Analysis of baseline parameters in the HALT polycystic kidney disease trials

HALT PKD consists of two ongoing randomized trials with the largest cohort of systematically studied patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease to date. Study A will compare combined treatment with an angiotensin-converting inhibitor and receptor blocker to inhibitor alone and standard compared with low blood pressure targets in 558 early-stage disease patients with an eGFR over 60ml/min per 1.73m2. Study B will compare inhibitor-blocker treatment to the inhibitor alone in 486 late-stage patients with eGFR 25–60ml/min per 1.73m2. We used correlation and multiple regression cross-sectional analyses to determine associations of baseline parameters with total kidney, liver, or liver cyst volumes measured by MRI in Study A and eGFR in both studies. Lower eGFR and higher natural log-transformed urine albumin excretion were independently associated with a larger natural log–transformed total kidney volume adjusted for height (ln(HtTKV)). Higher body surface area was independently associated with a higher ln(HtTKV) and lower eGFR. Men had larger height-adjusted total kidney volume and smaller liver cyst volumes than women. A weak correlation was found between the ln(HtTKV) and natural log–transformed total liver volume adjusted for height or natural log liver cyst volume in women only. Women had higher urine aldosterone excretion and lower plasma potassium. Thus, our analysis (1) confirms a strong association between renal volume and functional parameters, (2) shows that gender and other factors differentially affect the development of polycystic disease in the kidney and liver, and (3) suggests an association between anthropomorphic measures reflecting prenatal and/or postnatal growth and disease severity

A PKA survival pathway inhibited by DPT-PKI, a new specific cell permeable PKA inhibitor, is induced by T. annulata in parasitized B-lymphocytes

International audienc

Use of penetrating peptides interacting with PP1/PP2A proteins as a general approach for a drug phosphatase technology.

Protein phosphatase types 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A) represent two major families of serine/threonine protein phosphatases that have been implicated in the regulation of many cellular processes, including cell growth and apoptosis in mammalian cells. PP1 and PP2A proteins are composed of oligomeric complexes comprising a catalytic structure (PP1c or PP2AC) containing the enzymatic activity and at least one more interacting subunit. The binding of different subunits to a catalytic structure generates a broad variety of holoenzymes. We showed here that casein kinase 2alpha (Ck2alpha) and simian virus 40 small t antigen share a putative common beta-strand structure required for PP2A1 trimeric holoenzyme binding. We have also characterized DPT-sh1, a short basic peptide from Ck2alpha that interacted only in vitro with the PP2A-A subunit and behaves as a nontoxic penetrating shuttle in several cultivated human cell lines and chick embryos. In addition, DPT-sh1 specifically accumulated in human red cells infected with Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites. We therefore designed bipartite peptides containing DPT-sh1 and PP1- or PP2A-interacting sequences. We found that DPT-5, a DPT-sh1-derived peptide containing a short sequence identified in CD28 antigen, interacts with PP2A-Balpha, and DPT-7, another DPT-sh1-derived peptide containing a short sequence identified in Bad as a PP1 catalytic consensus docking motif, induce apoptosis in cultivated cell lines. These results clearly indicate that the rational design of PP1/PP2A interacting peptides is a pertinent strategy to deregulate intracellular survival pathways

UBTD1 regulates ceramide balance and endolysosomal positioning to coordinate EGFR signaling

International audienceTo adapt in an ever-changing environment, cells must integrate physical and chemical signals and translate them into biological meaningful information through complex signaling pathways. By combining lipidomic and proteomic approaches with functional analysis, we have shown that ubiquitin domain-containing protein 1 (UBTD1) plays a crucial role in both the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) self-phosphorylation and its lysosomal degradation. On the one hand, by modulating the cellular level of ceramides through N-acylsphingosine amidohydrolase 1 (ASAH1) ubiquitination, UBTD1 controls the ligand-independent phosphorylation of EGFR. On the other hand, UBTD1, via the ubiquitination of Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62) by RNF26 and endolysosome positioning, participates in the lysosomal degradation of EGFR. The coordination of these two ubiquitin-dependent processes contributes to the control of the duration of the EGFR signal. Moreover, we showed that UBTD1 depletion exacerbates EGFR signaling and induces cell proliferation emphasizing a hitherto unknown function of UBTD1 in EGFR-driven human cell proliferation

Pediatric Wilson's Disease: Phenotypic, Genetic Characterization and Outcome of 182 Children in France

OBJECTIVES: To describe a cohort of Wilson's disease (WD) paediatric cases, and to point out the diagnostic particularities of this age group and the long-term outcome. METHODS: Clinical data of 182 paediatric patients included in the French WD national registry from 01/03/1995 to 01/06/2019 were gathered. RESULTS: Diagnosis of WD was made at a mean age of 10.7 ± 4.2 years (range 1-18 years). At diagnosis, 154 patients (84.6%) had hepatic manifestations, 19 (10.4%) had neurological manifestations, and 9 patients (4.9%) were asymptomatic. The p.His1069Gln mutation was the most frequently encountered (14% of patients).Neurological patients were diagnosed at least one year after they presented their first symptoms. At diagnosis, the median urinary copper excretion (UCE) was 4.2 μmol/24 hours (0.2-253). The first-line treatment was D-penicillamine (DP) for 131 (72%) patients, zinc salts for 24 (13%) patients, and Trientine for 17 (9%) patients. Liver transplantation was performed in 39 (21.4%) patients, for hepatic indications in 33/39 patients or for neurological deterioration in 6/39 patients, mean UWDRS of the latter went from 90 ± 23.1 before LT to 26.8 ± 14.1 (p < 0.01) after a mean follow-up of 4.3 ± 2.5 years. Overall survival rate at 20 years of follow-up was 98%, patient and transplant-free combined survival was 84% at 20 years. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of WD can be challenging in children, particularly at early stages of liver disease and in case of neurological presentation; hence the support of clinical scores and genetic testing is essential. Diagnosis at early stages and proper treatment ensure excellent outcomes, subject to good long-term treatment compliance. LT is a valid option for end-stage liver disease not responding to treatment and can be discussed for selected cases of neurological deterioration