INTRODUÇÃO: Deve-se considerar que cerca de 70 a 80% dos pacientes portadores de carcinoma colorretal estádio II podem ser curados apenas com cirurgia. Por outro lado, a despeito do tratamento empregado e dos benefícios alcançados com a evolução dos tratamentos adjuvantes, cerca de 20 a 35% dos pacientes tratados com doença em estádio III vêm a falecer por recidiva tumoral. É provável que existam características biomoleculares intrínsecas que possam conferir maior agressividade e resistência ao tratamento adjuvante. A família de proteínas ErbB formam um grupo de receptores de membrana, cuja função é ativar a via de sinalização intracelular em resposta ao sinal extracelular e é formada por quatro receptores: EGFR/ErbB1, ErbB2/HER2, ErbB3/HER3 e ErbB4/HER4. O complexo de receptores ErbB é uma das vias de transmissão de sinal celular mais amplamente estudada, porém poucos estudos interessados em avaliar a expressão dos quatro receptores da família ErbB e sua correlação prognóstica no câncer de cólon e reto foram realizados até o momento. Nosso objetivo foi avaliar a expressão imunoistoquímica de EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3 e ErbB4 e seu papel como fator prognóstico para sobrevida livre de doença e sobrevida global em carcinoma de cólon e reto estádio II de alto risco e estádio III submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico radical. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODOS: vi Trata-se de um estudo retrospectivo que avaliou uma série de 118 indivíduos portadores de adenocarcinoma de colón e reto alto estádio II com fatores de alto risco ou estádio III. Foram analisadas variáveis clínicopatológicas e as expressões de EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3 e ErbB4 foram determinadas através de imunoistoquímica pelo dispositivo técnico Tissue Microarray (TMA). RESULTADOS: O tempo de seguimento mediano foi de 58,8 meses. A sobrevida global da amostra foi de 71,2% em 5 anos. A sobrevida livre de doença foi de 67,8% em 5 anos. As expressões imunoistoquímicas positivas de EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3, em membrana de ErbB4 e em citoplasma de ErbB4 foram encontradas em respectivamente 59,3%, 7,6%, 71,2%, 10,2% e 20,3% dos casos. Houve diferença significativa na expressão de EGFR em relação à localização da neoplasia, onde 75% dos pacientes com tumor em reto apresentaram expressão positiva, contra 52,4% entre os tumores de cólon (p=0,02). Em relação à expressão ErbB2, houve diferença significativa no que refere ao estadiamento, onde 1,8% dos pacientes com estádio II apresentavam expressão positiva, contra 12,7% entre os pacientes com estádio III (p=0,03). A expressão de ErbB3 teve diferença significativa em relação à presença de embolização linfática, com expressão positiva em 79,5% dos pacientes com ausência de embolização linfática frente a 46,7% dos com presença de embolização linfática (p=0,001). Em relação à expressão de ErbB4, não houve diferença significativa entre todas as variáveis estudadas, tanto para expressão em membrana quanto em citoplasma. Observamos que presença de embolização vascular linfática, presença de invasão perineural, expressão imunoistoquímica negativa de ErbB3 e positiva de ErbB4 em membrana influenciaram negativamente a sobrevida livre de doença em cinco anos na análise univariada. No modelo multivariado, a expressão negativa de ErbB3 (RR: vii 2,43; IC 95%: 1,26 4,66) e a expressão positiva de ErbB4 em membrana (RR: 3,03; IC 95%: 1,31 6,98) mantiveram-se como fator independente para risco de recaída. Observamos ainda que idade igual ou maior que 65 anos, presença de embolização linfática e expressão negativa de ErbB3 influenciaram negativamente a sobrevida global em 5 anos na análise univariada. No modelo multivariado, a idade igual ou maior que 65 anos (RR 2,83; IC 95%: 1,36 5,90) e a expressão negativa de ErbB3 (RR: 2,52; IC 95%: 1,28 4,97) mantiveram-se como fator independente para risco de óbito. CONCLUSÕES: A expressão positiva de ErbB4 em membrana foi variável de risco independente para recidiva e a expressão negativa de ErbB3 foi variável de risco independente para recidiva e óbito. As expressões imunoistoquímicas de ErbB3 e de ErbB4 em membrana podem selecionar pacientes portadores de câncer colorretal estádios II e III submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico radical que tenham maior risco de recidiva e óbito / INTRODUCTION: In spite of multidisciplinary treatment, survival after 5 years in these subgroups is under 60 and 70%. Probably, some patients have recurrence due to microscopic residual disease resistant to the adjuvant treatment received. However, other patients do not have recurrent disease even without adjuvant treatment as they have already been cured by surgery alone. Thus, there is a need to identify biological tumoral characteristics that may predict poor outcome and guide the development of new adjuvant treatments. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ErbB1), ErbB2/HER2, ErbB3/HER3 and ErbB4/HER4 are a group of subtype I tyrosine-kinases sharing structural homologies, especially at the intracellular domain. Protein kinases are enzymes that play a key regulation role in nearly every aspect of cell biology. There have been only a few studies that explored the expression of ErbB family in colorectal cancers. The present study was designed to investigate the expression of ErbB family in high risk colorectal cancer (high risk stage II and stage III) submitted to radical surgery and their role as a prognostic factor to recurrence and survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 118 individuals with high risk stage II and stage III colorectal cancer submitted to radical surgery. Clinico-pathological data were reviewed. ErbB family protein expression in ix tumor tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry using Tissue Microarray technique. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 58,8 months. The five-year overall survival was 71,2% and five-year disease free survival was 67,8%. The immunohistochemical expression was considered positive for EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3, ErbB4 membrane and ErbB4 cytoplasmic in respectively 59,3%, 7,6%, 71,2%, 10,2% and 20,3% of the patients. EGFR expression was associated with tumor localization, ErbB2 expression with stage III and ErbB3 negative expression with lymphovascular invasion. Membranous positive ErbB4 expression was an independent prognostic factor only for recurrence. ErbB3 negative expression was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence and survival in the multivariate analysis. EGFR, ErbB2 and cytoplasmic ErbB4 expression was not associated with prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Membranous positive ErbB4 expression was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence and ErbB3 negative expression was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence and survival. The immunohistochemical expression of ErbB3 and ErbB4 may be used to identify a subgroup of patients with stage II and III colorectal tumors at higher risk of recurrence and death

Une croissance intra-utérine insuffisante représente, avec la prématurité et les malfor-mations congénitales, une des principales causes de morbidité et de mortalité néonatales. Ces pathologies sont liées entre elles, les nouveau-nés prématurés étant souvent atteints de RCIU (RCIU). Les études épidémiologiques récentes ont montré que le RCIU était associé à une augmentation de la morbidité respiratoire dès la période néonatale, avec, en particulier, une augmentation du risque de dysplasie broncho-pulmonaire (DBP), principale séquelle respira-toire de la prématurité. La DBP est caractérisée par des anomalies du développement alvéo-laire et vasculaire, considérées comme les conséquences d’agressions multiples sur un poumon immature. La physiopathologie exacte reste encore largement méconnue. Nous nous sommes intéressés dans ce travail au lien entre RCIU et DBP avec un abord expérimental et clinique. Alors que les études épidémiologiques sont relativement concordantes sur le lien entre RCIU et DBP, les études expérimentales, montrent des résultats divers tant sur le développement pulmonaire qu’au niveau moléculaire. Nous avons donc voulu identifier, dans un premier temps, un modèle de RCIU reproduisant les anomalies du développement alvéolaire observées chez l’Homme en utilisant trois modèles précédemment validés chez le rat : un modèle de res-triction protidique per-gestationnelle , un modèle de ligature unilatérale de l’artère utérine, un modèle d’injection d’un inhibiteur chimique de la NO synthase, le L NAME. Seule la restric-tion protidique anténatale permet de reproduire à long terme des lésions de l’alvéolisation proches de celles observées dans la DBP. En revanche, dans ce modèle, les modifications des principaux gènes identifiés précédemment dans les anomalies le développement alvéolaire ne sont pas observées, que ce soit avant, pendant ou après l’alvéolisation. Ce résultat nous a ame-né à entreprendre une étude multigénique qui a permis