[Dental pulp stem cells: characteristics, cryopreservation and therapeutic potentialities].

Stem cells discovery and their potential have led to the emergence of new forms of therapy with the development of bio-engineering cell and tissue methods underlying future medicine. The availability of stem cells and their preservation thus become an issue for everyone's health. Among the different sources of stem cells, those in the dental pulp have the advantage of being pluripotent, they can be cryopreserved and stored for long periods without losing their multiplication and differentiation capacities and finally they are easily accessible.

A mixture of odorant molecules potentially indicating oestrus in mammals elicits penile erections in male rats.

A common set of odorous molecules may indicate female receptiveness across species, as male rats display sexual arousal when exposed to the odour of oestrous faeces from rats, vixens and mares. More than 900 different compounds were identified by GC-MS analyses performed on faeces samples from di-oestrous and oestrous females and from males of the three species. Five carboxylic acids were found in lower concentrations in faeces from all oestrous females.

Morphological responses and molecular modifications in tomato plants after mechanical stimulation.

Study of the growth responses of Lycopersicon esculentum (Mill. cv. VFN8) to mechanical stimulation applied to a single young internode showed a rapid and sharp decrease in stem elongation and an inhibition of elongation of several internodes, indicative of information transmission in the plant.

Effects of a mechanical stimulation of localization of annexin-like proteins in Bryonia dioica internodes.

Mechanical stimulation exerted by rubbing a young internode of Bryonia dioica plants inhibits its growth. Previous cellular and biochemical studies showed that this growth inhibition is associated with Ca(2+) redistribution and profound modifications of plasma membrane characteristics. We extracted and purified Ca(2+)-dependent phospholipid-binding proteins from B.

Changes in plasma membrane fluidity of Bryonia dioica internodes during thigmomorphogenesis.

Fluidity changes in plasma membrane (PM) lipid extracts or native membranes isolated from Bryonia dioica internodes after a mechanical stimulation were monitored by steady-state fluorescence polarization with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as a probe. The signal was shown to rapidly induce an increase in the bulk lipid fluidity. This event was closely related to a relative enrichment in some phospholipid species (PC, PG and PS) as well as a significant increase in the unsaturation index of total fatty acyl chains.