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Biomedical subjects

B Dutrillaux

Publications and source records attributed to B Dutrillaux.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

[Characterization of chromosomal rearrangements by in situ hybridization in glioblastoma].

In a case of glioblastoma, the following karyotype was determined: 47, X, - Y, + der(1) t(1;9)(p21;p23), t(1;9)(p21;p23), + 3, + 7, der(9) t(Y;9)(q11;p21), - 13, t(13;16)(p13,p11), del(14)(q11q22). Classical satellite DNAs are mainly located in chromosomes 1, 9, 15, 16 and Y. Because, most of these chromosomes were implicated in the rearrangements, a detailed cytogenetic study was undertaken. This study included in situ hybridization of the satellite and alphoid DNAs of chromosomes 1, 9, 16 and Y combined with various chromosome banding methods (DA-DAPI, quinacrine mustard and R-banding). The data obtained, demonstrated that the breakpoints were always located outside the areas containing the satellite and alphoid DNAs. The situation observed here differs from that reported in breast cancers for which a high proportion of the breakpoints occur within these areas. These findings suggest that in glioblastoma, chromosome rearrangements result from different mechanisms than those implicated in breast cancers. Thus, in cancers, chromosomal instabilities may result from several mechanisms.

Azacitidine↗

[Nucleotide metabolism in human glioma: comparative study of primary tumors, grafted tumors on nude mice and cell cultures].

A study developed to test the hypothesis of a possible relationship between metabolic modifications and chromosomal imbalances in solid tumors leads us to investigate the metabolism of purine nucleotides in human gliomas. In order to assess the representativeness of experimental models frequently used, the activities of nine enzymes involved in the synthesis and in the catabolism of purine nucleotides were measured on samples of normal brain, primary and xenografted glial tumors and cell cultures established from human gliomas. In parallel, two enzymes involved in pyrimidine metabolism were also studied on the same samples. The results highlight the low activity of the purine metabolism in human gliomas when compared to normal brain, tissue with low proliferative activity. On the contrary, the pyrimidine metabolism in human gliomas is increased by comparison to normal brain. For the purine metabolism, few differences are observed between enzyme activities calculated in primary glial tumors, xenografts and cells in culture. In grafted tumors and cell cultures, the activity of this metabolism is similar or lower than in normal brain, except for inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase. However, for the pyrimidine metabolism, significantly differences are observed between primary glial tumors, grafted glial tumors and cell cultures. The thymidine kinase/thymidylate synthetase ratio depends on the model studied. These results point out the problem of the representativeness of these models, especially when used for experimental therapeutic studies. This metabolic study also underlines that all results should be interpreted carefully and that the limits for the use of these two experimental models should always be clearly exposed.

Animals↗

[Orthotopic implantation of human colon cancers into nude mice. Methodology and physiopathological value].

OBJECTIVE: The xenograft of human cancers into athymic nude mice makes it possible to obtain abundant tumour material and deepen biological characterization. Usually, the tumours are grafted into the subcutaneous tissue whose environment is indeed different from that of original colon cancer. METHODS: In order to transplant tumours into an orthotopic environment, intra-caecal implantation of colon cancers was performed. A tumour fragment (30 mm3) was deposited at the surface of serous membrane of the caecum, previously scrapped, fixed with a thread and recovered with biologic glue. Six different types of colon tumour, previously adapted to transplantation in nude mice, were similarly grafted. RESULTS: Twenty to forty days after transplantation, tumour takes were observed with a similar rate by the subcutaneous or intra-caecal graft (93% of 115 and 96.8% of 154 transplantations, respectively). Tumour growth varied between the tumours implanted into the two sites. Moreover, only the tumours intracaecally transplanted developed nodal and liver metastases. Histological examination revealed the invasion of the muscle layer, submucosal tissue and mucosal membrane by tumour cells and the mixture of normal glands and neoplastic glands. CONCLUSIONS: This technique of orthotopic implantation of colon cancer samples will contribute to obtain an experimental model for colon cancer research.

Animals↗

[Biological prognostic factors of cancers of the breast and their consequences on the therapeutic choice].

The value of prognostic factors can be measured by their influence on the therapeutic decision. Today, with the exception of clinical stage (TNM classification) and to a certain extent estrogen receptors, prognostic factors have little or no application in the clinical practice. The great number of parameters and the discrepancies between various studies may provide some explanations. By the study of the genetic evolution of breast cancers at the chromosomal level, we propose an approach to the understanding of the redundancy of prognostic factors, often noted by the authors. The consequences on the multiparametric statistical methodology are also discussed. Finally, by distinguishing between prognostic factors (predicting survival) and predictive factors (related to treatment response), we hope to provide indications for a better use of the progress in our knowledge on the biology of breast cancers.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Oncogene amplification in human gliomas: a molecular cytogenetic analysis.

