in need of a curative treatment. MS research has recently focused on the development of pro-remyelinating treatments and neuroprotective therapies. Here, we aimed at favoring remyelination and reducing neuro-inflammation in a cuprizone mouse model of brain demyelination using nanomedicines. We have selected lipid nanocapsules (LNC) coated with the cell-penetrating peptide transactivator of translation (TAT), loaded with either a pro-remyelinating compound, calcitriol (Cal-LNC TAT), or an anti-inflammatory bioactive lipid, prostaglandin D2-glycerol ester (PGD2-G) (PGD2-G-LNC TAT). Following the characterization of these formulations, we showed that Cal-LNC TAT in combination with PGD2-G-LNC TAT increased the mRNA expression of oligodendrocyte differentiation markers both in the CG-4 cell line and in primary mixed glial cell (MGC) cultures. However, while the combination of Cal-LNC TAT and PGD2-G-LNC TAT showed promising results in vitro, no significant impact, in terms of remyelination, astrogliosis, and microgliosis, was observed in vivo in the corpus callosum of cuprizone-treated mice following intranasal administration. Thus, although calcitriol's beneficial effects have been abundantly described in the literature in the context of MS, here, we show that the different doses of calcitriol tested had a negative impact on the mice well-being and showed no beneficial effect in the cuprizone model in terms of remyelination and neuro-inflammation, alone and when combined with PGD2-G-LNC TAT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Mwema
- Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
- Bioanalysis and Pharmacology of Bioactive Lipids, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Viridiane Gratpain
- Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bernard Ucakar
- Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Kevin Vanvarenberg
- Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Océane Perdaens
- Cellular and Molecular Division, Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vincent van Pesch
- Cellular and Molecular Division, Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Giulio G Muccioli
- Bioanalysis and Pharmacology of Bioactive Lipids, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Anne des Rieux
- Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, UCLouvain, Avenue E. Mounier 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium.
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Ahmed J, Ismail A, Ding L, Yool AJ, Chaumont F. A new method to measure aquaporin-facilitated membrane diffusion of hydrogen peroxide and cations in plant suspension cells. Plant Cell Environ 2024; 47:527-539. [PMID: 37946673 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Plant aquaporins (AQPs) facilitate the membrane diffusion of water and small solutes, including hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) and, possibly, cations, essential signalling molecules in many physiological processes. While the determination of the channel activity generally depends on heterologous expression of AQPs in Xenopus oocytes or yeast cells, we established a genetic tool to determine whether they facilitate the diffusion of H2 O2 through the plasma membrane in living plant cells. We designed genetic constructs to co-express the fluorescent H2 O2 sensor HyPer and AQPs, with expression controlled by a heat shock-inducible promoter in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 suspension cells. After induction of ZmPIP2;5 AQP expression, a HyPer signal was recorded when the cells were incubated with H2 O2 , suggesting that ZmPIP2;5 facilitates H2 O2 transmembrane diffusion; in contrast, the ZmPIP2;5W85A mutated protein was inactive as a water or H2 O2 channel. ZmPIP2;1, ZmPIP2;4 and AtPIP2;1 also facilitated H2 O2 diffusion. Incubation with abscisic acid and the elicitor flg22 peptide induced the intracellular H2 O2 accumulation in BY-2 cells expressing ZmPIP2;5. We also monitored cation channel activity of ZmPIP2;5 using a novel fluorescent photo-switchable Li+ sensor in BY-2 cells. BY-2 suspension cells engineered for inducible expression of AQPs as well as HyPer expression and the use of Li+ sensors constitute a powerful toolkit for evaluating the transport activity and the molecular determinants of PIPs in living plant cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jahed Ahmed
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Ahmed Ismail
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt
| | - Lei Ding
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Andrea J Yool
- School of Biomedicine, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - François Chaumont
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Feys O, Wens V, Corvilain P, Ferez M, Holmes N, Brookes M, De Tiège X. Where do we stand exactly with on-scalp magnetoencephalography in the presurgical evaluation of refractory focal epilepsy? Epilepsia 2023; 64:3414-3417. [PMID: 37863642 DOI: 10.1111/epi.17806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Odile Feys
- Department of Neurology, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vincent Wens
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Translational Neuroimaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Pierre Corvilain
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Maxime Ferez
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Niall Holmes
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Cerca Magnetics Ltd, Nottingham, UK
| | - Matthew Brookes
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Cerca Magnetics Ltd, Nottingham, UK
| | - Xavier De Tiège
- Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie et Neuroanatomie translationnelles (LN2T), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Translational Neuroimaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB), Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium
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11
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Body N, Bevernaegie R, Lefebvre C, Jabin I, Hermans S, Riant O, Troian-Gautier L. Photo-Catalyzed α-Arylation of Enol Acetate Using Recyclable Silica-Supported Heteroleptic and Homoleptic Copper(I) Photosensitizers. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202301212. [PMID: 37582678 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202301212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Earth-abundant photosensitizers are highly sought after for light-mediated applications, such as photoredox catalysis, depollution and energy conversion schemes. Homoleptic and heteroleptic copper(I) complexes are promising candidates in this field, as copper is abundant and the corresponding complexes are easily obtained in smooth conditions. However, some heteroleptic copper(I) complexes suffer from low (photo)stability that leads to the gradual formation of the corresponding homoleptic complex. Such degradation pathways are detrimental, especially when recyclability is desired. This study reports a novel approach for the heterogenization of homoleptic and heteroleptic Cu complexes on silica nanoparticles. In both cases, the photophysical properties upon surface immobilization were only slightly affected. Excited-state quenching with aryl diazonium derivatives occurred efficiently (108 -1010 M-1 s-1 ) with heterogeneous and homogeneous photosensitizers. Moderate but almost identical yields were obtained for the α-arylation of enol acetate using the homoleptic complex in homogeneous or heterogeneous conditions. Importantly, the silica-supported photocatalysts were recycled with moderate loss in photoactivity over multiple experiments. Transient absorption spectroscopy confirmed that excited-state electron transfer occurred from the homogeneous and heterogeneous homoleptic copper(I) complexes to aryl diazonium derivatives, generating the corresponding copper(II) center that persisted for several hundreds of microseconds, compatible with photoredox catalysis applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Body
