Bamboo Plantations for Phytoremediation of Pig Slurry: Plant Response and Nutrient Uptake.

On Réunion Island, a French overseas territory located in the western Indian Ocean, increasing pig livestock farming is generating large quantities of slurry. Most of it is spread on a little agricultural land due to the insular context. Considering the limitation of the quantities that can be spread on agricultural areas (European "Nitrate Directive" 91/676/EEC), the use of wastewater treatment systems using phytoremediation principles is an attractive option for the pig slurry treatment.

TIF1γ Suppresses Tumor Progression by Regulating Mitotic Checkpoints and Chromosomal Stability.

The transcription accessory factor TIF1γ/TRIM33/RFG7/PTC7/Ectodermin functions as a tumor suppressor that promotes development and cellular differentiation. However, its precise function in cancer has been elusive. In the present study, we report that TIF1γ inactivation causes cells to accumulate chromosomal defects, a hallmark of cancer, due to attenuations in the spindle assembly checkpoint and the post-mitotic checkpoint.

Effects of high nutrient supply on the growth of seven bamboo species.

Over the last decade, bamboo has emerged as an interesting plant for the treatment of various polluted waters using plant-based wastewater treatment systems. In these systems, nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in wastewater can exceed plant requirements and potentially limit plant growth. The effects of two nutrient rates on the growth of seven bamboo species were assessed in a one-year experiment: Dendrocalamus strictus, Thyrsostachys siamensis, Bambusa tuldoides, Gigantochloa wrayi, Bambusa oldhamii, Bambusa multiplex and Bambusa vulgaris.

Lysyl oxidase activity regulates oncogenic stress response and tumorigenesis.

Cellular senescence, a stable proliferation arrest, is induced in response to various stresses. Oncogenic stress-induced senescence (OIS) results in blocked proliferation and constitutes a fail-safe program counteracting tumorigenesis. The events that enable a tumor in a benign senescent state to escape from OIS and become malignant are largely unknown.

Tif1γ suppresses murine pancreatic tumoral transformation by a Smad4-independent pathway.

Transcriptional intermediary factor 1γ (TIF1γ; alias, TRIM33/RFG7/PTC7/ectodermin) belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of nuclear factors that have been implicated in stem cell pluripotency, embryonic development, and tumor suppression. TIF1γ expression is markedly down-regulated in human pancreatic tumors, and Pdx1-driven Tif1γ inactivation cooperates with the Kras(G12D) oncogene in the mouse pancreas to induce intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms. In this study, we report that aged Pdx1-Cre; LSL-Kras(G12D); Tif1γ(lox/lox) mice develop pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), an aggressive and always fatal neoplasm, demonstrating a Tif1γ tumor-suppressive function in the development of pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Inactivation of TIF1gamma cooperates with Kras to induce cystic tumors of the pancreas.

Inactivation of the Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFbeta) tumor suppressor pathway contributes to the progression of Pancreatic Ductal AdenoCarcinoma (PDAC) since it is inactivated in virtually all cases of this malignancy. Genetic lesions inactivating this pathway contribute to pancreatic tumor progression in mouse models. Transcriptional Intermediary Factor 1 gamma (TIF1gamma) has recently been proposed to be involved in TGFbeta signaling, functioning as either a positive or negative regulator of the pathway.

Characterization of the behavior of functional viral genomes during the early steps of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection.

Infectious viral DNA constitutes only a small fraction of the total viral DNA produced during retroviral infection, and as such its exact behavior is largely unknown. In the present study, we characterized in detail functional viral DNA produced during the early steps of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection by analyzing systematically their kinetics of synthesis and integration in different target cells. In addition, we have compared the functional stability of viral nucleoprotein complexes arrested at their pre-reverse transcription state, and we have attempted to measure the kinetics of loss of capsid proteins from viral complexes through the susceptibility of the early phases of infection to cyclosporine, a known inhibitor of the interaction between viral capsid and cyclophilin A.

Regulatory T cells recruited through CCL22/CCR4 are selectively activated in lymphoid infiltrates surrounding primary breast tumors and lead to an adverse clinical outcome.

Immunohistochemical analysis of FOXP3 in primary breast tumors showed that a high number of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells (Ti-Treg) within lymphoid infiltrates surrounding the tumor was predictive of relapse and death, in contrast to those present within the tumor bed. Ex vivo analysis showed that these tumor-infiltrating FOXP3(+) T cells are typical Treg based on their CD4(+)CD25(high)CD127(low)FOXP3(+) phenotype, their anergic state on in vitro stimulation, and their suppressive functions. These Ti-Treg could be selectively recruited through CCR4 as illustrated by (a) selective blood Treg CCR4 expression and migration to CCR4 ligands, (b) CCR4 down-regulation on Ti-Treg, and (c) correlation between Ti-Treg in lymphoid infiltrates and intratumoral CCL22 expression.

Characterization of simian immunodeficiency virus SIVSM/human immunodeficiency virus type 2 Vpx function in human myeloid cells.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2)/simian immunodeficiency virus SIV(SM) Vpx is incorporated into virion particles and is thus present during the early steps of infection, when it has been reported to influence the nuclear import of viral DNA. We recently reported that Vpx promoted the accumulation of full-length viral DNA following the infection of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). This positive effect was exerted following the infection of DCs with cognate viruses and with retroviruses as divergent as HIV-1, feline immunodeficiency virus, and even murine leukemia virus, leading us to suggest that Vpx counteracted an antiviral restriction present in DCs.

Characterization of the early steps of infection of primary blood monocytes by human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

Blood-circulating monocytes migrate in tissues in response to danger stimuli and differentiate there into two major actors of the immune system: macrophages and dendritic cells. Given their migratory behavior and their pivotal role in the orchestration of immune responses, it is not surprising that cells of the monocyte lineage are the target of several viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). HIV-1 replicates in monocytoid cells to an extent that is influenced by their differentiation status and modulated by exogenous stimulations.