The Rebel

Who is the rebel in the Middle East and North Africa? Translating the 'rebel' in the Arab spring context bears lexical and semantic difficulties, but, most of all, it requires to guard oneself from western liberal bias. Discussing different notions of 'the rebel' and related Arabic terms such as thāʾir and mutamarrid, this article introduces META issue #6 on 'The Rebel'

Phenotypic and functional analysis of lymphocytes infiltrating osteolytic tumors: use as a possible therapeutic approach of osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary bone tumor. The use of aggressive chemotherapy has drastically improved the prognosis of the patients with non-metastatic osteosarcomas, however the prognosis of the patients with metastasis is still very poor. Then, new and more effective treatments for curing osteosarcoma, such as immunotherapy are needed. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) have been involved in the control of tumor development and already assessed with success for the treatment of several cancers including melanoma. While TIL represent a fascinating therapeutic approach in numerous malignant pathologies, there is few report concerning adult bone-associated tumors including osteosarcoma. METHODS: Human TIL were isolated and characterized (phenotype, lytic activity) from twenty-seven patients with bone-associated tumors (osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, giant cell tumor, chondrosarcoma, plasmocytoma and bone metastases). Similar experiments were performed using rat osteosarcoma model. RESULTS: While TIL with a main CD4(+ )profile were easily isolated from most of the tumor samples, only TIL extracted from osteosarcoma were cytotoxic against allogeneic tumor cells. In all cases, TIL lytic activity was significantly higher compared to autologous peripheral blood leukocytes. Similar data were observed in rat osteosarcoma model where TIL were characterized by a main CD4(+ )profile and high lytic activity against allogeneic and autologous tumor cells. Moreover, rat TIL expansion was not accompanied by refractoriness to further activation stimulus mainly by tumor antigens. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that TIL therapy could be a very efficient strategy for the treatment of adult osteosarcoma

Proteoglycans and osteolysis.

Osteolysis is a complex mechanism resulting from an exacerbated activity of osteoclasts associated or not with a dysregulation of osteoblast metabolism leading to bone loss. This bone defect is not compensated by bone apposition or by apposition of bone matrix with poor mechanical quality. Osteolytic process is regulated by mechanical constraints, by polypeptides including cytokines and hormones, and by extracellular matrix components such as proteoglycans (PGs) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Several studies revealed that GAGs may influence osteoclastogenesis, but data are very controversial: some studies showed a repressive effect of GAGs on osteoclastic differentiation, whereas others described a stimulatory effect. The controversy also affects osteoblasts which appear sometimes inhibited by polysaccharides and sometimes stimulated by these compounds. Furthermore, long-term treatment with heparin leads to the development of osteoporosis fueling the controversy. After a brief description of the principal osteoclastogenesis assays, the present chapter summarizes the main data published on the effect of PGs/GAGs on bone cells and their functional incidence on osteolysis

Arab music, French folklore ? : music, politics and musician communities in contact in Algiers during the colonial period (1862-1962)

