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Les perturbations physiologiques potentiellement liées à la capture des poissons par filet maillant ou par épuisette ont été estimées chez des brochets, sandres, perches, brèmes, chevesnes, carpes et tanches de la retenue hydroélectrique de Pareloup (Aveyron). Toute capture provoque rapidement une hausse significative des taux de catécholamines (>10 ng.ml-1), Cortisol (> 100ng.ml-1 ) et glucose (> 1 g.l-1 ) et une baisse des taux d'hormones thyroïdiennes (< 20 ng.ml-1 ) du plasma chez les sept espèces. Ces réponses physiologiques au stress de capture apparaissent significativement plus marquées suite à la pêche par filet maillant et ce, notamment, chez les espèces carnassières. D'après ces résultats, l'utilisation de filets maillants s'avère inadéquate pour des recherches à court terme sur la physiologie sanguine de populations naturelles de poissons, soulignant ainsi la nécessité après ce type de pêche d'une mise en place d'infrastructures particulières (e.g., viviers, cages flottantes, etc.) pour la phase ultérieure de récupération physiologique.

When sampling odors, many insects are moving their antennae in a complex but repeatable fashion. Previous studies with bees have tracked antennal movements in only two dimensions, with a low sampling rate and with relatively few odorants. A detailed characterization of the multimodal antennal movement patterns as function of olfactory stimuli is thus wanted. The aim of this study is to test for a relationship between the scanning movements and the properties of the odor molecule. We tracked several key locations on the antennae of bumblebees at high frequency and in three dimensions while stimulating the insect with puffs of 11 common odorants released in a low-speed continuous flow. Water and paraffin were used as negative controls. Movement analysis was done with the neural network Deeplabcut. Bees use a stereotypical oscillating motion of their antennae when smelling odors, similar across all bees, independently of the identity of the odors and hence their diffusivity and vapor pressure. The variability in the movement amplitude among odors is as large as between individuals. The main type of oscillation at low frequencies and large amplitude is triggered by the presence of an odor and is in line with previous work, as is the speed of movement. The second oscillation mode at higher frequencies and smaller amplitudes is constantly present. Antennae are quickly deployed when a stimulus is perceived, decorrelate their movement trajectories rapidly, and oscillate vertically with a large amplitude and laterally with a smaller one. The cone of airspace thus sampled was identified through the 3D understanding of the motion patterns. The amplitude and speed of antennal scanning movements seem to be function of the internal state of the animal, rather than determined by the odorant. Still, bees display an active olfactory sampling strategy. First, they deploy their antennae when perceiving an odor. Second, fast vertical scanning movements further increase the odorant capture rate. Finally, lateral movements might enhance the likelihood to locate the source of odor, similarly to the lateral scanning movement of insects at odor plume boundaries., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.)

The Omicron variant differs from earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2 in the way it enters host cells and grows in vitro . We therefore reevaluated its diagnosis using saliva, nasopharyngeal swab (NPs), and anterior nasal swab (ANs) specimens from 202 individuals (64.9% symptomatic) tested at the Toulouse University Hospital SARS-CoV-2 drive-through testing center. All tests were done with the Thermo Fisher TaqPath COVID-19 reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) kit. Overall, 92 subjects (45.5%) had one or more positive specimens. Global sensitivities of saliva, NPs, and ANs were 94.6%, 90.2%, and 82.6%, respectively. Saliva provided significantly greater sensitivity among symptomatic patients tested within 5 days of symptom onset (100%) than did ANs (83.1%) or NPs (89.8%). We obtained follow-up samples for 7/20 individuals with discordant results. Among them, 5 symptomatic patients were diagnosed positive on saliva sample only, soon after symptom onset; NPs and ANs became positive only later. Thus, saliva samples are effective tools for the detection of the Omicron variant. In addition to its many advantages, such as improved patient acceptance and reduced cost, saliva sampling could help limit viral spread through earlier viral detection. IMPORTANCE Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 is an essential component of the global strategy for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, numerous studies have evaluated the diagnostic sensitivity of different respiratory and oral specimens for SARS-CoV-2 detection. The pandemic has been since dominated by the emergence of new variants, the latest being the Omicron variant characterized by numerous mutations and changes in host tropism in vitro that might affect the diagnostic performance of tests depending on the sampling location. In this prospective study, we evaluated the clinical performance of NPs, ANs, and saliva for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis during the Omicron wave. Our results highlight the effectiveness of saliva-based RT-PCR for the early detection of the Omicron variant. These findings may help to refine guidelines and support the use of a highly sensitive diagnostic method that allows earlier diagnosis, when transmission is the most critical.