d’identifier plusieurs voies modifiées pendant l’alvéolisation dans ce modèle. Parmi celles-ci, les gènes impliqués dans la contractili-té et l’adhésion cellulaire, l’immunité ou la voie des « Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Re-ceptor ». Dans la partie clinique de cette étude, nous avons évalué le risque de DBP chez les extrêmes prématurés atteints de RCIU dont les mères présentaient des signes de pathologie vasculaire de la grossesse (prééclampsie). Cette étude rétrospective unicentrique sur 184 en-fants a permis de comparer des enfants atteints de RCIU à des enfants eutrophes pris en charge de manière homogène. Le RCIU d’origine vasculaire multiplie le risque de DBP par 6. Un marqueur précoce de l’évolution vers une DBP est un taux de plaquettes bas à la naissance, évoquant le rôle d’un taux élevé de facteurs anti-angiogéniques circulants. Une étude est en cours pour corréler les facteurs anti-angiogéniques circulants présents chez les mères pré-éclamptiques au devenir respiratoire, en particulier à l’évolution vers une DBP, de leurs nou-veau-nés d’âge gestationnel inférieur à 30 semaines d’aménorrhée. En conclusion, nous avons montré expérimentalement que seule la restriction protidique anténatale chez le rat reproduisait les troubles de l’alvéolisation comparables à ceux observés dans la DBP. De nouvelles voies moléculaires potentiellement impliquées dans les anomalies de l’alvéolisation ont été mises en évidence. Par ailleurs, le rôle de facteurs anti-angiogéniques d’origine maternelle comme fac-teurs de développement d’une DBP est en cours d’évaluation. / Insufficient intrauterine growth is with prematurity and congenital malformations, a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. These conditions are interrelated, the preterm infants often suffered of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Recent epidemiological stud-ies showed that IUGR was associated with increased respiratory morbidity as soon as the ne-onatal period, with an increased risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the main respira-tory sequelae of prematurity. BPD is characterized by impaired alveolar and vascular devel-opment and is the consequence of multiple insults on an immature lung. The exact pathophysi-ology is still largely unknown. We study in this work the relationship between IUGR and DBP with an experimental and clinical approach. While epidemiological studies are relatively concordant on the relationship between IUGR and BPD, experimental studies showed various results in lung development and molecular process. We wanted to identify, at first, a model of IUGR reproducing impaired alveolar development observed in humans using three previously validated models in rats: a model of per-gestational protein restriction, a model of unilateral ligation uterine artery, an injection pattern of a chemical inhibitor of NO synthase, L NAME. Only antenatal protein restriction can reproduce long-term impaired alveolarization as those observed in BPD. However, in this model, changes in key genes previously identified in pathological alveolar development are not observed before, during or after alveolarization. This result led us to perform a genome-wide analysis which identified several modified path-ways during alveolarization. Among these, the genes involved in the “cardiac contractility”, “cell adhesion molecules”, “immunity”, “molecular adhesion” or the "Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor" pathways. In the clinical part of this study, we evaluated the risk of BPD in extreme preterm infants with IUGR whose mothers had evidence of vascular disease of pregnancy (preeclampsia). This single-center retrospective study of 184 children was used to compare children with IUGR in adjusted for gestational age children. The vascular IUGR increases the risk of DBP by 6. An early marker of progression to BPD is a low platelet count at birth, referring to the role of high levels of circulating anti-angiogenic factors. A study is ongoing to correlate circulating anti-angiogenic factors present in preeclamptic mothers to res-piratory outcome and particularly BDP, in newborn younger than 30 weeks of gestational age at birth. In conclusion, we have shown experimentally that only prenatal protein restriction in rats reproduced impaired alveolarization comparable to those observed in the BPD. New mo-lecular pathways potentially involved in the impaired alveolarization were highlighted. More-over, the role of placental anti-angiogenic factors leading to development of BPD is evaluat-ed.

