Biomarker research and lipidomics studies through various health applications

La notion de biomarqueurs est définie comme « une caractéristique mesurée objectivement et évaluée comme indicateur de processus biologiques normaux ou pathologiques, ou de réponses pharmacologiques à une intervention thérapeutique ». L'intérêt scientifique pour les biomarqueurs est de plus en plus important. Ils permettent, entre autres,une meilleure compréhension des processus pathologiques et de diagnostiquer, voire pronostiquer ces pathologies. Les études « omiques » telles que la lipidomique jouent un rôle essentiel dans la découverte de nouveaux biomarqueurs. La lipidomique consiste à explorer le lipidome d'un échantillon biologique et à déceler l'impact de la pathologie sur ce dernier. Les lipides constituent une vaste et importante famille de métabolites retrouvés dans toutes les cellules vivantes, dont leur nombre est estimé à plus de 100 000 espèces chez les mammifères. Ils sont impliqués, notamment, dans le stockage d'énergie et la transduction de signal. Mon travail de thèse a reposé sur la réalisation d'approches lipidomiques en LC-MS sur diverses applications en santé telles que le syndrome de déficit immunitaire combiné sévère associé à une alopécie et une dystrophie des ongles, le syndrome du nystagmus infantile et le rejet de greffe rénale. A cette fin, des analyses statistiques multivariées et univariées ont été employées pour déceler des potentiels lipides biomarqueurs.Biomarker was defined as "a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacological responses to therapeutic intervention". The scientific interest in biomarkers is more and more important. They allow, in particular, to better understand pathogenic processes and to diagnose, even to predict pathologies. "Omics" studies, such as lipidomics, play an essential role in the new biomarkers discovery. Lipidomics consist in exploring biological samples lipidome and in detecting pathogenic impact on this latter. Lipids are a large and important metabolite family found in all living cells. Their quantity is estimated to more than 100,000 species in mammals. They are involved, in particular, in the energy storage and the signal transduction. My PhD thesis involved carrying out lipidomics approaches with LC-MS through various health applications such as severe combined immunodeficiency associated with alopecia syndrome, infantile nystagmus syndrome and renal graft rejection. For this purpose, multivariate and univariate statistical analyses were carried out in order to detect potential lipid biomarkers

AhR-deficiency as a cause of demyelinating disease and inflammation

Abstract The Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor(AhR) is among the most important receptors which bind pollutants; however it also regulates signaling pathways independently of such exposure. We previously demonstrated that AhR is expressed during development of the central nervous system(CNS) and that its deletion leads to the occurrence of a congenital nystagmus. Objectives of the present study are to decipher the origin of these deficits, and to identify the role of the AhR in the development of the CNS. We show that the AhR-knockout phenotype develops during early infancy together with deficits in visual-information-processing which are associated with an altered optic nerve myelin sheath, which exhibits modifications in its lipid composition and in the expression of myelin-associated-glycoprotein(MAG), a cell adhesion molecule involved in myelin-maintenance and glia-axon interaction. In addition, we show that the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines is increased in the impaired optic nerve and confirm that inflammation is causally related with an AhR-dependent decreased expression of MAG. Overall, our findings demonstrate the role of the AhR as a physiological regulator of myelination and inflammatory processes in the developing CNS. It identifies a mechanism by which environmental pollutants might influence CNS myelination and suggest AhR as a relevant drug target for demyelinating diseases