NICOTIANAMINE SYNTHASE activity affects nucleolar iron accumulation and impacts rDNA silencing and RNA methylation in Arabidopsis.

In plant cells, a large pool of iron (Fe) is contained in the nucleolus, as well as in chloroplasts and mitochondria. A central determinant for intracellular distribution of Fe is nicotianamine (NA) generated by NICOTIANAMINE SYNTHASE (NAS). Here, we used Arabidopsis thaliana plants with disrupted NAS genes to study the accumulation of nucleolar iron and understand its role in nucleolar functions and more specifically in rRNA gene expression.

Impacts of microplastics and the associated plastisphere on physiological, biochemical, genetic expression and gut microbiota of the filter-feeder amphioxus.

Oceanic plastic pollution is of major concern to marine organisms, especially filter feeders. However, limited is known about the toxic effects of the weathered microplastics instead of the pristine ones. This study evaluates the effects of weathered polystyrene microplastic on a filter-feeder amphioxus under starvation conditions via its exposure to the microplastics previously deployed in the natural seawater allowing for the development of a mature biofilm (so-called plastisphere).

Upon heat stress processing of ribosomal RNA precursors into mature rRNAs is compromised after cleavage at primary P site in a.

Transcription and processing of 45S rRNAs in the nucleolus are keystones of ribosome biogenesis. While these processes are severely impacted by stress conditions in multiple species, primarily upon heat exposure, we lack information about the molecular mechanisms allowing sessile organisms without a temperature-control system, like plants, to cope with such circumstances. We show that heat stress disturbs nucleolar structure, inhibits pre-rRNA processing and provokes imbalanced ribosome profiles in plants.

Features of the Opportunistic Behaviour of the Marine Bacterium in the Microalga Phycosphere.

Although interactions between microalgae and bacteria are observed in both natural environment and the laboratory, the modalities of coexistence of bacteria inside microalgae phycospheres in laboratory cultures are mostly unknown. Here, we focused on well-controlled cultures of the model green picoalga and the most abundant member of its phycosphere, . The prevalence of in cultures raises questions about how this bacterium maintains itself under laboratory conditions in the microalga culture.

First immunotherapeutic CAR-T cells against the immune checkpoint protein HLA-G.

Background: CAR-T cells immunotherapy is a breakthrough in the treatment of hematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and B-cell malignancies. However, CAR-T therapies face major hurdles such as the lack of tumor-specific antigen (TSA), and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment sometimes caused by the tumorous expression of immune checkpoints (ICPs) such as HLA-G. Indeed, HLA-G is remarkable because it is both a potent ICP and a TSA.

Responses to iron oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in echinoderm embryos and microalgae: uptake, growth, morphology, and transcriptomic analysis.

We investigated the toxicity of Iron oxide and Zinc oxide engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) on sea urchin embryos and three species of microalgae. Morphological responses, internalization, and potential impacts of FeO and ZnO ENPs on physiology and metabolism were assessed. Both types of ENPs affected larval development, but ZnO ENPs had a much stronger effect.

Virus-host coexistence in phytoplankton through the genomic lens.

Virus-microbe interactions in the ocean are commonly described by "boom and bust" dynamics, whereby a numerically dominant microorganism is lysed and replaced by a virus-resistant one. Here, we isolated a microalga strain and its infective dsDNA virus whose dynamics are characterized instead by parallel growth of both the microalga and the virus. Experimental evolution of clonal lines revealed that this viral production originates from the lysis of a minority of virus-susceptible cells, which are regenerated from resistant cells.

Mantoniella beaufortii and Mantoniella baffinensis sp. nov. (Mamiellales, Mamiellophyceae), two new green algal species from the high arctic.

Members of the class Mamiellophyceae comprise species that can dominate picophytoplankton diversity in polar waters. Yet, polar species are often morphologically indistinguishable from temperate species, although clearly separated by molecular features. Here we examine four Mamiellophyceae strains from the Canadian Arctic.

A First-in-Human Phase I Study of INVAC-1, an Optimized Human Telomerase DNA Vaccine in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors.

Purpose: Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is highly expressed in >85% of human tumors and is thus considered as a good tumor-associated antigen candidate for vaccine development. We conducted a phase I study to investigate the safety, tolerability, clinical response, and immunogenicity of INVAC-1, a DNA plasmid encoding a modified hTERT protein in patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors.