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Institut de la Matière Condensée et des Nanosciences (IMCN), Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis (MOST), Place Louis Pasteur 1, bte L4.01.02, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Robin Bevernaegie
- Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie et PhysicoChimie Organiques (CPCO), Laboratoire de Chimie Organique (LCO), Avenue F. D. Roosevelt 50, 1050, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Corentin Lefebvre
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Institut de la Matière Condensée et des Nanosciences (IMCN), Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis (MOST), Place Louis Pasteur 1, bte L4.01.02, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Ivan Jabin
- Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Chimie et PhysicoChimie Organiques (CPCO), Laboratoire de Chimie Organique (LCO), Avenue F. D. Roosevelt 50, 1050, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Sophie Hermans
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Institut de la Matière Condensée et des Nanosciences (IMCN), Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis (MOST), Place Louis Pasteur 1, bte L4.01.02, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Olivier Riant
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Institut de la Matière Condensée et des Nanosciences (IMCN), Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis (MOST), Place Louis Pasteur 1, bte L4.01.02, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Ludovic Troian-Gautier
- Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Institut de la Matière Condensée et des Nanosciences (IMCN), Molecular Chemistry, Materials and Catalysis (MOST), Place Louis Pasteur 1, bte L4.01.02, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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12
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Dominguez-Molina L, Talavera A, Cepauskas A, Kurata T, Echemendia-Blanco D, Hauryliuk V, Garcia-Pino A. Biochemical and X-ray analyses of the players involved in the faRel2/aTfaRel2 toxin-antitoxin operon. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2023; 79:247-256. [PMID: 37728608 PMCID: PMC10565793 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x23007288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The aTfaRel2/faRel2 operon from Coprobacillus sp. D7 encodes a bicistronic type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) module. The FaRel2 toxin is a toxic small alarmone synthetase (toxSAS) that inhibits translation through the pyrophosphorylation of uncharged tRNAs at the 3'-CCA end. The toxin is neutralized by the antitoxin ATfaRel2 through the formation of an inactive TA complex. Here, the production, biophysical analysis and crystallization of ATfaRel2 and FaRel2 as well as of the ATfaRel2-FaRel2 complex are reported. ATfaRel2 is monomeric in solution. The antitoxin crystallized in space group P21212 with unit-cell parameters a = 53.3, b = 34.2, c = 37.6 Å, and the best crystal diffracted to a resolution of 1.24 Å. Crystals of FaRel2 in complex with APCPP, a nonhydrolysable ATP analogue, belonged to space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 31.5, b = 60.6, c = 177.2 Å, β = 90.6°, and diffracted to 2.6 Å resolution. The ATfaRel2-FaRel2Y128F complex forms a heterotetramer in solution composed of two toxins and two antitoxins. This complex crystallized in two space groups: F4132, with unit-cell parameters a = b = c = 227.1 Å, and P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 51.7, b = 106.2, c = 135.1 Å. The crystals diffracted to 1.98 and 2.1 Å resolution, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Dominguez-Molina
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, Building BC (1C4 203), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ariel Talavera
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, Building BC (1C4 203), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Albinas Cepauskas
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, Building BC (1C4 203), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Tatsuaki Kurata
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Dannele Echemendia-Blanco
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, Building BC (1C4 203), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- University of Tartu Institute of Technology, Tartu, Estonia
- Science for Life Laboratory, Lund, Sweden
| | - Abel Garcia-Pino
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe, Building BC (1C4 203), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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13
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Bonal M, Goetghebuer L, Joseph C, Gonze D, Faust K, George IF. Deciphering Interactions Within a 4-Strain Riverine Bacterial Community. Curr Microbiol 2023; 80:238. [PMID: 37294449 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-023-03342-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The dynamics of a community of four planktonic bacterial strains isolated from river water was followed in R2 broth for 72 h in batch experiments. These strains were identified as Janthinobacterium sp., Brevundimonas sp., Flavobacterium sp. and Variovorax sp. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and flow cytometry analyses were combined to monitor the change in abundance of each individual strain in bi-cultures and quadri-culture. Two interaction networks were constructed that summarize the impact of the strains on each other's growth rate in exponential phase and carrying capacity in stationary phase. The networks agree on the absence of positive interactions but also show differences, implying that ecological interactions can be specific to particular growth phases. Janthinobacterium sp. was the fastest growing strain and dominated the co-cultures. However, its growth rate was negatively affected by the presence of other strains 10 to 100 times less abundant than Janthinobacterium sp. In general, we saw a positive correlation between growth rate and carrying capacity in this system. In addition, growth rate in monoculture was predictive of carrying capacity in co-culture. Taken together, our results highlight the necessity to take growth phases into account when measuring interactions within a microbial community. In addition, evidence that a minor strain can greatly influence the dynamics of a dominant one underlines the necessity to choose population models that do not assume a linear dependency of interaction strength to abundance of other species for accurate parameterization from such empirical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Bonal
- Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Systems, Brussels Bioengineering School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratory of Molecular Bacteriology (Rega Institute), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000, Louvain, Belgium
| | - Lise Goetghebuer
- Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Systems, Brussels Bioengineering School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Clémence Joseph
- Laboratory of Molecular Bacteriology (Rega Institute), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000, Louvain, Belgium
| | - Didier Gonze
- Unit of Theoretical Chronobiology, Faculty of Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Karoline Faust
