Search

Convergent evidence associates endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with major, increasingly-prevalent human disorders. Regulation requires elucidation of EDC-triggered molecular events causally linked to adverse health outcomes, but two factors limit their identification. First, experiments frequently use individual chemicals, whereas real life entails simultaneous exposure to multiple EDCs. Second, population-based and experimental studies are seldom integrated. This drawback was exacerbated until recently by lack of physiopathologically meaningful human experimental systems that link epidemiological data with results from model organisms.We developed a novel approach, integrating epidemiological with experimental evidence. Starting from 1,874 mother-child pairs we identified mixtures of chemicals, measured during early pregnancy, associated with language delay or low-birth weight in offspring. These mixtures were then tested on multiple complementary in vitro and in vivo models. We demonstrate that each EDC mixture, at levels found in pregnant women, disrupts hormone-regulated and disease-relevant gene regulatory networks at both the cellular and organismal scale.

International audience; Adult neurogenesis occurs in neural stem cell (NSC) niches where slow cycling stem cells give rise to faster cycling progenitors. In the adult mouse NSC niche thyroid hormone, T-3, and its receptor TR alpha act as a neurogenic switch promoting progenitor cell cycle completion and neuronal differentiation. Little is known about whether and how T-3 controls proliferation of differentially cycling cells during xenopus neurogenesis. To address this question, we first used Sox3 as a marker of stem cell and progenitor populations and then applied pulse-chase EdU/IdU incorporation experiments to identify Sox3-expressing slow cycling (NSC) and fast cycling progenitor cells. We focused on the lateral ventricle of Xenopus laevis and two distinct stages of development: late embryonic development (pre-metamorphic) and juvenile frogs (post-metamorphic). These stages were selected for their relatively stable thyroid hormone availability, either side of the major dynamic phase represented by metamorphosis. TR alpha expression was found in both pre and post-metamorphic neurogenic regions. However, exogenous T-3 treatment only increased proliferation of the fast cycling Sox3+ cell population in post-metamorphic juveniles, having no detectable effect on proliferation in pre-metamorphic tadpoles. We hypothesised that the resistance of proliferative cells to exogenous T-3 in pre-metamorphic tadpoles could be related to T-3 inactivation by the inactivating Deiodinase 3 enzyme. Expression of dio3 was widespread in the tadpole neurogenic niche, but not in the juvenile neurogenic niche. Use of a T-3-reporter transgenic line showed that in juveniles, T-3 had a direct transcriptional effect on rapid cycling progenitors. Thus, the fast cycling progenitor cells in the neurogenic niche of tadpoles and juvenile frogs respond differentially to T-3 as a function of developmental stage.

This paper is a report on the European Food Science Day (Brussels, 18 November 2009, organized by the CommNet network of food science communicators) and its outcomes. The article presents FP 7 as a key funding mechanism in European food and nutrition research and it puts research in this sector in a socio-economic context. The article then reviews the specific activities of several EU-funded projects in the field of risk, safety, and health, discussing key issues and research questions in these fields.

In frogs such as Rana and Xenopus, metamorphosis does not occur in the absence of a functional thyroid gland. Previous studies indicated that coordinated development in frogs requires tissue and stage-dependent type II and type III iodothyronine deiodinase expression patterns to obtain requisite levels of intracellular T(3) in tissues at the appropriate stages of metamorphosis. No type I iodothyronine deiodinase (D1), defined as T(4) or reverse T(3) (rT3) outer-ring deiodinase (ORD) activity with Michaelis constant (K(m)) values in the micromolar range and sensitivity to 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (6-PTU), could be detected in tadpoles so far. We obtained a X. laevis D1 cDNA clone from brain tissue. The complete sequence of this clone (1.1 kb, including poly A tail) encodes an ORF of 252 amino acid residues with high homology to other vertebrate D1 enzymes. The core catalytic center includes a UGA-encoded selenocysteine residue, and the 3' untranslated region (about 300 nt) contains a selenocysteine insertion sequence element. Transfection of cells with an expression vector containing the full-length cDNA resulted in generation of significant deiodinase activity in the homogenates. The enzyme displayed ORD activity with T(4) (K(m) 0.5 microm) and rT3 (K(m) 0.5 microm) and inner-ring deiodinase activity with T(4) (K(m) 0.4 microm). Recombinant Xenopus D1 was essentially insensitive to inhibition by 6-PTU (IC(50) > 1 mm) but was sensitive to gold thioglucose (IC(50) 0.1 mum) and iodoacetate (IC(50) 10 microm). Because the residue 2 positions downstream from the selenocysteine is Pro in Xenopus D1 but Ser in all cloned PTU-sensitive D1 enzymes, we prepared the Pro132Ser mutant of Xenopus D1. The mutant enzyme showed strongly increased ORD activity with T(4) and rT3 (K(m) about 4 microm) and was highly sensitive to 6-PTU (IC(50) 2 microm). Little native D1 activity could be detected in Xenopus liver, kidney, brain, and gut, but significant D1 mRNA expression was observed in juvenile brain and adult liver and kidney. These results indicate the existence of a 6-PTU-insensitive D1 enzyme in X. laevis tissues, but its role during tadpole metamorphosis remains to be defined.