Patients And Methods: INVAC-1 was either administered by intradermal route followed by electroporation or by Tropis, a needle-free injection system.

A DNA telomerase vaccine for canine cancer immunotherapy.

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is highly expressed in more than 90% of canine cancer cells and low to absent in normal cells. Given that immune tolerance to telomerase is easily broken both naturally and experimentally, telomerase is an attractive tumor associated antigen for cancer immunotherapy. Indeed, therapeutic trials using human telomerase peptides have been performed.

Changes in Dendritic Spine Density and Inhibitory Perisomatic Connectivity onto Medium Spiny Neurons in L-Dopa-Induced Dyskinesia.

Using bacterial artificial chromosome-double transgenic mice expressing tdTomato in D1 receptor-medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and enhanced green fluorescent protein in D2 receptor-MSNs, we have studied changes in spine density and perisomatic GABAergic boutons density in MSNs of both the D1R and D2R pathways, in an experimental model of parkinsonism (mouse injected with 6-hydroxydopamine in the medial forebrain bundle), both in the parkinsonian and dyskinetic condition induced by L-DOPA treatment. To assess changes in perisomatic GABAergic connectivity onto MSNs, we measured the number of contacts originated from parvalbumin (PV)-containing striatal "fast-spiking" interneurons (FSIs), the major component of a feed-forward inhibition mechanism that regulates spike timing in MSNs, in both cell types as well as the number of vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) contacts. Furthermore, we determined changes in PV-immunoreactive cell density by PV immunolabeling combined with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) labeling to detect FSI in a PV-independent manner.

Strong antigen-specific T-cell immunity induced by a recombinant human TERT measles virus vaccine and amplified by a DNA/viral vector prime boost in IFNAR/CD46 mice.

Cancer immunotherapy is seeing an increasing focus on vaccination with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). Human telomerase (hTERT) is a TAA expressed by most tumors to overcome telomere shortening. Tolerance to hTERT can be easily broken both naturally and experimentally and hTERT DNA vaccine candidates have been introduced in clinical trials.

Developmental and comparative transcriptomic identification of iridophore contribution to white barring in clownfish.

Actinopterygian fishes harbor at least eight distinct pigment cell types, leading to a fascinating diversity of colors. Among this diversity, the cellular origin of the white color appears to be linked to several pigment cell types such as iridophores or leucophores. We used the clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris, which has a color pattern consisting of white bars over a darker body, to characterize the pigment cells that underlie the white hue.

Volatile Organic Compounds of Malignant Breast Cancer Wounds: Identification and Odors.

Introduction: During the metabolic processes of malignant wounds, bacteria produce a large amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are responsible for malodors and may have a major impact on the patient's quality of life with a risk of isolation.

Objective: A translational study was conducted on 32 malignant breast wounds by combining the identification of bacterial strains present on wounds, the identification of VOCs produced by these bacterial strains, and sensory evaluation to assess odor intensity and quality of odorous bacteria.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-two patients with malignant breast cancer wounds > 10 cm2 at various stages of the disease (curative or palliative) were included in the protocol.

Comparative Analysis of Bacterial Community Composition and Structure in Clinically Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Central Venous Catheters.

Totally implanted venous access ports (TIVAPs) are commonly used catheters for the management of acute or chronic pathologies. Although these devices improve health care, repeated use of this type of device for venous access over long periods of time is also associated with risk of colonization and infection by pathogenic bacteria, often originating from skin. However, although the skin microbiota is composed of both pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria, the extent and the consequences of TIVAP colonization by nonpathogenic bacteria have rarely been studied.

Brain natriuretic peptide usefulness in very elderly dyspnoeic patients: the BED study.

Aims: To evaluate the interest of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for heart failure (HF) diagnosis in very old patients.

Methods And Results: A total of 383 patients aged 80 years or older, hospitalized in geriatrics care for dyspnoea, had a BNP measurement at the acute phase. Independent cardiologists blinded to BNP values classified the patients into cardiac vs.

APOBEC3A intratumoral DNA electroporation in mice.