The transmission of sex pheromone-mediated signals is essential for goldfish reproduction. However, the neural pathways underlying this reproductive signalling pathway in the goldfish brain is not well described. Lesioning experiments have shown previously that two brain areas, the preoptic area (POA) and the ventral telencephali pars ventralis (Vv) in particular, are important for reproduction. We used patch clamp electrophysiology to study the electrical activities of POA and Vv neurons. Based on the intrinsic properties of these neurons, we suggest there are five different functional classes of POA neurons and a single class of Vv neurons. In addition, by electrically stimulating the olfactory bulb (OB), we were able to show that this primary sensory structure makes monosynaptic glutamatergic connections with both POA and Vv neurons. While electrophysiology measures signalling events occurring at short time scales on the order of milliseconds to minutes, we were also interested in studying sex pheromone signalling in the goldfish brain over a long time scale. Thus, we describe changes in gene expression in male goldfish exposed to waterborne sex pheromones (17alpha,20beta dihydroxy-4-pregene-3-one and Prostaglandin-F2alpha) over 6 hours. We perform cDNA microarrays on Prostaglandin-F2alpha-treated fish to study the rapid modulation of transcription and define the signalling pathways affected. Our microarrays showed that 71 genes were differentially regulated (67 up and 4 down). Through gene ontology enrichment analysis, we found that these genes were involved in various biological processes such as RNA processing, neurotransmission, neuronal development, apoptosis, cellular metabolism and sexual reproduction. RT-PCRs were performed to validate our microarrays and to facilitate direct comparisons of the effects of the two sex pheromones, 17alpha,20beta dihydroxy-4-pregene-3-one and Prostaglandin-F2alpha. By combining electrophysiology and gene expression analyses, we were able to study sex-pheromone signalling on two different time scales. One short, occurring on the order of milliseconds to minutes, that involves electrical activities in the brain through the glutamatergic amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors; and the other long occurring several hours later that involves changes in the gene expression levels of calmodulin and ependymin among other genes underlying neuroplasticity. Reproductive neuroplasticity in the goldfish may therefore require the activation of glutamatergic receptors which then activate downstream signals like calmodulin and ependymin to transform the sex pheromones-mediate signal into gene expression.

This data article contains data related to the research article entitled, 'in vitro characterization of bone marrow stromal cells from osteoarthritic donors' [1]. Osteoarthritis (OA) represents the main indication for total joint arthroplasty and is one of the most frequent degenerative joint disorders. However, the exact etiology of OA remains unknown. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) can be easily isolated from bone marrow aspirates and provide an excellent source of progenitor cells. The data shows the identification of pivotal genes and pathways involved in osteoarthritis by comparing gene expression patterns of BMSCs from osteoarthritic versus healthy donors using an array-based approach.

