Les microARN sont de petits ARN non codant régulant post-transcriptionnellement l’expression de certains gènes. Du fait de leur fort potentiel régulateur, une modification de leur expression peut conduire à l’apparition de pathologies telles que le cancer ou l’inhibition des mécanismes de défense contre des pathogènes. Notre objectif est de caractériser le rôle de certains miARN dans la formation de cancer gastrique dû à Helicobacter pylori. En effet, cette bactérie peut conduire à l’apparition d’adénocarcinome gastrique et de lymphome du MALT. Sa virulence est essentiellement due à la protéine CagA, injectée dans les cellules de la muqueuse gastrique. Par séquençage à haut débit du contenu en miARN d’une lignée épithéliale gastrique humaine, co-cultivée ou non avec H. pylori, nous avons observé que les niveaux de miR-200b/c sont augmentés par l’infection. Ces miARN sont des inhibiteurs puissants de la transition épithélio-mésenchymateurse (TEM), modification morphologique promotrice d’invasion. Ils ciblent les facteurs de transcription ZEB1/2 avec lesquels ils sont impliqués dans une boucle de rétro-action mutuellement répressive. Le niveau basal élevé de miR-200b/c dans ces cellules réprime totalement ZEB1, tandis que l’infection par H. pylori, sous la dépendance de CagA, promeut une TEM en induisant ZEB1. Paradoxalement, les miR-200b/c sont aussi augmentés lors de l’infection transcriptionnellement. Nous avons pu démontrer que l’augmentation des miR-200b/c dans les cellules infectées a pour rôle de modérer l’induction de ZEB1 via l’activation de NF-kB, constituant ainsi un mécanisme de défense des cellules hôte contre la perte de leur identité épithéliale. / MicroRNA are small noncoding RNA that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Due to their high regulator potential, a change in their expression may lead to the emergence of diseases such as cancer or inhibition of defense mechanisms against pathogens. Our aim is to characterize the role of miRNA in the response of gastric eptithelial cells to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Indeed, H. pylori promote gastric adenocarcinoma and MALT lymphoma. Its virulence is essentially mediated by CagA, injected into cells of the gastric mucosa. Thanks to high throughput sequencing of miRNA content of a gastric epithelial cell line, infected or not with H. pylori: miR-200b and -200c appeared up-regulated upon infection. These miRNA are potent inhibitors of the “epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition” (EMT), a process that drastically alters cell morphology and promotes cell invasion. MiR-200b/c target the transcription factors ZEB1 and ZEB2, with which they are involved in a mutually repressive feedback loop. In basal conditions, the high levels miR-200b/c in gastric epithelial cells totally silence ZEB1 mRNA whereas H. pylori promotes EMT via ZEB1 expression, on the dependence of CagA translocation into host cells. But, paradoxically, miR-200b/c levels were also up-regulated upon infection. The increased miR-200b/c levels in infected cells moderate ZEB1 induction thanks to NF-kB activation and constitute a self-defense mechanism to thwart the loss of their epithelial phenotype upon infection.

