Les enzymes sécrétées par la levure Malassezia en tant que nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques

Les levures du genre Malassezia font partie intégrale de la flore normale de la peau où ils représentent 50-80% du mycobiome total de l’épiderme. Ce champignon se distingue des autres organismes de par son absence de synthase d’acides gras (FAS), ce qui le rend dépendant à une source externe de lipides. De récents travaux ont démontré la présence de cette levure au niveau des organes internes, comme la muqueuse intestinale, où elle pourrait jouer un rôle dans le développement de la maladie de Crohn. Les circonstances amenant Malassezia à passer de commensal à pathogène restent, de nos jours, nébuleuses. Afin de mieux comprendre la niche écologique de Malassezia, nous avons effectué une caractérisation physiologique de l’assimilation lipidique de différentes espèces de Malassezia en contrôlant la source de lipides. Notre analyse a révélé que la présence du profil lipidique est hétérogène entre les espèces ainsi qu’entre les souches de la même espèce. Nos observations sont cohérentes avec la littérature, c’est-à-dire que l’acide palmitique (C16), l’acide stéarique (C18), l’acide oléique (C18:1) et l’acide linoléique (C18:2) sont extrêmement importants pour la croissance des différentes espèces. Dans l’ensemble, notre étude nous a permis de générer un nouveau milieu de croissance qui nous a permis de tester différents composés, seuls et en combinaison, pouvant avoir des propriétés antifongiques. La combinaison entre l’itraconazole, la terbinafine et un nouvel inhibiteur de protéase (BMZ2-134B) s’est avérée particulièrement efficace afin d’inhiber Malassezia. Avec le nombre grandissant de données démontrant un lien étroit entre la dysbiose du microbiote, l’inflammation et les maladies cardiovasculaires, il devient impératif de développer de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques afin de prévenir les maladies cardiovasculaires en tirant profit de nos connaissances sur le mycobiome.Yeasts of the genus Malassezia are an integral part of the normal flora of skin, where they represent 50-80 % of the total epidermis mycobiota. This fungus is distinguishable from other organisms by the fact that it lacks a fatty acid synthase (FAS), making it dependent on an external source of lipids. Recent work has shown the presence of this yeast in internal organs, such as the intestinal mucosa, where it could play a potential role in the development of Crohn’s disease. The circumstances leading Malassezia to switch from commensal to pathogen remain, nowadays, nebulous. In order to better understand the ecological niche of Malassezia, we carried out a physiological characterization of lipid assimilation of different species of Malassezia by controlling the lipid source. Our analysis revealed that the lipid assimilation profile is heterogeneous between species as well as between strains of the same species. Our observations are consistent with the literature, i.e., palmitic acid (C16), stearic acid (C18), oleic acid (C18:1) and linoleum acid (C18:2) are extremely important for the growth of the different species. Overall, our study allowed us to generate a new growth medium where we could test different compounds, alone and in combination, that could have antifungal properties. The combination of itraconazole, terbinafine and a new protease inhibitor proved to be particularly effective in inhibiting Malassezia’s growth. With the growing evidence demonstrating a strong link between microbiota dysbiosis, inflammation and cardiovascular diseases, it becomes imperative to develop new therapeutic strategies by leveraging our knowledge of the mycobioma

Temporal and spatial evolution of orogens: a guide for geological mapping

International audienceOrogens develop in convergent settings involving twoor more continental and/or oceanic plates. They are tra-ditionally defined as zones of crustal deformation associ-ated with mountain building resulting from either accretionof a terrane and/or an arc, continent-continent collision or rift-inversion. However, this definition does not considerthe genetic link between an oceanic domain and an intra-continental rift, even though extension associated with ascissor-shape opening can be demonstrated in many ocean-floored basins. Consequently, we propose a new conceptof orogenic evolution based on the development of exten-sional margins subsequently subjected to crustal shorten-ing. Thus orogens that develop as a result of the closureof wide basins, are distinguished from mountain belts devel-oped above subduction zones or that result from conti-nental collision and inverted intra-continental rifts. Ourreview of several key orogens identifies similarities anddifferences in geodynamic processes through geologicaltime including prior to the onset of plate tectonics ca. 2.5Ga. We propose that mapping based on comparative tec-tonics is a good way to constrain such an evolution, andthat this can start with a global-scale map of past-to-modernorogens aimed at re-exploring mountain building conceptsspatially and temporarily. This is the primary objective ofIGCP 667 project “World Map of Orogens”

High intraspecific genome diversity in the model arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiont Rhizophagus irregularis

International audienceArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to improve plant fitness through the establishment of mycorrhizal symbioses. Genetic and phenotypic variations among closely related AMF isolates can significantly affect plant growth, but the genomic changes underlying this variability are unclear. To address this issue, we improved the genome assembly and gene annotation of the model strain Rhizophagus irregularis DAOM197198, and compared its gene content with five isolates of R. irregularis sampled in the same field. All isolates harbor striking genome variations, with large numbers of isolate-specific genes, gene family expansions, and evidence of interisolate genetic exchange. The observed variability affects all gene ontology terms and PFAM protein domains, as well as putative mycorrhiza-induced small secreted effector-like proteins and other symbiosis differentially expressed genes. High variability is also found in active transposable elements. Overall, these findings indicate a substantial divergence in the functioning capacity of isolates harvested from the same field, and thus their genetic potential for adaptation to biotic and abiotic changes. Our data also provide a first glimpse into the genome diversity that resides within natural populations of these symbionts, and open avenues for future analyses of plant-AMF interactions that link AMF genome variation with plant phenotype and fitness

De Novo Pathogenic Variants in N-cadherin Cause a Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder with Corpus Collosum, Axon, Cardiac, Ocular, and Genital Defects

Cadherins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. The extracellular domain of cadherins consists of extracellular cadherin (EC) domains, separated by calcium binding sites. The EC interacts with other cadherin molecules in cis and in trans to mechanically hold apposing cell surfaces together. CDH2 encodes N-cadherin, whose essential roles in neural development include neuronal migration and axon pathfinding. However, CDH2 has not yet been linked to a Mendelian neurodevelopmental disorder. Here, we report de novo heterozygous pathogenic variants (seven missense, two frameshift) in CDH2 in nine individuals with a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global developmental delay and/or intellectual disability, variable axon pathfinding defects (corpus callosum agenesis or hypoplasia, mirror movements, Duane anomaly), and ocular, cardiac, and genital anomalies. All seven missense variants (c.1057G>A [p.Asp353Asn]; c.1789G>A [p.Asp597Asn]; c.1789G>T [p.Asp597Tyr]; c.1802A>C [p.Asn601Thr]; c.1839C>G [p.Cys613Trp]; c.1880A>G [p.Asp627Gly]; c.2027A>G [p.Tyr676Cys]) result in substitution of highly conserved residues, and six of seven cluster within EC domains 4 and 5. Four of the substitutions affect the calcium-binding site in the EC4-EC5 interdomain. We show that cells expressing these variants in the EC4-EC5 domains have a defect in cell-cell adhesion; this defect includes impaired binding in trans with N-cadherin-WT expressed on apposing cells. The two frameshift variants (c.2563_2564delCT [p.Leu855Valfs∗4]; c.2564_2567dupTGTT [p.Leu856Phefs∗5]) are predicted to lead to a truncated cytoplasmic domain. Our study demonstrates that de novo heterozygous variants in CDH2 impair the adhesive activity of N-cadherin, resulting in a multisystemic developmental disorder, that could be named ACOG syndrome (agenesis of corpus callosum, axon pathfinding, cardiac, ocular, and genital defects)

De Novo Pathogenic Variants in N-cadherin Cause a Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder with Corpus Callosum, Axon, Cardiac, Ocular, and Genital Defects

International audienceCadherins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. The extracellular domain of cadherins consists of extracellular cadherin (EC) domains, separated by calcium binding sites. The EC interacts with other cadherin molecules in cis and in trans to mechanically hold apposing cell surfaces together. CDH2 encodes N-cadherin, whose essential roles in neural development include neuronal migration and axon pathfinding. However, CDH2 has not yet been linked to a Mendelian neurodevelopmental disorder. Here, we report de novo heterozygous pathogenic variants (seven missense, two frameshift) in CDH2 in nine individuals with a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global developmental delay and/or intellectual disability, variable axon pathfinding defects (corpus callosum agenesis or hypoplasia, mirror movements, Duane anomaly), and ocular, cardiac, and genital anomalies. All seven missense variants (c.1057G>A [p.Asp353Asn]; c.1789G>A [p.Asp597Asn]; c.1789G>T [p.Asp597Tyr]; c.1802A>C [p.Asn601Thr]; c.1839C>G [p.Cys613Trp]; c.1880A>G [p.Asp627Gly]; c.2027A>G [p.Tyr676Cys]) result in substitution of highly conserved residues, and six of seven cluster within EC domains 4 and 5. Four of the substitutions affect the calcium-binding site in the EC4-EC5 interdomain. We show that cells expressing these variants in the EC4-EC5 domains have a defect in cell-cell adhesion; this defect includes impaired binding in trans with N-cadherin-WT expressed on apposing cells. The two frameshift variants (c.2563_2564delCT [p.Leu855Valfs∗4]; c.2564_2567dupTGTT [p.Leu856Phefs∗5]) are predicted to lead to a truncated cytoplasmic domain. Our study demonstrates that de novo heterozygous variants in CDH2 impair the adhesive activity of N-cadherin, resulting in a multisystemic developmental disorder, that could be named ACOG syndrome (agenesis of corpus callosum, axon pathfinding, cardiac, ocular, and genital defects)