Louis Pasteur, a child of the Jura, a man for the world.

How did Louis Pasteur, born in a small town in the Jura-Dole, still little known to the world today, become a man of global recognition and fame? The answer to this question is guided by two pivotal considerations. First is Pasteur's relationship to the representation of reality. This relationship was seeded and steadily developed since his juvenile years through practicing different forms of artistic expression, the most famous of which were subtle pastels portraying Pasteur's parents and neighbors.

Silkworm, science worm.

From 1865 to 1869, on a "government order", Louis Pasteur tackled a silkworm disease, the pebrine, which was ruining the economy of southern France. Well beyond the scientific results-he was going to highlight a second disease, the flacherie-and the operational results-he installed techniques to limit the progression of one disease and protected the farms from the other-, this sequence opened the door to what would become Pasteur's working method: a science involved in practice, a great importance given to the team of collaborators and to innovations of all kinds, in this case, microphotography. It also establishes the characteristics of the socialization of the Pasteurian approach: diffusion of methods among all the social actors concerned, networking of scientists and internationalization of research.

Characterization of lipoproteins during human cholestasis.

We have characterized changes in lipoproteins from cholestatic individuals and reproduced them by incubating lipoproteins from healthy individuals with cholic acid. The cholestatic patients showed an increase in low density lipoprotein (LDL) (>85%), with a smaller proportion of esterified cholesterol, and a fall in high density lipoprotein (HDL) (<10%), with a larger proportion of phospholipids. The protein composition of cholestatic HDL1 was characterized by a smaller proportion of apo A (I, II) and a prominent apo E fraction (39% vs.

In vitro effect of cetirizine on PGE2 release by rat peritoneal macrophages and human monocytes.

Cetirizine was first described as a specific anti-H1 molecule displaying potent antiallergic activity. It was later found that its pharmacological properties extended to cellular actions as on eosinophil recruitment at inflammatory sites in allergic patients. Monocytes and macrophages participate in allergic mechanisms, particularly through high affinity H1 and H2 membrane receptors and generation of pro- and anti-inflammatory agents; among them histamine-induced factors, IL-1 and prostanoids are of importance.

Effects of low-density lipoproteins on polymorphonuclear leukocyte functions in vitro.

In the circulation, human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are exposed to various factors, such as lipoproteins, which could alter their metabolic and functional characteristics. In this work, the effects of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) on PMN oxidative metabolism and migration were studied in vitro. LDL stimulated PMN superoxide generation.

Effects of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein on human polymorphonuclear neutrophils: influence of glycan microheterogeneity.

The biological functions of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) are poorly understood but appear to depend on glycan microheterogeneity. Variations of AGP glycan structure (in terms of concanavalin A (ConA) reactivity) have been observed during the inflammatory process. We studied these modifications in AGP from patients with chronic renal impairment and investigated the effects of AGP microheterogeneity on healthy polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) chemotaxis and oxidative metabolism.

The immunomodulating agent RU 41740 complexed with very-low-density lipoproteins enhances human polymorphonuclear neutrophil oxidative metabolism in vitro.

Added to human serum in vitro, RU 41740, an immunomodulating agent extracted from Klebsiella pneumoniae, binds selectively to lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein B (low-density lipoproteins and very-low-density lipoproteins, VLDL) and, at higher concentrations, to lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein A (high-density lipoproteins). The fact that lipoproteins modulate polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) functions led us to suspect that the VLDL-RU 41740 complex might affect PMN functions. In this study, the effect of this complex on PMN superoxide generation was measured in the presence and absence of the classical stimulants formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and phorbol myristate acetate.

Direct phenotyping of human apolipoprotein E in plasma: application to population frequency distribution in Paris (France).

Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) is a component of VLDL and HDL and plays a significant role in the regulation of cholesterol concentration. An improvement in isoelectric focusing for Apo E phenotyping is presented: the plasma Apo E was dissociated from lipoproteins by the use of Tween 20; the optimal concentration of type V neuraminidase was determined (1 U/ml); up to 48 samples were analyzed per plate and revealed by immunoblotting. Using this method, we have determined Apo E phenotypes and estimated their association with total cholesterol and Apo B levels in 498 healthy blood donors in Paris (France).

Lipid peroxidation abnormalities in hemodialyzed patients.

In order to test the existence of a possible oxidative damage during hemodialysis, plasma conjugated dienes (CD), plasma and red blood cell (RBC) thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reactants were investigated in 25 patients receiving regular dialysis treatment (RDT). The RBC TBA reactant concentration was significantly increased in RDT patients in comparison with healthy subjects. The extracellular antioxidant systems were evaluated by the assay of plasma antioxidant activity, plasma tocopherol, urate, transferrin, haptoglobin and ceruloplasmin levels.

Serum and urinary alpha-1 acid glycoprotein in chronic renal failure.

The concentration and concanavalin A (ConA)-dependent microheterogeneity of serum and urinary alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) were studied in patients with various degrees of renal impairment and compared with healthy control values. Serum concentrations of AGP were significantly higher in hemodialyzed and uremic patients than in the control subjects (1.54 +/- 0.

