Ghrelin in Female and Male Reproduction

Ghrelin and one of its functional receptors, GHS-R1a (Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor 1a), were firstly studied about 15 years. Ghrelin is a multifunctional peptide hormone that affects several biological functions including food intake, glucose release, cell proliferation… Ghrelin and GHS-R1a are expressed in key cells of both male and female reproductive organs in several species including fishes, birds, and mammals suggesting a well-conserved signal through the evolution and a role in the control of fertility. Ghrelin could be a component of the complex series of nutrient sensors such as adipokines, and nuclear receptors, which regulate reproduction in function of the energy stores. The objective of this paper was to report the available information about the ghrelin system and its role at the level of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in both sexes

Effect of adiponectin on bovine granulosa cell steroidogenesis, oocyte maturation and embryo development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adiponectin is an adipokine, mainly produced by adipose tissue. It regulates several reproductive processes. The protein expression of the adiponectin system (adiponectin, its receptors, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 and the APPL1 adaptor) in bovine ovary and its role on ovarian cells and embryo, remain however to be determined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here, we identified the adiponectin system in bovine ovarian cells and embryo using RT-PCR, immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we investigated in vitro the effects of recombinant human adiponectin (10 micro g/mL) on proliferation of granulosa cells (GC) measured by [3H] thymidine incorporation, progesterone and estradiol secretions measured by radioimmunoassay in the culture medium of GC, nuclear oocyte maturation and early embryo development.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that the mRNAs and proteins for the adiponectin system are present in bovine ovary (small and large follicles and corpus luteum) and embryo. Adiponectin, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 were more precisely localized in oocyte, GC and theca cells. Adiponectin increased IGF-1 10(-8) M-induced GC proliferation (P < 0.01) but not basal or insulin 10(-8) M-induced proliferation. Additionally, adiponectin decreased insulin 10(-8) M-induced, but not basal or IGF-1 10(-8) M-induced secretions of progesterone (P < 0.01) and estradiol (P < 0.05) by GC. This decrease in insulin-induced steroidogenesis was associated with a decrease in ERK1/2 MAPK phosphorylation in GC pre-treated with adiponectin. Finally, addition of adiponectin during in vitro maturation affected neither the percentage of oocyte in metaphase-II nor 48-h cleavage and blastocyst day 8 rates.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In bovine species, adiponectin decreased insulin-induced steroidogenesis and increased IGF-1-induced proliferation of cultured GC through a potential involvement of ERK1/2 MAPK pathway, whereas it did not modify oocyte maturation and embryo development in vitro.</p

Tribbles expression in cumulus cells is related to oocyte maturation and fatty acid metabolism.

International audienceIn mammals, the Tribbles family includes widely expressed serine-threonine kinase-like proteins (TRIB1, TRIB2 and TRIB3) that are involved in multiple biological processes including cell proliferation and fatty acid (FA) metabolism. Our recent studies highlighted the importance of FA metabolism in cumulus cells (CC) during oocyte maturation in vertebrates and reported a higher TRIB1 expression in CC surrounding in vivo mature oocytes as compared to immature ooocytes in mice and cows. The objective was to investigate Tribbles expression patterns in bovine CC during in vitro maturation (IVM) and to examine their roles in the cumulus-oocyte complex

Structure and evolution of the Demerara Plateau, offshore French Guiana : rifting, tectonic inversion and post-rift tilting at transform-divergent margins intersection

International audienceWe present the structure and evolution of the eastern part of the Demerara plateau, offshore French Guiana, from the analysis of geophysical data collected during GUYAPLAC cruise. This area is located at the intersection of a transform segment and a divergent segment of a continental margin related to the Early Cretaceous opening of the Equatorial Atlantic. The main structures are NNE-SSW to NNW-SSE trending normal faults on the eastern edge of the plateau, and WNW-ESE to NW-SE trending acoustic basement ridges on its northern edge. When replaced in their Albian position, these structures appear to be parallel to the coeval oceanic accretion axis and transform faults, respectively. The most striking structures are related to a post-rift but syn-transform tectonic inversion, producing E-W to WNW-ESE trending folds, sealed by a regional unconformity. This shortening can not be related to ridge push, but is probably related to a plate kinematic change 105 My ago, that modified the deformation in the vicinity of the transform fault. Late post-rift evolution also includes a significant Tertiary oceanward tilt of the edge of the Demerara plateau. The driving mechanism of this late tilt is unclear, but may be related to a lithospheric flexure resulting from the loading of the abyssal plain by the Orinoco and Amazon deep-sea fans

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Antiretroviral-naive and -treated HIV-1 patients can harbour more resistant viruses in CSF than in plasma