- Laboratory of Molecular Bacteriology (Rega Institute), Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000, Louvain, Belgium
| | - Isabelle F George
- Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Systems, Brussels Bioengineering School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
- Laboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
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Bauwens G, Gorska A, Purcaro G. The role of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in mineral oil determination. Anal Bioanal Chem 2023:10.1007/s00216-023-04718-3. [PMID: 37147559 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-023-04718-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) contain a wide structural diversity of molecules, for which the reference method of analysis is the online coupled liquid chromatography-gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (LC-GC-FID). These compounds are very heterogeneous from a toxicological viewpoint, and an accurate risk assessment when dealing with a MOH contamination can only be performed if sufficient information is available on the types of structures present (i.e., number of carbons, degree of alkylation, number of aromatic rings). Unfortunately, the separation performances of the current LC-GC-FID method are insufficient for such characterization, not even mentioning the possible coelution of interfering compounds which additionally hinder MOH determination. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC), while mostly used for confirmation purposes in the past, starts to prove its relevance for overcoming the weaknesses of the LC-GC method and reaching even better the analytical requirements defined in the latest EFSA opinion. The present paper therefore aims at highlighting how GC × GC has contributed to the understanding of the MOH topic, how it has developed to meet the requirements of MOH determination, and how it could play a role in the field for overcoming many of the current analytical and toxicological challenges related to the topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grégory Bauwens
- Analytical Chemistry Lab, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Bât. G1 Chimie Des Agro-Biosystèmes, Passage Des Déportés 2, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Aleksandra Gorska
- Analytical Chemistry Lab, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Bât. G1 Chimie Des Agro-Biosystèmes, Passage Des Déportés 2, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Giorgia Purcaro
- Analytical Chemistry Lab, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Bât. G1 Chimie Des Agro-Biosystèmes, Passage Des Déportés 2, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium.
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15
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Fischer V, Bennion RF, Foffa D, MacLaren JA, McCurry MR, Melstrom KM, Bardet N. Ecological signal in the size and shape of marine amniote teeth. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221214. [PMID: 36100016 PMCID: PMC9470252 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Amniotes have been a major component of marine trophic chains from the beginning of the Triassic to present day, with hundreds of species. However, inferences of their (palaeo)ecology have mostly been qualitative, making it difficult to track how dietary niches have changed through time and across clades. Here, we tackle this issue by applying a novel geometric morphometric protocol to three-dimensional models of tooth crowns across a wide range of raptorial marine amniotes. Our results highlight the phenomenon of dental simplification and widespread convergence in marine amniotes, limiting the range of tooth crown morphologies. Importantly, we quantitatively demonstrate that tooth crown shape and size are strongly associated with diet, whereas crown surface complexity is not. The maximal range of tooth shapes in both mammals and reptiles is seen in medium-sized taxa; large crowns are simple and restricted to a fraction of the morphospace. We recognize four principal raptorial guilds within toothed marine amniotes (durophages, generalists, flesh cutters and flesh piercers). Moreover, even though all these feeding guilds have been convergently colonized over the last 200 Myr, a series of dental morphologies are unique to the Mesozoic period, probably reflecting a distinct ecosystem structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Fischer
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Université de Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
| | - Rebecca F. Bennion
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Université de Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
- Palaeobiosphere Evolution, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Davide Foffa
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Jamie A. MacLaren
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Université de Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
- Functional Morphology Lab, Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen 2610, Belgium
| | - Matthew R. McCurry
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia
- Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES), University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales 2052, Australia
- Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Keegan M. Melstrom
- Engineering and Science Division, Rose State College, Midwest City, OK 73110, USA
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Nathalie Bardet
- CR2P, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie–Paris, CNRS-MNHN-SU, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 75005, France
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Giraud G, Sosa S, Hambuckers A, Deleuze S, Wandia IN, Huynen MC, Poncin P, Brotcorne F. Effect of Infant Presence on Social Networks of Sterilized and Intact Wild Female Balinese Macaques ( Macaca fascicularis). Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:2538. [PMID: 34573504 PMCID: PMC8466756 DOI: 10.3390/ani11092538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Contraception is increasingly used to control wild animal populations. However, as reproductive condition influences social interactions in primates, the absence of new offspring could influence the females' social integration. We studied two groups of wild macaques (Macaca fascicularis) including females recently sterilized in the Ubud Monkey Forest, Indonesia. We used social network analysis to examine female grooming and proximity networks and investigated the role of infant presence on social centrality and group connectivity, while controlling for the fertility status (sterilized N = 14, intact N = 34). We compared the ego networks of females experiencing different nursing conditions (young infant (YI) vs. old infant (OI) vs. non-nursing (NN) females). YI females were less central in the grooming network than other females while being more central in proximity networks, suggesting they could keep proximity within the group to protect their infant from hazards, while decreasing direct grooming interactions, involving potential risks such as kidnapping. The centrality of sterilized and intact females was similar, except for the proximity network where sterilized females had more partners and a better group connectivity. These results confirm the influence of nursing condition in female macaque social networks and did not show any negative short-term effects of sterilization on social integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwennan Giraud
- Research Unit SPHERES, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4020 Liège, Belgium; (A.H.); (M.-C.H.); (F.B.)
