Impact thérapeutique de l’acquisition cervicale dédiée en [18F]-FDG-TEP-TDM sur la prise en charge des carcinomes épidermoïdes de la tête et du cou

Aim of the studyTo investigate the therapeutic impact of additional cervical dedicated 18FDG-PET-CT on the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).Materials and methodsThirty patients with HNSCC underwent a [¹⁸F]-FDG-PET-CT standard, whole-body scan completed by a cervical dedicated protocol. Two physicians blindly reviewed the exams and the results were discussed with surgeons to determine the therapeutic impact of the dedicated protocol.ResultsAmong 30 patients, only four (13%) discordant results were registered by the both observers, and two more by only one observer (κ = 0.75, S.D. = 0.08). As to the four patients : i) a N0 staged patient on whole body (WB) exam was upstaged to N2b in cervical PET (obese patient, whole-body exam with poor quality), ii) for a second patient, no node was described on WB scan, but one lymph node in each cervical chain was observed in focused PET, with low SUV value, iii) in the other two cases, cervical PET scan upstaged from N2a to N2b and from N2a to N2c (SUV < 3), without any influence on treatment management.ConclusionOur results show that additional cervical dedicated PET-CT does not modify the management of patients with HNSCC when compared to WB PET-CT, except for particular obese or N0 patients, allowing to reduce patient CT radiation dose and time-consuming PET acquisition.     

Occurrence of a thermoacidophilic cell-bound exo-pectinase inAlicyclobacillus acidocaldarius

Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius was able to degrade pectin under thermoacidophilic conditions of high temperature and acidity. Both extracellular and cell-bound pectolytic activities were found (28 and 72% of total activity, respectively). WhenA. acidocaldarius was subjected to lysozyme or sonication, more than 50% of the activity was found to be bound with the cell debris. The cell-bound enzyme presented principally exopectolytic activity. SDS-PAGE and zymogram showed that the estimated molar mass of the crude enzyme was 52 kDa. pH optimum was between 1.5 and 2.0 and the enzyme was thermostable at 70°C for 1 h at pH 2.0.     

Grossularine-1 and grossularine-2, alpha carbolines from Dendrodoa grossularia, as possible intercalative agents

Dendrodoine A, grossularines-1 and -2, metabolites isolated from the tunicate Dendrodoa grossularia, have exhibited a cytotoxic activity on L1210 leukemia cells in culture. The inhibition of DNA synthesis induced by grossularines and the plane structure of the alpha-carboline common moiety were in favor of an intercalative process for their mechanism of action. In fact, the results of viscometry, fluorescence quenching and DNA melting experiments clearly indicated the intercalative properties of grossularine-2 explained by its quasi-planar structure and the non-intercalative DNA binding of grossularine-1 explained by the presence of a bulky indole chain at the 2-position of the alpha-carboline ring.     

Anaerobic microbial counts of different potential anaerobic inocula

Sludges of various origin were analysed on the basis of microbial counts of anaerobes in order to investigate potential and alternative sources for inoculating anaerobic digestors. Sludges from neutralization and oil and fat separation tanks of a sugar cane factory, and from a stabilisation pond of a purified terephthalic-acid-producing plant were found to be adequate potential inocula. Activated sludges were found to have both hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic methanogens and obligate hydrogen-producing acetogens (OHPA). In all sludges tested, hydrogenotrophic methanogens were the dominant strict anaerobes. The ratio between most probable number counts of acetoclastic methanogens and OPHA seems to be different between dispersed sludges and granular sludges. Correspondence to: J. P. Guyot     

Coupling curvature-dependent and shear stress-stimulated neotissue growth in dynamic bioreactor cultures: a 3D computational model of a complete scaffold

The main challenge in tissue engineering consists in understanding and controlling the growth process of in vitro cultured neotissues toward obtaining functional tissues. Computational models can provide crucial information on appropriate bioreactor and scaffold design but also on the bioprocess environment and culture conditions. In this study, the development of a 3D model using the level set method to capture the growth of a microporous neotissue domain in a dynamic culture environment (perfusion bioreactor) was pursued. In our model, neotissue growth velocity was influenced by scaffold geometry as well as by flow- induced shear stresses. The neotissue was modeled as a homogenous porous medium with a given permeability, and the Brinkman equation was used to calculate the flow profile in both neotissue and void space. Neotissue growth was modeled until the scaffold void volume was filled, thus capturing already established experimental observations, in particular the differences between scaffold filling under different flow regimes. This tool is envisaged as a scaffold shape and bioprocess optimization tool with predictive capacities. It will allow controlling fluid flow during long-term culture, whereby neotissue growth alters flow patterns, in order to provide shear stress profiles and magnitudes across the whole scaffold volume influencing, in turn, the neotissue growth.     

Interaction of the calcium ionophore A.23187 (Calcimycin) with Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli

Ionophores isolated from bacterial strains, and especially A.23187, are efficient antibiotics against Gram-positive bacteria and devoid of activity on Gram-negative species. This difference in activity was attributed to the outer membrane of Gramnegative bacteria which is presumably impermeable to these very hydrophobic compounds. In this context, the partition of the calcium ionophore A.23187 between bacteria and the medium was studied on Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Bacillus cereus (Gram-positive) using, on the one hand, fluorimetric measurements and, on the other hand, radioautographic analysis of bacteria incubated with the [³H]-labelled ionophore. Although the first method did not give a definitive answer, the second one clearly showed that the tritiated metabolite was only incorporated into B. cereus.     

Study of permeation and blocker binding in TMEM16A calcium-activated chloride channels

We studied the effects of mutations of positively charged amino acid residues in the pore of X. tropicalis TMEM16A calcium-activated chloride channels: K613E, K628E, K630E; R646E and R761E. The activation and deactivation kinetics were not affected, and only K613E showed a lower current density. K628E and R761E affect anion selectivity without affecting Na⁺ permeation, whereas K613E, R646E and the double mutant K613E + R646E affect anion selectivity and permeability to Na⁺. Furthermore, altered blockade by the chloride channel blockers anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (A-9-C), 4, 4''-Diisothiocyano-2,2''-stilbenedisulfonic acid (DIDS) and T16inh-A01 was observed. These results suggest the existence of 2 binding sites for anions within the pore at electrical distances of 0.3 and 0.5. These sites are also relevant for anion permeation and blockade.