Unliganded thyroid hormone receptors (apoTRs) repress transcription of hormone-activated genes by recruiting corepressors to the promoters. In contrast, on promoters containing so-called negative thyroid hormone response elements (nTREs), apoTRs activate transcription. A number of different molecular mechanisms have been described as to how apoTRs activate transcription varying with the target gene of the study. Here we demonstrate that thyroid hormone regulates the transcription of the Necdin gene, a developmentally regulated candidate gene for the genomic imprinting-associated neurobehavioural disorder, Prader-Willi syndrome. ApoTRs activate Necdin expression through an nTRE in its promoter, downstream of the transcription start site. The nTRE of the Necdin gene resembles the nTREs of the TSHbeta genes of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in the sequence, position in the promoter, and mode of activation. We show that this group of nTRE-driven genes shares the requirements for binding of the retinoic X receptor and nuclear receptor corepressor/silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (NCoR/SMRT) for full ligand-independent activation, whereas there is no need for association of the p160 family of coactivators. In accordance with the requirement for corepressors, Necdin expression is influenced by deacetylase activity, suggesting that histone deacetylases and corepressors as well could function as activators of transcription, depending on the promoter context.

Heterochrony, a difference in developmental timing, is a central concept in modern evolutionary biology. An example is pedomorphosis, retention of juvenile characteristics in sexually mature adults, a phenomenon largely represented in salamanders. The mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is an obligate pedomorphic amphibian, never undergoing metamorphosis. Thyroid hormone induces tissue transformation in metamorphosing species and this action is mediated by nuclear thyroid hormone (TH) receptors (TRs). The absence of metamorphosis in Necturus has been attributed to a resistance to TH action as treatment with exogenous TH fails to induce transformation. The failure to metamorphose could be due to the lack of TR expression in target tissues, or to a loss of TR function. Toward understanding the molecular basis for the failure of Necturus tissues to respond to TH, and the ultimate cause for the expression of the obligate pedomorphic life history, we characterized the structure, function, and expression of TR genes in Necturus. Strikingly, we found that Necturus TRalpha and TRbeta genes encode fully functional TR proteins. These TRs bind both DNA and TH and can transactivate target genes in response to TH. Both TRalpha and TRbeta are expressed in various tissues. TH treatment in vivo induced expression in the gill of some but not all genes known to be activated by TH in anuran larvae, caused whole organism metabolic effects, but induced no external morphological changes in adults or larvae. Thus, Necturus possesses fully functional TRs and its tissues are not generally resistant to the actions of TH. Rather, the absence of metamorphosis may be due to the loss of TH-dependent control of key genes required for tissue transformation.

Estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals abnormally stimulate vitellogenin gene expression and production in the liver of many male aquatic vertebrates. However, very few studies demonstrate the effects of estrogenic pollutants on brain function. We have used polyethylenimine-mediated in vivo somatic gene transfer to introduce an estrogen response element-thymidine kinase-luciferase (ERE-TK-LUC) construct into the brain. To determine if waterborne estrogenic chemicals modulate gene transcription in the brain, we injected the estrogen-sensitive construct into the brains of Nieuwkoop-Faber stage 54 Xenopus laevis tadpoles. Both ethinylestradiol (EE2; p < 0.002) and bisphenol A (BPA; p < 0.03) increased luciferase activity by 1.9- and 1.5-fold, respectively. In contrast, low physiologic levels of 17ss-estradiol had no effect (p > 0.05). The mixed antagonist/agonist tamoxifen was estrogenic in vivo and increased (p < 0.003) luciferase activity in the tadpole brain by 2.3-fold. There have been no previous reports of somatic gene transfer to the fish brain; therefore, it was necessary to optimize injection and transfection conditions for the adult goldfish (Carassius auratus). Following third brain ventricle injection of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-green fluorescent protein or CMV-LUC gene constructs, we established that cells in the telencephalon and optic tectum are transfected. Optimal transfections were achieved with 1 microg DNA complexed with 18 nmol 22 kDa polyethylenimine 4 days after brain injections. Exposure to EE2 increased brain luciferase activity by 2-fold in males (p < 0.05) but not in females. Activation of an ERE-dependent luciferase reporter gene in both tadpole and fish indicates that waterborne estrogens can directly modulate transcription of estrogen-responsive genes in the brain. We provide a method adaptable to aquatic organisms to study the direct regulation of estrogen-responsive genes in vivo.

The climax of amphibian metamorphosis is marked by thyroid hormone-dependent tadpole tail resorption, implicating apoptosis of multiple cell types, including epidermal cells, fibroblasts, nerve cells, and muscles. The molecular cascades leading to and coordinating the death of different cell types are not fully elucidated. It is known that the mitochondrial pathway, and in particular the Bax and XR11 genes, regulates the balance between apoptosis and survival in muscle. However, the down-stream factors modulated by changes in mitochondrial permeability have not been studied in a functional context. To investigate further the mitochondrial-dependent pathway, we analyzed the regulation and the role of caspase 9 in Xenopus tadpoles. We report that caspase 9 mRNA is expressed in the tail before metamorphosis and increases before and during climax. Similarly, at the protein level, the production of active forms of caspase 9 increases in muscle tissue as metamorphosis progresses. To assess the functional role of caspase 9, we designed a dominant-negative protein. Overexpression of this dominant-negative abrogates both Bax-induced cell death in vitro and muscle apoptosis in vivo during natural metamorphosis. These findings consolidate a model of metamorphic muscle death that directly implicates the mitochondrial pathway and the apoptosome. Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Since the first edition of this book in 1999 the field of gene therapy has been the arena both for major advances that justified the early hopes placed in the concept, and for ever-present impatience with the slowness of overall progress. On the positive side, gene therapy obtained its first brilliant success, though not where most efforts were invested and not with a synthetic vector (Cavazzana-Calvo et al., 2000). Yet the search for efficient molecules is still very active, in part because the negative consequences of using viral vectors somewhat shadow the brilliant picture (Hacein-Bey-Abina et al., 2003). Clinical trial reports using the first generation of non-viral vectors, that is, cationic lipids, emphasize safety more than efficacy. The next generation, namely cationic polymers, is coming to maturity. This is illustrated in Fig. 8.1 by a literature survey that compares the most used "open source" vector in each category, the lipid DOTAP and polymer PEI. This "coming of age" is also highlighted by the number of planned clinical trials using PEI, trials we shall discuss in the last paragraph of this chapter. Advances have not only been made toward therapy, but also toward a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying gene delivery. Finally, PEI has become one of the most popular reagents for transfection of cells in culture, on a fast-growing market that is boosted by human and animal genome sequencing.

Since the first edition of this book in 1999 the field of gene therapy has been the arena both for major advances that justified the early hopes placed in the concept, and for ever-present impatience with the slowness of overall progress. On the positive side, gene therapy obtained its first brilliant success, though not where most efforts were invested and not with a synthetic vector (Cavazzana-Calvo et al., 2000). Yet the search for efficient molecules is still very active, in part because the negative consequences of using viral vectors somewhat shadow the brilliant picture (Hacein-Bey-Abina et al., 2003).

National audience