Early-life glucocorticoids accelerate lymphocyte count senescence in roe deer.

Immunosenescence corresponds to the progressive decline of immune functions with increasing age. Although it is critical to understand what modulates such a decline, the ecological and physiological drivers of immunosenescence remain poorly understood in the wild. Among them, the level of glucocorticoids (GCs) during early life are good candidates to modulate immunosenescence patterns because these hormones can have long-term consequences on individual physiology.

Salivary corticosterone reflects plasmatic levels in a wild seabird.

Wild animals have been increasingly exposed to a wide range of stressors, mainly due to the intensification of human activities and habitat modifications. Consequently, new tools in order to assess the physiological and health status of wild animals have been developed. In particular, glucocorticoids have received a special attention.

The effect of environmental pollution on gene expression of seabirds: A review.

One of the biggest challenges for ecotoxicologists is to detect harmful effects of contaminants on individual organisms before they have caused significant harm to natural populations. One possible approach for discovering sub-lethal, negative health effects of pollutants is to study gene expression, to identify metabolic pathways and physiological processes affected by contaminants. Seabirds are essential components of ecosystems but highly threatened by environmental changes.

Instability of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites at 4°C: Time to freeze matters.

The use of fecal corticosteroid metabolites (FCMs) has proven to be well suited to evaluate adrenocortical activity, a major component of the stress response, particularly in wildlife. As with any tools, confounding factors and drawbacks must be carefully considered. Among them, sample preservation and storage are of particular importance, as they can affect stability of FCMs and lead to biased results and interpretations.

Age and spatio-temporal variations in food resources modulate stress-immunity relationships in three populations of wild roe deer.

Living in variable and unpredictable environments, organisms face recurrent stressful situations. The endocrine stress response, which includes the secretion of glucocorticoids, helps organisms to cope with these perturbations. Although short-term elevations of glucocorticoid levels are often associated with immediate beneficial consequences for individuals, long-term glucocorticoid elevation can compromise key physiological functions such as immunity.

Covariation between glucocorticoids, behaviour and immunity supports the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis: an experimental approach.

The biomedical literature has consistently highlighted that long-term elevation of glucocorticoids might impair immune functions. However, patterns are less clear in wild animals. Here, we re-explored the stress-immunity relationship considering the potential effects of behavioural profiles.

Short-term telomere dynamics is associated with glucocorticoid levels in wild populations of roe deer.

While evidence that telomere length is associated with health and mortality in humans and birds is accumulating, a large body of research is currently seeking to identify factors that modulate telomere dynamics. We tested the hypothesis that high levels of glucocorticoids in individuals under environmental stress should accelerate telomere shortening in two wild populations of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) living in different ecological contexts. From two consecutive annual sampling sessions, we found that individuals with faster rates of telomere shortening had higher concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites, suggesting a functional link between glucocorticoid levels and telomere attrition rate.

Under cover of the night: context-dependency of anthropogenic disturbance on stress levels of wild roe deer .

Wildlife populations are increasingly exposed to human-induced modifications of their habitats. To cope with anthropogenic stressors, animals can adjust their behaviour-for example, by shifting their activity to more sheltered habitats, or becoming more nocturnal. However, whether use of spatial and temporal adjustments in behaviour may regulate the endocrine response is poorly documented.

Does body growth impair immune function in a large herbivore?

According to the principle of allocation, trade-offs are inevitable when resources allocated to one biological function are no longer available for other functions. Growth, and to a lesser extent, immunity are energetically costly functions that may compete with allocation to reproductive success and survival. However, whether high allocation to growth impairs immune system development during the growing period or immune system performance during adulthood is currently unknown in wild mammals.

Quality of follow-up of women with high grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion (HGSIL) cervical smears: results from a population-based organised screening programme.

Objective: After a HGSIL cervical smear, to appraise the diagnostic and treatment modalities by comparing with national recommendations.

Study Design: A clinical audit concerning 444 women with a HGSIL cervical smear, within the first 3 years of the programme.

Results: Among the 413 women followed-up (98%), the colposcopy rate reached 71% at 3 months and 81% at 1 year.

Persistence and load of high-risk HPV are predictors for development of high-grade cervical lesions: a longitudinal French cohort study.

Oncogenic HPV types are the major cause of worldwide cervical cancer, but only a small proportion of infected women will develop high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cancer (CIN2/3+). We performed a prospective study including 781 women with normal, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LGSIL) cytology, and infected or not by high-risk (HR) HPV tested by Hybrid Capture II. Women were followed up every 6 months for a median period of 22 months.

Giant intraosseous cyst-like lesions in rheumatoid arthritis report of a case.

