Ewing sarcoma from molecular biology to the clinic

In Europe, with an incidence of 7.5 cases per million, Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common primary malignant bone tumor in children, adolescents and young adults, after osteosarcoma. Since the 1980s, conventional treatment has been based on the use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapeutic agents combined with surgical resection of the tumor when possible. These treatments have increased the patient survival rate to 70% for localized forms, which drops drastically to less than 30% when patients are resistant to chemotherapy or when pulmonary metastases are present at diagnosis. However, the lack of improvement in these survival rates over the last decades points to the urgent need for new therapies. Genetically, ES is characterized by a chromosomal translocation between a member of the FET family and a member of the ETS family. In 85% of cases, the chromosomal translocation found is (11; 22) (q24; q12), between the EWS RNA-binding protein and the FLI1 transcription factor, leading to the EWS-FLI1 fusion protein. This chimeric protein acts as an oncogenic factor playing a crucial role in the development of ES. This review provides a non-exhaustive overview of ES from a clinical and biological point of view, describing its main clinical, cellular and molecular aspects

Analysis of gap junctional intercellular communications using a dielectrophoresis-based microchip

Gap junctions are transmembrane structures that directly connect the cytoplasm of adjacent cells, making intercellular communications possible. It has been shown that the behaviour of several tumours – such as bone tumours – is related to gap junction intercellular communications (GJIC). Several methodologies are available for studying GJIC, based on measuring different parameters that are useful for multiple applications, such as the study of carcinogenesis for example. These methods nevertheless have several limitations. The present manuscript describes the setting up of a DEP-based lab-on-a-chip platform for the real-time study of Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication between osteosarcoma cells and the main cells accessible to their microenvironment. We conclude that using the DEParray technology for the GJIC assessment has several advantages comparing to current techniques. This methodology is less harmful for cells integrity; cells can be recovered after interaction to make further molecular analysis; it is possible to study GJIC in real time; we can promote cell interactions using up to five different populations. The setting up of this new methodology overcomes several difficulties to perform experiments for solving questions about GJIC process that we are not able to do with current technics

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Étude des relations entre croissance, concentrations en métabolites primaires et secondaires et disponibilité en ressources chez la tomate avec ou sans bioagresseurs

Nowadays, limiting the use of pesticides is mandatory. A promising way for research deals with the environmental determinism of plant defence mechanisms, among others, production of secondary metabolites. The aim of my PhD work was to study the trade-off between growth and defence (primary vs. secondary metabolism) in healthy plant tissues or attacked by different pests, under different conditions of resources availabilities. We measured different growth parameters, C:N ratios of tissue, concentrations of main primary metabolites (simple carbohydrates, starch) and defence metabolites (chlorogenic acid, rutin, kaempferol-rutinoside and tomatine) on healthy or attacked tomato plant grown in hydroponic culture in greenhouse or phytotron. We observed that variations of total and resources C:N ratios were positively correlated to that of several defence compounds whatever their composition in carbon and nitrogen. Moreover, we showed that, during pests attack, concentrations of primary and secondary metabolites did not follow the same evolution, depending on their nature. Caffeoyl putrescine synthesis was strongly induced by P. syringae inoculation whereas chlorogenic acid concentration decreased. Inoculation of P. syringae induced a strong decrease of concentration of glucose and fructose whereas inoculation of P. corrugata enhanced their synthesis. We observed that a low N availability alters the development of P. syringae, P. corrugata and Tuta absoluta but promotes the development of B. cinerea. Our results showed that C:N ratio is a reliable indicator of the trade-off between growth and defence in the case of healthy plant. In attacked plant, the resources allocation between different metabolites varies with pests. And each pests reacts specifically to changes of N availability for the plant. Control of culture conditions appears to be a relevant agronomic tool to monitor the control of pests even if it is difficult to apply general rules to the interaction plant/environment/pestsDans un contexte de limitation de l'utilisation des pesticides, une voie de recherche prometteuse porte sur le déterminisme environnemental actionnant les mécanismes de défense de la plante, entre autres, la production de métabolites secondaires. L'objectif de mon travail de thèse a été d'étudier le compromis entre croissance et défense (métabolisme primaire vs. secondaire) dans les tissus de la plante saine ou attaquée par différents bioagresseurs, sous différentes conditions de disponibilité en ressources. Pour cela, nous avons mesuré différents paramètres de croissance, les ratios C/N des tissus, les concentrations en principaux métabolites primaires (glucides simples, amidon) et en composés de défense (acide chlorogénique, rutine, kaempferol-rutinoside et tomatine) dans différents organes de tomate en culture hydroponique en serre ou phytotron. Nous avons observé que les variations des ratios C/N total et de ressources sont positivement corrélées à celles de nombreux composés de défense quelle que soit leur composition en N et C. De plus, nous avons montré qu'en présence d'un bioagresseur, les concentrations des composés primaires et secondaires ne suivent pas la même évolution selon leur nature. La synthèse de caffeoyl putrescine est fortement induite lors de l'attaque par P. syringae alors que la concentration en acide chlorogénique est diminuée. L'inoculation de P. syringae réduit les concentrations en glucose et fructose alors que P. corrugata stimule leur synthèse. Enfin, nous avons observé qu'une faible disponibilité en azote altère le développement de P. syringae, P. corrugata et Tuta absoluta mais favorise le développement de Botrytis cinerea. Nos résultats ont montré que le ratio C/N est un indicateur fiable du compromis croissance/défense dans le cas d'une plante saine. Dans le cas d'une plante attaquée, la répartition des ressources entre les différents métabolites varie en fonction du bioagresseur. Et chaque bioagresseur réagit de façon différente aux variations de disponibilité en azote de la plante. La maîtrise des conditions de culture apparaît comme un levier agronomique pertinent pour raisonner la lutte contre les bioagresseurs même s'il est difficile d'appliquer des règles générales sur l'interaction plante/environnement/bioagresseur