| | - Sebastian Sosa
- Department of Ecology, Physiology and Ethology, University of Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67200 Strasbourg, France;
| | - Alain Hambuckers
- Research Unit SPHERES, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4020 Liège, Belgium; (A.H.); (M.-C.H.); (F.B.)
| | - Stefan Deleuze
- Research Unit FARAH, Equine and Companion Animal Reproduction Pathologies Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart-Tilman, 4130 Liège, Belgium;
| | - I Nengah Wandia
- Primate Division of Natural Resources and Environment Research Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Udayana, Denpasar 80361, Bali, Indonesia;
| | - Marie-Claude Huynen
- Research Unit SPHERES, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4020 Liège, Belgium; (A.H.); (M.-C.H.); (F.B.)
| | - Pascal Poncin
- Research Unit FOCUS, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4020 Liège, Belgium;
| | - Fany Brotcorne
- Research Unit SPHERES, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4020 Liège, Belgium; (A.H.); (M.-C.H.); (F.B.)
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Gillis A, Hock L, Mahillon J. Comparative Genomics of Prophages Sato and Sole Expands the Genetic Diversity Found in the Genus Betatectivirus. Microorganisms 2021; 9:1335. [PMID: 34205474 PMCID: PMC8234876 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9061335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tectiviruses infecting the Bacillus cereus group represent part of the bacterial "plasmid repertoire" as they behave as linear plasmids during their lysogenic cycle. Several novel tectiviruses have been recently found infecting diverse strains belonging the B. cereus lineage. Here, we report and analyze the complete genome sequences of phages Sato and Sole. The linear dsDNA genome of Sato spans 14,852 bp with 32 coding DNA sequences (CDSs), whereas the one of Sole has 14,444 bp comprising 30 CDSs. Both phage genomes contain inverted terminal repeats and no tRNAs. Genomic comparisons and phylogenetic analyses placed these two phages within the genus Betatectivirus in the family Tectiviridae. Additional comparative genomic analyses indicated that the "gene regulation-genome replication" module of phages Sato and Sole is more diverse than previously observed among other fully sequenced betatectiviruses, displaying very low sequence similarities and containing some ORFans. Interestingly, the ssDNA binding protein encoded in this genomic module in phages Sato and Sole has very little amino acid similarity with those of reference betatectiviruses. Phylogenetic analyses showed that both Sato and Sole represent novel tectivirus species, thus we propose to include them as two novel species in the genus Betatectivirus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Gillis
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 2, L7.05.12, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
| | | | - Jacques Mahillon
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 2, L7.05.12, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
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El Khoury G, Penta M, Barbier O, Libouton X, Thonnard JL, Lefèvre P. Recognizing Manual Activities Using Wearable Inertial Measurement Units: Clinical Application for Outcome Measurement. Sensors (Basel) 2021; 21:3245. [PMID: 34067190 PMCID: PMC8125825 DOI: 10.3390/s21093245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The ability to monitor activities of daily living in the natural environments of patients could become a valuable tool for various clinical applications. In this paper, we show that a simple algorithm is capable of classifying manual activities of daily living (ADL) into categories using data from wrist- and finger-worn sensors. Six participants without pathology of the upper limb performed 14 ADL. Gyroscope signals were used to analyze the angular velocity pattern for each activity. The elaboration of the algorithm was based on the examination of the activity at the different levels (hand, fingers and wrist) and the relationship between them for the duration of the activity. A leave-one-out cross-validation was used to validate our algorithm. The algorithm allowed the classification of manual activities into five different categories through three consecutive steps, based on hands ratio (i.e., activity of one or both hands) and fingers-to-wrist ratio (i.e., finger movement independently of the wrist). On average, the algorithm made the correct classification in 87.4% of cases. The proposed algorithm has a high overall accuracy, yet its computational complexity is very low as it involves only averages and ratios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghady El Khoury
- Service d’Orthopédie et Traumatologie, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (O.B.); (X.L.)
