[Mechanisms of prolonged symptoms following acute COVID-19: Some pathophysiological pathways].

Introduction: Following the Omicron wave in early 2022, an estimated 60-70% of the French population was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. One out of ten infected subjects could have persistent symptoms three months after infection, representing a public health challenge.

Current State Of Knowledge: The persistent symptoms may be secondary to diverse entities with distinct mechanisms.

A comparative randomised controlled trial of the effects of brain wave vibration training, iyengar yoga, and mindfulness on mood, well-being, and salivary cortisol.

This randomised trial compared the effects of Brain Wave Vibration (BWV) training, which involves rhythmic yoga-like meditative exercises, with Iyengar yoga and Mindfulness. Iyengar provided a contrast for the physical components and mindfulness for the "mental" components of BWV. 35 healthy adults completed 10 75-minute classes of BWV, Iyengar, or Mindfulness over five weeks.

Desmoplakin assembly dynamics in four dimensions: multiple phases differentially regulated by intermediate filaments and actin.

The intermediate filament (IF)-binding protein desmoplakin (DP) is essential for desmosome function and tissue integrity, but its role in junction assembly is poorly understood. Using time-lapse imaging, we show that cell-cell contact triggers three temporally overlapping phases of DP-GFP dynamics: (1) the de novo appearance of punctate fluorescence at new contact zones after as little as 3 min; (2) the coalescence of DP and the armadillo protein plakophilin 2 into discrete cytoplasmic particles after as little as 15 min; and (3) the cytochalasin-sensitive translocation of cytoplasmic particles to maturing borders, with kinetics ranging from 0.002 to 0.

Influence of application volume on herbicide efficacy.

Herbicide doses used by farmers are often lower than registration doses. One of the reasons put forward is that field assays for registration are performed at relatively high application volumes (typically 300 L ha(-1)), whereas farmers use lower volumes (down to 75 L ha(-1) or even lower). The resulting concentration of the active ingredient(s) and the formulants is supposed to enhance efficacy.

Tyrosine-phosphorylated plakoglobin is associated with desmogleins but not desmoplakin after epidermal growth factor receptor activation.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of junctional components has been proposed as a mechanism for modulating cell-cell adhesion. Although a correlation exists between the tyrosine phosphorylation of the adherens junction protein beta-catenin and loss of classical cadherin-mediated adhesion, the effects of tyrosine phosphorylation on the function of the adherens junction and desmosome-associated protein plakoglobin is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effects of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase activation on the subcellular distribution of plakoglobin and its association with its junctional binding partners.

Are desmosomes more than tethers for intermediate filaments?

Desmosomes are intercellular adhesive junctions that anchor intermediate filaments at membrane-associated plaques in adjoining cells, thereby forming a three-dimensional supracellular scaffolding that provides tissues with mechanical strength. But desmosomes have also recently been recognized as sensors that respond to environmental and cellular cues by modulating their assembly state and, possibly, their signalling functions.

Pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients.

Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients. The principal alterations responsible are left ventricular hypertrophy and arterial disease characterized by an enlargement and hypertrophy of arteries and the high prevalence of atheromatous plaques. Left ventricular hypertrophy is the consequence of combined effects of chronic hemodynamic overload and nonhemodynamic biochemical and neurohumoral factors characteristic of uremia.

Regulation of cell surface tissue transglutaminase: effects on matrix storage of latent transforming growth factor-beta binding protein-1.

Using a cytochemical approach, we examined the role of tissue transglutaminase (tTgase, Type II) in the incorporation of latent TGF-beta binding protein-1 (LTBP-1) in the extracellular matrix of Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts in which tTgase expression can be modulated through a tetracycline-controlled promoter. Increased tTgase expression led to an increased rate of LTBP-1 deposition in the matrix, which was accompanied by an increased pool of deoxycholate-insoluble fibronectin. Matrix deposition of LTBP-1 could also be reduced by the competitive amine substrate putrescine.

Cell surface localization of tissue transglutaminase is dependent on a fibronectin-binding site in its N-terminal beta-sandwich domain.

Increasing evidence indicates that tissue transglutaminase (tTG) plays a role in the assembly and remodeling of extracellular matrices and promotes cell adhesion. Using an inducible system we have previously shown that tTG associates with the extracellular matrix deposited by stably transfected 3T3 fibroblasts overexpressing the enzyme. We now show by confocal microscopy that tTG colocalizes with pericellular fibronectin in these cells, and by immunogold electron microscopy that the two proteins are found in clusters at the cell surface.

Tissue transglutaminase is an important player at the surface of human endothelial cells: evidence for its externalization and its colocalization with the beta(1) integrin.

We recently reported [J. Cell Sci. 110, 2461-2472 (1997)] that reduced expression of tissue transglutaminase (tTgase, type II) in human endothelial cell line ECV304 led to impaired cell spreading and adhesion; however, there is no immunocytochemical evidence for its presence and specific location at the surface of these cells.

[Cyclophosphamide during pregnancy: a safe prescription].

Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating agent used to treat haematologic malignant diseases and multisystem diseases with progressive glomerulonephritis. It is rarely prescribed during pregnancy. We report a case of Henoch-Schönlein purpura discovered at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy.

De novo focal glomerular sclerosis in preeclampsia.

Eleven women were selected on the presence, in postpartum renal biopsies, of focal glomerulosclerosis (FGS) superimposed to glomerular lesions of typical pregnancy-induced nephropathy. Ten out of them presented with severe preeclampsia. The renal specimens were examined by light and/or electron and/or immunofluorescence microscopy.