Régulation mécanique de l'angiogenèse in vitro: analyse par un modèle aux dérivées partielles des interactions cellules-substrat

Président : Pr. J. Demongeot Rapporteurs : Pr. J.-P. Françoise Pr. C. Oddou Examinateurs : Pr. J. Ohayon Dr. P. Tracqui Dr. B. VailhéThe outgrowth and formation of new vessels from a pre-existing vascular network, globally defined as angiogenesis, play a crucial role in many physiological and pathological processes, including wound healing and solid tumor growth. In our thesis, we analyze how mechanical factors (stiffness, viscosity, cellular traction) could regulate the capillary network formation. In a real interaction between experiments and modeling, we develop a theoretical biomechanical model of the onset of in vitro angiogenesis, in which angiogenesis is considered as a mechanical instability driven process. Our model is based on partial differential nonlinear equations, that have been solved by the finite element method. Thanks to linear and nonlinear stability analyses of homogenous steady state, we manage to determine the bifurcation points associated to Turing instability. We then extensively study the influence of parameters on network formation. Our numerical results are in very good agreement with experimental ones, obtained by our team or taken from literature. In the second part of this work, we study the mechanical regulation of extracellular matrix degradation. We show that degradation could be a key process of in vitro angiogenesis.Le développement de capillaires sanguins à partir d'un réseau pré-existant, l'angiogenèse, joue un rôle fondamental dans de nombreux contextes physiopathologiques, tels la cicatrisation des tissus ou le développement d'une tumeur solide. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés à la régulation de ce phénomène par les facteurs mécaniques (rigidité, viscosité, traction cellulaire). Dans un dialogue permanent entre l'expérimentation et la modélisation, nous avons développé un modèle théorique biomécanique minimal des premières étapes de l'angiogenèse in vitro, où l'angiogenèse est supposée issue d'une instabilité mécanique entre les forces actives de traction cellulaire et la résistance passive viscoélastique de la matrice extracellulaire. Notre modèle consiste en un système d'équations aux dérivées partielles non-linéaires couplées, résolu par la méthode des éléments finis. Nous avons mené des analyses de stabilité linéaire et non-linéaire de l'état d'équilibre homogène pour déterminer les points de bifurcation du système correspondant à une instabilité de Turing. Nous avons ensuite effectué une étude approfondie de l'influence des différents paramètres sur la formation du réseau. Les résultats des simulations numériques sont comparés avec succès aux résultats expérimentaux, obtenus par notre équipe ou extraits de la littérature. Dans une seconde partie de nos travaux, nous avons étudié des voies de régulation possibles, par les effets mécaniques, de la dégradation de la matrice extracellulaire. Nous avons alors montré que la régulation mécanique de la dégradation pouvait être un processus clé de l'angiogenèse in vitro

Critical conditions for pattern formation and in vitro tubulogenesis driven by cellular traction fields.

International audienceIn vitro angiogenesis assays have shown that tubulogenesis of endothelial cells within biogels, like collagen or fibrin gels, only appears for a critical range of experimental parameter values. These experiments have enabled us to develop and validate a theoretical model in which mechanical interactions of endothelial cells with extracellular matrix influence both active cell migration--haptotaxis--and cellular traction forces. Depending on the number of cells, cell motility and biogel rheological properties, various 2D endothelial patterns can be generated, from non-connected stripe patterns to fully connected networks, which mimic the spatial organization of capillary structures. The model quantitatively and qualitatively reproduces the range of critical values of cell densities and fibrin concentrations for which these cell networks are experimentally observed. We illustrate how cell motility is associated to the self-enhancement of the local traction fields exerted within the biogel in order to produce a pre-patterning of this matrix and subsequent formation of tubular structures, above critical thresholds corresponding to bifurcation points of the mathematical model. The dynamics of this morphogenetic process is discussed in the light of videomicroscopy time lapse sequences of endothelial cells (EAhy926 line) in fibrin gels. Our modeling approach also explains how the progressive appearance and morphology of the cellular networks are modified by gradients of extracellular matrix thickness

