Nouveaux rôles du complexe CCR4-NOT dans le contrôle de l'expression des gènes eucaryotes

The multi-subunit CCR4-NOT complex has been implicated in all aspects of the mRNA life cycle, from synthesis of mRNAs in the nucleus to their degradation in the cytoplasm. The CAF1 protein is a catalytic subunit which plays a central role inside the complex. Human CAF1 is a deadenylase, modulates arginine methylation, and is a transcriptional cofactor of several nuclear receptors. The main objective of the thesis was to elucidate the molecular mechanism of hCAF1- mediated gene expression. We reported that hCAF1 is an important negative regulator of the interferon pathway and that hCAF1 is associated in the cytoplasm of resting cells with STAT1, a crucial transcription factor of this pathway. We found that hCAF1 participates in the extinction of the IFN signal via its deadenylase activity, by speeding up the degradation of some STAT1-induced mRNAs. Our findings are important because abnormal activations of this pathway are frequently associated with cancer and auto-immune diseases. In parallel, we characterized a novel isoform called hCAF1v2 produced by alternative splicing of the Caf1 gene. We reported that hCAF1v2 displays divergent functions compared with hCAF1. In fact hCAF1v2 does not have a deadenylase activity and is preferentially associated with PRMT1 to modulate arginine methylation. Altogether, our findings identify a new signalling pathway which is regulated by hCAF1, and reveal novel mechanisms utilized by the CCR4-NOT complex to control gene expressionDe la synthèse des ARNm jusqu'à leur dégradation, le complexe CCR4-NOT est un régulateur essentiel de l'expression des gènes eucaryotes. CAF1 est une sous-unité catalytique qui joue un rôle central dans la fonction de ce complexe. La protéine humaine hCAF1 possède une activité déadénylase, régule la méthylation des arginines dépendante de PRMT1 et est un régulateur transcriptionnel des récepteurs nucléaires. Bien que l'ensemble des travaux publiés sur hCAF1 lui confère une place importante dans la régulation de l'expression des gènes, son mécanisme d'action et surtout les voies de signalisation qu'elle régule restent encore mal compris dans les cellules humaines. Lors de ce travail de thèse, nous avons mis en évidence une nouvelle fonction de la protéine hCAF1 comme régulateur de la voie des interférons via le contrôle du facteur de transcription STAT1 et la dégradation de ses ARNm cibles. L'identification de hCAF1 comme régulateur de l'activité de STAT1 et de la réponse aux interférons est très importante car des activations anormales de ces voies sont associées à de nombreuses pathologies telles que le cancer ou des maladies immunitaires. En parallèle, nous avons caractérisé un nouvel isoforme nommé hCAF1v2 produit par le gène humain Caf1 suite à un évènement d'épissage alternatif. Nos résultats indiquent que hCAF1v2 présente une divergence fonctionnelle vis-à-vis de hCAF1 puisqu'elle ne possède pas d'activité déadénylase intrinsèque et s'avère requise pour la régulation de la méthylation des arginines via son interaction avec l'enzyme PRMT1. L'ensemble des résultats obtenus identifient une nouvelle voie de signalisation régulée par la protéine hCAF1 dans les cellules humaines et permettent de mieux comprendre l'implication du complexe CCR4-NOT dans les mécanismes de régulation de l'expression des gène

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae evades phagocytic uptake by porcine alveolar macrophages in vitro

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia (EP), is able to persist in the lung tissue and evade destruction by the host for several weeks. To understand the mechanism of pathogen survival, phagocytic uptake of M. hyopneumoniae by primary porcine alveolar macrophages was investigated. Intracellular location and survival of the pathogen were explored using gentamicin survival assays, flow cytometry and confocal microscopy of M. hyopneumoniae 232 labelled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Following 1 h and 16 h of co-incubation, few viable M. hyopneumoniae were recovered from inside macrophages. Flow cytometric analysis of macrophages incubated with M. hyopneumoniae expressing GFP indicated that the mycoplasmas became associated with macrophages, but were shown to be extracellular when actin-dependent phagocytosis was blocked with cytochalasin D. Confocal microscopy detected GFP-labelled M. hyopneumoniae inside macrophages and the numbers increased modestly with time of incubation. Neither the addition of porcine serum complement or convalescent serum from EP-recovered pigs was able to enhance engulfment of M. hyopneumoniae. This investigation suggests that M. hyopneumoniae evades significant uptake by porcine alveolar macrophages and this may be a mechanism of immune escape by M. hyopneumoniae in the porcine respiratory tract

Table ronde« Qu’est-ce qui fait bouger les services publics ? »(UFR INFOCOM – 6 avril 2000)

