A 65 kilobase deletion of the upstream TYR gene region in a family with oculocutaneous albinism type 1.

Oculocutaneous albinism type 1 is caused by variants in the TYR (tyrosinase) gene. We describe a family with two affected sibs who inherited the pathogenic missense TYR variant c.1146C > A;p.

Genotypic spectrum of albinism in Mali.

Albinism is a phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous condition characterized by a variable degree of hypopigmentation and by ocular features leading to reduced visual acuity. Whereas numerous genotypic studies have been conducted throughout the world, very little is known about the genotypic spectrum of albinism in Africa and especially in sub-Saharan Western Africa. Here we report the analysis of all known albinism genes in a series a 23 patients originating from Mali.

Unsuspected consequences of synonymous and missense variants in OCA2 can be detected in blood cell RNA samples of patients with albinism.

Oculocutaneous albinism type 2 (OCA2) is the second most frequent form of albinism and represents about 30% of OCA worldwide. As with all types of OCA, patients present with hypopigmentation of hair and skin, as well as severe visual abnormalities. We focused on a subgroup of 29 patients for whom genetic diagnosis was pending because at least one of their identified variants in or around exon 10 of OCA2 is of uncertain significance (VUS).

A multilayered approach to the analysis of genetic data from individuals with suspected albinism.

Albinism is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of conditions characterised by visual abnormalities and variable degrees of hypopigmentation. Multiple studies have demonstrated the clinical utility of genetic investigations in individuals with suspected albinism. Despite this, the variation in the provision of genetic testing for albinism remains significant.

The Mouse Model to Unravel Retinogenesis Misregulation in Patients with Albinism.

We have recently identified encoding dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) as the eighth gene for oculocutaneous albinism (OCA). Patients with loss of function of suffer from eye hypopigmentation and retinal dystrophy. Here we investigate the eye phenotype in mice.

Dopachrome tautomerase variants in patients with oculocutaneous albinism.

Purpose: Albinism is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous condition. Despite analysis of the 20 known genes, ~30% patients remain unsolved. We aimed to identify new genes involved in albinism.

3D chemical imaging of the brain using quantitative IR spectro-microscopy.

Three-dimensional (3D) histology is the next frontier for modern anatomo-pathology. Characterizing abnormal parameters in a tissue is essential to understand the rationale of pathology development. However, there is no analytical technique, or histological, that is able to discover such abnormal features and provide a 3D distribution at microscopic resolution.

Quantitative IR microscopy and spectromics open the way to 3D digital pathology.

Currently, only mass-spectrometry (MS) microscopy brings a quantitative analysis of chemical contents of tissue samples in 3D. Here, the reconstruction of a 3D quantitative chemical images of a biological tissue by FTIR spectro-microscopy is reported. An automated curve-fitting method is developed to extract all intense absorption bands constituting IR spectra.

Impaired angiogenesis and tumor development by inhibition of the mitotic kinesin Eg5.

Kinesin motor proteins exert essential cellular functions in all eukaryotes. They control mitosis, migration and intracellular transport through interaction with microtubules. Small molecule inhibitors of the mitotic kinesin KiF11/Eg5 are a promising new class of anti-neoplastic agents currently evaluated in clinical cancer trials for solid tumors and hematological malignancies.

FTIR spectro-imaging of collagen scaffold formation during glioma tumor development.

Evidence has recently emerged that solid and diffuse tumors produce a specific extracellular matrix (ECM) for division and diffusion, also developing a specific interface with microvasculature. This ECM is mainly composed of collagens and their scaffolding appears to drive tumor growth. Although collagens are not easily analyzable by UV-fluorescence means, FTIR imaging has appeared as a valuable tool to characterize collagen contents in tissues, specially the brain, where ECM is normally devoid of collagen proteins.

Inhibition of angiogenesis and the angiogenesis/invasion shift.

Angiogenesis has become a major target in cancer therapy. However, current therapeutic strategies have their limitations and raise several problems. In most tumours, anti-angiogenesis treatment targeting VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) has only limited overall survival benefit compared with conventional chemotherapy alone, and reveals several specific forms of resistance to anti-VEGF treatment.

A combined metabonomic and transcriptomic approach to investigate metabolism during development in the chick chorioallantoic membrane.

The chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a powerful alternative to rodent models for the study of physiological or pathological angiogenesis. We investigated metabolic changes during the maturation of the CAM by (1)H NMR-based metabolic profiling (metabonomics/metabolomics), allowing simultaneous measurements of many metabolites in an untargeted fashion. Specifically, we examined the time course of the measured metabolites to elucidate common patterns of regulation.

Correlating global gene regulation to angiogenesis in the developing chick extra-embryonic vascular system.

Background: Formation of blood vessels requires the concerted regulation of an unknown number of genes in a spatial-, time- and dosage-dependent manner. Determining genes, which drive vascular maturation is crucial for the identification of new therapeutic targets against pathological angiogenesis.

