1,720,991 research outputs found

    About cell migration and cellular response to the physical properties of the extracellular matrix : iCAP-1 regulates integrins and cell contractility.

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    Les cellules sont organisées en tissus dont les propriétés physiques comme la rigidité et l'élasticité sont variables. La matrice extracellulaire (MEC) est produite et remodelée par les cellules qui s'adaptent en retour aux conditions physico-chimiques de cet environnement extracellulaire. Cela nécessite une communication bidirectionnelle entre la cellule et la matrice. Les intégrines sont des protéines transmembranaires impliquées dans l'adhérence, liant la MEC au cytosquelette d'actine via une plateforme protéique appelée adhérence focale, lieu d'une double signalisation (inside-out et outside-in). Des variations de tension intracellulaire imposées par l'environnement modifient la distribution et la taille de ces adhérences. Leur dynamique est aussi contrôlée par certaines protéines cytoplasmiques comme la protéine ICAP-1, partenaire de l'intégrine b1. En cherchant à comprendre le lien entre la tension interne et l'activation des intégrines, j'ai montré qu'ICAP-1 contrôle l'étalement, la contractilité interne et la migration cellulaire en présence comme en absence de l'intégrine b1, révélant un rôle ICAP-1 indépendant de son interaction avec l'intégrine b1. Ce contrôle semble passer par l'interaction ICAP-1/ROCK et a révélé un contrôle de l'intégrine b3 par l'intégrine b1.The physical properties of cell tissues are variable and cells adapt their behaviour to the physical and chemical extracellular environment such as rigidity and composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) which is produced and remodelled by cells. This implicates a bidirectionnal signalling between cells and the ECM. Integrins are transmembrane proteins involved in cell adhesion, linking the ECM to the actin cytoskeleton through adaptor proteins forming adhesion site called focal adhesion (FA) where take place an inside-out and an outside-in signallings. Intracellular tension can be controlled by extracellular cues, modifying the size and distribution of FA. FA dynamics is also regulated by cytoplasmic proteins such as ICAP-1 that interacts with b1 integrin. Looking for a better comprehension of the link between cell tension and integrin activation, I show that ICAP-1 controls cell spreading, cell contractility and cell migration both in presence or absence of b1 integrins meaning that ICAP-1 has an action without its interaction b1 integrin. This action seems to implicate the interaction between ICAP-1 and ROCK and revealed a control of b1 integrin on b3 integrin

    Mechanical and functionnal properties of respiratory epithelial cells exposed to a bacterial toxine : the adenylate cyclase

