Role of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 in mediating endothelial dysfunction and arterial remodeling in primary arterial antiphospholipid syndrome.

Objective: To assess the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in antiphospholipid antibody (aPL)-mediated vascular abnormalities in patients with primary arterial antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Methods: Forty-eight subjects participated in the study. Arterial function and structure and TLR pathway activation were determined in patients with primary arterial APS and matched controls.

Helicobacter pylori infection in children in Madagascar: risk factors for acquisition.

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence, risk factors for acquisition and the clinical characteristics of H. pylori infection in Malagasy children.

Methods: A 2 year prospective study was conducted among 434 children from a rural (group A) and an urban area (group B).

Polycystin deficiency induces dopamine-reversible alterations in flow-mediated dilatation and vascular nitric oxide release in humans.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a renal hereditary disorder associated with increased cardiovascular mortality, due to mutations in polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 genes. Endothelial polycystin-deficient cells have an altered mechanosensitivity to fluid shear stress and subsequent deficit in calcium-induced nitric oxide release, prevented by dopamine receptor stimulation. However, the impact of polycystin deficiency on endothelial function in ADPKD patients is still largely unknown.

Campylobacter infection in a cohort of rural children in Moramanga, Madagascar.

Background: Campylobacter infection is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in developing countries, including Madagascar. Reports of pathogenicity have not been consistent and repeated exposures over time seem to lead to the development of protective immunity in developing areas. We conducted this study to support evidence for these hypotheses by exploring the association between infection and age, the reoccurrence of infection and the pathogenicity of Campylobacter.

[Neoadjuvant before surgery treatments: state of the art in prostate cancer].

Goal: To study the impact of systemic treatment in neoadjuvant strategy before surgery in prostate cancer.

Materials: Literature reviews with data analysis from PubMed search using the keywords "neoadjuvant", "chemotherapy", "hormonal therapy", "prostate surgery", "radical prostatectomy", but also reports from ASCO and ESMO conferences. The articles on neoadjuvant treatment before radiotherapy were excluded.

Involvement of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and its receptor (CD74) in human breast cancer.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and its receptor CD74 appear to be involved in tumorigenesis. We evaluated, by immunohistochemical staining, the tissue expression and distribution of MIF and CD74 in serial sections of human invasive breast cancer tumor specimens. The serum MIF level was also determined in breast cancer patients.

Myocardial contractile dysfunction is associated with impaired mitochondrial function and dynamics in type 2 diabetic but not in obese patients.

Background: Obesity and diabetes mellitus are independently associated with the development of heart failure. In this study, we determined the respective effects of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus on the intrinsic contraction and mitochondrial function of the human myocardium before the onset of cardiomyopathy.

Methods And Results: Right atrial myocardium was obtained from 141 consecutive patients presenting no sign of cardiomyopathy.

Inactivation of dengue virus in plasma with amotosalen and ultraviolet A illumination.

Background: Dengue virus (DENV) is the most prevalent arbovirus in tropical and subtropical regions. Transfusion-transmitted DENV infections have already been reported and the risk for blood products to be contaminated by DENV needs to be considered in dengue-endemic areas, especially during outbreaks. Blood product inactivation processes, including amotosalen and ultraviolet A (UVA) illumination, have been developed to reduce transfusion-transmitted infections.

The rise and fall of malaria in a West African rural community, Dielmo, Senegal, from 1990 to 2012: a 22 year longitudinal study.

Background: A better understanding of the effect of malaria control interventions on vector and parasite populations, acquired immunity, and burden of the disease is needed to guide strategies to eliminate malaria from highly endemic areas. We monitored and analysed the changes in malaria epidemiology in a village community in Senegal, west Africa, over 22 years.

Methods: Between 1990 and 2012, we did a prospective longitudinal study of the inhabitants of Dielmo, Senegal, to identify all episodes of fever and investigate the relation between malaria host, vector, and parasite.

[Endothelin: From discovery to pharmacotherapeutic innovations].

Objectives: Endothelin (ET) is a major therapeutic target in cardiopulmonary diseases. The purpose of this review is to present the main concepts concerning ET biology, its pathophysiological roles and the major pharmacological and medical advances recently developed around the concept of ET receptor blockade.

Methods: Analysis of PubMed database (keywords: endothelin, endothelin receptor antagonists, pulmonary hypertension, etc.

Enhanced angiogenesis and increased cardiac perfusion after myocardial infarction in protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B-deficient mice.

The protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) modulates tyrosine kinase receptors, among which is the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor type 2 (VEGFR2), a key component of angiogenesis. Because PTP1B deficiency in mice improves left ventricular (LV) function 2 mo after myocardial infarction (MI), we hypothesized that enhanced angiogenesis early after MI via activated VEGFR2 contributes to this improvement. At 3 d after MI, capillary density was increased at the infarct border of PTP1B(-/-) mice [+7±2% vs.

Increase in the number of tuberculosis cases treated following tuberculin skin testing in first-year schoolchildren in Madagascar.

Background: Tuberculosis continues to cause unacceptably high levels of disease and death worldwide. Active preventive strategies are required to improve tuberculosis control and to increase the number of cases treated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of the tuberculin skin test (TST) in first-year schoolchildren as a means of increasing the number of tuberculosis cases detected through the screening of close contacts.