Ovarian cancer results in more deaths per year than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. The low survival rate is partly due to the lack of early detection and the susceptibility to relapse. The AKT serine threonine kinase plays a pivotal role in hallmark cellular processes for the progression of ovarian cancer, including tumor cell growth and migration. Therapeutic targeting of pan-AKT has been problematic, in part due to feedback mechanisms and crosstalk with other pathways. The hypothesis for this study is that AKT 1, -2 and -3 isoforms may have different roles and regulate cell processes in uniquely varied ways. A transgenic mouse model that expresses the SV40 T-antigen viral oncogene and is known to have dramatically increased susceptibility to ovarian cancer was utilized, and it had genetic inactivation of either AKT1 or AKT2 through targeted deletion of the individual genes because these isoforms have been implicated in this cancer. Primary ovarian tumor cell cultures were established and found to exhibit different morphology, proliferation and migration that may indicate a different role for the AKT1 and AKT2 isoforms in these contexts. Ovarian tumor cells with absence of AKT1 predominantly exhibited reduced cell migration when compared to cells with retention of AKT1 and absence of AKT2. Since AKT is known to be important for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process potentially associated with tumor cell metastasis, the expression of transcription factors implicated in EMT was assessed by real-time array analysis in ovarian tumor cells knocked-out for either AKT1 or AKT2. Twist1, one of the major players in EMT, was not detectable in the cells missing the AKT1 isoform. Results indicate an association of Twist1 with AKT1 in EMT and migration of ovarian tumors cells. This finding is significant because AKT2 has been implicated as the major player of cell migration in human breast cancer iv cells. Collectively, these findings support a tissue specific role of the AKT isoforms, and may provide insights regarding the most useful cell context in order to target components of the AKT signaling pathway indirectly affecting EMT in order to prevent tumor progression in patients with ovarian and perhaps other types of cancers

No / Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. It consists of a group of tumor cells that have the ability to grow uncontrollably, overcome replicative senescence (tumor progression) and metastasize within the body. Metastases are processes that consist of an array of complex gene dysregulation events. Although these processes are still not fully understood, the dysregulation of a number of key proteins must take place if the tumor cells are to disseminate and metastasize. It is now widely accepted that future effective and innovative treatments of cancer metastasis will have to encompass all the major components of malignant transformation. For this reason, much research is now being carried out into the mechanisms that govern the malignant transformation processes. Recent research has identified key genes involved in the development of metastases, as well as their mechanisms of action. A detailed understanding of the encoded proteins and their interrelationship generates the possibility of developing novel therapeutic approaches. This review will focus on a select group of proteins, often deregulated in breast cancer metastasis, which have shown therapeutic promise, notably, EMT, E-cadherin, Osteopontin, PEA3, Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β) and Ran.

The focus of this dissertation is analyzing and manipulating acoustic wave propagation in metamaterials, which can be used to assist the design of acoustic devices. Metamaterials are artificial materials, which are arranged in certain patterns at a scale smaller than the wavelength and can exhibit properties beyond those naturally occurring materials. With metamaterials, novel phenomena, such as focusing, super absorption, cloaking and localization of ultrasound, are theoretically proposed and experimentally verified. In recent years, a planar version of metamaterials, often called meta-surfaces, has attracted a great deal of attention. Meta-surfaces can control and manipulate the amplitude, phase, and directions of waves. In this dissertation, we conducted a systematic study by deriving the effective medium theories (EMTs), and developing the theoretical and numerical models for our proposed designed metamaterial. Very recently, acoustic meta-surfaces have been used in the design of acoustic lenses, which can achieve various functionalities such as focusing and collimation. In the designs of acoustic lenses, impedance is an important issue because it is usually difficult to make the impedance of the lens equal to that of the environment, and mismatched impedance is detrimental to the performance of the acoustic lens. We developed an EMT based on a coupled-mode theory and transfer matrix method to characterize the propagation behavior and, based on these models, we report two designs of acoustic lenses in water and air, respectively. They are rigid thin plates decorated with periodically distributed sub-wavelength slits. The building block of the acoustic lens in water is constructed from coiling-up spaces, and that of the acoustic lens in air is made of layered structures. We demonstrate that the impedances of the lenses are indeed matched to those of the background media. With these impedance-matched acoustic lenses, we demonstrate acoustic focusing and collimation, and redirection of transmitted acoustic energy by finite-element simulations. In the framework of the hidden source of the volume principle, an EMT for a coupled resonator structure is derived, which shows that coupled resonators are characterized by a negative value of the effective bulk modulus near the resonance frequency and induce flat bands that give rise to the confinement of the incoming wave inside the resonators. The leakage of sound waves in a resonance-based rainbow trapping device prevents the sound wave from being trapped at a specific location. Based on our EMT, we report a sound trapping device design based on coupled Helmholtz resonators, loaded to an air waveguide, to effectively tackle the wave leakage issue. We show that a coupled resonators structure can generate dips in the transmission spectrum by an analytical model derived from Newton’s second law and a numerical analysis based on the finite-element method. We compute the transmission spectra and band diagram from the effective medium theory, which are consistent with the simulation results. Trapping and the high absorption of sound wave energy are demonstrated with our designed device.