ObjectifLe diagnostic prénatal (DPN) a pour but de détecter des pathologies foetales in utero. L’objectif de ce travail était de mettre au point et d’appliquer les techniques d’exploration chromosomique en prénatal. Nous avons, tout d’abord, validé et évalué une plateforme de séquençage basée sur la technologie des semi-conducteurs, Ion Proton®, pour le dépistage prénatal non-invasif (DPNI) des principales aneuploïdies en routine clinique, puis évalué l’intérêt de l’Analyse Chromosomique sur Puces à ADN (ACPA) dans le diagnostic prénatal des retards de croissance intra-utérin (RCIU) foetaux. Matériel et Méthodes Nous avons inclus prospectivement 2505 patientes enceintes analysées par huit laboratoires hospitalo-universitaires de génétique : 695 grossesses à haut risque pour la trisomie 21 (risque ≥1/250 ou avec anomalie échographique) dans une étude de validation de la technique du test ADN libre circulant (ADNlc), et 1810 grossesses à risque, sans anomalie échographique, en routine clinique. Les issues de grossesses étaient toutes disponibles dans l’étude de validation et pour 521 grossesses dans l’étude en routine clinique. L’ADNlc extrait d’échantillons plasmatiques était séquencé, puis les données étaient analysées à l’aide du logiciel WISECONDOR. Les résultats des tests ADNlc étaient comparés aux caryotypes foetaux ou 7 aux données à la naissance. Nous avons aussi évalué le taux d’échec et comparé trois méthodes d’évaluation de la fraction foetale (FF) (RASSF1A, DEFRAG et SANEFALCON). Nous avons rétrospectivement inclus tous les foetus référés pour un prélèvement invasif pour RCIU et étudié les résultats de technique d’hybridation in situ en fluorescence (FISH), caryotypes et ACPA. Résultats Les résultats des deux cohortes de l’étude sur l’ADNlc étaient cohérents et les âges gestationnels n’étaient pas significativement différents ; les données ont été combinées afin d’étoffer la cohorte à analyser. Respectivement, la sensibilité et la spécificité étaient de : 98.3% (95% IC, 93.5–99.7%) et 99.9% (95% IC, 99.4–100%) pour la trisomie 21; 96.7% (95% IC, 80.9–99.8%) et 100% (95% IC, 99.6–100%) pour la trisomie 18 ; et 94.1% (95% IC, 69.2–99.7%) et 100% (95% IC, 99.6–100%) pour la trisomie 13. Le taux de non rendus était de 1.2% initialement puis après réanalyse de 0.6%. L’estimation de la FF avec les méthodes RASSF1A et DEFRAG étaient comparables, toutes deux compatibles avec une utilisation en routine clinique. Parmi les 162 foetus RCIU (78 associés et 84 isolés) inclus dans l’étude ACPA, 15 avaient une FISH pathologique : 10 RCIU associés et cinq RCIU isolés. Parmi 143 foetus étudiés par ACPA, 10 (7%) présentaient un variant du nombre de copies (CNV), tous étaient des RCIUs associés (10/65 soit 15.4%; 95 IC: 8.4%‐26.2%), versus 0/78 dans le groupe RCIUs isolés (95% IC: 0%‐5.6%). Six foetus (4.2%) ont présenté des variants de signification inconnue (VSI) (trois RCIU associés et trois RCIU isolés). Conclusion : Notre étude évaluant le test ADNlc utilisant la technologie des semi-conducteurs est la première étude clinique à rapporter les issues de grossesses dans une population aussi large. La plateforme est performante pour le DPNI des principales aneuploïdies. Notre protocole robuste est facilement applicable en routine clinique. Notre étude souligne une augmentation de rendement diagnostique de l’ACPA de 6.1% (4/65) par rapport au caryotype pour le DPN des foetus présentant un RCIU associé. Aucun CNV pathogène n’a été mis en évidence dans le groupe RCIU isolé. L’ADNlc pourrait-il supplanter l’ACPA dans cette population de RCIU isolé ? Le développement du test ADNlc a permis de limiter le nombre de prélèvements invasifs et donc leurs complications [...]