Tumoral calcinosis in a peritoneal dialysis patient.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
P Barre
Publications and source records attributed to P Barre.
[Sinuso-nasal sarcoidosis].
OBJECTIVES: Sinonasal sarcoidosis is unusual and may be misdiagnosed. We describe the characteristic clinical presentation observed in three patients treated in our institution and define the complementary explorations leading to diagnosis. Basis for treatment is also developed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among one hundred and one patients treated for sarcoidosis between 1983 and 2003 in three department of RD Hospital, three had histologically proved sinonasal sarcoidosis. These three cases were retrospectively analyzed and compared with the literature. RESULTS: All patients complained of chronic rhinosinusitis without improvement under usual treatment. Computed tomography showed usual aspects of chronic rhinosinusitis. The diagnosis was finally based on the biopsy of the nasal mucosa. Even if sarcoidosis had been already diagnosed, the main point was the delay between ENT symptoms and diagnosis because all clinical presentations and radiological aspects were aspecific. CONCLUSION: This case report underlines the difficulty to diagnose sinonasal sarcoidosis. When a patient is treated for sarcoidosis, sinonasal localization of the disease must be suggested in the event of chronic rhinosinusitis. On the other hand, sarcoidosis must be suggested and specific complementary examination must be performed in the event of chronic rhinosinusitis without improvement under usual treatment. ENT biopsy remains the main argument for diagnosis.
Adult↗
Efficacy of once-weekly epoetin alfa.
BACKGROUND: Patients with end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis are frequently treated with epoetin alfa (recombinant human erythropoietin, rHuEPO) for anemia. The aim of this study was to determine whether successful management of anemia could be maintained by changing the dosing schedule of epoetin alfa from 2 or 3 times per week to once-weekly administration via not only the subcutaneous (s.c.) but also the intravenous (i.v.) route. METHODS: Patients included in the study had hemodialysis for > 12 months, treatment with epoetin for > or = 6 months and adequate iron stores. The study consisted of a pre-study period (12 weeks), Phase I (4 weeks, patients continued prestudy regimen), Phase II (12 weeks, once-weekly i.v. or s.c. regimen with dose adjustments permitted to maintain target hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations) and Phase III (4 weeks, once-weekly i.v. or s.c. regimen without dose adjustments). RESULTS: The study was completed by 203 patients (per-protocol population: i.v. group, n = 115, s.c. group, n = 88). In the majority of patients (69.4% overall: i.v. group, 67.0%, s.c. group, 72.7%), the individual Phase I Hb concentrations were maintained within +/-1.0 g/dl (+/-10 g/l) during Phase III. In 79.3% of the patients (i.v. group, 75.7%, s.c. group, 84.1%), a stable Hb concentration (decrease of < or = 1 g/dl (< or = 10 g/l)) was maintained without statistically significant dose adjustments (82.4+/-33.8 - 86.8+/-42.1 IU/kg body weight/week). Hb concentrations decreased from 11.57+/-0.83 g/dl(115.7+/-8.3 g/l) in Phase I to 11.39+/-1.09 g/dl (113.9+/-10.9 g/l) in Phase III (p < 0.05) in the entire group. The weekly dose of epoetin alfa required to maintain the individual target Hb concentrations changed from 85.1+/-34.6 IU/kg in Phase I to 92.1+/-45.1 IU/kg in Phase III in the entire population (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: With once-weekly administration of epoetin alfa, Hb concentrations can be maintained in the majority of stable hemodialysis patients, and only minimal dose adjustments are required.
Anemia↗
Identification and mapping of a major gene (Ft1) involved in fructification time in the interspecific cross Coffea pseudozanguebariae x C. liberica var. Dewevrei: impact on caffeine content and seed weight.
Fructification time was studied in the interspecific cross Coffea pseudozanguebariae x C. liberica var. Dewevrei (PSE x DEW). Parental species, F(1) hybrids and offspring of the first backcross generation (BC(1)), consisting of F(1) x PSE (BCPSE) and F(1) x DEW (BCDEW) plants, were observed. Fructification time can be split into two independent visual phases: the full-growth period, from blooming up to the end of fruit growth, and the maturation phase, defined by the green to red color change. Fructification time was found to be an additive trait. The full-growth period showed a bimodal distribution in the BCDEW hybrid, suggesting the involvement of Ft1, a major gene that was mapped on linkage group E. The main effects of Ft1 were to lower caffeine content and 100-seed weight, without any impact on chlorogenic acid, trigonelline and sucrose contents. Two molecular markers were identified that bracket Ft1 and which could be used for early marker-assisted selection.
