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Objective: To localize the different proteins involved in the executioner step of apoptosis in the human testicular tissue: effector caspases (3, 6, and 7), caspase inhibitors called inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs, such as XIAP), and IAP inhibitors such as Smac/DIABLO and to investigate XIAP and Smac expression and activation of caspase-3 in azoospermia. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: The Biology of Reproduction Center of Poissy and Inserm U407, France. Patient(s): Twenty-five patients diagnosed as azoospermic and 4 patients with normal testicular histology. Intervention(s): Testicular biopsies for histopathological assessment. Main Outcome Measure(s): Localization of proteins by immunohistochemistry. Result(s): Effector caspase-7 seemed to be absent from normal human testes, whereas procaspase-3 and procaspase-6 were detected in both somatic and germ cells. XIAP was mainly expressed in Sertoli cells, whereas its inhibitor Smac was detected in pachytene spermatocytes. On the other hand, although few apoptotic germ cells were detected in biopsies from patients with obstructive azoospermia, increased levels of apoptotic germ cells were detected in spermatogenetic arrest. This increase in apoptotic germ cells was associated with increased levels of active caspase-3 in patients with spermatogenetic arrest, whereas the expression of XIAP and Smac/DIABLO was at similar levels in all groups. Conclusion(s): Active caspase-3 might be important in the apoptotic process observed in spermatogenetic arrest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Bacterial and viral infections in kidney transplant recipients in the Amazon area differ little from those of temperate countries. • Invasive fungal infections were predominantly due to Histoplasma capsulatum infections • Diabetes and comorbidities were found more frequently in infected patients than in significantly uninfected patients. • Infections in renal transplant patients in French Guiana are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Infectious complications in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are well studied in temperate countries but remain barely known in tropical ones. The main objective of this study was to describe infection-related hospitalizations in patients living in the Amazon, where it has never been described. All KTRs residing in French Guiana between 2007 and 2018 were included retrospectively. Infection-related hospitalizations were collected in the main medical centers of the territory. Eighty-two patients were included, and 42 were infected during the study period (51%). Eighty-seven infections were identified. The main sites of infection were urinary, in 29% of cases (25/87), and pulmonary, in 22% of cases (19/87). When documented (48/87), bacterial infections were predominant (35/48), followed by viral (8/48), fungal (4/48), and parasitic infections (1/48). Endemic so-called tropical infections accounted for 6% of infections (5/87). Histoplasma capsulatum was the most commonly isolated fungus (2/4). This study suggests that the spectrum of infections in KTRs in French Guiana differs little from that of temperate countries. Nevertheless, some tropical infections are described. More studies on fungal infections in KTRs should be undertaken to clarify the weight of histoplasmosis in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ORAI family channels have emerged as important players in malignant transformation, yet the way in which they reprogram cancer cells remains elusive. Here we show that the relative expression levels of ORAI proteins in prostate cancer are different from that in noncancerous tissue. By mimicking ORAI protein remodeling observed in primary tumors, we demonstrate in in vitro models that enhanced ORAI3 expression favors heteromerization with ORAI1 to form a novel channel. These channels support store-independent Ca2+ entry, thereby promoting cell proliferation and a smaller number of functional homomeric ORAI1-based store-operated channels, which are important in supporting susceptibility to apoptosis. Thus, our findings highlight disrupted dynamic equilibrium of channel-forming proteins as an oncogenic mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]