The term "intraosseous synovial cyst" is used to designate both the epiphyseal cyst-like lesions seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and mucoid cysts, which occur in a different setting. We report the case of a patient in whom a 4-cm cyst-like lesion developed in the left tibia 18 years after onset of RA and 6 years after osmic acid synovectomy of the left knee. Positive contrast arthrography and magnetic resonance imaging visualized a communication between the lesion and the joint space.

[Extra neural perineurioma: an unusal renal tumor].

Neoplasia composed of perineurial cells include intraneural and extraneural perineurioma. The latter is a rare tumor often observed in cutaneous tissue. We report a case of extraneural perineurioma developed at the upper pole of the left kidney and found during the assessment of a repetitive urinary tract infection in a 26 years old man.

The STRO-1+ marrow cell population is multipotential.

Human marrow-derived STRO-1+ cells were tested for their ability to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal phenotypes. STRO-1+ cells were isolated from long-term cultures of human marrow cells by magnetic immunobeads linked to the antibody STRO-1. Stromal layers generated from STRO-1+ cells, when cocultured without exogenous cytokines for several weeks with CD34+/CD38+ and CD34+/CD38low cells, were able to induce a 10- to 20-fold increase in colony-forming units, and to sustain cobblestone area colony-forming cells with a distinct time course for the different hematopoietic precursors.

Influence of cigarette smoking on P53 gene mutations in bladder carcinomas.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of cigarette smoking on bladder carcinomas.

Patients And Methods: 98 cases of bladder cancers were examined by single strand conformation polymorphism analysis of exons 5 to 9, followed by DNA direct sequencing.

Results: The incidence of p53 gene mutations was not significantly influenced by habitual smoking.

Pattern of chromosomal imbalances in non-B virus related hepatocellular carcinoma detected by comparative genomic hybridization.

Only limited data are available on comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). They concern mainly B virus related HCC. Therefore, we used CGH to detect chromosomal imbalances in 16 non-B virus related HCC in alcoholic cirrhosis in 7 cases (HA1 to HA7), in C virus cirrhosis in 7 cases (HC1 to HC7), in non-cirrhotic liver in 2 cases (NC1, NC2), and in 9 non-malignant cirrhotic tissues.

Treatment of mild chronic hepatitis C with interferon alpha-2b: results of a multi-centre randomized study in 80 patients.

Objective: The natural history of mild chronic hepatitis C is not well-known and the benefit of treating this form of the disease is not well-defined. We conducted a pilot study to answer this question.

Design: Mild chronic hepatitis C was defined by positivity for anti-HCV antibodies, detectable serum HCV RNA by PCR, and a Knodell score < or = 5 on a liver biopsy performed within the previous 6 months.

Cervical cancer screening in France.

In France, as in other European countries the incidence and mortality rates of carcinoma of the cervix uteri indicate a clear decrease in invasive cancers. Opportunistic screening has spread and, presently, approximately 60% of the female population undergo a regular cytological test. This rate increases up to 80% in the younger age groups and decreases to 20% after the age of 60 years.

[Solid cell nests and thyroid pathologies. Retrospective study of 1,390 thyroids].

Solid Cell Nests (SCN) of the thyroid gland were considered as embryonic remnants or as squamous metaplasia of follicular epithelium. In a retrospective study of 1 390 thyroids, SCN were found in 9.7 % of thyroids (16 % men and 8 % women, chi(2) : p <0, 01).

Ultrastructural features of "solid cell nest" of the human thyroid gland: a study of 8 cases.

The ultrastructural features of solid cell nests (SCN), made of squamous cells, and associated calcitonin cells (C cells), of the thyroid gland were studied in only a few cases in humans. A study was performed on 8 paraffin-embedded SCN, postembedded in Epon, to look for their ultrastructural features. Immunohistochemical analysis using calcitonin antibody was performed on semithin sections of SCN to explore the presence of C cells.

[Value of histologic examination of the interamniotic membrane in the twin placenta for confirmation of chorionicity diagnosis].

The interest of twin chorionocity and zygosity diagnosis is unquestioned. Indeed, in many medical situations, the knowledge of zygosity is an important fact for management of twins. Prenatal echographia is not a perfect tool to characterize chorionicity, and so postnatal examination of the placenta is always necessary.

[Participation of women in cervical cancer screening. Results of the first 5 years of a pilot program in the province of Doubs].

Objective: To analyze women participation and test results during the 1993 to 1997 screening cycle.

Methods: The program was managed by a multidisciplinary health professional committee who determined the screening policy according to the recommendations of the French consensus (Lille 1990). All smears and cervical histological tests taken from women living in the area were collected by centralizing data from cytopathological laboratories.