Relations between growth, concentrations of primary and secondary metabolites and resources availability on tomato plant with or without pests

Dans un contexte de limitation de l'utilisation des pesticides, une voie de recherche prometteuse porte sur le déterminisme environnemental actionnant les mécanismes de défense de la plante, entre autres, la production de métabolites secondaires. L'objectif de mon travail de thèse a été d'étudier le compromis entre croissance et défense (métabolisme primaire vs. secondaire) dans les tissus de la plante saine ou attaquée par différents bioagresseurs, sous différentes conditions de disponibilité en ressources. Pour cela, nous avons mesuré différents paramètres de croissance, les ratios C/N des tissus, les concentrations en principaux métabolites primaires (glucides simples, amidon) et en composés de défense (acide chlorogénique, rutine, kaempferol-rutinoside et tomatine) dans différents organes de tomate en culture hydroponique en serre ou phytotron. Nous avons observé que les variations des ratios C/N total et de ressources sont positivement corrélées à celles de nombreux composés de défense quelle que soit leur composition en N et C. De plus, nous avons montré qu'en présence d'un bioagresseur, les concentrations des composés primaires et secondaires ne suivent pas la même évolution selon leur nature. La synthèse de caffeoyl putrescine est fortement induite lors de l'attaque par P. syringae alors que la concentration en acide chlorogénique est diminuée. L'inoculation de P. syringae réduit les concentrations en glucose et fructose alors que P. corrugata stimule leur synthèse. Enfin, nous avons observé qu'une faible disponibilité en azote altère le développement de P. syringae, P. corrugata et Tuta absoluta mais favorise le développement de Botrytis cinerea. Nos résultats ont montré que le ratio C/N est un indicateur fiable du compromis croissance/défense dans le cas d'une plante saine. Dans le cas d'une plante attaquée, la répartition des ressources entre les différents métabolites varie en fonction du bioagresseur. Et chaque bioagresseur réagit de façon différente aux variations de disponibilité en azote de la plante. La maîtrise des conditions de culture apparaît comme un levier agronomique pertinent pour raisonner la lutte contre les bioagresseurs même s'il est difficile d'appliquer des règles générales sur l'interaction plante/environnement/bioagresseursNowadays, limiting the use of pesticides is mandatory. A promising way for research deals with the environmental determinism of plant defence mechanisms, among others, production of secondary metabolites. The aim of my PhD work was to study the trade-off between growth and defence (primary vs. secondary metabolism) in healthy plant tissues or attacked by different pests, under different conditions of resources availabilities. We measured different growth parameters, C:N ratios of tissue, concentrations of main primary metabolites (simple carbohydrates, starch) and defence metabolites (chlorogenic acid, rutin, kaempferol-rutinoside and tomatine) on healthy or attacked tomato plant grown in hydroponic culture in greenhouse or phytotron. We observed that variations of total and resources C:N ratios were positively correlated to that of several defence compounds whatever their composition in carbon and nitrogen. Moreover, we showed that, during pests attack, concentrations of primary and secondary metabolites did not follow the same evolution, depending on their nature. Caffeoyl putrescine synthesis was strongly induced by P. syringae inoculation whereas chlorogenic acid concentration decreased. Inoculation of P. syringae induced a strong decrease of concentration of glucose and fructose whereas inoculation of P. corrugata enhanced their synthesis. We observed that a low N availability alters the development of P. syringae, P. corrugata and Tuta absoluta but promotes the development of B. cinerea. Our results showed that C:N ratio is a reliable indicator of the trade-off between growth and defence in the case of healthy plant. In attacked plant, the resources allocation between different metabolites varies with pests. And each pests reacts specifically to changes of N availability for the plant. Control of culture conditions appears to be a relevant agronomic tool to monitor the control of pests even if it is difficult to apply general rules to the interaction plant/environment/pest

Is the C:N ratio a reliable indicator of C allocation to primary and defence-related metabolisms in tomato?