Les discours qui eurent lieu lors de la table ronde "Qu'est-ce qui fait bouger les services publics?" organisée à l'UFR INFOCOM de l'Université de Lille 3 en partenariat avec l'association "Réseau de service public du Nord-Pas-de-Calais" sont ici retranscrits. Quatre sujet sont abordés autour de la notion d'usager des services publics : l'amélioration de l'accueil de l'usager aux services fiscaux du Nord-Lille, l'acceuil à la Mairie de Douai, le forum-douleur de l'hôpital de Douai et l'usager au coeur de la modernisation

Non-specific Effects of Vaccines Illustrated Through the BCG Example: From Observations to Demonstrations

Epidemiological studies regarding many successful vaccines suggest that vaccination may lead to a reduction in child mortality and morbidity worldwide, on a grander scale than is attributable to protection against the specific target diseases of these vaccines. These non-specific effects (NSEs) of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, for instance, implicate adaptive and innate immune mechanisms, with recent evidence suggesting that trained immunity might be a key instrument at play. Collectively referring to the memory-like characteristics of innate immune cells, trained immunity stems from epigenetic reprogramming that these innate immune cells undergo following exposure to a primary stimulus like BCG. The epigenetic changes subsequently regulate cytokine production and cell metabolism and in turn, epigenetic changes are regulated by these effects. Novel -omics technologies, combined with in vitro models for trained immunity and other immunological techniques, identify the biological pathways within innate cells that enable training by BCG. Future research should aim to identify biomarkers for vaccine heterologous effects, such that they can be applied to epidemiological studies. Linking biological mechanisms to the reduction in all-cause mortality observed in epidemiological studies will strengthen the evidence in favor of vaccine NSEs. The universal acceptance of these NSEs would demand a re-evaluation of current vaccination policies, such as the childhood vaccination recommendations by the World Health Organization, in order to produce the maximum impact on childhood mortality

Cap-binding protein 4EHP effects translation silencing by microRNAs

Significance miRNAs are important components of gene regulatory networks and affect all aspects of cell biology by controlling the stability and translation efficiency of their target mRNAs. Here, we identified the mRNA cap-binding eIF4E-related protein 4EHP as an effector of miRNA-mediated translation repression. Through screening for protein interactions in cells via the BioID method, we identified 4EHP as a component of the CCR4–NOT/DDX6/4E-T axis. Direct interaction between 4E-T and 4EHP increases the latter’s cap-binding affinity, suggesting that this interaction potentiates its competition with the eIF4F complex for binding to the mRNA 5′ cap. Our findings suggest that 4EHP facilitates the formation of a closed-loop structure between the 3′ UTR of the mRNA and its 5′ cap, which causes repression of mRNA translation.</jats:p

Probiotic Bacteria Induce a ‘Glow of Health’

Radiant skin and hair are universally recognized as indications of good health. However, this ‘glow of health’ display remains poorly understood. We found that feeding of probiotic bacteria to aged mice induced integumentary changes mimicking peak health and reproductive fitness characteristic of much younger animals. Eating probiotic yogurt triggered epithelial follicular anagen-phase shift with sebocytogenesis resulting in thick lustrous fur due to a bacteria-triggered interleukin-10-dependent mechanism. Aged male animals eating probiotics exhibited increased subcuticular folliculogenesis, when compared with matched controls, yielding luxuriant fur only in probiotic-fed subjects. Female animals displayed probiotic-induced hyperacidity coinciding with shinier hair, a feature that also aligns with fertility in human females. Together these data provide insights into mammalian evolution and novel strategies for integumentary health

Oral Probiotic Control Skin Inflammation by Acting on Both Effector and Regulatory T Cells

Probiotics are believed to alleviate allergic and inflammatory skin disorders, but their impact on pathogenic effector T cells remains poorly documented. Here we show that oral treatment with the probiotic bacteria L. casei (DN-114 001) alone alleviates antigen-specific skin inflammation mediated by either protein-specific CD4+ T cells or hapten-specific CD8+ T cells. In the model of CD8+ T cell-mediated skin inflammation, which reproduces allergic contact dermatitis in human, inhibition of skin inflammation by L. casei is not due to impaired priming of hapten-specific IFNγ-producing cytolytic CD8+ effector T cells. Alternatively, L. casei treatment reduces the recruitment of CD8+ effector T cells into the skin during the elicitation (i.e. symptomatic) phase of CHS. Inhibition of skin inflammation by L. casei requires MHC class II-restricted CD4+ T cells but not CD1d-restricted NK-T cells. L casei treatment enhanced the frequency of FoxP3+ Treg in the skin and increased the production of IL-10 by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in skin draining lymph nodes of hapten-sensitized mice. These data demonstrate that orally administered L. casei (DN-114 001) efficiently alleviate T cell-mediated skin inflammation without causing immune suppression, via mechanisms that include control of CD8+ effector T cells and involve regulatory CD4+ T cells. L. casei (DN-114 001) may thus represent a probiotic of potential interest for immunomodulation of T cell-mediated allergic skin diseases in human