Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023036
Patricia Rannaud-Bartaire, Jean-Baptiste Fini
{"title":"[Disruptors of thyroid hormones: Which consequences for human health and environment?]","authors":"Patricia Rannaud-Bartaire, Jean-Baptiste Fini","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023036","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Endocrine disruptors (EDs) of chemical origin are the subject of numerous studies, some of which have led to measures aimed at limiting their use and their impact on the environment and human health. Dozens of hormones have been described and are common to all vertebrates (some chemically related messengers have also been identified in invertebrates), with variable roles that are not always known. The effects of endocrine disruptors therefore potentially concern all animal species via all endocrine axes. These effects are added to the other parameters of the exposome, leading to strong, multiple and complex adaptive pressures. The effects of EDs on reproductive and thyroid pathways have been among the most extensively studied over the last 30 years, in a large number of species. The study of the effects of EDs on thyroid pathways and brain development goes hand in hand with increasing knowledge of 1) the different roles of thyroid hormones at cellular or tissue level (particularly developing brain tissue) in many species, 2) other hormonal pathways and 3) epigenetic interactions. If we want to understand how EDs affect living organisms, we need to integrate results from complementary scientific fields within an integrated, multi-model approach (the so-called translational approach). In the present review article, we aim at reporting recent discoveries and discuss prospects for action in the fields of medicine and research. We also want to highlight the need for an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to studying impacts and taking appropriate action.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"219-231"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023027
Michel Kreutzer
{"title":"[Which place has experimentation in ethology?]","authors":"Michel Kreutzer","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023027","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The experimental approach has been at the center of my thoughts since my baccalaureate of \"experimental sciences\". Trained in neurosciences, I very quickly chose the field of ethology, thinking I would escape certain experimental approaches and offer myself research more respectful of animal life. Today, I have to note that this option did not necessarily lead to what I had imagined. I have been both the witness and the actor of practices that deserve attention. This path, punctuated by an evolution of the conceptions of our relations with living beings, leads me to question the ethics, sometimes contradictory, of action and knowledge.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"213-217"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023025
Roberto Pereira Santos, Antonio Egídio Nardi, Marleide da Mota Gomes
{"title":"[How studies on curare contributed to the development of neurophysiological research in Brazil].","authors":"Roberto Pereira Santos, Antonio Egídio Nardi, Marleide da Mota Gomes","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023025","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Curare is a poison obtained from different species of plants in South America, which was used in arrows by the natives. Its lethal paralyzing potential and mechanism of action began to be explored in the 19th century. In this article, we highlight the research on this poison and the fruitful exchanges between the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II and the researchers João Baptista de Lacerda, Louis Couty and Alfred Vulpian who contributed to the development of experimental neurophysiology in Brazil. Vulpian found that curare does not affect the nerve itself, but acts between the nerves and the muscle, through a \"ligand substance\" - this Vulpian's pioneering concept is often wrongly attributed to Claude Bernard. These prestigious scientists contributed to the transnational circulation of knowledge that later yielded in the preparation of curare purified extract used for convulsive therapy and anesthesia.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"245-252"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023034
Aloïse Quesne
{"title":"[Legal aspects of alternative methods to animal testing].","authors":"Aloïse Quesne","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023034","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023034","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While the total replacement of animal experimentation was the goal set by the European Directive of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, it has to be said that it is still far from being achieved. The number of animals is not decreasing and alternative methods are struggling to be used. Under pressure from the citizens, the European Commission has just made new commitments to define the stages and specific actions to be put in place to reduce animal testing, a prerequisite for the transition to an animal-free regulatory system. Given the shortcomings and lack of coherence in European policy, mobilising the public is an essential lever for speeding up the implementation of alternative methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"207-211"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-07-06DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023011
Catherine Corbel, Josselyne Salaün