Human APOBEC3A (A3A) cytidine deaminase shows pro-apoptotic properties resulting from hypermutation of genomic DNA, induction of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) and G1 cell cycle arrest. Given this, we evaluated the antitumor efficacy of A3A by intratumoral electroporation of an A3A expression plasmid. DNA was repeatedly electroporated into B16OVA, B16Luc tumors of C57BL/6J mice as well as the aggressive fibrosarcoma Sarc2 tumor of HLA-A*0201/DRB1*0101 transgenic mice using noninvasive plate electrodes.

Loss of Homeostasis in the Direct Pathway in a Mouse Model of Asymptomatic Parkinson's Disease.

Unlabelled: The characteristic slowness of movement in Parkinson's disease relates to an imbalance in the activity of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the direct (dMSNs) and indirect (iMSNs) pathways. However, it is still unclear whether this imbalance emerges during the asymptomatic phase of the disease or if it correlates with symptom severity. Here, we have used in vivo juxtacellular recordings and transgenic mice showing MSN-type-specific expression of fluorescent proteins to examine striatal imbalance after lesioning dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra.

Anticancer DNA vaccine based on human telomerase reverse transcriptase generates a strong and specific T cell immune response.

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is overexpressed in more than 85% of human cancers regardless of their cellular origin. As immunological tolerance to hTERT can be overcome not only spontaneously but also by vaccination, it represents a relevant universal tumor associated antigen (TAA). Indeed, hTERT specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) precursors are present within the peripheral T-cell repertoire.

CDK13, a Kinase Involved in Pre-mRNA Splicing, Is a Component of the Perinucleolar Compartment.

The perinucleolar compartment (PNC) is a subnuclear stucture forming predominantly in cancer cells; its prevalence positively correlates with metastatic capacity. Although several RNA-binding proteins have been characterized in PNC, the molecular function of this compartment remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that the cyclin-dependent kinase 13 (CDK13) is a newly identified constituent of PNC.

NOTCH activation interferes with cell fate specification in the gastrulating mouse embryo.

NOTCH signalling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway involved in intercellular communication essential for cell fate choices during development. Although dispensable for early aspects of mouse development, canonical RBPJ-dependent NOTCH signalling has been shown to influence lineage commitment during embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation. NOTCH activation in ESCs promotes the acquisition of a neural fate, whereas its suppression favours their differentiation into cardiomyocytes.

Histopathological and ultrastructural studies of a Henneguya species (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) infesting the intestine of Clarias gariepinus from Benin (West Africa).

Fish culture is the best alternative to fill the gap between natural fish catches and estimated needs of populations in animal protein consumption. In West Africa, this goal required to have suitable fishes for aquaculture which are Clariidae and Tilapia. Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae) fetches a higher price than tilapias as it can be sold alive at the market but a high infestation by Henneguya leads to decrease this commercial value.

Notchless is required for axial skeleton formation in mice.

Maintenance of cell survival is essential for proper embryonic development. In the mouse, Notchless homolog 1 (Drosophila) (Nle1) is instrumental for survival of cells of the inner cell mass upon implantation. Here, we analyze the function of Nle1 after implantation using the Meox2(tm1(cre)Sor) mouse that expresses the Cre recombinase specifically in the epiblast at E5.

Chloroplast incorporation and long-term photosynthetic performance through the life cycle in laboratory cultures of Elysia timida (Sacoglossa, Heterobranchia).

Introduction: The Mediterranean sacoglossan Elysia timida is one of the few sea slug species with the ability to sequester chloroplasts from its food algae and to subsequently store them in a functional state in the digestive gland cells for more than a month, during which time the plastids retain high photosynthetic activity (= long-term retention). Adult E. timida have been described to feed on the unicellular alga Acetabularia acetabulum in their natural environment.

A single betaproteobacterium dominates the microbial community of the crambescidine-containing sponge Crambe crambe.

Crambe crambe is a marine sponge that produces high concentrations of the pharmacologically significant pentacyclic guanidine alkaloids (PGAs), Crambescines and Crambescidines. Although bio-mimetic chemical synthesis of PGAs suggests involvement of microorganisms in their biosynthesis, there are conflicting reports on whether bacteria are associated with this sponge or not. Using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing we show that the associated bacterial community of C.