23 / 12 / 2022
Blood.
A nanobody against the von Willebrand factor A3-domain detects ADAMTS13-induced proteolysis in congenital & acquired VWD
Claire Kizlik-Masson, Ivan Peyron, Stéphane Gangnard,..., Cecile V Denis, Caterina Casari, Sophie Susen, Peter J Lenting
Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a multimeric protein, the size of which is regulated via ADAMTS13-mediated proteolysis within the A2-domain. We aimed to isolate nanobodies distinguishing between proteolyzed and non-proteolyzed VWF, leading to the identification of a nanobody (designated KB-VWF-D3.1) targeting the A3-domain, the epitope of which overlaps the collagen-binding site. While KB-VWF-D3.1 binds with similar efficiency to dimeric and multimeric derivatives of VWF, binding to VWF was lost upon proteolysis by ADAMTS13, suggesting that proteolysis in the A2-domain modulates exposure of its epitope in the A3-domain...
22 / 12 / 2022
The Neuropilin-1/PKC axis promotes neuroendocrine differentiation and drug resistance of prostate cancer
Charly Blanc, Anissa Moktefi, Ariane Jolly,..., Yves Allory, Jean Delbé, Yamina Hamma-Kourbali
Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a multi-resistant variant of prostate cancer (PCa) that has become a major challenge in clinics. Understanding the neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) process at the molecular level is therefore critical to define therapeutic strategies that can prevent multi-drug resistance...
17 / 11 / 2022
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Modifier Factors of Cystic Fibrosis Phenotypes: A Focus on Modifier Genes
Julie Mésinèle, Manon Ruffin, Loïc Guillot, Harriet Corvol
Although cystic fibrosis (CF) is recognized as a monogenic disease, due to variants within the CFTR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator) gene, an extreme clinical heterogeneity is described among people with CF (pwCF). Apart from the exocrine pancreatic status, most studies agree that there is little association between CFTR variants and disease phenotypes. Environmental factors have been shown to contribute to this heterogeneity, accounting for almost 50% of the variability of the lung function of pwCF...
21 / 10 / 2022
FGFR3 Mutational Activation Can Induce Luminal-like Papillary Bladder Tumor Formation and Favors a Male Sex Bias
Ming-Jun Shi, Jacqueline Fontugne, Aura Moreno-Vega,..., Yves Allory, François Radvanyi, Isabelle Bernard-Pierrot
Bladder cancer (BCa) is more common in men and presents differences in molecular subtypes based on sex. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutations are enriched in the luminal papillary muscle-invasive BCa (MIBC) and non-MIBC subtypes. To determine whether FGFR3 mutations initiate BCa and impact BCa male sex bias. We developed a transgenic mouse model expressing the most frequent FGFR3 mutation, FGFR3-S249C, in urothelial cells. Bladder tumorigenesis was monitored in transgenic mice, with and without carcinogen exposure. Mouse and human BCa transcriptomic data were compared...
11 / 10 / 2022
Immunity
Human anti-smallpox long-lived memory B cells are defined by dynamic interactions in the splenic niche and long-lasting germinal center imprinting
Pascal Chappert, François Huetz, Marie-Alix Espinasse, ..., Thierry Fest, Claude-Agnès Reynaud, Jean-Claude Weill
Memory B cells (MBCs) can persist for a lifetime, but the mechanisms that allow their long-term survival remain poorly understood. Here, we isolated and analyzed human splenic smallpox/vaccinia protein B5-specific MBCs in individuals who were vaccinated more than 40 years ago. Only a handful of clones persisted over such an extended period, and they displayed limited intra-clonal diversity with signs of extensive affinity-based selection....
24 / 09 / 2022
Environnement international
Novel fluorescent and secreted transcriptional reporters for quantifying activity of the xenobiotic sensor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)
Séverine A Degrelle, Ioana Ferecatu, Thierry Fournier
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that plays a critical role in diverse biological processes, including xenobiotic metabolism, carcinogenesis, and physiological functions such as regulation of the immune system and cell differentiation. To improve studies of AHR activity, we constructed two new reporter genes: a fluorescent GFP-tagged histone 2B (XRE-H2B-eGFP) and a secreted nanoluciferase (XRE-pNL1.3[secNluc])...