Caffeine↗
Effects of caffeine and chlorogenic acid on propidium iodide accessibility to DNA: consequences on genome size evaluation in coffee tree.
Estimates of genome size using flow cytometry can be biased by the presence of cytosolic compounds, leading to pseudo-intraspecific variation in genome size. Two important compounds present in coffee trees-caffeine and chlorogenic acid-modify accessibility of the dye propidium iodide to Petunia DNA, a species used as internal standard in our genome size evaluation. These compounds could be responsible for intraspecific variation in genome size since their contents vary between trees. They could also be implicated in environmental variations in genome size, such as those revealed when comparing the results of evaluations carried out on different dates on several genotypes.
Caffeine↗
Genome size variations in diploid African Coffea species.
Flow cytometry was conducted to evaluate genome size diversity among African diploid species of the Coffea genus. The study included 15 species and six new taxa from Congolese and Cameroonian forest regions which have yet to be botanically characterized. Between-population differences were also recorded in some cases. These evaluations using an internal standard were highly correlated with previous results obtained with an external standard, but differences of up to 18 % existed for some species, involving stoichiometric errors. Consequently, genome size variation between species and within species are discussed as true genome size differences or stoichiometric errors. Environmental and phenotypic correlations with genome size are also discussed.
Africa, Central↗
Canadian survey of clinical status at dialysis initiation 1998-1999: a multicenter prospective survey.
AIMS: The current growth in end-stage kidney disease populations has led to increased efforts to understand the impact of status at dialysis initiation on long-term outcomes. Our main objective was to improve the understanding of current Canadian nephrology practice between October 1998 and December 1999. METHODS: Fifteen nephrology centers in 7 provinces participated in a prospective data collection survey. The main outcome of interest was the clinical status at dialysis initiation determined by: residual kidney function, preparedness for chronic dialysis as measured by presence or absence of permanent peritoneal or hemodialysis access, hemoglobin and serum albumin. Uremic symptoms at dialysis initiation were also recorded, however, in some cases these symptom data were obtained retrospectively. RESULTS: Data on 251 patients during 1-month periods were collected. Patients commenced dialysis at mean calculated creatinine clearance levels of approximately 10 ml/min, with an average of 3 symptoms. 35% of patients starting dialysis had been known to nephrologists for less than 3 months. These patients are more likely to commence without permanent access and with lower hemoglobin and albumin levels. Even of those known to nephrologists, only 66% had permanent access in place. CONCLUSIONS: Patients commencing dialysis in Canada appear to be doing so in relative concordance with published guidelines with respect to timing of initiation. Despite an increased awareness of kidney disease, a substantial number of patients continues to commence dialysis without previous care by a nephrologist. Of those who are seen by nephrologists, clinical and laboratory parameters are suboptimal according to current guidelines. This survey serves as an important baseline for future comparisons after the implementation of educational strategies for referring physicians and nephrologists.
Adult↗
Characterization of Schizosaccharomyces pombe malate permease by expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, L-malic acid transport is not carrier mediated and is limited to slow, simple diffusion of the undissociated acid. Expression in S. cerevisiae of the MAE1 gene, encoding Schizosaccharomyces pombe malate permease, markedly increased L-malic acid uptake in this yeast. In this strain, at pH 3.5 (encountered in industrial processes), L-malic acid uptake involves Mae1p-mediated transport of the monoanionic form of the acid (apparent kinetic parameters: Vmax = 8.7 nmol/mg/min; Km = 1.6 mM) and some simple diffusion of the undissociated L-malic acid (Kd = 0.057 min(-1)). As total L-malic acid transport involved only low levels of diffusion, the Mae1p permease was further characterized in the recombinant strain. L-Malic acid transport was reversible and accumulative and depended on both the transmembrane gradient of the monoanionic acid form and the DeltapH component of the proton motive force. Dicarboxylic acids with stearic occupation closely related to L-malic acid, such as maleic, oxaloacetic, malonic, succinic and fumaric acids, inhibited L-malic acid uptake, suggesting that these compounds use the same carrier. We found that increasing external pH directly inhibited malate uptake, resulting in a lower initial rate of uptake and a lower level of substrate accumulation. In S. pombe, proton movements, as shown by internal acidification, accompanied malate uptake, consistent with the proton/dicarboxylate mechanism previously proposed. Surprisingly, no proton fluxes were observed during Mae1p-mediated L-malic acid import in S. cerevisiae, and intracellular pH remained constant. This suggests that, in S. cerevisiae, either there is a proton counterflow or the Mae1p permease functions differently from a proton/dicarboxylate symport.