Methodology/principal Findings: [corrected] We accessed global gene regulation throughout maturation of the chick chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM), a highly vascularized tissue, using pan genomic microarrays.

Selective osteopontin knockdown exerts anti-tumoral activity in a human glioblastoma model.

Osteopontin (OPN), a member of the SIBLING (Small Integrin-Binding LIgand N-linked Glycoprotein) family, is overexpressed in human glioblastoma. Higher levels of OPN expression correlate with increased tumor grade and enhanced migratory capacity of tumor cells. Based on these observations, we explored the possibility that knocking down OPN expression in glioblastoma cells could exert an anti-tumoral activity using an avian in vivo glioblastoma model that mimics closely human gliobastoma.

Combined targeting of interleukin-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor potently inhibits glioma growth and invasiveness.

Interleukin-6 (IL6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) are abundantly produced by glioma cells and contribute to malignancy by promoting angiogenesis, cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis. We compared the effect of inhibiting IL6 and VEGF on U87-derived experimental glioma grown on the chick chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM) or in the brain of xenografted mice. Tumor growth was monitored by biomicroscopy and immunohistology.

Experimental anti-angiogenesis causes upregulation of genes associated with poor survival in glioblastoma.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors are the most promising anti-angiogenic agents used increasingly in the clinic. However, to be efficient, anti-VEGF agents need to be associated with classic chemotherapy. Exploring gene regulation in tumor cells during anti-angiogenesis might help to comprehend the molecular basis of response to treatment.

Effect of human skin-derived stem cells on vessel architecture, tumor growth, and tumor invasion in brain tumor animal models.

Glioblastomas represent an important cause of cancer-related mortality with poor survival. Despite many advances, the mean survival time has not significantly improved in the last decades. New experimental approaches have shown tumor regression after the grafting of neural stem cells and human mesenchymal stem cells into experimental intracranial gliomas of adult rodents.

FBXW7/hCDC4 controls glioma cell proliferation in vitro and is a prognostic marker for survival in glioblastoma patients.

Background: In the quest for novel molecular mediators of glioma progression, we studied the regulation of FBXW7 (hCDC4/hAGO/SEL10), its association with survival of patients with glioblastoma and its potential role as a tumor suppressor gene in glioma cells. The F-box protein Fbxw7 is a component of SCFFbxw7, a Skp1-Cul1-F-box E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that tags specific proteins for proteasome degradation. FBXW7 is mutated in several human cancers and functions as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor in mice.

[Understanding in treating gliomas: an adequate experimental model for each question].

Malignant glioma are especially difficult to model in vivo. Here we review the most recent strategies for designing relevant models of glioma. These should greatly contribute to identification of new tumor regulating molecules and facilitate testing of inhibitors to be used in therapeutical trials as well as the drug resistance that they might confer.

Accessing key steps of human tumor progression in vivo by using an avian embryo model.

Experimental in vivo tumor models are essential for comprehending the dynamic process of human cancer progression, identifying therapeutic targets, and evaluating antitumor drugs. However, current rodent models are limited by high costs, long experimental duration, variability, restricted accessibility to the tumor, and major ethical concerns. To avoid these shortcomings, we investigated whether tumor growth on the chick chorio-allantoic membrane after human glioblastoma cell grafting would replicate characteristics of the human disease.

VEGF coordinates interaction of pericytes and endothelial cells during vasculogenesis and experimental angiogenesis.

Biological activities of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been studied extensively in endothelial cells (ECs), but few data are available regarding its effects on pericytes. In murine embryoid body cultures, VEGF-induced expression of desmin and alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) in CD-31+ cells. The number of CD-31+/desmin+ vascular chords increased with VEGF treatment time and peaked during a differentiation window between 6 and 9 days after plating.

The tyrp1-Tag/tyrp1-FGFR1-DN bigenic mouse: a model for selective inhibition of tumor development, angiogenesis, and invasion into the neural tissue by blockade of fibroblast growth factor receptor activity.

We describe herein a new transgenic mouse tumor model in which fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor activity is selectively inhibited. Tyrp1-Tag mice that develop early vascularized tumors of the retinal pigment epithelium were crossed with tyrp1-FGFR1-DN mice that express dominant-negative FGF receptors in the retinal pigment epithelium to generate bigenic mice. Initial angiogenesis-independent tumor growth progressed equally in tyrp1-Tag and bigenic mice with no significant differences in the number of dividing and apoptotic cells within the tumor.

Involvement of fibroblast growth factors in choroidal angiogenesis and retinal vascularization.

Fibroblast growth factors such as FGF-2 are potent mitogens for endothelial cells and induce their assembly into vascular-like structures in culture and in in vivo assays. However, their putative functions during physiological vascularization are poorly documented. In this study, the eye was used as a model for analyzing the vascular defects caused by targeted FGF inhibition in transgenic mice.

Regulation of vascular development by fibroblast growth factors.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are potent stimulators of angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. However, the precise role of FGFs and vascular development in normal and pathological tissue has long remained ill defined. Recently, substantial progress has been made toward a better understanding of their role.