Dans cette thèse, nous tâchons de démontrer que l’histoire de la musique à Alger entre les années 1860 et l’indépendance ne peut se passer d’une approche en termes de rencontre et de transferts entre les expressions musicales européennes et indigènes. Spectacle vivant et lieu de rencontre, la pratique musicale a été saisie très tôt au cours du XXe siècle comme un moyen de travailler au rapprochement des communautés ; un des principes auquel ont œuvré de nombreux acteurs de la société civile, appuyés de manière croissante par les autorités publiques. Le frottement soutenu entre les différents genres musicaux a contribué à en former et à en consolider les contours, de sorte que la musique dite aujourd’hui « çan‘a » ou « andalouse » d’Alger est le produit d’un dialogue entre Européens et indigènes. Ainsi, entre 1862 et 1962, il est possible de parler de chemin « franco-musulman » parcouru par les musiques d’Algérie ; chemin qui contribue à modeler leur forme et qui révèle que la portée historique de l’indépendance dans le champ musical est aussi limitée que sa force mémorielle est démesurée, quand on considère les discours nationalistes dont les musiques d’Algérie sont aujourd’hui investies. Cependant, le cas musical algérois est peut-être plus significatif dans le champ d’une histoire culturelle de la France : il révèle – contre toute attente ? – qu’en France, le multiculturalisme n’est pas une fonction de l’impérialisme. Considérer un instant qu’Alger n’est pas foncièrement « coloniale » entre 1862 et 1962, reconnaître qu’elle a un temps partagé le destin de l’hexagone et constater qu’elle est un lieu d’application d’une politique culturelle de la diversité interroge le jacobinisme français, dont on répète pourtant à l’envie, qu’il est congénital.In this dissertation, we seek to demonstrate that the history of music in Algiers from the 1860s to independence must be apprehended in terms of meeting and transfers between European and indigenous musical expressions. Characterized by live performance and being a point of contact, musical practice has been understood, as early as the beginning of the 20th century, as a means to create and tighten ties between communities; a purpose to which many actors of civil society have worked, increasingly supported by public authorities. Rubbed together, the different musical genres were modelled and consolidated, so that the Algiers’s so-called “Andalusian” musical tradition was, in fact, shaped by the dialogue between Europeans and indigenes. Thus, from 1862 to 1962, one can speak of Algerian music’s “franco-muslim” path; a path which reveals that the historical significance of Algerian independence in the field of music is as limited as its memorial weight is overwhelming in contemporary nationalist narratives on Algerian music. However, the Algiers musical case might be more telling from a cultural history of modern France point of view: it shows – surprisingly? – that in France, multiculturalism is not tied to imperialism. If one considers for a moment that Algiers, from 1862 to 1962, is not fundamentally “colonial”, admits that it has for a time shared a common destiny with the hexagone, and yields to the fact that it hosted a genuine cultural policy aimed at the promotion of diversity, one is led to wonder if Jacobinism, as is often said, is consubstantial to France

Musique arabe, folklore de France ? : musique, politique et communautés musiciennes en contact à Alger durant la période coloniale (1862-1962)

In this dissertation, we seek to demonstrate that the history of music in Algiers from the 1860s to independence must be apprehended in terms of meeting and transfers between European and indigenous musical expressions. Characterized by live performance and being a point of contact, musical practice has been understood, as early as the beginning of the 20th century, as a means to create and tighten ties between communities; a purpose to which many actors of civil society have worked, increasingly supported by public authorities. Rubbed together, the different musical genres were modelled and consolidated, so that the Algiers’s so-called “Andalusian” musical tradition was, in fact, shaped by the dialogue between Europeans and indigenes. Thus, from 1862 to 1962, one can speak of Algerian music’s “franco-muslim” path; a path which reveals that the historical significance of Algerian independence in the field of music is as limited as its memorial weight is overwhelming in contemporary nationalist narratives on Algerian music. However, the Algiers musical case might be more telling from a cultural history of modern France point of view: it shows – surprisingly? – that in France, multiculturalism is not tied to imperialism. If one considers for a moment that Algiers, from 1862 to 1962, is not fundamentally “colonial”, admits that it has for a time shared a common destiny with the hexagone, and yields to the fact that it hosted a genuine cultural policy aimed at the promotion of diversity, one is led to wonder if Jacobinism, as is often said, is consubstantial to France.Dans cette thèse, nous tâchons de démontrer que l’histoire de la musique à Alger entre les années 1860 et l’indépendance ne peut se passer d’une approche en termes de rencontre et de transferts entre les expressions musicales européennes et indigènes. Spectacle vivant et lieu de rencontre, la pratique musicale a été saisie très tôt au cours du XXe siècle comme un moyen de travailler au rapprochement des communautés ; un des principes auquel ont œuvré de nombreux acteurs de la société civile, appuyés de manière croissante par les autorités publiques. Le frottement soutenu entre les différents genres musicaux a contribué à en former et à en consolider les contours, de sorte que la musique dite aujourd’hui « çan‘a » ou « andalouse » d’Alger est le produit d’un dialogue entre Européens et indigènes. Ainsi, entre 1862 et 1962, il est possible de parler de chemin « franco-musulman » parcouru par les musiques d’Algérie ; chemin qui contribue à modeler leur forme et qui révèle que la portée historique de l’indépendance dans le champ musical est aussi limitée que sa force mémorielle est démesurée, quand on considère les discours nationalistes dont les musiques d’Algérie sont aujourd’hui investies. Cependant, le cas musical algérois est peut-être plus significatif dans le champ d’une histoire culturelle de la France : il révèle – contre toute attente ? – qu’en France, le multiculturalisme n’est pas une fonction de l’impérialisme. Considérer un instant qu’Alger n’est pas foncièrement « coloniale » entre 1862 et 1962, reconnaître qu’elle a un temps partagé le destin de l’hexagone et constater qu’elle est un lieu d’application d’une politique culturelle de la diversité interroge le jacobinisme français, dont on répète pourtant à l’envie, qu’il est congénital

Deux pièces en bronze et en pierre

Théoleyre M. Deux pièces en bronze et en pierre. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France, tome 10, n°4, 1913. pp. 218-220

Oncogenic transcription factors as splicing regulators.