Bacterial Proteins↗
Examination of the transcriptional specificity of an enological yeast. A pilot experiment on the chromosome-III right arm.
The adaptation of yeasts to industrial environments is thought to be largely dependent on gene-expression specificity. To assess the transcriptional specificity of an enological strain, we performed a pilot experiment and examined the transcript level of 99 ORFs of the chromosome-III right arm with two strains, an enological-derived strain and a laboratory strain, grown under three different physiological conditions: respiration, standard alcoholic fermentation and enological alcoholic fermentation. The use of 99 single ORF-derived probes led to the detection of 49 transcripts, most of which were present at low levels and were not regulated. Ethanol respiration induced transcripts, in a similar manner with both strains. While standard alcoholic fermentation led to only minor regulations, the enological fermentation conditions triggered the expression of different genes. In addition, a specific transcriptional response to these conditions was observed with the enological-derived strain. The known or predicted functions of several genes induced under enological conditions is related to either alcoholic fermentation or stress, suggesting that their specific induction could reflect adaptation of the strain to the enological environment. Our data suggest that systematic transcriptional studies are an effective way to assess the molecular basis of yeast adaptation to industrial environments.
Cell Respiration↗
Saccharomyces cerevisiae PAU genes are induced by anaerobiosis.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae PAU genes constitute the largest multigene family in yeast, with 23 members located mainly in subtelomeric regions. The role and regulation of these genes were previously unknown. We detected PAU gene expression during alcoholic fermentation. An analysis of PAU gene regulation using PAU-lacZ fusions and Northern analyses revealed that they were regulated by anaerobiosis. PAU genes display, however, different abilities to be induced by anaerobiosis and this appears to be related to their chromosomal localization; two subtelomeric copies are more weakly inducible than an interstitial one. We show that PAU genes are negatively regulated by oxygen and repressed by haem. Examination of PAU gene expression in rox1Delta and tup1Delta strains indicates that PAU repression by oxygen is mediated by an unknown, haem-dependent pathway, which does not involve the Rox1p anaerobic repressor but requires Tup1p. Given the size of the gene family, PAU genes could be expected to be important during yeast life and some of them probably help the yeast to cope with anaerobiosis.
Anaerobiosis↗
Recurrence, progression and success in stage Ta grade 3 bladder tumors treated with low dose bacillus Calmette-Guerin instillations.
PURPOSE: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy is considered to be an effective prophylactic and therapeutic agent for high risk superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Nevertheless, in a select uncommon population of stage Ta grade 3 superficial lamina-free tumors the results of this treatment have not yet been well established. We evaluated recurrence and progression rates, and the success of BCG therapy in a population with stage Ta grade 3 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of the 605 patients treated at our institution from 1982 to 1996 for the histopathological diagnosis of primary bladder cancer 32 (5.3%) with stage Ta grade 3 noninvasive primary bladder tumor were treated with intravesical instillations of 75 mg. Pasteur strain BCG in 50 ml. saline weekly for 6 weeks. At a followup of 2 to 13 years (mean 58.4 months) patients were evaluated with urinary cytology, cystoscopy, transurethral resection and random mucosal biopsies. Recurrence, grade and stage progression, death and causality were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 32 patients 9 (28%) responded positively to BCG without recurrence, while disease recurred as stage Ta in 8 (25%) and T1 in 7 (22%), and progressed to muscle layer infiltration in 8 (25%). Four patients (12%) died of bladder cancer. The number of tumors at primary resection, gross examination, the mitotic index or an association with carcinoma in situ did not appear to be predictive factors of progression to muscle invasion. Urine cytology (I to II versus III to IV) appeared to correlate highly with progression and BCG response (p<0.001) with excellent sensitivity (1) but low specificity (0.67). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the high progression potential of stage Ta grade 3 tumors, since nearly 50% recurred and 25% progressed to invasive disease. These results may be closely compared with the results of previous trials of stage T1 grade 3 disease. We suggest that recurrence should be detected at an early stage using long-term followup with strict observance of the surveillance protocols during a minimum 5-year tumor-free period.
Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
Multiple Ty-mediated chromosomal translocations lead to karyotype changes in a wine strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Enological strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae display a high level of chromosome length polymorphism, but the molecular basis of this phenomenon has not yet been clearly defined. In order to gain further insight into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the karyotypic variability, we examined the chromosomal constitution of a strain known to possess aberrant chromosomes. Our data revealed that the strain carries four rearranged chromosomes resulting from two reciprocal translocations between chromosomes III and I, and chromosomes III and VII. The sizes of the chromosomal fragments exchanged through translocation range from 40 to 150 kb. Characterization of the breakpoints indicated that the translocations involved the RAHS of chromosome III, a transposition hot-spot on the right arm of chromosome I and a region on the left arm of chromosome VII. An analysis of the junctions showed that in all cases Ty elements were present and suggested that the translocations result from recombination between transposable Ty elements. The evidence for multiple translocations mediated by Ty elements in a single strain suggests that spontaneous Ty-driven rearrangement could be quite common and may play a major role in the alteration of karyotypes in natural and industrial yeasts.
Base Sequence↗
Glycerol overproduction by engineered saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast strains leads to substantial changes in By-product formation and to a stimulation of fermentation rate in stationary phase
Six commercial wine yeast strains and three nonindustrial strains (two laboratory strains and one haploid strain derived from a wine yeast strain) were engineered to produce large amounts of glycerol with a lower ethanol yield. Overexpression of the GPD1 gene, encoding a glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, resulted in a 1.5- to 2.5-fold increase in glycerol production and a slight decrease in ethanol formation under conditions simulating wine fermentation. All the strains overexpressing GPD1 produced a larger amount of succinate and acetate, with marked differences in the level of these compounds between industrial and nonindustrial engineered strains. Acetoin and 2,3-butanediol formation was enhanced with significant variation between strains and in relation to the level of glycerol produced. Wine strains overproducing glycerol at moderate levels (12 to 18 g/liter) reduced acetoin almost completely to 2,3-butanediol. A lower biomass concentration was attained by GPD1-overexpressing strains, probably due to high acetaldehyde production during the growth phase. Despite the reduction in cell numbers, complete sugar exhaustion was achieved during fermentation in a sugar-rich medium. Surprisingly, the engineered wine yeast strains exhibited a significant increase in the fermentation rate in the stationary phase, which reduced the time of fermentation.
Journal Article↗
Distribution of the flocculation protein, flop, at the cell surface during yeast growth: the availability of flop determines the flocculation level.
The yeast FLO genes encode cell surface proteins which are expected to play a major role in the control of flocculation. We have assessed the availability of the Flo proteins at the cell surface during the growth of two flocculent strains, ABXL-1D (FLO1) and STX347-1D (FLO5) using immunological approaches, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and immunofluorescence. Our data show that they are not permanently present at the cell surface but that their amount increases during growth. With both strains the flocculation level is tightly correlated to the amount of Flop antigen detected, suggesting that it is the availability of the Flo proteins at the cell surface which determines the flocculation level. Our data are consistent with the idea that the Flo proteins correspond to the flocculation lectins. The differences of flocculation pattern among strains could originate from variations in the regulation of the expression of the FLO genes. Monitoring of the distribution of the Flo proteins during cellular development revealed that they are incorporated essentially in the cell wall of growing buds. Incorporation of the Flo proteins in the cell wall displays a highly polarized aspect, at the bud tip and at the mother-daughter neck junction, which can persist in mature cells. Such a localization could be relevant to constraints of the cell wall incorporation of the mannoproteins. Depending on the regulation of Flop expression and on the incorporation of the proteins in the cell wall, a yeast population can be highly heterogeneous in Flo protein equipment.
Cell Wall↗
Purification, characterization, and substrate specificity of a novel highly glucose-tolerant beta-glucosidase from Aspergillus oryzae.
