Érythrocytes et tonus microvasculaire au cours du choc hémorragique traumatique

Haemorrhagic shock remains a leading cause of death in trauma patients. The concept of haematologic damage control is gradually taking place in the management of traumatic haemorrhagic shock. It is based primarily on the early implementation of a quality blood transfusion involving erythrocytes, plasmas and platelets transfusion. Red blood cell transfusion is mainly supported by the oxygen carrier properties of erythrocytes. However, it appears that erythrocytes ability to modulate the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) plays a major role in capillary opening and perfusion. Erythrocytes are also actively involved in the processes of hemostasis and coagulation. In this context, it seems difficult to define a threshold of hemoglobin concentration to determine the implementation of a blood transfusion in traumatic haemorrhagic shock.     

Molecular cytogenetic and genetic aspects of globozoospermia: a review

Infertility is estimated to affect up to 15% of couples of reproductive age. Among the male factors, globozoospermia (also called round‐headed sperm syndrome) is a rare type of teratozoospermia accounting for <0.1% of male infertility. Lack of acrosome, whose production is a postmeiotic event in spermatogenesis, and round sperm head are its main characteristics. The acrosomeless spermatozoon is unable to go through the zona pellucida and fuse with the oolemma of the oocyte, and fertilisation failures have been attributed to a deficiency in oocyte activation capacity, even when intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is attempted. The pathogenesis of this anomaly is still unclear but genetic factors are likely to be involved. DNA fragmentation rate has been reported for 16 globozoospermic males, usually using the terminal uridine nick‐end labelling (TUNEL) assay. Most of the patients had a DNA fragmentation index (DFI) higher than that in fertile men. The rate of aneuploidy for some specific chromosomes was increased in 12 among the 26 globozoospermic males reported in the literature. The same results (high DFI and aneuploidy rates) were observed in infertile males compared to fertile men, notably in those with oligoasthenozoospermia or teratozoospermia, independently of the origins. Mutations or deletions in three genes, SPATA16, PICK1 and DPY19L2, have been shown to be responsible for globozoospermia. Proteins coded by the first two genes localise to the Golgi apparatus and the proacrosomal granules that are transported in the acrosome. It is likely that other proteins involved in the acrosome formation remain to be identified.     

Minimally invasive surgery versus percutaneous radio frequency ablation for the treatment of single small (≤3 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma: a case–control study

Background

Patients with single small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be managed by surgical resection or radio frequency ablation (RFA), with similar recurrence and survival rates. Recently, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has been introduced in liver surgery, and the advantage/drawback balance between surgery and RFA needs reassessment.

Methods

Patients with Child-Pugh class A or B cirrhosis, and with single 1–3 cm HCC, undergoing MIS (laparoscopic or robot-assisted) or RFA from July 1998 to December 2012 were compared.

Results

Overall, 45 patients underwent MIS, and 60 underwent RFA. Groups were not statistically different regarding type of underlying liver disease, HCC size, and AFP. However, RFA patients showed worse liver synthetic function with lower albumin and higher bilirubin serum levels, and higher ASA scores. Patients with HCC in segments 2–6 were more often treated by MIS. The incidence of complications was similar between groups (RFA: 6/60, 10 % vs. MIS: 5/45, 11 %, p = 0.854), and there was no measurable difference in the rate of procedure-related blood transfusions (RFA: 1/60, 1.7 % vs. MIS: 3/45, 6.7 %, p = 0.185). Local recurrence was only detected after RFA (11.7 %, p = 0.056, log-rank). Overall survival was higher in the MIS group (p = 0.042), with median survivals of 100 ± 13.5 versus 68 ± 15.9 months.

Conclusion

The present data need further validation. Selected patients with single ≤3-cm HCCs can be safely treated by MIS, without increased risk of perioperative complication, and with a lower risk of local recurrence. MIS should be especially favoured in patients with peripheral HCCs in segments 2–6, and/or when a histological assessment is desirable.

     

Lupus resistance is associated with marginal zone abnormalities in an NZM murine model

The NZM2410 and NZM TAN (TAN) are two of 27 inbred strains derived from an intercross between the NZW and NZB strains. NZM2410 mice develop a highly penetrant lupus nephritis mediated by three susceptibility loci, Sle1, Sle2 and Sle3. These three loci have been combined on a C57BL/6 background in a triple congenic strain that reconstitutes the NZM2410 autoimmune phenotype. Remarkably, inspite of the presence of Sle1, Sle2 and Sle3, TAN mice display a mild autoimmune phenotype reminiscent of NZW. Contrary to the lupus-prone strains, the majority of TAN CD4(+) T cells are in a na?ve-inactivated stage. TAN mice show B-cell developmental abnormalities similar to lupus-prone mice, such an accumulation of transitional T1 cells and peritoneal B-1a cells. TAN mice show, however, a unique expansion of the splenic marginal zone, in which B cells express high levels of CD5 and CD9, fail to migrate to the follicles in response to LPS, and show sub-optimal binding of T-independent type 2 antigens. Therefore, TAN mice present a functional silencing of marginal zone B cells, which have been previously implicated with autoimmune process. The TAN strain thus provides a novel model for the analysis of the genetic determinants of B-cell autoreactivity.     

Development of anonymous nuclear markers from Illumina paired-end data for Seychelles caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona: Indotyphlidae)

Anonymous nuclear markers were developed for Seychelles caecilian amphibians. Using a previously published bioinformatics pipeline (developed for Roche 454 data), 36 candidate anonymous nuclear loci (ANL) of at least 180 bp length were identified from Illumina MiSeq next generation sequencing data for five Seychelles species. We designed primer pairs for the 36 candidate ANL and tested these by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Seven ANL amplified and sequenced well for at least five of the six nominal Seychelles caecilian species (in three genera), and represent potentially useful markers for systematics and conservation.     

Acute metabolic responses after continuous or interval exercise in post-menopausal women with overweight or obesity

This pilot study compared the effects of acute high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) and moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) on post-exercise VO₂, fat utilization, and 24-hours energy balance to understand the mechanism of higher fat mass reduction observed after high-intensity interval training in post-menopausal women with overweight/obesity. 12 fasted women (59.5 ± 5.8 years; BMI: 28.9 ± 3.9 kg·m⁻²) completed three isoenergetic cycling exercise sessions in a counterbalanced, randomized order: (a) MICE [35 minutes at 60%-65% of peak heart rate, HR_max], (b) HIIE 1 [60 × (8-s cycling-12-s recovery) at 80%-90% of HR_max], and (c) HIIE 2 [10 × 1min at 80%-90% of HR_max − 1-min recovery]. Then, VO₂ and fat utilization measured at rest and during the 2 hours post-exercise, enjoyment, perceived exertion, and appetite recorded during the session and energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE) assessed over the next 24 hours were compared for the three modalities. Overall, fat utilization increased after exercise. No modality effect or time-modality interaction was observed concerning VO₂ and fat oxidation rate during the 2 hours post-exercise. The two exercise modalities did not induce specific EI and EE adaptations, but perceived appetite scores at 1 hour post-exercise were lower after HIIE 1 and HIIE 2 than MICE. Perceived exertion was higher during HIIE 1 and HIIE 2 than MICE, but enjoyment did not differ among modalities. The acute HIIE responses did not allow explaining the greater fat mass loss observed after regular high-intensity interval training in post-menopausal women with overweight/obesity. More studies are needed to understand the mechanisms involved in such adaptations.