Evaluation of intestinal clearance and faecal excretion of alpha 1-antiproteinase and immunoglobulins during Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The intestinal clearance of alpha 1-antiproteinase, monomeric IgA and IgG, and the daily fecal output of polymeric IgA and IgM were investigated in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (inactive and active Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) and in a control group. The intestinal clearance of alpha 1-antiproteinase was significantly increased in all patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (p less than 0.01), irrespective of the grade of the disease.

Effect of an immunomodulating agent, RU 414740, on polymorphonuclear responsiveness after burn injury.

An impairment of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) functions has been described following burn trauma. It was thus of interest to investigate the effect of RU 41740, an agent known to stimulate these cells, on rat PMN functions after burn injury. In the present study the responsiveness to classical stimuli of PMN from untreated burned rats was approximately 40% lower than healthy control values.

In vitro modulating effect of human very-low-density lipoproteins on human polymorphonuclear leukocyte oxidative metabolism and migration.

In this work, the in vitro effects of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) on human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) oxidative metabolism and migration were studied. VLDL stimulated PMN superoxide generation in absence of other stimulating agents. The effect of VLDL from normotriglyceridemic subjects was more marked than with VLDL from hypertriglyceridemic subjects.

Serum alpha-1 acid glycoprotein in chronic renal failure and hemodialysis.

The total concentration and concanavalin A (ConA)-dependent microheterogeneity of alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AAG) were studied in thirty hemodialyzed uremic patients and eighteen non-dialyzed uremic patients, by comparison with healthy volunteers. Serum concentrations of AAG were significantly higher in the non-dialyzed uremic (1.27 +/- 0.

[Membrane phospholipid peroxidation in renal insufficiency and chronic hemodialysis].

Lipid peroxidation is a result of the fatty acid side-chains of cellular membrane phospholipids attack by oxygen-derived free radicals. It has been suggested that some of the complications related to haemodialysis may be due to ineffective antioxidant systems and/or an increased free oxygen radical production. Serum antioxidant activity in patients undergoing regular dialysis treatment has been shown to be significantly decreased and to exhibit high malondialdehyde levels indicating that the patients were susceptible to cellular injury by lipid peroxidation.

Role of cytoskeleton and surface lectins in Giardia duodenalis attachment to Caco2 cells.

An in vitro model of Giardia duodenalis and the Caco2 cell line enable the study of parameters that could play a part in trophozoite attachment. We explored the role of membranous lectins of G. duodenalis in attachment-inhibition studies using carbohydrates in solution.

[Intestinal humoral immunity and digestive opportunistic infections associated with AIDS].

The infectious diarrhea in AIDS is principaly due to Cryptosporidium. The study of the inflammatory and humoral immunity proteins reveal a high exudative enteropathy associated with an IgA, IgG and IgM intestinal immune response. However, this barrier of defence is not sufficient to eradicate the infectious agent.

Influence of uremia on polymorphonuclear leukocytes oxidative metabolism in end-stage renal disease and dialyzed patients.

The oxygen (O2) consumption, and superoxide anion (O2-.) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) were investigated in 5 end-stage renal disease patients, before and after the 1st, 4th and 10th dialysis sessions. Resting values of O2-.

Characterisation of the main molecular forms of human fecal immunoglobulin A.

The molecular composition of fecal IgA is poorly documented, although it is of theoretical and practical importance to determine the different forms of IgA in faeces. Two main molecular forms were isolated by successive steps of ion-exchange chromatography and gel-filtration. The first consisted of secretory IgA dimers dissociating into slightly lower molecular mass forms under the influence of the electric field during electrophoresis.

Effect of recombinant human interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha on liver cytochrome P-450 and serum alpha-1-acid glycoprotein concentrations in the rat.

Two hepatocyte-related effects of recombinant human interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha alone or in association were tested following iv administration to Fischer 344 rats. Within 24 hr, both monokines induced a dose-dependent decrease in cytochrome P-450 levels, whereas serum alpha-1-acid glycoprotein concentrations were strongly increased. The largest variation of both parameters was observed using a combination of the two monokines.

[Metabolism and septic shock].

Despite continuous monitoring progress, septic shock remains the main cause of death in Intensive Care Units. Septic stress triggers a complex array of biological modifications resulting in an acquired disease of intermediary metabolism whose main characteristic is an inefficient cellular use of glucidic, lipidic and protidic substrates together with oxygen. The purpose of this review is to present metabolic disturbances observed during sepsis and septic shock.

Modulation of human polymorphonuclear neutrophil functions by alpha 1-acid glycoprotein.

alpha 1-Acid glycoprotein (alpha 1-AGP), a naturally occurring human plasma protein and acute-phase reactant, was extracted by a two-step procedure from sera collected from four healthy men. Its activity was tested in vitro on human polymorphonuclear (PMN) functions (migration, aggregation, O2- generation). alpha 1-AGP was not chemoattractant but inhibited the PMN response to the chemoattractant formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine without affecting spontaneous migration (Boyden and agarose methods of assessment).