Crustacean and insect antennal scanning movements have been postulated to increase odorant capture but the exact mechanisms as well as measures of efficiency are wanting. The aim of this work is to test the hypothesis that an increase in oscillation frequency of a simplified insect antenna model translates to an increase of odorant capture, and to quantify by how much and through which mechanism. We approximate the antennal movements of bumblebees, quantified in a previous study, by a vertical oscillatory movement of a cylinder in a homogeneous horizontal flow with odorants. We test our multiphysics flow and mass transfer numerical model with dedicated experiments using particle image velocimetry. A new entire translating experimental measurement setup containing an oil tank enables us to work at appropriate Strouhal and Reynolds numbers. Increasing antennal oscillating frequency does increase the odorant capture rate, up to 200%, proving this behavior being active sensing. This result holds however only up to a critical frequency. A decrease of efficiency characterizes higher frequencies, due to molecules depletion within oversampled regions, themselves defined by overlaying boundary layers. Despite decades of work on thermal and mass transfer studies on oscillating cylinders, no analogy with published cases was found. This is due to the unique flow regimes studied here, resulting from the combination of organ small size and low frequencies of oscillations. A theory for such flow regimes is thus to be developed, with applications to fundamental research on animal perception up to bioinspired olfaction., (© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

This multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised trial was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of single intravenous doses of dolasetron mesilate and granisetron in the prevention of acute emesis and nausea due to high-dose (> or = 80 mg/m2) cisplatin. Single intravenous doses of 1.8 or 2.4 mg/kg of dolasetron mesilate or 3 mg of granisetron hydrochloride were administered in a volume of 50 ml over a 5-min period, beginning 30 min prior to cisplatin (> or = 80 mg/m2) administration. The number and timing of emetic episodes, time to administration of escape anti-emetic medication, severity of nausea by visual analogue scale (VAS), and safety were monitored for 24 h after the start of cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. Investigators' evaluations of overall efficacy and patients' satisfaction with therapy were recorded at the end of the 24-h study period. Of the 474 patients evaluable for efficacy, complete responses were achieved by 54, 47 and 48% of patients given dolasetron mesilate 1.8 mg/kg, dolasetron mesilate 2.4 mg/kg and granisetron, respectively. Statistically, treatment groups had comparable complete and complete plus major responses, times to first emesis, and use of escape medication; patient maximum nausea severity and treatment satisfaction ratings; and physician nausea severity and overall efficacy assessments. For the majority of efficacy endpoints, 1.8 mg/kg dolasetron mesilate produced numerically superior responses compared with the 2.4 mg/kg dose. Gender and prior chemotherapy were significant predictors of complete response; males and chemotherapy-naive patients had higher responses. The overall incidences of adverse events were comparable among the treatment groups; headache and diarrhoea were most common. In conclusion, 1.8 and 2.4 mg/kg of dolasetron mesilate and granisetron (3 mg) were equally effective in preventing nausea and vomiting induced by highly emetogenic cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. In addition, because no additional benefit was observed with 2.4 mg/kg of dolasetron mesilate and numerically greater responses were observed with the 1.8 mg/kg dose, the lower dose of 1.8 mg/kg is optimal for further clinical development.

1. Castration of adult rats markedly decreases the amounts of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) and of RNA and DNA in the ventral prostate and the seminal vesicle. 2. Daily injections of testosterone propionate to rats castrated 7 days previously increase polyamine and nucleic acid contents more rapidly in the seminal vesicle than in the ventral prostate. 3. After 7 days of androgen treatment, polyamine and nucleic acid contents of the seminal vesicle are significantly higher than those of intact animals. Nucleic acid, but not polyamine, contents return to normal values during the next 4 days of continued treatment. In the prostate, androgen treatment increases polyamine and nucleic acid contents to, but not above, normal values. 4. Repeated doses of alpha-difluoromethylornithine, a potent enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, totally blocked the testosterone-induced increase of putrescine and spermidine in the ventral prostate and of putrescine in the seminal vesicle. They slowed significantly the accumulation of spermine in the ventral prostate and of spermidine in the seminal vesicle. alpha-Difluoromethylornithine also retarded the testosterone-induced accumulation of RNA in the ventral prostate. However, no clear correlation was apparent between accumulation of polyamines and of nucleic acids in the two organs. 5. alpha-Difluoromethylornithine markedly slows the testosterone-induced weight gain of the prostate, but not of the seminal vesicle. Cytological studies suggest that this effect on the prostate is due to inhibition of the androgen-induced restoration of the secretion content of prostatic acini.

