Standardized Reasons for Consultations on a French Telemedicine Platform.

Thirteen standardized reasons for e-visits were implemented in March 2024 on a French telemedicine platform to improve the analysis of needs in telemedicine, educate patients on what is possible in e-visit and adapt the offer. Patients could select 1 to 3 reasons for consultations among a list of 13 reasons. Our aim was to evaluate their impact on use of e-visits.

Estetrol/GPER/SERPINB2 transduction signaling inhibits the motility of triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Background: Estetrol (E4) is a natural estrogen produced by the fetal liver during pregnancy. Due to its favorable safety profile, E4 was recently approved as estrogenic component of a new combined oral contraceptive. E4 is a selective ligand of estrogen receptor (ER)α and ERβ, but its binding to the G Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor (GPER) has not been described to date.

Evaluating the toxicity of estetrol, 17α-ethinylestradiol, and their combination with drospirenone on zebrafish larvae: A behavioural and proteomic study.

Objective: To characterise and compare the toxicity of estetrol (E4) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and their respective mixture with the progestin drospirenone (DRSP) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.

Methods: Zebrafish embryos were exposed to E4, EE2, DRSP, E4+DRSP, and EE2+DRSP in a fish embryo acute toxicity (FET) test. A second test examined behavioural responses and, using label-free proteomics, identified changes in protein expression in response to hormonal treatments, across a range of concentrations, including those that are considered to be environmentally relevant.

Estetrol/drospirenone versus 17α-ethinylestradiol/drospirenone: An extended one generation test to evaluate the endocrine disruption potential on zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Combined oral contraceptives, comprising of both an oestrogen and a progestin component, are released in aquatic environments and potentially pose a risk to aquatic wildlife by their capacity to disrupt physiological mechanisms. In this study, the endocrine disruptive potential of two mixtures, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic oestrogen, or estetrol (E4), a natural oestrogen, with the progestin drospirenone (DRSP) have been characterised in three generations of zebrafish, according to an adapted Medaka Extended One Generation Reproduction Test. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to a range of concentrations of EE2/DRSP and E4/DRSP (∼1×, ∼3×, ∼10× and ∼30× predicted environmental concentration, PEC).

Estetrol: From Preclinical to Clinical Pharmacology and Advances in the Understanding of the Molecular Mechanism of Action.

Estetrol (E4) is the most recently described natural estrogen. It is produced by the human fetal liver during pregnancy and its physiological function remains unclear. E4 is the estrogenic component of a recently approved combined oral contraceptive.

Estetrol has a lower impact than 17α-ethinylestradiol on the reproductive capacity of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Natural and synthetic oestrogens are commonly found in aquatic ecosystems. The synthetic oestrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is widely used in oral contraceptives and its ecotoxicological effects on aquatic organisms have been widely reported. The natural oestrogen estetrol (E4) was recently approved for use in a new combined oral contraceptive and, after therapeutic use, is likely to be found in the aquatic environment.

Microbe-mediated intestinal NOD2 stimulation improves linear growth of undernourished infant mice.

The intestinal microbiota is known to influence postnatal growth. We previously found that a strain of (strain Lp) buffers the adverse effects of chronic undernutrition on the growth of juvenile germ-free mice. Here, we report that Lp sustains the postnatal growth of malnourished conventional animals and supports both insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin production and activity.

Profile of estetrol, a promising native estrogen for oral contraception and the relief of climacteric symptoms of menopause.

Introduction: Estrogens used in women's healthcare have been associated with increased risks of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and breast cancer. Estetrol (E4), an estrogen produced by the human fetal liver, has recently been approved for the first time as a new estrogenic component of a novel combined oral contraceptive (E4/drospirenone [DRSP]) for over a decade. In phase 3 studies, E4/DRSP showed good contraceptive efficacy, a predictable bleeding pattern, and a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

Metformin treatment for 8 days impacts multiple intestinal parameters in high-fat high-sucrose fed mice.

Although the mechanism of action of the antidiabetic drug metformin is still a matter of discussions, it is well accepted that the gut plays an important role. To gain more insights into the mechanisms occurring in the different regions of the intestine, adult male mice were fed a high-fat-high sucrose (HFS) diet for 8 days and treated with metformin by gavage (300 mg/day/kg body weight) during the HFS diet. Metformin counteracted HFS diet-induced overexpression of a network of genes involved in the transport of glucose and fatty acids in the different regions of the small intestine.

Three-dimensional growth of breast cancer cells potentiates the anti-tumor effects of unacylated ghrelin and AZP-531.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women and notwithstanding important therapeutic advances, remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite extensive research relating to the hormone ghrelin, responsible for the stimulation of growth hormone release and appetite, little is known of the effects of its unacylated form, especially in cancer. The present study aimed to characterize effects of unacylated ghrelin on breast cancer cells, define its mechanism of action, and explore the therapeutic potential of unacylated ghrelin or analog AZP-531.