Respiratory viruses associated with patients older than 50 years presenting with ILI in Senegal, 2009 to 2011.

Background: In Africa, especially in West Africa, studies about the prevalence and diversity of respiratory viruses (influenza and others) in elderly people are largely lacking. In studies done elsewhere, it is well established that older people, when compared with younger adults, are at greater risk of significant morbidity and mortality from complications arising from influenza. The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the diversity of respiratory viruses associated with ILI cases in adults over 50 years old in Senegal.

Staphylococcus aureus nasal and pharyngeal carriage in Senegal.

Nasal and pharyngeal swabs were collected from 132 patients admitted to the Principal Hospital in Dakar (Senegal), in January and February 2012. The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage was 56.1% (n = 74): 40.

Influenza-like illnesses in Senegal: not only focus on influenza viruses.

Influenza surveillance in African countries was initially restricted to the identification of circulating strains. In Senegal, the network has recently been enhanced (i) to include epidemiological data from Dakar and other regions and (ii) to extend virological surveillance to other respiratory viruses. Epidemiological data from the sentinel sites is transmitted daily by mobile phone.

Dramatic declines in seropositivity as determined with crude extracts of Plasmodium falciparum schizonts between 2000 and 2010 in Dielmo and Ndiop, Senegal.

Background: Programmes of pre-elimination of malaria have been implemented in Senegal since 2010, and the burden of malaria has decreased substantially. These changes in the epidemiology should be monitored with effective tools that allow changes in patterns of transmission to be estimated. In Dielmo and Ndiop, two villages of Senegal with different malaria endemicity, infections have been followed longitudinally for 20 years, during which time there have been several control interventions leading to substantial decreases of transmission.

Effect of perioperative glutamine administration on C-reactive protein and liver function tests in patients undergoing hepatic resection.

Unlabelled: Hepatic resections are commonly associated with high morbidity and mortality. Nutrition plays an important role in reducing postoperative complications besides improvement in intensive care and perioperative management. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of glutamine as an immunonutrient in patients undergoing hepatic resection.

Gene deletion of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B protects against sepsis-induced cardiovascular dysfunction and mortality.

Objective: Cardiovascular dysfunction is a major cause of mortality in patients with sepsis. Recently, we showed that gene deletion or pharmacological inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) improves endothelial dysfunction and reduces the severity of experimental heart failure. However, the cardiovascular effect of PTP1B invalidation in sepsis is unknown.

Antimicrobial resistance of bacterial enteropathogens isolated from stools in Madagascar.

Background: Diarrheal diseases are a major public health problem in developing countries, and are one of the main causes of hospital admissions in Madagascar. The Pasteur Institute of Madagascar undertook a study to determine the prevalence and the pathogenicity of bacterial, viral and protozoal enteropathogens in diarrheal and non-diarrheal stools of children aged less than 5 years in Madagascar. We present here the results of the analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility of the bacteria isolated during this study.

[Assessment of endothelial function in autoimmune diseases].

Numerous autoimmune-inflammatory rheumatic diseases have been associated with accelerated atherosclerosis or other types of vasculopathy leading to an increase in cardiovascular disease incidence. In addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors, endothelial dysfunction is an important early event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, contributing to plaque initiation and progression. Endothelial dysfunction is characterized by a shift of the actions of the endothelium toward reduced vasodilation, a proinflammatory and a proadhesive state, and prothrombic properties.

Side population cells as prototype of chemoresistant, tumor-initiating cells.

Classically, isolation of CSCs from tumors exploits the detection of cell surface markers associated with normal stem cells. Invariable expression of these cell surface markers in almost all proliferating tumor cells that albeit impart specific functionality, the universality, and clinical credibility of CSC phenotype based on markers is still dubious. Side Population (SP) cells, as defined by Hoechst dye exclusion in flow cytometry, have been identified in many solid tumors and cell lines and the SP phenotype can be considered as an enriched source of stem cells as well as an alternative source for the isolation of cancer stem cells especially when molecular markers for stem cells are unknown.

Iron(II)-catalysed [2+2+2] cycloaddition for pyridine ring construction.

We report a new, simple and air-stable iron(II) complex pre-catalyst for the synthesis of substituted pyridines via a [2+2+2] cycloaddition between diynes and nitrile derivatives.

Macromitophagy, neutral lipids synthesis, and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation protect yeast from "liponecrosis", a previously unknown form of programmed cell death.

We identified a form of cell death called "liponecrosis." It can be elicited by an exposure of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to exogenous palmitoleic acid (POA). Our data imply that liponecrosis is: (1) a programmed, regulated form of cell death rather than an accidental, unregulated cellular process and (2) an age-related form of cell death.

Behavior of Heat-Denatured Whey: Buttermilk Protein Aggregates during the Yogurt-Making Process and Their Influence on Set-Type Yogurt Properties.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of using heat-denatured whey:buttermilk protein aggregate in acid-set type yogurt production. Whey and buttermilk (25:75) protein concentrate was adjusted to pH 4.6, heated at 90 °C for 5 min, homogenized and freeze-dried.