. / ObjectivePrenatal diagnosis allows to detect fetal pathologies in-utero. The goal of this work was both technical development and application of the chromosomal exploration technics in prenatal diagnosis. First, we aimed to validate and evaluate the performance metrics of the highthroughput semiconductor sequencing platform, Ion Proton®, in non-invasive prenatal genetic screening (NIPS) for common fetal aneuploidies in a clinical setting and, then to evaluate the diagnostic utility of prenatal diagnosis using the chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) for fetuses presenting with isolated or associated intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Methods : First, regarding NIPS, a prospective cohort study including 2505 pregnant women from eight academic genetics laboratories (695 high risk pregnancies for trisomy 21 (risk ≥1/250 or with ultrasound anomalies) in a validation study, and 1810 such pregnancies, without ultrasound anomalies, in a real-life NIPS clinical setting) was conducted. An outcome was available for all cases in the validation cohort and for 521 in the clinical cohort. Cell-free DNA from plasma samples was sequenced using the Ion Proton sequencer, and sequencing data were analyzed using the open-access software, WISECONDOR. Performance metrics for detection 10 of trisomies 21, 18 and 13 were calculated based on either fetal karyotype result or clinical data collected at birth. We also evaluated the failure rate and compared three methods of fetal fraction quantification (RASSF1A assay, and DEFRAG and SANEFALCON software). Then, regarding the CMA study, we retrospectively included all fetuses with IUGR referred for prenatal testing and studied by rapid fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), karyotype, and CMA. Results :In the NIPS study, results from both cohorts were consistent and their gestational age was not significantly different, so their data were combined to increase the sample size for analysis. Sensitivities and specificities, respectively, were as follows: for trisomy 21, 98.3% (95% CI, 93.5–99.7%) and 99.9% (95% CI, 99.4–100%); for trisomy 18, 96.7% (95% CI, 80.9–99.8%) and 100% (95% CI, 99.6–100%); and for trisomy 13, 94.1% (95% CI, 69.2–99.7%) and 100% (95% CI, 99.6–100%). Our failure rate was 1.2% initially and as low as 0.6% after retesting some of the failed samples. Fetal fraction estimation by the RASSF1A assay was consistent with DEFRAG results, and both were adequate for routine diagnosis. Among the 162 IUGR fetuses (78 associated and 84 isolated IUGR) included in the CMA study, 15 had an abnormal FISH result: 10 associated and five isolated fetal IUGRs. Among the 143 fetuses studied by CMA, 10 (7%) presented pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs). All 10 were in the associated fetal IUGR group (10/65 or 15.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.4%‐26.2%) versus 0/78 in the isolated fetal IUGR group (95% CI: 0%‐5.6%). Six fetuses (4.2%) carried variants of unknown significance (VOUS) (three associated and three isolated fetal IUGRs). Conclusion: We described one of the largest studies evaluating Ion Proton-based NIPS and the first clinical study reporting pregnancy outcome in a large series of patients. This platform is highly efficient in detecting the three most common trisomies. Our protocol is robust and can be implemented easily in any medical genetics’ laboratory. Our second study highlighted the added value of CMA in the case of associated fetal IUGR with an incremental yield of 6.1% (4/65) over karyotyping. No pathogenic CNVs were reported in the isolated fetal IUGR group. Could NIPS supplant CMA in isolated fetal IUGR? The development of the NIPS test has reduced prenatal invasive testing and therefore its complications [...].

