IsoSel: Protein Isoform Selector for phylogenetic reconstructions.

The reliability of molecular phylogenies is strongly dependent on the quality of the assembled datasets. In the case of eukaryotes, the selection of only one protein isoform per genomic locus is mandatory to avoid biases linked to redundancy. Here, we present IsoSel, a tool devoted to the selection of alternative isoforms in the context of phylogenetic reconstruction.

Evolutionary history of phosphatidylinositol- 3-kinases: ancestral origin in eukaryotes and complex duplication patterns.

Background: Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3Ks) are a family of eukaryotic enzymes modifying phosphoinositides in phosphatidylinositols-3-phosphate. Located upstream of the AKT/mTOR signalling pathway, PI3Ks activate secondary messengers of extracellular signals. They are involved in many critical cellular processes such as cell survival, angiogenesis and autophagy.

Prediction of desmoid tumor progression using miRNA expression profiling.

Desmoid tumor is a rare connective tissue tumor with locoregional aggressiveness but unpredictable behavior. The miRNA profile was ascertained for 26 patients included in the Desminib phase II trial and an independent validation cohort of 15 patients. Predictive and prognostic supervised analysis on the Desminib cohort failed to identify miRNAs differentially expressed between progressive and non-progressive patients under imatinib treatment or between progressive and non-progressive patients after discontinuation of imatinib.

Impact of KIT exon 10 M541L allelic variant on the response to imatinib in aggressive fibromatosis: analysis of the desminib series by competitive allele specific Taqman PCR technology.

Background: Aggressive fibromatosis (AF) is a rare fibroblastic proliferative disease with a locally aggressive behavior and no distant metastasis, characterized by driver mutations in CTNNB1 or the APC gene. When progressive and/or symptomatic AF is not amenable to local management, a variety of medical treatments may be efficient, including imatinib mesylate. The phase II "Desminib trial" included 40 patients with AF to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of imatinib resulting in a 65% tumor control rate at 1 year.