- Institue of Neurosciences (IoNS), Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (M.P.); (J.-L.T.); (P.L.)
| | - Massimo Penta
- Institue of Neurosciences (IoNS), Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (M.P.); (J.-L.T.); (P.L.)
- Arsalis SPRL, Chemin du Moulin Delay 6, B-1473 Glabais, Belgium
| | - Olivier Barbier
- Service d’Orthopédie et Traumatologie, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (O.B.); (X.L.)
| | - Xavier Libouton
- Service d’Orthopédie et Traumatologie, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (O.B.); (X.L.)
| | - Jean-Louis Thonnard
- Institue of Neurosciences (IoNS), Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (M.P.); (J.-L.T.); (P.L.)
| | - Philippe Lefèvre
- Institue of Neurosciences (IoNS), Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; (M.P.); (J.-L.T.); (P.L.)
- Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics (ICTEAM), Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
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Van der Verren M, Smeets V, Vander Straeten A, Dupont-Gillain C, Debecker DP. Hybrid chemoenzymatic heterogeneous catalyst prepared in one step from zeolite nanocrystals and enzyme-polyelectrolyte complexes. Nanoscale Adv 2021; 3:1646-1655. [PMID: 36132563 PMCID: PMC9417918 DOI: 10.1039/d0na00834f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The combination of inorganic heterogeneous catalysts and enzymes, in so-called hybrid chemoenzymatic heterogeneous catalysts (HCEHCs), is an attractive strategy to effectively run chemoenzymatic reactions. Yet, the preparation of such bifunctional materials remains challenging because both the inorganic and the biological moieties must be integrated in the same solid, while preserving their intrinsic activity. Combining an enzyme and a zeolite, for example, is complicated because the pores of the zeolite are too small to accommodate the enzyme and a covalent anchorage on the surface is often ineffective. Herein, we developed a new pathway to prepare a nanostructured hybrid catalyst built from glucose oxidase and TS-1 zeolite. Such hybrid material can catalyse the in situ biocatalytic formation of H2O2, which is subsequently used by the zeolite to trigger the epoxidation of allylic alcohol. Starting from an enzymatic solution and a suspension of zeolite nanocrystals, the hybrid catalyst is obtained in one step, using a continuous spray drying method. While enzymes are expectedly unable to resist the conditions used in spray drying (temperature, shear stress, etc.), we leverage on the preparation of "enzyme-polyelectrolyte complexes" (EPCs) to increase the enzyme stability. Interestingly, the use of EPCs also prevents enzyme leaching and appears to stabilize the enzyme against pH changes. We show that the one-pot preparation by spray drying gives access to hybrid chemoenzymatic heterogeneous catalysts with unprecedented performance in the targeted chemoenzymatic reaction. The bifunctional catalyst performs much better than the two catalysts operating as separate entities. We anticipate that this strategy could be used as an adaptable method to prepare other types of multifunctional materials starting from a library of functional nanobuilding blocks and biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot Van der Verren
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, UCLouvain Place Louis Pasteur 1 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium
| | - Valentin Smeets
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, UCLouvain Place Louis Pasteur 1 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium
| | - Aurélien Vander Straeten
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, UCLouvain Place Louis Pasteur 1 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium
| | - Christine Dupont-Gillain
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, UCLouvain Place Louis Pasteur 1 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium
| | - Damien P Debecker
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, UCLouvain Place Louis Pasteur 1 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium
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Vercauteren R, Leprince A, Mahillon J, Francis LA. Porous Silicon Biosensor for the Detection of Bacteria through Their Lysate. Biosensors (Basel) 2021; 11:27. [PMID: 33498536 PMCID: PMC7909573 DOI: 10.3390/bios11020027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Porous silicon (PSi) has been widely used as a biosensor in recent years due to its large surface area and its optical properties. Most PSi biosensors consist in close-ended porous layers, and, because of the diffusion-limited infiltration of the analyte, they lack sensitivity and speed of response. In order to overcome these shortcomings, PSi membranes (PSiMs) have been fabricated using electrochemical etching and standard microfabrication techniques. In this work, PSiMs have been used for the optical detection of Bacillus cereus lysate. Before detection, the bacteria are selectively lysed by PlyB221, an endolysin encoded by the bacteriophage Deep-Blue targeting B. cereus. The detection relies on the infiltration of bacterial lysate inside the membrane, which induces a shift of the effective optical thickness. The biosensor was able to detect a B. cereus bacterial lysate, with an initial bacteria concentration of 105 colony forming units per mL (CFU/mL), in only 1 h. This proof-of-concept also illustrates the specificity of the lysis before detection. Not only does this detection platform enable the fast detection of bacteria, but the same technique can be extended to other bacteria using selective lysis, as demonstrated by the detection of Staphylococcus epidermidis, selectively lysed by lysostaphin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roselien Vercauteren
- Electrical Engineering Department, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies Electronics and Applied Mathematics, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
| | - Audrey Leprince
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (A.L.); (J.M.)