The natural environments of organisms present a multitude of biotic and abiotic challenges that require both short-term ecological and long-term evolutionary responses. Though most environmental response studies have focused on effects at the ecosystem, community and organismal levels, the ultimate controls of these responses are located in the genome of the organism. Soil nematodes are highly responsive to, and display a wide variety of responses to changing environmental conditions, making them ideal models for the study of organismal interactions with their environment. In an attempt to examine responses to environmental stress (desiccation and freezing), genomic level analyses of gene expression during anhydrobiosis of the Antarctic nematode Plectus murrayi was undertaken. An EST library representative of the desiccation induced transcripts was established and the transcripts differentially expressed during desiccation stress were identified. The expressed genome of P. murrayi showed that desiccation survival in nematodes involves differential expression of a suite of genes from diverse functional areas, and constitutive expression of a number of stress related genes. My study also revealed that exposure to slow desiccation and freezing plays an important role in the transcription of stress related genes, improves desiccation and freezing survival of nematodes. Deterioration of traits essential for biological control has been recognized in diverse biological control agents including insect pathogenic nematodes. I studied the genetic mechanisms behind such deterioration using expression profiling. My results showed that trait deterioration of insect pathogenic nematode induces substantial overall changes in the nematode transcriptome and exhibits a general pattern of metabolic shift causing massive changes in metabolic and other processes. Finally, through field observations and molecular laboratory experiments the validity of the growth rate hypothesis in natural populations of Antarctic nematodes was tested. My results indicated that elemental stoichiometry influences evolutionary adaptations in gene expression and genome evolution. My study, in addition to providing immediate insight into the mechanisms by which multicellular animals respond to their environment, is transformative in its potential to inform other fundamental ecological and evolutionary questions, such as the evolution of life-history patterns and the relationship between community structure and ecological function in ecosystems.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play essential roles in the control of skin development, postnatal tissue remodelling and tumorigenesis. To explore whether some of the effects of BMP signalling are mediated by microRNAs, we performed genome-wide microRNA (miRNA) screening in primary mouse keratinocytes after BMP4 treatment. Microarray analysis revealed substantial BMP4-dependent changes in the expression of distinct miRNAs, including miR-21. Real-time PCR confirmed that BMP4 dramatically inhibits miR-21 expression in the keratinocytes. Consistently, significantly increased levels of miR-21 were observed in transgenic mice overexpressing the BMP antagonist noggin under control of the K14 promoter (K14-noggin). By in situ hybridization, miR-21 expression was observed in the epidermis and hair follicle epithelium in normal mouse skin. In K14-noggin skin, miR-21 was prominently expressed in the epidermis, as well as in the peripheral portion of trichofolliculoma-like hair follicle-derived tumours that contain proliferating and poorly differentiated cells. By transfecting keratinocytes with a miR-21 mimic, we identified the existence of two groups of the BMP target genes, which are differentially regulated by miR-21. These included selected BMP-dependent tumour-suppressor genes (Pten, Pdcd4, Timp3 and Tpm1) negatively regulated by miR-21, as well as miR-21-independent Id1, Id2, Id3 and Msx2 that predominantly mediate the effects of BMPs on cell differentiation. In primary keratinocytes and HaCaT cells, miR-21 prevented the inhibitory effects of BMP4 on cell proliferation and migration. Thus, our study establishes a novel mechanism for the regulation of BMP-induced effects in the skin and suggests miRNAs are important modulators of the effects of growth factor signalling pathways on skin development and tumorigenesis.