Nine cases of malignant gliomas were selected for the presence of double minutes (dmin) or homogeneously staining regions (hsr) detected by conventional cytogenetics. Analyses were performed on fresh (2 cases) or xenografted (5 cases) tumors or both (2 cases). A modified comparative genomic hybridization technique (mCGH) was applied exhibiting a single amplified locus in 8 tumors and 4 amplified loci in one tumor. Recurrent sites of amplification were detected in 7p11-p12 (5 cases) and 1q32.1 (2 cases). Signals were also observed in 4q11-q12, 5p15.1, 7q31, 8q24.1 and 9p2 in one tumor each. Southern blotting demonstrated that the genes for EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), PDGFRA (platelet derived growth factor receptor alpha), MET and MYC oncogenes were involved in 7p11-p12, 4q11-q12, 7q31 and 8q24.1 amplifications, respectively. These amplifications were found by in situ hybridization on tumor spreads, in dmin or episomes for EGFR, dmin for PDGFRA and MET, and hsr and dmin for MYC genes. Other mCGH signals, for which no target genes could be proposed, were confirmed by chromosome paintings on tumor metaphases. In one of the tumors, the coamplification of DNA from 5p15.1 and 9p2 bands in the same dmin was demonstrated.

Adult↗

Chromosome anomalies in mammary carcinoma from transgenic WAPRAS mice: compression with human data.

Transgenic WAPRAS mice, obtained by infection of the construct WAP promoter murine gene and the HRAS human protooncogene, develop mammary adenocarcinoma within 1-3 months after pregnancy. A cytogenetic analysis was performed on 17 tumors from 10 mice. Almost all detected anomalies were chromosome gains. The resulting trisomies affected recurrently chromosomes 1, 15, 19, 17, 7, and 12, in decreasing order of involvement. Although in situ hybridization showed that the transgene was integrated in chromosome 1, the duplication of this chromosome did not depend on the presence or absence of the transgene. Comparison with human data indicates that the 3 most frequently duplicated chromosomes in WAPRAS mice correspond to the human chromosome segments most frequently duplicated or amplified in breast cancer, i.e., 1q, 8q, and 11q13. None of the chromosome segments often deleted in human tumors were found to be duplicated in the mouse tumors.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Two-color FISH characterization of i(1q) and der(1;16) in human breast cancer cells.

Two-color fluorescent in situ hybridizations using probes for alphoid (alpha) and classical satellite (CS) DNAs from chromosomes 1 and 16 were performed to characterize i(1q), der(1;16), and complex rearrangements observed in breast cancer cells from fresh tumors and established cell lines. Six of seven i(1q) occurred after breakage in the alpha 1 containing region and one of seven was dicentric, with breakage in 1p11.2. The five der(1;16)(q10;p10) studied appeared to result from a variety of breakpoints involving alpha 1, alpha 16, CS1, and CS16 DNAs. All had conserved alpha 16 DNA, suggesting a segregation of the der(1;16) leading to a loss of 16q and a gain of 1q in most cases. One complex rearrangement of chromosome 1 also appeared to involve chromosome 16, suggesting that a der(1;16) occurred first, followed by another rearrangement. Both the apparent preferential involvement of constitutive heterochromatin harboring alpha and CS DNAs and the variety of breakpoints spanning along heterochromatin suggest that the important consequence of the rearrangement is not the breakage per se but the resulting imbalance.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Hypomethylation of classical satellite DNA and chromosome instability in lymphoblastoid cell lines.

To determine possible relationships between DNA hypomethylation and chromosome instability, human lymphoblastoid cell lines from different genetic constitutions were studied with regard to 1) uncoiling and rearrangements, which preferentially affect the heterochromatic segments of chromosomes 1 and 16; 2) the methylation status of the tandemly repetitive sequences (classical satellite and alphoid DNAs) from chromosomes 1 and 16, and of the L1Hs interspersed repetitive sequences. The methylation status largely varied from cell line to cell line, but for a given cell line, the degree of methylation was similar for all the repetitive DNAs studied. Two cell lines, one obtained from a Fanconi anemia patient and the other from an ataxia telangiectasia patient were found to be heavily hypomethylated. The heterochromatic segments of their chromosomes 1 and 16 were more frequently elongated and rearranged than those from other cell lines, which were found to be less hypomethylated. Thus, in these lymphoblastoid cell lines, alterations characterized by uncoiling and rearrangements of heterochromatic segments from chromosomes 1 and 16 seem to correlate with the hypomethylation of their repetitive DNAs. Two-color in situ hybridizations demonstrated that these elongations and rearrangements involved only classical satellite-DNA-containing heterochromatin. This specificity may be related to the excess of breakages affecting the chromosomes carrying these structures in a variety of pathological conditions.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗

The prosomal RNA-binding protein p27K is a member of the alpha-type human prosomal gene family.