| | - Jacques Mahillon
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (A.L.); (J.M.)
| | - Laurent A. Francis
- Electrical Engineering Department, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies Electronics and Applied Mathematics, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
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Hossein A, Rabineau J, Gorlier D, Pinki F, van de Borne P, Nonclercq A, Migeotte PF. Effects of acquisition device, sampling rate, and record length on kinocardiography during position-induced haemodynamic changes. Biomed Eng Online 2021; 20:3. [PMID: 33407507 PMCID: PMC7788803 DOI: 10.1186/s12938-020-00837-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Kinocardiography (KCG) is a promising new technique used to monitor cardiac mechanical function remotely. KCG is based on ballistocardiography (BCG) and seismocardiography (SCG), and measures 12 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) of body motion produced by myocardial contraction and blood flow through the cardiac chambers and major vessels. RESULTS The integral of kinetic energy ([Formula: see text]) obtained from the linear and rotational SCG/BCG signals was computed over each dimension over the cardiac cycle, and used as a marker of cardiac mechanical function. We tested the hypotheses that KCG metrics can be acquired using different sensors, and at 50 Hz. We also tested the effect of record length on the ensemble average on which the metrics were computed. Twelve healthy males were tested in the supine, head-down tilt, and head-up tilt positions to expand the haemodynamic states on which the validation was performed. CONCLUSIONS KCG metrics computed on 50 Hz and 1 kHz SCG/BCG signals were very similar. Most of the metrics were highly similar when computed on different sensors, and with less than 5% of error when computed on record length longer than 60 s. These results suggest that KCG may be a robust and non-invasive method to monitor cardiac inotropic activity. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03107351. Registered 11 April 2017, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03107351?term=NCT03107351&draw=2&rank=1 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Amin Hossein
- LPHYS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
- BEAMS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
| | | | | | - Farhana Pinki
- LPHYS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Philippe van de Borne
- Department of Cardiology, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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Marlier Q, D'aes T, Verteneuil S, Vandenbosch R, Malgrange B. Core cell cycle machinery is crucially involved in both life and death of post-mitotic neurons. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 77:4553-4571. [PMID: 32476056 PMCID: PMC11105064 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03548-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A persistent dogma in neuroscience supported the idea that terminally differentiated neurons permanently withdraw from the cell cycle. However, since the late 1990s, several studies have shown that cell cycle proteins are expressed in post-mitotic neurons under physiological conditions, indicating that the cell cycle machinery is not restricted to proliferating cells. Moreover, many studies have highlighted a clear link between cell cycle-related proteins and neurological disorders, particularly relating to apoptosis-induced neuronal death. Indeed, cell cycle-related proteins can be upregulated or overactivated in post-mitotic neurons in case of acute or degenerative central nervous system disease. Given the considerable lack of effective treatments for age-related neurological disorders, new therapeutic approaches targeting the cell cycle machinery might thus be considered. This review aims at summarizing current knowledge about the role of the cell cycle machinery in post-mitotic neurons in healthy and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Marlier
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, GIGA Stem Cells/Neurosciences, University of Liège, Quartier Hopital (CHU), Avenue Hippocrate, 15, 4000, Liege, Belgium
| | - Tine D'aes
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, GIGA Stem Cells/Neurosciences, University of Liège, Quartier Hopital (CHU), Avenue Hippocrate, 15, 4000, Liege, Belgium
| | - Sébastien Verteneuil
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, GIGA Stem Cells/Neurosciences, University of Liège, Quartier Hopital (CHU), Avenue Hippocrate, 15, 4000, Liege, Belgium
| | - Renaud Vandenbosch
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, GIGA Stem Cells/Neurosciences, University of Liège, Quartier Hopital (CHU), Avenue Hippocrate, 15, 4000, Liege, Belgium
| | - Brigitte Malgrange
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, GIGA Stem Cells/Neurosciences, University of Liège, Quartier Hopital (CHU), Avenue Hippocrate, 15, 4000, Liege, Belgium.