International audiencePlant growth and defence are both fuelled by compounds synthesized from a common pool of carbon and nitrogen, implying the existence of a competition for carbon and nitrogen allocation to both metabolisms. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) of an organ is often regarded as a convenient indicator of growth and quality. The purpose of this work was to assess whether or not it is possible to extend its use to characterize the trade-off between growth and defence processes. Therefore, we calculated C:N ratios in the pool of resources and in the total plant, and correlated them to the concentrations of diverse compounds of the primary and secondary metabolisms in young tomatoes. Plants were grown hydroponically at N availabilities either limiting (0.1 mM) or not (7 mM) for growth in two glasshouses maintained either under ambient or enriched (700 vpm) air CO2. These conditions yielded a large array of C:N in fully developed leaves, developing leaves, stem and roots, sampled 27, 35 and 47 days after sowing. Growth parametersă and tissue concentrations of primary metabolites (carbohydrates, starch), defence-related compounds (polyphenols, glycoalkaloids), lignin, nitrate, ammonium, C and N were analyzed. Net CO2 exchange rate was also measured at the last sampling date. Low N limited plant growth more than photosynthesis. The C:N in the resource pool was far higher than the total C:N. Starch was the most responsive compound, attaining high concentration under high C:N, whereas lignin remained stable. Chlorogenic acid, rutin, kaempferol-rutinoside and tomatine concentrations correlated positively to C:N. The same patterns were observed for most organs and molecules, except soluble carbohydrates in fully developed leaves whose concentration was not influenced. Among the organs, developing leaves showed the highest concentrations of secondary compounds and were the most responsive to C:N variations. Neither the biochemical nature of the compounds (C-based or N- containing metabolites) nor the calculationă mode of C:N, influenced the patterns observed. Within the range of N availabilities considered (up to N limitation but not deficiency), the C:N can be considered as a good indicator of the secondary compounds concentrations in organs, especially for those involved in the chemical defence

TGF-β Signaling in Bone Remodeling and Osteosarcoma Progression

Osteosarcomas are the most prevalent malignant primary bone tumors in children. Despite intensive efforts to improve both chemotherapeutics and surgical management, 40% of all osteosarcoma patients succumb to the disease. Specifically, the clinical outcome for metastatic osteosarcoma remains poor; less than 30% of patients who present metastases will survive five years after initial diagnosis. Treating metastatic osteosarcoma thus remains a challenge. One of the main characteristics of osteosarcomas is their ability to deregulate bone remodelling. The invasion of bone tissue by tumor cells indeed affects the balance between bone resorption and bone formation. This deregulation induces the release of cytokines or growth factors initially trapped in the bone matrix, such as transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), which in turn promote tumor progression. Over the past years, there has been considerable interest in the TGF-β pathway within the cancer research community. This review discusses the involvement of the TGF-β signalling pathway in osteosarcoma development and in their metastatic progression

Metabolic and physiological responses of tomato plants to Pseudomonas sp. infection under contrasted nitrogen availability

National audienc

Tomato response traits to pathogenic Pseudomonas species: Does nitrogen limitation matter?

International audienceInduced chemical defence is a cost-efficient protective strategy, whereby plants induce the biosynthesis of defence-related compounds only in the case of pest attack. Plant responses that are pathogen specific lower the cost of defence, compared to constitutive defence. As nitrogen availability (N) in the root zone is one of the levers mediating the concentration of defence-related compounds in plants, we investigated its influence on response traits of tomato to two pathogenic bacteria, growing plants hydroponically at low or high N supply. Using two sets of plants for each level of N supply, we inoculated one leaf of one set of plants with Pseudomonas syringae, and inoculated the stem of other set of plants with Pseudomonas corrugata. Tomato response traits (growth, metabolites) were investigated one and twelve days after inoculation. In infected areas, P. syringae decreased carbohydrate concentrations whereas they were increased by P. corrugata. P. syringae mediated a redistribution of carbon within the phenylpropanoid pathway, regardless of N supply: phenolamides, especially caffeoylputrescine, were stimulated, impairing defence-related compounds such as chlorogenic acid. Inoculation of P. syringae produced strong and sustainable systemic responses. By contrast, inoculation of P. corrugata induced local and transient responses. The effects of pathogens on plant growth and leaf gas exchanges appeared to be independant of N supply. This work shows that the same genus of plant pathogens with different infection strategies can mediate contrasted plant responses

Metabolic and physiological responses of tomato plants to Pseudomonas sp. infection under contrasted nitrogen availability

National audienc