Le caryotype moléculaire permet d’identifier un CNV chez 10-14% des individus atteints de déficience intellectuelle et/ou de malformations congénitales. C’est pourquoi il s’agit maintenant de l’analyse de première intention chez ces patients. Toutefois, le rendement diagnostique n’est pas aussi bien défini en contexte prénatal et l’identification de CNVs de signification clinique incertaine y est particulièrement problématique à cause du risque d’interruption de grossesse. Nous avons donc testé 49 fœtus avec malformations majeures et un caryotype conventionnel normal avec une micropuce CGH pangénomique, et obtenu un diagnostic dans 8,2% des cas. Par ailleurs, des micropuces à très haute résolution combinant le caryotype moléculaire et le génotypage de SNPs ont récemment été introduites sur le marché. En plus d’identifier les CNVs, ces plateformes détectent les LOHs, qui peuvent indiquer la présence d’une mutation homozygote ou de disomie uniparentale. Ces anomalies pouvant être associées à la déficience intellectuelle ou à des malformations, leur détection est particulièrement intéressante pour les patients dont le phénotype reste inexpliqué. Cependant, le rendement diagnostique de ces plateformes n’est pas confirmé, et l’utilité clinique réelle des LOHs n’est toujours pas établie. Nous avons donc testé 21 enfants atteints de déficience intellectuelle pour qui les méthodes standards d’analyse génétique n’avaient pas résulté en un diagnostic, et avons pu faire passer le rendement diagnostique de 14,3% à 28,6% grâce à l’information fournie par les LOHs. Cette étude démontre l’utilité clinique d’une micropuce CGH pangénomique chez des fœtus avec malformations, de même que celle d’une micropuce SNP chez des enfants avec déficience intellectuelle. / Molecular karyotyping identifies a CNV in 10-14% of individuals affected with intellectual disability and/or congenital abnormalities. Therefore, it is now the first-tier analysis for these patients. However, the diagnostic yield is not as clear in the prenatal context, and the risk of pregnancy termination makes the detection of variants of uncertain clinical significance particularly problematic. We tested 49 fetuses with major malformations and a normal karyotype, using a pangenomic CGH array, and obtained a diagnosis in 8.2% of cases. Furthermore, high-resolution microarrays combining molecular karyotyping and SNP genotyping were recently introduced on the market. In addition to identifying CNVs, these platforms detect LOHs, which can indicate the presence of a homozygous mutation or of uniparental disomy. Since these abnormalities can be associated with intellectual disability or congenital abnormalities, their detection is of particular interest for patients whose phenotype remains unexplained. However, the diagnostic yield obtained with these platforms is not confirmed, and the real clinical value of LOH detection is not yet established. We tested 21 children affected with intellectual disability for whom standard genetic analyses failed to provide a diagnosis, and were able to increase the diagnostic yield from 14.3% to 28.6% as a result of the information provided by LOHs. This study shows the clinical usefulness of pangenomic CGH arrays in fetuses with malformation(s), as well as that of SNP arrays in children with intellectual disability.

Mechanisms underlying congenital malformations are largely unknown despite its high incidence, affecting 2-3% of liveborn infants. A broader knowledge about the causes of birth defects would provide valuable information regarding the outcome and prognosis of the anomaly, the development and establishment of diagnostic protocols, the design of therapeutic strategies and genetic counseling to the family. Different approaches have been used in the present thesis regarding technologies and model diseases to elucidate the contribution of genetic and epigenetic alterations in the etiopathogenesis of congenital malformations. Copy number variations, methylation patterns, as well as point mutations have been explored. Moreover, a study to analyze genetic counseling in relation to one of the new molecular techniques used has been performed. Obtained data reveal a relevant role of genetic and epigenetic alterations in congenital malformations, in some cases as a unique cause to explain the disease and in others as part of an oligogenic or multifactorial model. / Els mecanismes causants de les malformacions congènites són poc coneguts malgrat l’elevada incidència d’aquestes patologies, que afecten el 2-3% de recent nascuts. Un coneixement més ampli de les causes de les anomalies congènites proporcionaria informació rellevant pel que fa al pronòstic de l’anomalia, el desenvolupament i establiment de protocols diagnòstics, el disseny d’estratègies terapèutiques, així com l’assessorament genètic a la família. En la tesi que es presenta s’han utilitzat diferents estratègies, pel que fa a tecnologies i models de malalties, amb l’objectiu d’esbrinar la contribució d’alteracions genètiques i epigenètiques en l’etiopatogènia de les malformacions congènites. S’han analitzat variacions en número de còpia, patrons de metilació, així com mutacions puntuals. D’altra banda, també s’ha realitzat un estudi per aprofundir en l’assessorament genètic en relació a una de les noves tècniques moleculars utilitzades. Els resultats obtinguts indiquen que les altercacions genètiques i epigenètiques tenen una contribució molt rellevant en l’etiologia de les malformacions congènites, en alguns casos com a causa única de la malaltia i en altres com a component d’un model oligogènic o multifactorial.