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Lehue M, Detrain C, Collignon B. Nest Entrances, Spatial Fidelity, and Foraging Patterns in the Red Ant Myrmica rubra: A Field and Theoretical Study. Insects 2020; 11:E317. [PMID: 32455587 PMCID: PMC7290572 DOI: 10.3390/insects11050317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The nest architecture of social insects deeply impacts the spatial distribution of nestmates their interactions, information exchanges and collective responses. In particular, the number of nest entrances can influence the interactions taking place beyond the nest boundaries and the emergence of collective structures like foraging trails. Here, we investigated in the field how the number of nest entrances impacted the foraging dynamics of Myrmica rubra ant colonies. We located the nest entrances where recruitment occurred towards sugar feeders placed in their surroundings. The nests showed one or multiple entrance(s) aggregated in clusters spaced by at least 15 cm. Foragers from colonies with two clusters of entrances were distributed more homogeneously among the feeders than those of colonies with one cluster. In addition, foragers always returned to the first discovered feeder and demonstrated a high fidelity to their original entrance. Finally, a multi-agent model highlighted that additional entrances and clusters of entrances delayed the mobilisation of workers but favoured the simultaneous exploitation of several sources, which was further enhanced by the spatial fidelity of foragers. Multiple nest entrances seem to be a way for medium-sized colonies to benefit from advantages conferred by polydomy while avoiding associated costs to maintain social cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Lehue
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Claire Detrain
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bertrand Collignon
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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24
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Abstract
Insect societies have developed sanitary strategies, one of which is the avoidance of infectious food resources as a primary line of defence. Using binary choices, we investigated whether Myrmica rubra ants can identify prey that has been artificially infected with the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium brunneum. We compared the ants' foraging behaviour towards infected prey at three different stages of fungus development: (i) prey covered with fungal conidia, (ii) prey freshly killed by the fungus and (iii) sporulating prey. Most foragers retrieved a corpse covered with a high number of spores but they consistently avoided a sporulating prey and collected less prey that had recently died from fungal infection. Furthermore, ant responses were highly variable, with some individuals retrieving the first prey they encountered while others inspected both available prey before making a decision. Workers were not repelled by the simple presence of fungal conidia but nevertheless, they avoided retrieving cadavers at later stages of fungal infection. We discuss how these different avoidance responses could be related to: differences in the ants' perceptive abilities; physico-chemical cues characterizing fungus-infected prey or in the existence of physiological or behavioural defences that limit sanitary risks associated with potentially contaminated resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Pereira
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 231, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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25
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Lehue M, Collignon B, Detrain C. Multiple nest entrances alter foraging and information transfer in ants. R Soc Open Sci 2020; 7:191330. [PMID: 32257309 PMCID: PMC7062076 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The ecological success of ants relies on their ability to discover and collectively exploit available resources. In this process, the nest entrances are key locations at which foragers transfer food and information about the surrounding environment. We assume that the number of nest entrances regulates social exchanges between foragers and inner-nest workers, and hence influences the foraging efficiency of the whole colony. Here, we compared the foraging responses of Myrmica rubra colonies settled in either one-entrance or two-entrance nests. The total outflows of workers exploiting a sucrose food source were similar regardless of the number of nest entrances. However, in the two-entrance nests, the launching of recruitment was delayed, a pheromone trail was less likely to emerge between the nest and the food source, and recruits were less likely to reach the food target. As a result, an additional entrance through which information could transit decreased the efficiency of social foraging and ultimately led to a lower amount of retrieved food. Our study confirms the key-role of nest entrances in the transfer of information from foragers to potential recruits. The influence of the number of entrances on the emergence of a collective trail also highlights the spatially extended impact of the nest architecture that can shape foraging patterns outside the nest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Lehue
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Bertrand Collignon
- Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Aboubakar Nana F, Vanderputten M, Ocak S. Role of Focal Adhesion Kinase in Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Its Potential as a Therapeutic Target. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:E1683. [PMID: 31671774 PMCID: PMC6895835 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11111683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents 15% of all lung cancers and it is clinically the most aggressive type, being characterized by a tendency for early metastasis, with two-thirds of the patients diagnosed with an extensive stage (ES) disease and a five-year overall survival (OS) as low as 5%. There are still no effective targeted therapies in SCLC despite improved understanding of the molecular steps leading to SCLC development and progression these last years. After four decades, the only modest improvement in OS of patients suffering from ES-SCLC has recently been shown in a trial combining atezolizumab, an anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, with carboplatin and etoposide, chemotherapy agents. This highlights the need to pursue research efforts in this field. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed and activated in several cancers, including SCLC, and contributing to cancer progression and metastasis through its important role in cell proliferation, survival, adhesion, spreading, migration, and invasion. FAK also plays a role in tumor immune evasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, DNA damage repair, radioresistance, and regulation of cancer stem cells. FAK is of particular interest in SCLC, being known for its aggressiveness. The inhibition of FAK in SCLC cell lines demonstrated significative decrease in cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In this review, we will focus on the role of FAK in cancer cells and their microenvironment, and its potential as a therapeutic target in SCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Aboubakar Nana
- Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Pôle de Pneumologie, ORL et Dermatologie (PNEU), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
- Division of Pneumology, Cliniques Universitaires St-Luc, UCL, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Marie Vanderputten
- Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Pôle de Pneumologie, ORL et Dermatologie (PNEU), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Sebahat Ocak
- Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Pôle de Pneumologie, ORL et Dermatologie (PNEU), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
- Division of Pneumology, CHU UCL Namur (Godinne Site), UCL, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium.
