Les grands « piliers » d’un écosystème des Startups marocaines dynamique et innovant : État des lieux et recommandations

Résumé Les Startups contribuent considérablement à l’amélioration des indicateurs économiques et sociaux. Cependant, pour promouvoir la culture Startup et susciter l’émergence de nouvelles Startups et leur développement, le Maroc a besoin de revoir son écosystème et essayer d’instaurer des politiques appropriées. Cet article a pour objectif, premièrement, de présenter l’état des lieux de l’écosystème marocain des startups. Deuxièmement, de mettre en lumière les grands « piliers » d’un écosystème des startups. Troisièmement, de formuler des recommandations quant à chaque pilier de l’écosystème, sur la base des expériences d’autres pays et des points de vue des experts, afin de permettre son amélioration et, par conséquent, de bénéficier des avantages qu’offre la Startup.Mots-clés : écosystème, Startup, entreprenariat, innovation, MarocAbstract : Startups contribute to the improvement of public indicators of a country relative to the economic and social sector. However, to promote the startup culture and try to improve the emerging and development of a startup, Morocco has to review the policies related to his ecosystem and try to make good and appropriated ones. This article has three main goals. First, we tend to present the actual situation of the Moroccan startup ecosystem. Second, we are going to discuss about the main “pillars” of the startup ecosystem. Third and final step, we are going to make some recommendations about each pillar of the ecosystem, based on other countries experience, and expert announcement, and thus, to benefit from the advantages that procure.Keywords : Ecosystem, Startup, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Morocc

Toxoplasma gondii: Identification and immune response against a group of proteins involved in cellular invasion

International audienceToxoplasma gondii is an ubiquitous intracellular parasite, causative agent of toxoplasmosis, and a worldwide zoonosis for which an effective vaccine is needed. A group of proteins secreted by tachyzoites during host-cell invasion was isolated from the interaction medium. It induced the permeability of the cells as assessed by alpha-sarcin and consequently facilitated the entry of the parasite into the cells. SDS-PAGE of the purified proteins showed a pattern of four proteins of 67, 42, 32 and 27 kDa. MRC-5 cells incubated with the total protein and the different electroeluted bands endured a high cellular death in presence of alpha-sarcin. BALb/C mice immunized with the group of proteins had a mixed Th1/Th2 response and were protected upon challenge with the parasites

The Human Metapneumovirus Matrix Protein Stimulates the Inflammatory Immune Response In Vitro

Each year, during winter months, human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) is associated with epidemics of bronchiolitis resulting in the hospitalization of many infants. Bronchiolitis is an acute illness of the lower respiratory tract with a consequent inflammation of the bronchioles. The rapid onset of inflammation suggests the innate immune response may have a role to play in the pathogenesis of this hMPV infection. Since, the matrix protein is one of the most abundant proteins in the Paramyxoviridae family virion, we hypothesized that the inflammatory modulation observed in hMPV infected patients may be partly associated with the matrix protein (M-hMPV) response. By western blot analysis, we detected a soluble form of M-hMPV released from hMPV infected cell as well as from M-hMPV transfected HEK 293T cells suggesting that M-hMPV may be directly in contact with antigen presenting cells (APCs) during the course of infection. Moreover, flow cytometry and confocal microscopy allowed determining that M-hMPV was taken up by dendritic cells (moDCs) and macrophages inducing their activation. Furthermore, these moDCs enter into a maturation process inducing the secretion of a broad range of inflammatory cytokines when exposed to M-hMPV. Additionally, M-hMPV activated DCs were shown to stimulate IL-2 and IFN-γ production by allogeneic T lymphocytes. This M-hMPV-mediated activation and antigen presentation of APCs may in part explain the marked inflammatory immune response observed in pathology induced by hMPV in patients

False-Positive Results in a Recombinant Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Associated Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) Nucleocapsid-Based Western Blot Assay Were Rectified by the Use of Two Subunits (S1 and S2) of Spike for Detection of Antibody to SARS-CoV

To evaluate the reactivity of the recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3), a Western blot assay was performed by using a panel of 78 serum samples obtained, respectively, from convalescent-phase patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) (30 samples) and from healthy donors (48 samples). As antigen for detection of SARS-CoV, the nucleocapsid protein (N) showed high sensitivity and strong reactivity with all samples from SARS-CoV patients and cross-reacted with all serum samples from healthy subjects, with either those obtained from China (10 samples) or those obtained from France (38 serum samples), giving then a significant rate of false positives. Specifically, our data indicated that the two subunits, S1 (residues 14 to 760) and S2 (residues 761 to 1190), resulted from the divided spike reacted with all samples from SARS-CoV patients and without any cross-reactivity with any of the healthy serum samples. Consequently, these data revealed the nonspecific nature of N protein in serodiagnosis of SARS-CoV compared with the S1 and S2, where the specificity is of 100%. Moreover, the reported results indicated that the use of one single protein as a detection antigen of SARS-CoV infection may lead to false-positive diagnosis. These may be rectified by using more than one protein for the serodiagnosis of SARS-CoV

MoDCs and MDMs treated with M-hMPV protein produce high level of cytokines and chemokines respectively.

<p>(A) Supernatants of cells treated for 24 h with elution buffer, LPS 10 ng/mL (positive control) and M-hMPV 0.172, 0.086, 0.034, 0.0172 nM were assayed for the level of IL-8, IL-6, TNF, IL-12p70, IL-1β and IL-10 cytokines by CBA. (B) Supernatant of MDMs treated with elution buffer, LPS 10 ng/mL (positive control), M-hMPV 0.172 and 0.0172 nM were assayed for MIP-1β, RANTES and TNF production by CBA. Bar graph represents concentrations values expressed in ng/mL. Data are represented as means of three experiments ± S.D.</p

M-hMPV treated-MDMs release low level of IFN-α and IFN-β.

<p>MDMs were treated with elution buffer, LPS 10 ng/mL, M-hMPV 0.172 and 0.0172 nM. Supernatants were collected after 24 h and tested for IFN-α and IFN-β production by ELISA. Bar graph represents concentrations values expressed in pg/mL. Data are represented as means of three experiments ± S.D.</p

Percentage of apoptotic M-hMPV-treated moDCs.

<p>After 24 h of stimulation, M-hMPV-treated moDCs were labeled by DiOC6(3) and propidium iodide prior analysis by flow cytometry. Data are representative of one out of two independent experiments.</p

M-hMPV activated-DCs present antigen to T cells which induce the production of IFN-γ.

<p>moDCs were treated for 24 h with LPS 10 ng/mL and M-hMPV protein 0.344, 0.172, 0.086, 0.034 nM. Cells were harvested after treatment, washed and cultured for 5 days with allogeneic purified T-cells (2×10⁵/well) at a DC/T ratio ranging between 1∶5 and 1∶40. The amount of IFN-γ in the cell-free supernatants of the co-culture was measured by ELISA. Data are represented as means of three experiments ± S.D.</p