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    La recrudescence des infections respiratoires impliquant des facteurs virulents d’origine bactérienne est devenue un problème majeur de santé publique. Mieux caractériser la réponse des cellules respiratoires dans la phase initiale d’exposition à des toxines bactériennes est important sur les plans physiopathologiques et thérapeutiques. Le but de ce travail est de décrypter les mécanismes cellulaires et moléculaires impliqués lors de l’exposition des cellules épithéliales respiratoires à l’adénylate cyclase (CyaA), une toxine produite par Bordetella pertussis, l’agent responsable de la coqueluche. CyaA a été choisie car elle dispose de multiples moyens qui lui permettent d’envahir un grand nombre de cellules eucaryotes. Elle est notamment capable de transloquer son domaine catalytique directement dans la cellule cible puis d’utiliser la calmoduline endogène pour augmenter le taux d’AMPc à des niveaux supraphysiologiques. Cependant l’effet de ces changements sur la signalisation mécano-chimique (mécanotransduction) a été très peu décrit alors qu’elle affecte les fonctions et l’intégrité cellulaires. Nous proposons donc d’évaluer les fonctions cellulaires et les propriétés mécaniques et d’adhésion des cellules épithéliales respiratoires exposées à CyaA dans le but de déceler des modifications fondamentales dans les processus de mécanotransduction.Nous avons tout d’abord mené une étude préliminaire visant à définir les concentrations physiopathologiques de CyaA utilisées dans nos expériences. Nous avons ainsi déterminé le degré de viabilité cellulaire en fonction de 3 concentrations de CyaA (0.5 ; 5 ; 10 nM), ce qui a montré que la concentration 0.5 nM n’affectait pas la viabilité cellulaire tout en induisant des niveaux supraphysiologiques d’AMPc en moins d’une heure.Nous avons ensuite cherché à évaluer les effets de CyaA sur la migration et la réparation cellulaires, le battement ciliaire et la perméabilité cellulaire de cellules épithéliales représentatives des différents niveaux de l’arbre aérien. CyaA induit une diminution de la migration et de la réparation cellulaires, ainsi qu’une augmentation de la perméabilité cellulaire traduisant un affaiblissement des jonctions latérales.Une étude en immunoflorescence a ensuite été conduite sur les structures intracellulaires et interfaciales des cellules épithéliales alvéolaires exposées aux 3 concentrations de CyaA. Cette étude a montré que CyaA est capable d’induire un remodelage du cytosquelette d’actine ainsi qu’une diminution du nombre des adhérences focales. Enfin, une analyse complète des propriétés mécaniques et des paramètres d’adhésion a été conduite sur les mêmes cellules au moyen de 2 techniques de micro/nanomanipulation revisitées pour permettre à la fois l’évaluation des liens multiples et de la rigidité cellulaire (Microscopie à Force Atomique (AFM) avec indentation et Magnétocytométrie (MTC)). Pour évaluer le rôle de l’AMPc sur les changements observés, les cellules épithéliales respiratoires ont été testées avec la forme active de CyaA et la forme enzymatiquement inactive de la toxine : CyaAE5, qui ne permet pas de synthétiser l’AMPc.Les expériences AFM ont révélé que le principal effet de CyaA est de diminuer le nombre de liens intégrine-ligand associés (une altération du clustering) alors qu’à la plus faible concentration de CyaA, nous observons une augmentation de la rigidité cellulaire, accompagnée d’un renforcement des liens individuels, évolutions confirmées par les résultats MTC. CyaAE5 ne parvient pas à produire ces mêmes effets.L’ensemble des résultats suggère que CyaA affecte de façon précoce la mécanotransduction des cellules exposées et ceci en cohérence avec les effets attendus de l’augmentation d’AMPc (remodelage du CSQ, altération des jonctions latérales, inhibition de l’expression de Rac1), ce qui apporte une nouvelle vision de la cytotoxicité induite par l’adénylate cyclase.The increase in respiratory infections involving virulent factors of bacterial origin has become a major public health issue. A better knowledge of the cell respiratory response in the course of the initial cell invasion by bacterial toxins is important from the pathophysiological and therapeutical point of views.The purpose of this work is to decipher the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the exposition of respiratory epithelial cells to the adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) produced by Bordetella pertussis which is the whooping cough agent. We have chosen this toxin for its multiple capacities of penetrating a wide range of eukaryotic cells. Indeed, this toxin enables direct translocation of its catalytic domain across the plasma membrane of target cells using the endogen calmoduline to increase the cAMP rate at supraphysiological levels. However, the effects of these changes on mechano-chemical signaling (mechanotransduction) pathways remain largely unknown while it affects cellular functions and cell integrity. So, we perform an evaluation of cellular functions as well as mechanical and adhesion properties of respiratory epithelial cells exposed to CyaA toxin in order to detect some critical modifications in the mechanotransduction processes.In a preliminary study aiming at defining physiopathological concentrations of CyaA toxin used in our experiments, we determined the cell viability degree for 3 concentrations of CyaA toxin (0.5; 5 and 10 nM). We found that the smallest concentration (0.5 nM) did not affect cell viability whereas inducing supraphysiological cAMP levels in less than one hour.Then, we assessed the effects of CyaA toxin on cell migration and repair phenomenon, on ciliary beating and on cell permeability of epithelial cells representative of the different levels of the respiratory tract. The toxin induces a decrease in cell migration and repair, an increase in cell permeability suggesting a weakening of lateral cell-cell junctions.Immunostaining was performed on intracellular and interfacial structures of alveolar epithelial cells exposed to the 3 concentrations of CyaA toxin. Results show that CyaA toxin is able to induce cytoskeleton remodeling and a decrease in the number of focal adhesions. Finally, a refined analysis of mechanical properties and adhesion parameters was performed on the same cells by 2 techniques of micro/nanomanipulation modified to permit at the same time, an evaluation of cell adhesion and cell rigidity (Atomic Force Microscopy with indentation and force spectroscopy to characterize the number of bond during adhesion reinforcement and multiscale Magnetic Twisting Cytometry). To evaluate the role of cAMP on cellular and molecular changes, we tested the enzymatically inactive form of CyaA toxin called CyaAE5 which could not permit to increase the intracellular cAMP rate.The AFM experiments have revealed that the main effect of CyaA toxin is to decrease the number of associated integrin-ligand bounds (meaning an alteration of clustering) while, at the smallest concentration of CyaA toxin, we observe an increase in cell rigidity with an individual bound reinforcement, a result consistent with MTC results. Nevertheless, CyaE5 does not exhibit such cellular effects. On the whole, these results suggest that CyaA toxin affects the mechanotransduction pathways of cells exposed to the toxin, a result which is in agreement with the expected effects of cAMP increase (notably cytoskeleton remodeling, lateral junction alteration and inhibition of Rac1 expression) what brings a new vision of the cytotoxicity induced by the adenylate cyclase toxin

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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