Les réponses cellulaires aux threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t6A) irrégularité dans Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cela fait plus de quarante ans que la plupart des modifications des ARNt ont été découvertes mais ce n est que récemment que les gènes correspondants ont pu être identifié. La modification N6-threonylcarbamoyl adénosine (t6A) est universelle et se trouve à la position 37, adjacente de l anticodon, dans de nombreux ARNt. Les quatre gènes responsables de la synthèse de cette modification chez les bactéries furent découverts par des approches de génomique comparative mais uniquement deux de ces gènes sont universels, TsaC/Sua5 et TsaD/Kae1/Qri7. Des travaux récents ont révélé qu'il existait différentes voies enzymatiques pour la synthèse de cette modification selon domaine de la vie, les organelles et les espèces considérés. L'étude de ces variations est toujours en cours de caractérisation.Ce travail a identifié quatre autres protéines requises pour la synthèse de t6A dans les ARNt cytoplasmiques de levure (Bud32, Pcc1, Cgi121 et Gon7) et établi que seuls Sua5 et Qri7 sont requis pour modifier les ARNt mitochondriaux. La même enzyme, Sua5, effectue la première étape de la synthèse de t6A à la fois dans le cytoplasme et les mitochondries. Cette protéine peut être localisée dans les deux compartiments grâce à l utilisation de sites d initiation de la traduction différents. Cette étude a montré qu une machinerie de synthèse minimale est requise pour la synthèse de t6A dans les mitochondries, potentiellement similaire à la machinerie présente dans le dernier ancêtre commun. Les rôles de cette modification complexe in vivo semblent également varier. Par exemple, t6A est indispensable chez les procaryotes, mais pas dans la levure. Les causes des phénotypes pléïotropes observés lors de la diminution ou l'absence de t6A ne sont pas encore entièrement comprises. Nous avons pu élucider certains des rôles joués par la modification t6A, en effectuant une analyse globale des erreurs de traduction observées en absence de cette modification par analyse des profils ribosomaux. Par exemple, il semble que la présence de t6A permet aux ARNt rares de concurrencer plus efficacement les ARNt abondants. La complexité et la diversité des voies de synthèse combiné à l importance fonctionnelle et évolutive de cette modification ont fait de t6A une décoration des ARNt particulièrement fascinante à étudier.The modification of tRNA has a rich literature of biochemical analysis going back more than 40 years; however, the genes responsible for the modifications have only been recently identified. Comparative genomic analysis has allowed for the identification of the genes in bacteria, and subsequent characterization of the enzymes, responsible for the modification N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t6A) located at position 37, adjacent to the anticodon of tRNAs. While the modification is present in all domains of life, only two of the four enzymes responsible for biosynthesis machinery are conserved. In Eukaryotes, both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial tRNAs are modified with t6A, and previously only the two universally conserved members of the cytoplasmic t6A synthesis pathway, TsaC/Sua5 and TsaD/KaeI/Qri7 were known. Recent progress on deciphering the t6A synthesis pathways has revealed that different solutions have been adopted in different kingdoms, species, and organelles, and these variant pathways are still being characterized.This investigation identified the other four proteins required for cytoplasmic synthesis (Bud32, Pcc1, Cgi121, Gon7), and determined that only Sua5 and Qri7 are required for mitochondrial synthesis of t6A in yeast. The same enzyme, Sua5, performs the first step of t6A synthesis in both the cytoplasm and the mitochondria. It is targeted to both the cytoplasm and the mitochondria through the use of alternative, in-frame AUG translational start sites. This study showed that a minimum synthesis machinery is responsible for mitochondrial t6A, implicating a core set of enzymes from the LUCA.The roles of this complex modification in vivo also seem to vary. For example, t6A is essential in prokaryotes, but not in yeast. The causes of the observed pleiotropic phenotypes triggered by the reduction or absence of t6A synthesis enzymes are not yet fully understood. This work used ribosome profiling to map all translation errors occurring when t6A was absent. By examining ribosomal occupancy of every codon, this work indicates that t6A is helping rare tRNAs compete with high copy tRNAs. The complexity and diversity of the t6A pathway combined with the functional and evolutionary importance of this modification have made t6A a particularly fascinating decoration of tRNA to study.PARIS11-SCD-Bib. électronique (914719901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Capillary Oscillations in the Transient Mode of Flow Focusing: Comparison Between Experimental measurements and Numerical Results

International audienc

Cross Kingdom Functional Conservation of the Core Universally Conserved Threonylcarbamoyladenosine tRNA Synthesis Enzymes

Threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t(6)A) is a universal modification located in the anticodon stem-loop of tRNAs. In yeast, both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial tRNAs are modified. The cytoplasmic t(6)A synthesis pathway was elucidated and requires Sua5p, Kae1p, and four other KEOPS complex proteins. Recent in vitro work suggested that the mitochondrial t(6)A machinery of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is composed of only two proteins, Sua5p and Qri7p, a member of the Kae1p/TsaD family (L. C. K. Wan et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 41:6332–6346, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkt322). Sua5p catalyzes the first step leading to the threonyl-carbamoyl-AMP intermediate (TC-AMP), while Qri7 transfers the threonyl-carbamoyl moiety from TC-AMP to tRNA to form t(6)A. Qri7p localizes to the mitochondria, but Sua5p was reported to be cytoplasmic. We show that Sua5p is targeted to both the cytoplasm and the mitochondria through the use of alternative start sites. The import of Sua5p into the mitochondria is required for this organelle to be functional, since the TC-AMP intermediate produced by Sua5p in the cytoplasm is not transported into the mitochondria in sufficient amounts. This minimal t(6)A pathway was characterized in vitro and, for the first time, in vivo by heterologous complementation studies in Escherichia coli. The data revealed a potential for TC-AMP channeling in the t(6)A pathway, as the coexpression of Qri7p and Sua5p is required to complement the essentiality of the E. coli tsaD mutant. Our results firmly established that Qri7p and Sua5p constitute the mitochondrial pathway for the biosynthesis of t(6)A and bring additional advancement in our understanding of the reaction mechanism

Global translational impacts of the loss of the tRNA modification t(6)A in yeast

Artículo de publicación ISIThe universal tRNA modification t(6)A is found at position 37 of nearly all tRNAs decoding ANN codons. The absence of t(6)A(37) leads to severe growth defects in baker's yeast, phenotypes similar to those caused by defects in mcm(5)s(2)U(34) synthesis. Mutants in mcm(5)s(2)U(34) can be suppressed by overexpression of tRNA(UUU)(Lys), but we show t(6)A phenotypes could not be suppressed by expressing any individual ANN decoding tRNA, and t(6)A and mcm(5)s(2)U are not determinants for each other's formation. Our results suggest that t(6)A deficiency, like mcm(5)s(2)U deficiency, leads to protein folding defects, and show that the absence of t(6)A led to stress sensitivities (heat, ethanol, salt) and sensitivity to TOR pathway inhibitors. Additionally, L-homoserine suppressed the slow growth phenotype seen in t(6)A-deficient strains, and proteins aggregates and Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) were increased in the mutants. The global consequences on translation caused by t(6)A absence were examined by ribosome profiling. Interestingly, the absence of t(6)A did not lead to global translation defects, but did increase translation initiation at upstream non-AUG codons and increased frame-shifting in specific genes. Analysis of codon occupancy rates suggests that one of the major roles of t(6)A is to homogenize the process of elongation by slowing the elongation rate at codons decoded by high abundance tRNAs and I-34:C-3 pairs while increasing the elongation rate of rare tRNAs and G(34):U-3 pairs. This work reveals that the consequences of t(6)A absence are complex and multilayered and has set the stage to elucidate the molecular basis of the observed phenotypes

A gene graveyard in the genome of the fungus Podospora comata

WOS:000457456800015International audienceMechanisms involved in fine adaptation of fungi to their environment include differential gene regulation associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms and indels (including transposons), horizontal gene transfer, gene copy amplification, as well as pseudogenization and gene loss. The two Podospora genome sequences examined here emphasize the role of pseudogenization and gene loss, which have rarely been documented in fungi. Podospora comata is a species closely related to Podospora anserina, a fungus used as model in several laboratories. Comparison of the genome of P. comata with that of P. anserina, whose genome is available for over 10 years, should yield interesting data related to the modalities of genome evolution between these two closely related fungal species that thrive in the same types of biotopes, i.e., herbivore dung. Here, we present the genome sequence of the mat+isolate of the P. comata reference strain T. Comparison with the genome of the mat+isolate of P. anserina strain S confirms that P. anserina and P. comata are likely two different species that rarely interbreed in nature. Despite having a 94-99% of nucleotide identity in the syntenic regions of their genomes, the two species differ by nearly 10% of their gene contents. Comparison of the species-specific gene sets uncovered genes that could be responsible for the known physiological differences between the two species. Finally, we identified 428 and 811 pseudogenes (3.8 and 7.2% of the genes) in P. anserina and P. comata, respectively. Presence of high numbers of pseudogenes supports the notion that difference in gene contents is due to gene loss rather than horizontal gene transfers. We propose that the high frequency of pseudogenization leading to gene loss in P. anserina and P. comata accompanies specialization of these two fungi. Gene loss may be more prevalent during the evolution of other fungi than usually thought