Les cancers gynécologiques : une prise en charge multidisciplinaire à propos de trois cas cliniques

Presentation of three clinical cases that illustrate the current multidisciplinary care in cervical, endometrium and ovary cancer.     

Expression of active recombinant human alpha 1-antitrypsin in transgenic rabbits.

A DNA construct containing the human alpha 1-antitrypsin gene including 1.5 and 4 kb of 5' and 3' flanking sequences, was microinjected into the pronucleus of rabbit embryos. The recombinant human protein was (a) expressed in the blood circulation of F0 and F1 transgenic rabbits at an average concentration of 1 mg ml-1, (b) shown to be fully active and (c) shown to be separable from its rabbit counterpart. Transgenic rabbits might represent a novel source of human proteins of therapeutic interest.     

Phylogenetic analysis of the outer-membrane-protein genes of Chlamydiae, and its implication for vaccine development

Examination of 18 complete and 6 partial sequences of the major outer- membrane protein from 24 chlamydiae isolates was used to reconstruct their evolutionary relationships. From this analysis, assuming that the clades with 100% bootstrap support are correct, come the following conclusions: (1) The tree of these sequences is not congruent with the phylogeny of the hosts, and thus host switching would seem to have occurred, thereby limiting the extent to which there has been coevolution of parasite and host. (2) The tree is also noncongruent with clustering by type of cell infected, thereby limiting the extent to which there has been coevolution of parasite and the cell type that it infects. (3) The tree is also noncongruent with clustering by the organ infected (eyes or genitalia), thereby limiting the extent to which there has been coevolution of parasite and the organ that it infects. (4) The tree is also noncongruent with genital strains arising from lymphogranuloma venereum strains. (5) The tree is also noncongruent with the geographic site at which the isolates were obtained, thereby limiting the extent of divergence explained by geographic separation. (6) There are estimated to be 185 amino acid positions that are invariable (as opposed to unvaried) in the major outer-membrane protein. There are 10 unvaried positions in the variable domains, of which 9 appear to be invariable, giving some reason to hope that development of a vaccine might be possible. (7) The rate of change of this protein is too small to see increased divergence over the time span of isolation of these genes, giving hope to any vaccine having longevity. Bootstrapping supports those portions of the tree on which the first five conclusions above depend. The picture that these results provide is more one of pathogen versatility than one of coevolutionary constraints. In addition, we examined 10 60-KDa, outer-membrane protein- 2 genes, all but one of which were from these same strains. The tree was not, among the trachomatis strains, congruent with the major-outer- membrane protein tree, suggesting that gene exchange could be occurring among strains. Moreover, there is an apparent slowdown in divergence in this gene, among the trachomatis strains.      

Apport de l’IRM dans l’imagerie pelvienne : aspect normal et pathologique

The pelvic MRI allows a better morphological analysis of the uterus (cervix and body) and ovaries compared to CT scan either before or after injection. MRI is the modality of choice for preoperative staging and follow-up of cervical and endometrial tumors. MRI assessed tumor response, detect recurrences. MRI also allows better characterization of ovaries lesions.     

Evidence for a stimulating factor of prolactin and growth hormone secretion present in brewery draff

Aquous extracts of brewery draff injected intravenously into ewes and cows induced prolactin and growth hormone (GH) secretion. The same draff added to the feed of cows appeared to be unable to significantly stimulate the blood level of prolactin and GH. In these experimental conditions, milk production was not enhanced by draff. Pure beta-glucan extracted from barley also stimulated hormone secretion when administered by the intravenous route. Barley, bier and draff therefore contain a beta-glucan-like factor which stimulates lactogenic hormone secretion. The amount present in draff is probably unable to cause an increase in hormones when administered orally. Hence, the well-established stimulatory effect of draff on milk production results from their nutritive value rather than from their ability of modulating the endocrine system.     

Effect of various lysosomotropic agents and microtubule disrupting drugs on the lactogenic and the mammogenic action of prolactin

Various drugs added to the culture medium of rabbit mammary gland were assayed for their capacity to affect the lactogenic and the mammogenic activities of prolactin. Three lysosomotropic agents NH4Cl, chloroquine and methylamine which were previously demonstrated to inhibit the degradation of the hormone-receptor complex after its internalization (down-regulation) did not prevent the initiation of casein synthesis, of lactose synthetase activity and of DNA synthesis. Five microtubule disrupting drugs, colchicine, colcemid, vinblastin, podophyllotoxin and nocodazole inhibited the induction of casein and DNA synthesis by prolactin whereas two inactive analogues, trimethylcolchicinic acid and lumicolchicine had no effect. None of these drugs exhibited any general cytotoxic effect as judged by the capacity of the tissue to incorporate 14C aminoacids into total proteins and 3H-uridine into total RNA. The microtubule disrupting drugs did not greatly reduce the rate of casein synthesis in the cultured mammary tissue explanted from lactating rabbits. The data suggest that the down-regulation of prolactin receptor is not strictly required for the two considered prolactin activities. By contrast, the integrity of microtubules, or at least of structures in which tubulin is involved, is necessary to ensure a normal transmission of the prolactin information responsible for the initiation of milk and DNA synthesis. In addition, the fact that the lactogenic and the mammogenic activities of prolactin are affected by the same drugs suggests that these two properties of the hormone are mediated by cellular mechanisms which have at least one common step.     

Western Palaearctic phylogeography of an inquiline oak gall wasp,Synergus umbraculus

Insect‐induced galls on plants comprise species‐rich but self‐contained communities of herbivores and natural enemies. In the present study, we focus on galls induced by cynipid gall wasps on oaks, and on the least‐known trophic level that these galls contain: inquilines. These insects, also cynipids, feed on gall tissue and are an abundant but taxonomically poorly understood part of an otherwise well‐studied system. We used DNA sequence data to examine spatial patterns in the genetic diversity of Synergus umbraculus Olivier 1791 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini), a widespread species attacking many host galls across the Western Palaearctic. Analysis of 239 cytochrome b sequences revealed eight haplogroups showing significant phylogeographic pattern across the Western Palaearctic, corresponding to putative glacial refugia in Iberia, Central Europe, Turkey, and Iran. There were significant genetic discontinuities across the Pyrenees and the Anatolian diagonal but no impact of the Alps, suggesting that significant discontinuities have biotic rather than physical causes. Detailed analysis of sites in the Carpathian Basin reveal a high diversity and low spatial structure, and identify Central Europe as the source of colonists for Quaternary colonization of Germany, France, and Britain. We found no evidence for host‐associated differentiation of S. umbraculus lineages associated with the most common cynipid host galls, suggesting frequent shifts within the host gall assemblage by inquiline lineages. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 750–764.