{"title":"Potentialité hématopoïétique de l’allantoïde avant la vascularisation chez la souris.","authors":"Catherine Corbel, Josselyne Salaün","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023011","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 1-2","pages":"11-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9805505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023023
Philippe Fossati
{"title":"[Ketamine in antidepressant treatment: a revolution?]","authors":"Philippe Fossati","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023023","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thirty percent of depressed patients are treatment resistant (TRD) suggesting the need of new therapeutic strategy. Recently, it has been shown that ketamine, an anesthetic agent with dissociative effects, has potent and rapid antidepressant properties. Ketamine is a ionotropic glutamatergic NMDA antagonist that inhibits gabaergic neurons. Its antidepressant effect peaks at 24 h post-treatment. Several meta-analyses of placebo randomized clinical trials emphasized its efficacy. More recently, a meta-analysis showed its efficiency in real-world population of TRD patients. Although there is no clear biological or clinical predictors of response or remission to ketamine, patients with high level of resistance were found to remit less often. Restoring both the optimism bias and the asymmetry in belief updating mediates the antidepressant ketamine's effect. Consistent with predictive bayesian model and terror management theory, this suggests that dissociation induced by ketamine may contribute to its clinical antidepressant action. Although increasing access to ketamine and esketamine is welcome, legitimate concerns have been raised with respect to long-term safety and abuse risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"151-154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023032
Fatima Smagulova
{"title":"[Multigenerational epigenetic inheritance in human: the past, present and perspectives].","authors":"Fatima Smagulova","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023032","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nowadays, a growing body of evidence suggests that the developmental programs of each individual could be modified. The acquired new phenotypic changes could be persistent throughout the individual's life and even transmitted to the next generation. While the exact mechanism for that preservation is not well understood yet, there are many evidences showing that epigenetic alterations, which are robust and dynamic in response to the influence of the environmental factors, could be responsible for that inheritance. A growing number of external factors such as social stress, environmental pollution and climate changes make adaptation to these environmental changes rather challenging. According to the Developmental Origin of Human Disease theory, formulated by David Barker, environmental conditions experienced during the first phases of development can have long term effects on later phases of life. This phenomenon is linked to the biological plasticity of development, which allows reprogramming of physiological functions in response to different stimuli. Consequently, in utero exposure to environmental pollutants can increase predisposition to different pathologies that can occur both in early and later phases of life not only in the living generation but also in subsequent ones. Here, we have summarised some findings in human epigenetic research studies performed for the past few years which address the question whether transgenerational effects observed in model organisms could also occur in humans.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"233-243"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biologie Aujourd''huiPub Date : 2023-01-01Epub Date: 2023-11-29DOI: 10.1051/jbio/2023033
Louis Schweitzer, Nikita Bachelard
{"title":"[Alternative methods to animal testing: the need for funding and dissemination].","authors":"Louis Schweitzer, Nikita Bachelard","doi":"10.1051/jbio/2023033","DOIUrl":"10.1051/jbio/2023033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of animals for scientific purposes brings a moral conflict between the necessity for human health and animal rights. Indeed, science has shown that most animals used in research are sentient beings, capable of suffering. Based on the principle of the 3Rs, the European legislation encourages the development of alternative methods to animal testing. French and European public opinions support the development of alternatives and broadly reject the use of animals for scientific purposes when alternatives exist. However, alternative methods to animal testing are still lacking. In order to drastically reduce the use of animals to this end, significant fundings are necessary. As far as this matter is concerned, France comes at the bottom of the class, but the creation of its 3Rs centre gathering all major scientific institutes and launching calls for fundings is a step into the right direction. The European Union funds projects of alternative methods, so do other private stakeholders, such as companies and NGOs. Another matter is the dissemination of alternative methods to scientists so they are aware of these methods. Some French research teams develop innovative methods and try to disseminate them. French and European platforms bring together creators, users and regulators to that end. Funding and disseminating alternative methods to animal testing should be a priority.</p>","PeriodicalId":39068,"journal":{"name":"Biologie Aujourd''hui","volume":"217 3-4","pages":"183-191"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138452742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}