Aspergillus oryzae was found to secrete two distinct beta-glucosidases when it was grown in liquid culture on various substrates. The major form had a molecular mass of 130 kDa and was highly inhibited by glucose. The minor form, which was induced most effectively on quercetin (3,3',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavone)-rich medium, represented no more than 18% of total beta-glucosidase activity but exhibited a high tolerance to glucose inhibition. This highly glucose-tolerant beta-glucosidase (designated HGT-BG) was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and anion-exchange chromatography. HGT-BG is a monomeric protein with an apparent molecular mass of 43 kDa and a pI of 4.2 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. Using p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucoside as the substrate, we found that the enzyme was optimally active at 50 degreesC and pH 5.0 and had a specific activity of 1,066 micromol min-1 mg of protein-1 and a Km of 0.55 mM under these conditions. The enzyme is particularly resistant to inhibition by glucose (Ki, 1. 36 M) or glucono-delta-lactone (Ki, 12.5 mM), another powerful beta-glucosidase inhibitor present in wine. A comparison of the enzyme activities on various glycosidic substrates indicated that HGT-BG is a broad-specificity type of fungal beta-glucosidase. It exhibits exoglucanase activity and hydrolyzes (1-->3)- and (1-->6)-beta-glucosidic linkages most effectively. This enzyme was able to release flavor compounds, such as geraniol, nerol, and linalol, from the corresponding monoterpenyl-beta-D-glucosides in a grape must (pH 2.9, 90 g of glucose liter-1). Other flavor precursors (benzyl- and 2-phenylethyl-beta-D-glucosides) and prunin (4',5,7-trihydroxyflavanone-7-glucoside), which contribute to the bitterness of citrus juices, are also substrates of the enzyme. Thus, this novel beta-glucosidase is of great potential interest in wine and fruit juice processing because it releases aromatic compounds from flavorless glucosidic precursors.
Aspergillus oryzae↗
Improvement of nitrogen assimilation and fermentation kinetics under enological conditions by derepression of alternative nitrogen-assimilatory pathways in an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain.
Metabolism of nitrogen compounds by yeasts affects the efficiency of wine fermentation. Ammonium ions, normally present in grape musts, reduce catabolic enzyme levels and transport activities for nonpreferred nitrogen sources. This nitrogen catabolite repression severely impairs the utilization of proline and arginine, both common nitrogen sources in grape juice that require the proline utilization pathway for their assimilation. We attempted to improve fermentation performance by genetic alteration of the regulation of nitrogen-assimilatory pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One mutant carrying a recessive allele of ure2 was isolated from an industrial S. cerevisiae strain. This mutation strongly deregulated the proline utilization pathway. Fermentation kinetics of this mutant were studied under enological conditions on simulated standard grape juices with various nitrogen levels. Mutant strains produced more biomass and exhibited a higher maximum CO2 production rate than the wild type. These differences were primarily due to the derepression of amino acid utilization pathways. When low amounts of dissolved oxygen were added, the mutants could assimilate proline. Biomass yield and fermentation rate were consequently increased, and the duration of the fermentation was substantially shortened. S. cerevisiae strains lacking URE2 function could improve alcoholic fermentation of natural media where proline and other poorly assimilated amino acids are the major potential nitrogen source, as is the case for most fruit juices and grape musts.
Crosses, Genetic↗
[The absence of metabolic disorders 8 years after detubulized Z entero-cystoplasty].
Intestinal resection can lead to decreased gastrointestinal absorption of various metabolic substances. The use of these intestinal segments as materials for urinary tract reconstruction can also induce metabolic disorders. The authors studied the long-term metabolic consequences of replacement enterocystoplasty after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.
Aged↗
Metabolic analysis of S. cerevisiae strains engineered for malolactic fermentation.
A complete malolactic fermentation was achieved using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains coexpressing the genes mleS and mae1 coding for the Lactococcus lactis malolactic enzyme and the Schizosaccharomyces pombe malate permease under the control of yeast promoters. The expression level of mae1 greatly influences the kinetics of the reaction by controlling the rate of malate uptake meanwhile a high expression level of mleS induces a partial consumption of malate derived from glucose by the malolactic enzyme. A strain expressing several copies of mae1 and one copy of mleS degrades 3 g/l of malate almost exclusively through the malolactic pathway in 4 days under enological conditions, without metabolic side effects.
Bacterial Proteins↗