Search

Newly synthesized 4,5-di-substituted acridines were assessed for in vitro antileishmanial activities as compared to those of their 4-mono-substituted homologues. Mono-substituted acridines exhibited a weak specificity for Leishmania parasites. Di-substituted acridines, on the contrary, displayed interesting amastigote-specific activities through a mechanism of action that might not involve intercalation to DNA. This antileishmanial property, associated with a low antiproliferative activity towards human cells, led to the identification of a new class of promising acridine derivatives such as 4,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)acridine with a nonclassical mechanism of action based on the inhibition of Leishmania internalization within macrophages. In the meantime, the effects of experimental lighting on the biological properties of acridines were assessed: experimental lighting did not significantly improve the antileishmanial activity of the compounds since it produced a greater toxicity against human cells.

This report deals with the structure and ultrastructure of the labrum, foregut, midgut and midgut gland of Euphausia krohni. The labrum appears to play a major role in the first step of the digestive process. It is involved in both mechanical and chemical breakdown of the food. Structural, ultrastructural and cytochemical data on the labrum reveal similarities with the labrum of the primitive Mysidacea Lophogaster typicus (Lophogastrida). The foregut acts predominantly in triturating the food and in separating fine particles and fluids from coarse material by filters. Morphological features indicate that the foregut of euphausiids might have evolved from the same ancestral morphological type as the mysidaceans, i.e. close to Gnathophausia gracilis (Lophogastrida). The midgut exhibits typical ultrastructural features known in the Malacostraca, i.e. an epithelium composed of a single cell type which is implicated in absorption and production of peritrophic membranes. The midgut gland exhibits F-cells, considered to secrete enzymes in Decapoda, and not truly evidenced in the Mysidacea. Therefore, this study suggests that the digestive system of Euphausiacea has both primitive features evidenced in the lower Malacostraca (Lophogastrida), and also evolved ones found in the higher Malacostraca (Decapoda).

The excessive use of pesticides generates significant pollution and degradation of the environment, including aquatic ecosystems. The viticultural activity is not an exception for this rule, and this is why the aim of this work is to study the adaptive or deleterious responses in the early life stages of fish exposed to three phytosanitary products used in viticulture as well as to their mixture and environmental samples. The thesis focuses on the early stages of development of rainbow trout, but also on the trout liver cell line RTL-W1. Trout embryos were exposed to copper, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos alone or as a mixture. Another part of this work consisted in studying the toxic effects of environmental samples of water and sediment coming from a river, La Livenne, close to vineyard plots. All experiments were done under controlled laboratory conditions. The responses induced by these exposures were measured at different levels of biological organization: at the molecular, phenotypic and behavioral level for the in vivo study (rainbow trout larvae); and the analysis of cytotoxic effects and induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage for the in vitro study (RTL-W1 line). The results of this work showed that exposure to individual or mixed pesticides in rainbow trout larvae did not produce lethal effects at the tested concentrations. In contrast, these substances caused different sub-lethal effects, depending on the compound and concentrations studied, including teratogenic effects, swim behavior disturbances, genotoxic effects, and differential expression of target genes. Copper was found to be the most toxic causing a major hatching failure. Cytotoxic effects and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were observed on trout cells exposed to river water extracts. In addition, behavioral effects were observed on trout larvae exposed for 48 h to sediments and Livenne water. In conclusion, these thesis studies revealed sub-lethal effects on cells and early stages of development of rainbow trout exposed to environmental concentrations of pesticides.; L’utilisation excessive de pesticides engendre des pollutions et des dégradations importantes de l’environnement y compris sur les écosystèmes aquatiques. L’activité viticole ne fait pas exception à cette règle, et c’est pour cette raison que ce travail de thèse s’est intéressé aux réponses adaptatives ou délétères aux premiers stades de vie de poissons exposés à trois produits phytosanitaires utilisés en viticulture ainsi qu’à leur mélange et à des échantillons environnementaux. La thèse s’intéresse aux stades précoces de développement de la truite arc-en-ciel, mais également à la lignée cellulaire de foie de truite RTL-W1. Les embryons de truite ont été exposés au cuivre, au glyphosate et au chlorpyrifos seuls ou en mélange. Une autre partie de ce travail a consisté à étudier les effets toxiques des échantillons environnementaux d’eau et de sédiment provenant d’un cours d’eau, La Livenne, à proximité de parcelles viticoles. Toutes les expériences ont été faites en conditions contrôlées de laboratoire. Les réponses induites par ces expositions ont été mesurées à différents niveaux d’organisation biologique : au niveau moléculaire, phénotypique et comportemental pour l’étude in vivo (larves de la truite arc-en-ciel) ; et l’analyse des effets cytotoxiques de l’induction des espèces réactives de l’oxygène (ROS) et des dommages à l’ADN pour l’étude in vitro (lignée RTL-W1). Les résultats de ce travail ont montré que l’exposition aux pesticides individuels, ou en mélange, chez les larves de truites arc-en-ciel n’a pas produit d’effets létaux aux concentrations testés. En revanche, ces substances ont provoqués différents effets sub-létaux, selon le composé et les concentrations étudiés, dont des effets tératogènes, des perturbations du comportement natatoire, des effets génotoxiques et l’expression différentielle de gènes cibles. Le cuivre s’est avéré le plus toxique provoquant un échec d’éclosion important. Des effets cytotoxiques et une production d’espèces réactives de l’oxygène (ERO) ont été observés sur cellules de truite exposées à des extraits d’eau de rivière. Par ailleurs, des effets comportementaux ont été observés sur les larves de truites exposées pendant 48 h à des sédiments et de l’eau de la Livenne. En conclusion, ces travaux de thèse ont mis en évidence des effets sub-létaux sur les cellules et les stades précoces de développement de truite arc-en-ciel exposés à des concentrations environnementales de pesticides utilisés en viticulture.