Objectives The neurological disorders in HIV-1-infected patients remain prevalent. The HIV-1 resistance in plasma and CSF was compared in patients with neurological disorders in a multicentre study. Methods Blood and CSF samples were collected at time of neurological disorders for 244 patients. The viral loads were >50 copies/mL in both compartments and bulk genotypic tests were realized. Results On 244 patients, 89 and 155 were antiretroviral (ARV) naive and ARV treated, respectively. In ARV-naive patients, detection of mutations in CSF and not in plasma were reported for the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene in 2/89 patients (2.2%) and for the protease gene in 1/89 patients (1.1%). In ARV-treated patients, 19/152 (12.5%) patients had HIV-1 mutations only in the CSF for the RT gene and 30/151 (19.8%) for the protease gene. Two mutations appeared statistically more prevalent in the CSF than in plasma: M41L (P = 0.0455) and T215Y (P = 0.0455). Conclusions In most cases, resistance mutations were present and similar in both studied compartments. However, in 3.4% of ARV-naive and 8.8% of ARV-treated patients, the virus was more resistant in CSF than in plasma. These results support the need for genotypic resistance testing when lumbar puncture is performe

Acides gras polyinsaturés, caroténoïdes et cancer du sein ( approches épidémiologique et expérimentale)

Ce travail de thèse a eu deux objectifs : déterminer, par une approche épidémiologique, si les acides gras polyinsaturés (AGPI) et spécifiquement les AGPI n-3 ont un rôle dans le risque de cancer du sein, seuls ou associés aux composés anti-oxydants alimentaires (caroténoïdes, vitamine E); documenter l'effet de l'interaction entre le ß-carotène et l'acide alpha-linolénique (ALA), acide gras essentiel de la série n-3, sur l'apparition et la croissance de tumeurs mammaires expérimentales chez le rat.Deux études de type cas-témoins, fondées sur l'utilisation du tissu adipeux comme biomarqueur des apports alimentaires passés en acides gras sont en faveur d'un effet protecteur de l'ALA sous sa forme cis ainsi que de l'acide docosahexaénoïque sur le risque de cancer du sein. Cet effet protecteur est augmenté pour les taux élevés de caroténoïdes, indiquant l'existence d'une interaction entre AGPI n-3 et caroténoïdes. Elles ont également permis de montrer que les isomères trans de l'ALA sont associés à une augmentation du risque, suggérant que ces isomères pourraient constituer un facteur de risque dans le cancer du sein. Cette augmentation du risque est accentuée pour les taux bas de caroténoïdes, alors qu'elle disparaît pour les taux élevés.L'intervention nutritionnelle chez le rat a montré que l'interaction entre ß-carotène et ALA influençait la croissance tumorale mammaire. Ainsi ces travaux sont en faveur d'une interaction entre les AGPI n-3 et les composés anti-oxydants de l'alimentation sur le risque de cancer du sein. Des apports élevés à la fois d'AGPI n-3 et d'anti-oxydants pourraient avoir un effet protecteur sur le risque de cancer du sein.TOURS-BU Médecine (372612103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Caractérisation de la résistine dans l'ovaire de vache et de rate et effet de la résistine recombinante sur les cellules de la granulosa in vitro

National audienc

Effects of docosahexaenoic acid on bovine granulosa cell proliferation and steroidogenesis

National audienc

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid DHA during IVM affected oocyte developmental competence in cattle

Remerciements :Pôle STAR (Services Techniques d'Appui à la Recherche), Inra, UMR PRC, 37380 Nouzilly, Centre Val de LoireThe positive effect of n-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids (FA) on fertility in ruminants seems to be partly mediated through direct effects on the oocyte developmental potential. We aimed to investigate whether supplementation with physiological levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 n-3 PUFA) during in vitro maturation (IVM) has an effect on oocyte maturation and in vitro embryo development in cattle. We showed that DHA (0, 1, 10 or 100 μM) had no effect on oocyte viability or maturation rate after 22 h IVM. Incubation of oocyte-cumulus complexes (OCC) with 1 μM DHA during IVM significantly increased (p&lt;0.05) oocyte cleavage rate as compared to control (86.1% vs. 78.8%, respectively) and the &gt;4-cell embryo rate at day 2 after parthenogenetic activation (PA) (39.1% vs. 29.7%, respectively). Supplementation with 1 μM DHA during IVM also induced a significant increase in the blastocyst rate at day 7 after in vitro fertilization (IVF) as compared to control (30.6% vs. 17.6%, respectively) and tended to increase the number of cells in the blastocysts (97.1 ± 4.9 vs. 81.2 ± 5.3, respectively; p = 0.08). On the contrary, 10 μM DHA had no effects, whereas 100 μM DHA significantly decreased the cleavage rate compared to control (69.5% vs.78.8%, respectively) and the &gt;4-cell embryo rate at day 2 after PA (19.5% vs. 29.7%). As was shown by real-time PCR, negative effects of 100 μM DHA were associated with significant increase of progesterone synthesis by OCCs, a three-fold increase in expression level of FA transporter CD36 and a two-fold decrease of FA synthase FASN genes in cumulus cells (CC) of corresponding oocytes. DHA at 1 and 10 μM had no effect on expression of those and other key lipid metabolism-related genes in CC. In conclusion, administration of a low physiological dose of DHA (1μM) during IVM may have beneficial effects on oocyte developmental competence in vitro without affecting lipid metabolism gene expression in surrounding cumulus cells, contrarily to 100 μM DHA which diminished oocyte quality associated with perturbation of lipid and steroid metabolism in CC