The antitumor properties of (E)-2-(fluoromethyl)dehydroornithine methyl ester (delta-MFMO-ME) and of (E)-2-(fluoromethyl)dehydroornithine ethyl ester (delta-MFMO-EE), the prodrugs of delta-MFMO, an irreversible inhibitor of mammalian L-ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) 14 times more potent than alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and equipotent to (2R,5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine (MAP) in vitro, have been investigated in L1210 leukemia- and Lewis lung carcinoma-bearing mice. The anticancer properties of these esters have been compared with those of DFMO and MAP as a function of the dose, the route of administration, and the stage of the lewis lung carcinoma development in mice. The two esters, administered i.p. shortly after cell inoculation at one-fifth the dose of DFMO, prolonged the survival of mice-bearing leukemia to the same extent as DFMO and MAP. When administered orally to leukemia-bearing mice the two esters were equipotent at prolonging survival. The methyl ester appears, however, to be slightly, but not significantly, more effective than the ethyl ester against leukemia when given i.p., maximum prolongation of the mice survival (79%) occurring at 0.5 g/kg methyl ester every 12 h. The two esters achieve at one-sixth to one-twelfth the dose, antitumor effects similar to DFMO in the Lewis lung carcinoma model, the ethyl ester being slightly, but not significantly, more effective than the methyl ester when administered orally. Moreover, the ethyl ester causes greater reduction of tumor growth than DFMO (P less than 0.05) and MAP (P less than 0.01) in this model. Inhibition of tumor growth is correlated with spermidine depletion and an increase of decarboxylated-S-adenosylmethionine, the aminopropyl donor in the spermidine and spermine synthase reactions. All ODC inhibitors, however, lose most of their antitumor properties when administered at late stage of Lewis lung carcinoma development. Finally, this study demonstrates the advantage of using prodrugs of delta-MFMO, an inhibitor of ODC, since they possess longer duration of action, higher potency, and in some cases better antitumor efficiency than the parent direct inhibitor of ODC. Moreover, and as already noticed for DFMO or MAP, no sign of overt toxicity is caused by the highest effective antitumor doses of the esters.

A highly sensitive HPLC method for the determination of decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine (dc-SAM) by fluorometric detection was developed. The reaction of dc-SAM and its analogs with chloroacetaldehyde leads to the corresponding 1,N6-etheno derivatives. These highly fluorescent derivatives were fully characterized through their proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and/or mass spectra. This derivatization procedure has been applied to the analysis of dc-SAM in rat and human urine. After a simple cation exchange column prepurification, the urine extracts were derivatized with chloroacetaldehyde and analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC with fluorometric detection. The method allowed the determination of subpicomole amounts of dc-SAM and was shown to be highly reproducible with the use of decarboxylated S-adenosylethionine as internal standard. The application of the method to the analysis of urine of rats treated with MDL 72175, a potent ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, showed that the dc-SAM levels increased in a dose-related fashion.

(2R,5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine (MAP; MDL 72175), a potent irreversible inhibitor of L-ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), possesses immunosuppressive activities in vitro as the result of inhibition of lymphocyte polyamine biosynthesis. The effects of MAP were now studied in vivo in MRL-lpr/lpr female mice, an animal model for human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Administration of MAP (0.2% in drinking water; drug intake: 0.25-0.35 g/kg body weight/day) to female mice for 15 weeks, starting 8 weeks after birth, reduced by 47% the number of spleen cells, retarded development of lymphadenopathy and, at that time, markedly prolonged the survival of the mice. At week 23, MAP reduced plasma IgG concentrations by 50% whereas, in contrast, those of IgM were elevated 1.5-fold. No statistically significant effects of MAP were observed on plasma levels of anti-DNA autoantibodies although serum anti-RNP and anti-Sm titres tended downwards during treatment. Neither glomerular lesions nor proteinuria were improved by MAP administration. Finally chronic administration of MAP for 45 weeks prolonged the median survival time from 29.75 to 35.5 weeks.

Incubation of rat brain or bacterial 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.19) with both (S)-(+)- and (R)-(-)-enantiomers of 4- aminohex -5- ynoic acid results in a time-dependent irreversible loss of enzymatic activity. Rat brain glutamate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.15) is inactivated by the (S)-(+)-enantiomer while the bacterial glutamate decarboxylase is inactivated by the (R)-(-)-enantiomer. In addition, we demonstrate that (R)-(-)-4- aminohex -5- ynoic acid is a selective and effective inhibitor of rat brain 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase in vivo.