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La morphogenèse de la glande mammaire résulte de la coordination de différentes voies, incluant l'apoptose, la prolifération, la différenciation et la dynamique des cellules souches/progénitrices. La transition épithéliale-mésenchymateuse (EMT) semble être impliquée dans ces voies de signalisation. Ainsi, nous nous sommes concentrés sur le facteur de transcription Slug, un gène clé régulant l'EMT, et son implication dans la morphogenèse de la glande mammaire. Dans un premier temps, en utilisant un modèle de souris transgéniques Slug-Lacz, nous avons localisé Slug dans une sous-population couvrant 10 à 20% des cellules basales du tubule et des cap cells du bourgeons terminal, coexprimant les marqueurs P-cadhérine, CK5, CD49f. Ensuite, nous avons montré par des expériences in vitro de perte et de gain de fonction, que Slug régulait la différenciation et la prolifération des cellules épithéliales mammaires. De plus, nous avons trouvé que Slug inhibait l'apoptose, promouvait la motilité cellulaire, et permettait l'émergence et la croissance de mammosphères clonales. Ce dernier point montre l'implication de Slug dans les cellules souches, qui est renforcé par le fait que des cellules primaires déficientes pour Slug étaient incapables de donner des mammosphères secondaires. Par ailleurs, nous avons pu observer in vivo que les souris déficientes pour Slug présentaient un retard de développement de la glande mammaire, possédant moins de cellules en prolifération, et une surexpression des marqueurs des cellules luminale CK8/18, GATA3 et ER. D'autres gènes régulant l'EMT sont retrouvés surexprimés, suggérant un mécanisme de compensation, qui peut expliquer le fait que le retard de développement de la glande mammaire est rattrapé à l'âge adulte. Les glandes mammaires Slug-knockout présentaient également des branchements excessifs, évoquant une différenciation précoce, similaire aux glandes mammaires de souris déficientes pour la P-cadhérine, exprimée dans les cellules basales. Sachant cela, nous avons constaté que la P-cadhérine était diminuée dans les glandes mammaires Slug-knockout, et dans les cellules CommaDβ traitées par siRNA ciblant Slug. Nous avons alors trouvé que Slug se liait directement au promoteur de la P-cadhérine et l'activait, et que cette dernière intervenait dans certains effets fonctionnels de Slug, tels que la croissance de mammosphères, la différenciation et la migration cellulaire. Ainsi, nous avons montré l'importance d'une nouvelle voie de signalisation Slug/P-cadhérine dans les capacités souches/progénitrices des cellules épithéliales mammaires, intégrant la différenciation et la motilité cellulaire, et nous avons maintenant une meilleure compréhension de son rôle dans l'agressivité de certains cancers du sein. / Mammary gland morphogenesis results from the coordination of different pathways, including apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, and stem/progenitor cell dynamics. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) appears to be involved in these signalling pathways. Thus, we focused on transcription factor Slug, a key gene regulating EMT, and its involvement in mammary gland morphogenesis. First, using a Slug–LacZ transgenic mice model, we located Slug in a subpopulation covering about 10–20% basal duct cells and cap cells of terminal end bud, coexpressed with basal markers P-cadherin, CK5 and CD49f. Then, we have shown by in vitro experiments of loss and gain of function that Slug regulated the differentiation and proliferation of mammary epithelial cells. Moreover, we found that Slug inhibited apoptosis, promoted cell motility, and allowed the emergence and growth of clonal mammospheres. This last point shows the involvement of Slug in stem cells, which is reinforced by the fact that primary cells deficient for Slug were unable to give secondary mammospheres. Furthermore, we observed in vivo that mice deficient for Slug showed delayed development of the mammary gland, with less proliferating cells, and overexpression of markers of luminal cells CK8/18, GATA3 and ER. Other genes regulating EMT are found overexpressed, suggesting a compensatory mechanism, which can explain the fact that the delayed development of the mammary gland is caught up in adulthood. The Slug-knockout mammary glands also showed overbranching, evoking an early differentiation, similar to the mammary glands of mice deficient in P-cadherin, expressed in the basal cells. Knowing this, we found that P-cadherin was decreased in Slug-knockout mammary glands, and in CommaDβ cells treated with siRNA targeting Slug. We then found that Slug binds directly to the promoter of the P-cadherin and activated it, and that P-cadherin was involved in some functional effects of Slug, such as mammospheres growth, differentiation and cell migration. Thus, we have shown the importance of a new signalling pathway Slug/P-cadherin in the capacity of mammary epithelial stem/progenitor cells, integrating differentiation and cell motility, and we now have a better understanding of its role in the aggressiveness of some breast cancers.