Impact of Gut Microbiota on Host Glycemic Control.

Given that obesity and associated disorder type II diabetes mellitus have reached epidemic proportions worldwide, the development of efficient prevention and therapeutic interventions is a global public health interest. There is now a large body of evidence suggesting that the micro-organisms colonizing the human gut, known as gut microbiota, play a central role in human physiology and metabolism. Understanding how gut microbiota affects and regulates key metabolic functions such as glucose regulation and insulin resistance is an important health issue.

Revealing the role of microstructure architecture on strength and ductility of Ni microwires by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction.

Deformation mechanisms of cold drawn and electropolished nickel microwires are studied by performing in-situ monotonous and cyclic tensile tests under synchrotron radiation. X-ray diffraction tests allow probing elastic strains in the different grain families and establishing a link with the deformation mechanisms taking place within the microwires. The measurements were carried out on several microwires with diameters ranging from as-drawn 100 µm down to 40 µm thinned down by electropolishing.

Lymph/angiogenesis contributes to sex differences in lung cancer through oestrogen receptor alpha signalling.

Oestrogen signalling pathways are emerging targets for lung cancer therapy. Unravelling the contribution of oestrogens in lung cancer development is a pre-requisite to support the development of sex-based treatments and identify patients who could potentially benefit from anti-oestrogen treatments. In this study, we highlight the contribution of lymphatic and blood endothelia in the sex-dependent modulation of lung cancer.

Obesity and breast cancer - Role of estrogens and the molecular underpinnings of aromatase regulation in breast adipose tissue.

One in eight women will develop breast cancer over their lifetime making it the most common female cancer. The cause of breast cancer is multifactorial and includes hormonal, genetic and environmental cues. Obesity is now an accepted risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal women, particularly for the hormone-dependent subtype of breast cancer.

Accurate Control of 17β-Estradiol Long-Term Release Increases Reliability and Reproducibility of Preclinical Animal Studies.

Estrogens are the subject of intensive researches aiming to elucidate their mechanism of action on the various tissues they target and especially on mammary gland and breast cancer. The use of ready-to-use slow releasing devices to administer steroids, especially estrogens, to small experimental animals remains the method of choice in terms of animal well-being and of safety for both the researcher and the animal. In this study, we evaluated and compared, in vitro and in vivo, the release kinetic of estradiol (E2) over sixty days from two different slow-releasing systems: the matrix pellet (MP) and the reservoir implant (RI).

Quantitative Assessment of Mouse Mammary Gland Morphology Using Automated Digital Image Processing and TEB Detection.

The assessment of rodent mammary gland morphology is largely used to study the molecular mechanisms driving breast development and to analyze the impact of various endocrine disruptors with putative pathological implications. In this work, we propose a methodology relying on fully automated digital image analysis methods including image processing and quantification of the whole ductal tree and of the terminal end buds as well. It allows to accurately and objectively measure both growth parameters and fine morphological glandular structures.

Combined estrogenic and anti-estrogenic properties of estetrol on breast cancer may provide a safe therapeutic window for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.

Increased risk of breast cancer is a critical side effect associated with the use of a menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). Estetrol (E4) is a natural estrogen produced by the human fetal liver and is a promising compound for clinical use in MHT. However, its impact on breast cancer is controversial and poorly defined.

The uterine and vascular actions of estetrol delineate a distinctive profile of estrogen receptor α modulation, uncoupling nuclear and membrane activation.

Estetrol (E4) is a natural estrogen with a long half-life produced only by the human fetal liver during pregnancy. The crystal structures of the estrogen receptor α (ERα) ligand-binding domain bound to 17β-estradiol (E2) and E4 are very similar, as well as their capacity to activate the two activation functions AF-1 and AF-2 and to recruit the coactivator SRC3. In vivo administration of high doses of E4 stimulated uterine gene expression, epithelial proliferation, and prevented atheroma, three recognized nuclear ERα actions.

Estetrol attenuates neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Estetrol (E4) is a recently described natural estrogen with four hydroxyl-groups that is synthesized exclusively during pregnancy by the human fetal liver. It has important antioxidative activity. The aim of the present study was to define the importance of E4 in the attenuation of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Effective Mass-Driven Structural Transition in a Mn-Doped ZnS Nanoplatelet.

Mn doping in ZnS nanoplatelets has been shown to induce a structural transition from the wurtzite to the zinc blende phase. We trace the origin of this transition to quantum confinement effects, which shift the valence band maximum of the wurtzite and zinc blende polymorphs of ZnS at different rates as a function of the nanocrystal size, arising from different effective hole masses in the two structures. This modifies the covalency associated with Mn incorporation and is reflected in the size-dependent binding energy difference for the two structures.