Identification of Restricted Subsets of Mature microRNA Abnormally Expressed in Inactive Colonic Mucosa of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

International audienceBACKGROUND: Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD) are two chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) affecting the intestinal mucosa. Current understanding of IBD pathogenesis points out the interplay of genetic events and environmental cues in the dysregulated immune response. We hypothesized that dysregulated microRNA (miRNA) expression may contribute to IBD pathogenesis. miRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs which prevent protein synthesis through translational suppression or mRNAs degradation, and regulate several physiological processes. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS: Expression of mature miRNAs was studied by Q-PCR in inactive colonic mucosa of patients with UC (8), CD (8) and expressed relative to that observed in healthy controls (10). Only miRNAs with highly altered expression (>5 or 100 -fold and 0.05-0.19 -fold for over- and under- expression, respectively; 0.00

Prevalence of Yersinia Species in the Ileum of Crohn's Disease Patients and Controls

Yersinia are common contaminants of food products, but their prevalence in the human gut is poorly documented. Yersinia have been implicated in Crohn's Disease (CD, an inflammatory bowel disease) however their role in CD is controversial. We performed highly sensitive PCR assays of specific sequences for the gyrB gene of Y. aldovae, Y. bercovieri, Y. enterocolitica, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii and the inv gene of Y. pseudotuberculosis. We analyzed a total of 470 ileal samples taken from 338 participants (262 CD patients and 76 controls) belonging to three independent cohorts. All patients and controls were phenotyped and genotyped for the main CD susceptibility variants: NOD2, ATG16L1, and IRGM. Yersinia were found in 7.7% of ileal samples (respectively 7.9 and 7.6% in controls and CD patients) corresponding to 10% of participants (respectively 11.8 and 9.5% in controls and CD patients). Y. enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. intermedia were the most frequently identified species. The bacteria were more frequent in resected specimens, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. Yersinia were no more likely to be detected in CD tissues than tissues from inflammatory and non-inflammatory controls. CD patients treated with immunosuppressants were less likely to be Yersinia carriers. In conclusion, this work shows that Yersinia species are frequently found at low levels in the human ileum in health and disease. The role of Yersinia species in this ecosystem should now be explored

Proteomic Analysis of the Predatory Venom of Conus striatus Reveals Novel and Population-Specific κA-Conotoxin SIVC

Animal venoms are a rich source of pharmacological compounds with ecological and evolutionary significance, as well as with therapeutic and biotechnological potentials. Among the most promising venomous animals, cone snails produce potent neurotoxic venom to facilitate prey capture and defend against aggressors. Conus striatus, one of the largest piscivorous species, is widely distributed, from east African coasts to remote Polynesian Islands. In this study, we investigated potential intraspecific differences in venom composition between distinct geographical populations from Mayotte Island (Indian Ocean) and Australia (Pacific Ocean). Significant variations were noted among the most abundant components, namely the κA-conotoxins, which contain three disulfide bridges and complex glycosylations. The amino acid sequence of a novel κA-conotoxin SIVC, including its N-terminal acetylated variant, was deciphered using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In addition, the glycosylation pattern was found to be consisting of two HexNAc and four Hex for the Mayotte population, which diverge from the previously characterized two HexNAc and three Hex combinations for this species, collected elsewhere. Whereas the biological and ecological roles of these modifications remain to be investigated, population-specific glycosylation patterns provide, for the first time, a new level of intraspecific variations in cone snail venoms

Revealing C-terminal peptide amidation by the use of the survival yield technique

International audienceα-amidation of peptide sequences is a common post-translational modification in the living world. Since the majority of these C-terminal amidated peptides are bioactive, there is hence a great interest to identify and characterize them from biological matrices and natural extracts. Regarding conventional separative methods dedicated to peptides (such as HPLC or CE), elution protocols must be carefully optimized hampering straightforward LC-MS analysis of complex samples. From a mass spectrometry point of view, they are difficult to pinpoint owing to the only 1 Da mass difference between the post-translational amidated and the corresponding native carboxylated forms producing overlapping isotopic contributions of both molecular ions. To circumvent this analytical difficulty, usage of energy-resolved tandem mass spectrometry experiments and of the survival yield technique was investigated. Pair of peptides were thus dissociated in positive and negative mode according to the survival yield technique, in MS2 and MS3 experiments, in order to separate them giving a reliable MS/MS methodology to detect such post-translationally modified sequence

Kinetic modeling of four folates in a model solution at different temperatures and pH to mimic their behavior in foods during processing

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Identification and Quantification of Flavanol Glycosides in <i>Vitis vinifera</i> Grape Seeds and Skins during Ripening

Monomeric and dimeric flavanol glycosides were analyzed in Vitis vinifera grapes and seeds during ripening. An analytical method using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-QQQ-MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was employed. Three grape varieties (Merlot, Syrah and Tannat) were chosen and grape berries were sampled at different stages of development. Ten monoglycosylated and six diglycosylated flavanol monomers were detected. Twelve monoglycosylated and three diglycosylated flavanol dimers were also detected for all three grape varieties. All diglycosides were detected for the first time in Vitis vinifera grapes, though some of these compounds were only detected in skins or seeds. Furthermore, the evolution of all these compounds was studied, and a decrease in monomeric (epi) catechin monoglycosides was observed during ripening for Tannat, Merlot and Syrah grape skins. The dimers would appear to accumulate in skin tissues up to mid-summer (after veraison) and decrease when grape berries reached maturity

Straightforward Synthesis of a Double-Lasso Macrocycle from a Nonsymmetrical [c2]Daisy Chain

International audienceThe straightforward synthesis of a double-lasso macrocycle from a nonsymmetrical [c2]daisy chain, using the copper(I)-catalyzed Huisgen alkyne azide 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, is described. The preparation of the nonsymmetrical alkyne azide [c2]daisy chain precursor was realized in situ via the exchange of the monomers contained in both symmetrical alkyne and azide [c2]daisy chains and was followed by mass spectrometry

Asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction using a new chiral ß-nitroacrylate for enantiopur trans-ß-norbornane amino acid preparation

International audienceThe main nitronorbornene adduct derived from the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of (S)-benzyl-4-(3-(3-nitroacryloyloxy)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)benzoate (S)-1 and cyclopentadiene was isolated and transformed to afford the enantiopure bicyclic ß-amino acid (1S,2R,3R,4R)-trans-ß-norbornane amino acid 9. The enantiomer (1R,2S,3S,4S)-9 could be obtained by the same synthetic route by using the chiral auxiliary (R)-1

Ozonation as a pretreatment process for nanofiltration brines: Monitoring of transformation products and toxicity evaluation

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From Diketopiperazines to Hydantoins: An Unprecedented Rearrangement

International audienceBis-Boc-activated 2,5-diketopiperazines on reaction with potassium hydroxide or sodium methoxide in dry tetrahydrofuran led to Boc-protected hydantoins through an unprecedented ring contraction. This rearrangement was applied to several monosubstituted 2,5-diketopiperazines with good yields and regioselectivity