Monoclonal antibodies demonstrated high conservation during evolution of a prosomal protein of M(r) 27,000 and differentiation--specific expression of the epitope. More than 90% of the reacting antigen was found as a p27K protein in the free messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) fraction but another protein of M(r) 38,000, which shared protease fingerprint patterns with the p27K polypeptide, was also labelled in the nuclear and polyribosomal fractions. Sequencing of cDNA recombinant clones encoding the p27/38K protein and comparison with another prosomal protein, p30-33K, demonstrated the existence of a common characteristic sequence pattern containing three highly conserved segments. The genes Hs PROS-27 and Hs PROS-30 were mapped to chromosomes 14 (14q13) and 11 (11p15.1), respectively. The structure of the p27K protein shows multiple potential phosphorylation sites, an NTP-binding fold and an RNA-binding consensus sequence. The Hs PROS-27/beta-galactosidase fusion protein binds a single RNA of about 120 nucleotides from total HeLa cell RNA. Sequence comparisons show that the Hs PROS-27 and Hs PROS-30 genes belong to the gene family that encodes the prosome--MCP (multicatalytic proteinase)--proteasome proteins. Comparison with other members of the family from various species allowed us to show that the tripartite consensus sequence characteristic of the alpha-type sub-family is conserved from archeobacteria to man. The members of this gene family are characterised by very high evolutionary conservation of amino acid sequences of homologous genes and 20%-35% sequence similarity, between different family member within the same species and are clearly distinct from the beta-type family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Comparative gene mapping of lactoperoxidase, retinoblastoma, and alpha-lactalbumin genes in cattle, sheep, and goats.

The lactoperoxidase (LPO), retinoblastoma (RB1), and alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA) genes have been mapped by fluorescent in situ hybridization respectively to cattle Chromosomes (Chrs) 19, 12, 5; goat Chrs 19, 12, 5; and sheep Chrs 11, 10, 3. The results confirm the homologies among cattle, sheep, and goat chromosomes, previously reported, and provide more information for the comparison between the bovine and human karyotypes and gene maps.

Animals↗

Specific chromosome instability induced by heavy ions: a step towards transformation of human fibroblasts?

Cultures of human skin fibroblasts were exposed to heavy ions: neon (E = 10.74 MeV/u) and argon (E = 10.52 MeV/u) at fluences of 10(6), 2 x 10(6) and 4 x 10(6) and lead (E = 9.5 MeV/u) at a fluence of 2 x 10(6) particles/cm2. Cultures were further prolonged for up to 25 passages and karyotyping was performed at various times. Radiation-induced chromosome anomalies progressively decreased, became quite rare at passages 5-7 and increased at later passages. Around passages 20-25, most anomalies occurring were dicentrics, involving telomeric regions of 13p and q arms principally and to a lesser degree those of 1p, 16p and 16q arms. These non-random rearrangements paralleled the appearance of clones with unbalanced karyotypes. In particular, two independent proliferating clones were characterized by a monosomy 13. It is concluded that most chromosome lesions directly induced by heavy ions are hardly compatible with cell survival and thus disappear after a few cell generations. However, surviving cells acquire a de novo chromosome instability leading to the formation of clones with unbalanced karyotypes at late passages.

Argon↗

Chromosome 12 alterations and c-Ki-ras mutations in colorectal tumors.

c-Ki-ras mutations and gains of chromosome 12, where this gene is mapped, were both studied in a series of 47 colorectal cancers. Mutations at codon 12 and 13 were detected in 17 (36%) and gains of chromosome 12 in 7 (15%) cases. In this sample, gains of chromosome 12 occur in tumors either with or without c-Ki-ras mutations, suggesting that gains of chromosome 12 are independent from the mutation of c-Ki-ras.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12↗

Alterations of the glutathione cycle enzymes during and after SV40-transformation of human fibroblasts.