Investigations with the fluorinated spermidine analogues show clearly that these compounds have significant potential for studying the metabolism and functions of the polyamines. However, the biochemical and biological properties of these analogues are dissimilar. This is due to the influence of the fluorine substituent(s) on the basicity of the amine function proximal to the fluoromethylene group, this effect being amplified by geminal disubstitution. The monofluorinated spermidine analogues compare well with the natural amine in their ability to regulate the expression of the decarboxylase enzymes, to be substrates of spermine synthase and to support growth of polyamine-deficient cells. It is also likely that 6-monofluorospermine, formed biochemically in situ, shares with spermine similar functions. These findings raise the possibility of using these spermidine analogues to study the metabolism and pharmacology of polyamines in vivo but also to provide more insight into the regulatory role of spermidine in ODC and SAM-DC expression. Another potential application may be the use of these analogues as probes in tumor imaging and therapy control. This indication has been inferred by studies in tumor-bearing animals, using 19F-NMR spectroscopy determination of tissue fluorospermidine and fluorospermine, formed biochemically from the precursors 2-fluoro or 2,2-difluoroputrescine, and which demonstrate preferential accumulation in tumor versus normal tissue. Finally, these monofluorinated spermidine analogues may exert beneficial effects in pathological states associated with polyamine deficiency. These diseases remain however to be identified. Among the difluorinated spermidine analogues, 7,7-difluorospermidine possesses the most interesting properties. This spermidine analogue still possesses ODC and SAM-DC repressing activities although at much higher concentration than spermidine. More importantly it is a potent inhibitor of spermine synthesis both in cultured cells and in vivo due to its efficient competition with spermidine in the spermine synthase reaction. This compound not only depletes tumor cell of its spermine content but, in addition, appears to exert by itself and/or via 6,6-difluorospermine, the product of its metabolism, polyamine antagonist effects. Combined with MAP but also with DFMO, two potent irreversible inhibitors of ODC which block the synthesis of the natural endogenous polyamines, 7,7-difluorospermidine causes an immediate decrease of viability in cultured HTC cells and promotes tumor regression and stabilization in hepatoma-bearing rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Specific inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase activity prevents the formation of putrescine from ornithine and decreases spermidine levels of slow-growing organs by about 20%. However, spermidine levels of rapidly growing tissues, such as tumors, may under the same conditions be decreased by as much as 60%. Inactivation of polyamine oxidase prevents oxidative splitting of N1-acetylspermidine and N1-acetylspermine and therefore the reutilization of putrescine for de novo polyamine biosynthesis. Prolonged inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase and polyamine oxidase activities leads in all normal tissues studied so far to a decrease of the spermidine concentration by 50% or more, demonstrating the general physiological significance of polyamine reutilization. In this work the role of polyamine reutilization in tumors was studied. Combined treatment with the inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase, alpha-difluoromethylornithine or (2R, 5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine, and N1, N4-bis-allenylputrescine, an inhibitor of polyamine oxidase, produced a more marked depletion of the polyamine contents of L1210 ascitic cells and of Lewis lung carcinoma, than treatment with either compound alone. Concomitantly, the proliferative activity of these tumors decreased significantly below the value that was observed after treatment with an ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor alone. Our results demonstrate that polyamines which are produced by the interconversion pathway are used by the tumors in order to cover their polyamine requirement.

A method for the analysis of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) and S-adenosyl-L-ethionine (SAE) and their major metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography is described. The procedure allows the simultaneous analysis of the natural polyamines, putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, and some of the major amino acids, methionine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. The uv absorbance at 254 nm is used for the determination of the SAM and SAE analogs, whereas the polyamines and amino acids are analyzed by fluorescence detection after postcolumn derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde. The method allows SAM and polyamine determinations by direct injection of the tissue extracts without prepurification. The procedure is applied to study the effects of DL-ethionine treatment on the SAM, SAE, methionine, and polyamine levels in various tissues of rats.

3-Isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), a potent phosphodiesterase inhibitor, causes accumulation of putrescine of same magnitude in rat pancreas and liver. IBMX produces increases of acetyl CoA: polyamine N'-acetyltransferase (PAT) and of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activities in both organs. However ODC activity is 300 times higher in liver than in pancreas. In the latter organ, there is a transient increase of N1-acetylspermidine, followed by a decrease of spermidine, alpha-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a potent ODC inhibitor, impairs the accumulation of putrescine in liver but not in pancreas. These results suggest that in pancreas the accumulated putrescine is essentially formed from spermidine, via N1-acetylation and oxidation, while in liver it is formed from decarboxylation of ornithine. A possible involvement of cAMP in the stimulation of the polyamine interconversion pathway is discussed.

alpha-Ethynyl- and alpha-vinylornithine were designed and synthesized as potential enzyme-activated inhibitors of mammalian ornithine decarboxylase. These two new inhibitors produce both immediate and time-dependent inhibition of rat liver ornithine decarboxylase in vitro. The inhibitions exhibition saturation kinetics. The apparent dissociation constants (KI) are 10 and 810 microM, and the times of half-inactivation at infinite concentration of inhibitor (t1/2) are 8.5 and 27 min, respectively, for alpha-ethynyl- and alpha-vinylornithine. In rats, alpha-ethynylornithine causes a rapid dose-dependent decrease of ornithine decarboxylase activity in prostate and, to a lesser extent, in thymus and testis.