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Pizzuto M, Lonez C, Baroja-Mazo A, Martínez-Banaclocha H, Tourlomousis P, Gangloff M, Pelegrin P, Ruysschaert JM, Gay NJ, Bryant CE. Saturation of acyl chains converts cardiolipin from an antagonist to an activator of Toll-like receptor-4. Cell Mol Life Sci 2019; 76:3667-3678. [PMID: 31062071 PMCID: PMC6697720 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03113-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Cardiolipins (CLs) are tetra-acylated diphosphatidylglycerols found in bacteria, yeast, plants, and animals. In healthy mammals, CLs are unsaturated, whereas saturated CLs are found in blood cells from Barth syndrome patients and in some Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we show that unsaturated but not saturated CLs block LPS-induced NF-κB activation, TNF-α and IP-10 secretion in human and murine macrophages, as well as LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-1β release in human blood mononuclear cells. Using HEK293 cells transfected with Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its co-receptor Myeloid Differentiation 2 (MD2), we demonstrate that unsaturated CLs compete with LPS for binding TLR4/MD2 preventing its activation, whereas saturated CLs are TLR4/MD2 agonists. As a consequence, saturated CLs induce a pro-inflammatory response in macrophages characterized by TNF-α and IP-10 secretion, and activate the alternative NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in human blood-derived monocytes. Thus, we identify that double bonds discriminate between anti- and pro-inflammatory properties of tetra-acylated molecules, providing a rationale for the development of TLR4 activators and inhibitors for use as vaccine adjuvants or in the treatment of TLR4-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malvina Pizzuto
- Structure and Function of Biological Membranes, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Blvd du Triomphe Access 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK.
- Molecular Inflammation Group, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia IMIB-Arrixaca, Clinical University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Carretera Buenavista s/n, 30120, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Caroline Lonez
- Structure and Function of Biological Membranes, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Blvd du Triomphe Access 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Alberto Baroja-Mazo
- Molecular Inflammation Group, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia IMIB-Arrixaca, Clinical University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Carretera Buenavista s/n, 30120, Murcia, Spain
| | - Helios Martínez-Banaclocha
- Molecular Inflammation Group, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia IMIB-Arrixaca, Clinical University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Carretera Buenavista s/n, 30120, Murcia, Spain
| | - Panagiotis Tourlomousis
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Monique Gangloff
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Pablo Pelegrin
- Molecular Inflammation Group, Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia IMIB-Arrixaca, Clinical University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Carretera Buenavista s/n, 30120, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jean-Marie Ruysschaert
- Structure and Function of Biological Membranes, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Blvd du Triomphe Access 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nicholas J Gay
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Clare E Bryant
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
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Leclerc JB, Pinto Silva J, Detrain C. Impact of soil contamination on the growth and shape of ant nests. R Soc Open Sci 2018; 5:180267. [PMID: 30109082 PMCID: PMC6083733 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.180267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
As entomopathogens are detrimental to the development or even survival of insect societies, ant colonies should avoid digging into a substrate that is contaminated by fungal spores. Here, we test the hypotheses that Myrmica rubra ant workers (i) detect and avoid fungus-infected substrates and (ii) excavate nest patterns that minimize their exposure to entomopathogenic spores. Small groups of M. rubra workers were allowed to dig their nest in a two-dimensional sand plate of which one half of the substrate contained fungal spores of Metarhizium brunneum, while the other half was spore-free. We found that the overall digging dynamics of M. rubra nests was not altered by the presence of fungus spores. By contrast, the shape of the excavated areas markedly differed: control nests showed rather isotropic patterns, whereas nests that were partially dug into a fungus-contaminated substrate markedly deviated from a circular shape. This demonstrates that the sanitary risks associated with a digging substrate are key factors in nest morphogenesis. We also found that M. rubra colonies were able to discriminate between the two substrates (fungus-infected or not). Furthermore, some colonies unexpectedly showed a high consistency in excavating mainly the infected substrate. This seemingly suboptimal preference for a contaminated soil suggests that non-lethal doses of fungal spores could help ant colonies to trigger 'immune priming'. The presence of fungi may also indicate favourable ecological conditions, such as humid and humus-rich soil, that ants use as a cue for selecting suitable nesting sites.
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Abstract
Learning, defined as a change in behaviour evoked by experience, has hitherto been investigated almost exclusively in multicellular neural organisms. Evidence for learning in non-neural multicellular organisms is scant, and only a few unequivocal reports of learning have been described in single-celled organisms. Here we demonstrate habituation, an unmistakable form of learning, in the non-neural organism Physarum polycephalum In our experiment, using chemotaxis as the behavioural output and quinine or caffeine as the stimulus, we showed that P. polycephalum learnt to ignore quinine or caffeine when the stimuli were repeated, but responded again when the stimulus was withheld for a certain time. Our results meet the principle criteria that have been used to demonstrate habituation: responsiveness decline and spontaneous recovery. To distinguish habituation from sensory adaptation or motor fatigue, we also show stimulus specificity. Our results point to the diversity of organisms lacking neurons, which likely display a hitherto unrecognized capacity for learning, and suggest that slime moulds may be an ideal model system in which to investigate fundamental mechanisms underlying learning processes. Besides, documenting learning in non-neural organisms such as slime moulds is centrally important to a comprehensive, phylogenetic understanding of when and where in the tree of life the earliest manifestations of learning evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain P Boisseau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75005 Paris, France
| | - David Vogel
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France Unit of Social Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Bruxelles, France
| | - Audrey Dussutour
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France
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