The activities of several enzymes involved in the antioxidant system of the cell were studied in parallel to cytogenetic alterations at various times after SV40 infection and transformation of human fibroblasts. At early passages after SV40 infection, glutathione reductase (GSR), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione transferase (GST) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activities were decreased. This, associated with the low superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities previously noticed in these cells, suggested that they are in a highly pro-oxidant status. Although chromosomes carrying the genes encoding these enzymes are frequently underrepresented, there is no direct relationship between the number of chromosomes and enzyme activities. Except for GPX, all the activities tend to increase in established cell lines reaching levels comparable to those of non-transformed fibroblasts. The late increase of G6PD activity may correlate with the frequent duplication of the early replicating X. GSR seems to correlate with G6PD activity and GPX to SOD total activity. The most striking alterations affect mitochondrial and peroxisomal enzymes activities: SOD, GPX and catalase.

Cell Line↗

Decrease in catalase activity and loss of the 11p chromosome arm in the course of SV40 transformation of human fibroblasts.

The activity of catalase, a key enzyme in cell detoxication of oxygen derivatives, was studied in SV40 transformed human fibroblasts. A cytogenetic study was performed in parallel to establish a quantification of 11p arm on which the corresponding gene is mapped. mRNA amounts were determined by Northern blotting. At early passages, catalase activity strongly decreased whereas the corresponding mRNA was present. No deletions of 11p arms were detected. At later passages, catalase activity remained low. 11p arm deletions were frequent, and the amount of mRNA was decreased. In these late passages, the good correlation between the number of 11p arms and catalase activity suggested a gene dosage effect. It is assumed that the decrease of catalase activity provides a selective advantage for the transformed cells. This decrease is related to a post-transcriptional change of regulation at early passages and to the loss of the corresponding gene at later passages.

Catalase↗

Specific induction of uncoiling and recombination by azacytidine in classical satellite-containing constitutive heterochromatin.

Azacytidine (ACR) is known to induce uncoiling and somatic association involving the constitutive heterochromatin of human chromosomes 1, 9, 15, and 16 and the Y. These regions are composed of alphoid and classical satellite DNA sequences. Using specific probes for chromosomes 1 and 16, we have performed two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization on human lymphocytes cultured in the presence of ACR. We demonstrate that for these two chromosomes (1) uncoiling and association specifically occur in classical satellite-containing regions at the first cell generation, (2) breakages also affect these regions, and (3) somatic recombinations occur between these regions and lead to translocations at the next cell generation. These results suggest that changes in methylation of repetitive DNA sequences are related to chromosomal instability occurring during cell transformation and tumorigenesis.

Azacitidine↗

Chromosomal evidence for a hybrid origin of diploid parthenogenetic females from the unisexual-bisexual Lepidodactylus lugubris complex (Reptilia, Gekkonidae).

Chromosome banding analysis of seven diploid parthenogenetic females from Polynesian and Southeast Asian populations of the unisexual-bisexual Lepidodactylus lugubris complex (Reptilia, Gekkonidae) showed that the unisexual karyotype consists of two different haploid sets. Similar analysis of an L. lugubris male from a bisexually reproducing population revealed two identical chromosome complements, the banding pattern generally matching that of the females, although many chromosomes were obviously different. These observations suggest that the gonochoristic males belong to a taxon related to the parthenogenetic female taxon but are not a direct ancestor of the latter. The data also offer strong evidence for a hybrid origin of diploid parthenogenetic females in L. lugubris and suggest that a high degree of chromosomal heterogeneity may be the leading reason for the evolutionary selection of a modified meiotic process in this species, allowing production of unreduced oocytes and, consequently, of a unisexual mode of reproduction.

Animals↗

Identification of a human guanine nucleotide-releasing factor (H-GRF55) specific for Ras proteins.

A critical step in the activation of cellular Ras is the release of bound GDP. Oligonucleotide primers derived from a mouse cDNA sequence homologous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25 gene product were used to screen a human brain cDNA library. The cloning led to the isolation of a 2.8-kb cDNA predicted to encode a protein of 488 amino acids. This protein was produced in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein and functioned in vitro as a specific guanine nucleotide-releasing factor. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the last 281 amino acids of the protein allowed a protein in the molecular weight range of 55 kDa to be identified in human cortex homogenates. Analysis by Northern blotting led to the identification of a 5.5-kb mRNA in brain poly(A)+ RNA. The functionality of the encoded protein was evaluated after expression in different cells: (i) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae the effects of the cdc25.5 and RAS2 Ala-22 mutations were reversed; (ii) in chinese hamster ovary cells, a RAS-responsive element was transactivated as demonstrated by the expression of a CAT reporter gene under the control of the polyomavirus enhancer. Finally, in situ hybridization on of human chromosomes revealed a localization on band 15q2.4.

Amino Acid Sequence↗