In vitro, 5-fluoropentane-1,4-diamine and 5,5-difluoropentane-1,4-diamine are potent enzyme-activated inhibitors of rat liver ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17). The two alpha-fluoromethyl derivatives of putrescine activate to different degrees S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.50). The difluoromethyl derivative differs from the monofluoromethyl derivative in that it is not a substrate of diamine oxidase (EC 1.4.3.6), but is a better substrate of mitochondrial monoamine oxidase (EC 1.4.3.4) than the monofluoromethyl derivative. In vivo, a single i.p. injection of 200 mg/kg of 5-fluoropentane-1,4-diamine to rats causes a marked decrease of the ornithine decarboxylase activity in the ventral prostate and to a lesser extent in the thymus, whereas 5,5-difluoropentane-1,4-diamine causes only a slight decrease of this enzyme activity in the prostate and does not affect it in the thymus. Both compounds produce a decrease of 4-aminobutyrate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.19) activity in the brain. The differences observed between the biochemical properties of the two alpha-fluoromethyl derivatives of putrescine are discussed in relation to the pKa value of the alpha-amino group which decreases from 7.75 for 5-fluoropentane-1,4-diamine to 6.4 for 5,5-difluoropentane-1,4-diamine.

Biological transmethylation reactions and polyamine biosynthesis share the substrate S-adenosyl-L-methionine. Under normal conditions, decarboxylated S-adenosyl-L-methionine, the aminopropyl donor for polyamine biosynthesis, does not accumulate because of its rapid utilization in spermidine and spermine synthesis. Alteration of polyamine synthesis by DL-alpha-difluoromethylornithine, an enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of L-ornithine decarboxylase, leads to a striking accumulation of decarboxylated S-adenosyl-L-methionine in rat hepatoma cells cultured in vitro and in rat ventral prostate. This increase is due both to lack of putrescine and spermidine for the aminopropyltransferase reactions and to the elevation of S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase activity. The biological implications of accumulation of decarboxylated S-adenosyl-L-methionine are discussed with regard to the regulation of S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase activity and to the antiproliferative effects of DL-alpha-difluoromethylornithine.

A method is described for the simultaneous analysis of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and its metabolites, S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine along with the natural polyamines, putrescine, spermidine and spermine. The separation is obtained by a reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatographic procedure with gradient elution followed by dual detection. The UV absorbance at 254 nm is used for the analysis of SAM and of the SAM metabolites, whereas the polyamines and some major amino acids, e.g., methionine, tyrosine and tryptophan, are analyzed by fluorescence detection after UV-cell derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde. A separate ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure using isocratic elution and electrochemical detection is employed to analyse in the same tissue extracts the catechols and 5-hydroxyindoles, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), dopamine, norepinephrine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid, 4-hydroxy-3- methoxyphenylalanine , tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan, serotonin and 5- hydroxyindolacetic acid. The sample preparation for the two HPLC procedures requires only homogenization of the tissues in perchloric acid and centrifugation before injection onto the column. The two chromatographic procedures have been applied to study the interrelationship, in various tissues of rats, between the SAM and SAH levels and the biogenic catechols after different treatments with L-DOPA alone or in combination with alpha- monofluoromethyl -DOPA, a potent enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase.

Structural analogues of decarboxylated S-adenosyl-L-methionine (dc-SAM), product of the reaction catalyzed by S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase (SAM-DC), with modifications in the side-chain portion of the molecule have been synthesized, and their ability to inhibit SAM-DC has been investigated. Mainly, compounds with a nitrogen atom in place of the sulfur were investigated. The data from these inhibition studies have resulted in a delineation of the structural features required for binding on SAM-DC. It was concluded that a terminal primary amino group, a terminal carboxyl group, and the sulfonium functionality are not required for binding on SAM-DC. It was also found that analogues of dc-SAM in which replacement of the sulfur by nitrogen was the only modification were still able to form an azomethine with the enzyme. As found for SAM and dc-SAM, these compounds also caused a time-dependent inactivation of SAM-DC.