Oncogene activity ranges from transduction signals to transcription factors. Altered expression of oncogenes, either by chromosomal translocation, proviral insertion or point mutations, can lead to tumor formation. More specifically, data accumulated through the last two decades have shown that disregulation of oncogenic transcription factors can interfere with regulatory cascades that control the growth, differentiation, and survival of normal cells. There is also evidence that alterations of oncogene activity are associated with pre-mRNA splicing defects. The insights gained from the pivotal role of RNA polymerase II in coupling transcription and splicing have instigated a new line of research regarding the possible role of oncogenic transcription factors in pre-mRNA splicing regulation. This review focuses on recent advances addressing this question. Understanding the impact of alterations in the expression and/or function of oncogenes have important prognostic implications that can guide the design of new therapeutic drugs to promote differentiation and/or apoptosis over cell proliferation

Des oncogènes à l’interface entre transcription et épissage

Le développement de cellules cancéreuses est depuis longtemps associé à des dérèglements de l’activité transcriptionnelle de nombreux gènes, mais aussi, plus récemment, à l’apparition d’anomalies d’épissage des ARN prémessagers. La contribution de ces anomalies d’épissage au développement de cellules tumorales, ainsi que le pouvoir tumorigène de certaines des isoformes protéiques qui en sont issues sont encore très peu explorés. Toutefois, depuis la découverte récente du couplage des deux mécanismes - transcription et épissage - des efforts de recherche ont permis de démontrer que des facteurs de transcription oncogéniques affectent aussi l’épissage des prémessagers. Ces observations suscitent des interrogations quant aux mécanismes d’action des oncogènes à activité transcriptionnelle et, à plus long terme, quant à la recherche de cibles cellulaires nouvelles à appréhender dans de futurs protocoles thérapeutiques anticancéreux.Oncogene activity ranges from transduction signals to transcription factors. Altered expression of oncogenes, either by chromosomal translocation, proviral insertion or point mutations, can lead to tumor formation. More specifically, data accumulated through the last two decades have shown that disregulation of oncogenic transcription factors can interfere with regulatory cascades that control the growth, differentiation, and survival of normal cells. There is also evidence that alterations of oncogene activity are associated with pre-mRNA splicing defects. The insights gained from the pivotal role of RNA polymerase II in coupling transcription and splicing have instigated a new line of research regarding the possible role of oncogenic transcription factors in pre-mRNA splicing regulation. This review focuses on recent advances addressing this question. Understanding the impact of alterations in the expression and/or function of oncogenes have important prognostic implications that can guide the design of new therapeutic drugs to promote differentiation and/or apoptosis over cell proliferation

HtrA3 is regulated by 15-deoxy-Delta12,14-prostaglandin J2 independently of PPARgamma in clear cell renal cell carcinomas.

International audiencePeroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) ligands have been shown to possess anti-proliferative effects in many types of cancer. In clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC), the targets involved in these effects are not known. In this study, we demonstrated that, in CCRCC cell lines, the endogenous PPARgamma ligand 15-deoxy-Delta12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15dPGJ2) induces the expression, both at the mRNA and the protein levels, of the HtrA3 gene. This gene belongs to the High-Temperature Requirement Factor A family of serine proteases that repress signaling by TGF-beta family members and inhibit cell migration. Rosiglitazone or ciglitazone, synthetic PPARgamma agonists, did not induce HtrA3 expression, and the PPARgamma antagonist GW9662 did not prevent 15dPGJ2 induction, suggesting that the up-regulation of HtrA3 by 15dPGJ2 is independent of PPARgamma. The MEK/ERK inhibitor PD98059 dramatically repressed HtrA3 induction. Altogether, these data indicate that 15dPGJ2 is able to stimulate the expression of HtrA3 through an indirect mechanism involving the MEK/ERK pathway but independent of PPARgamma. Our results provide a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of HtrA3, a potential tumor suppressor gene