Comparing touch senses of naïve and expert panels through treated hair swatches: which associated wordings correlate with hair physical properties?

OBJECTIVES: This study (i) compared the sense of touch between a naïve and expert panels, under visual or blind conditions, using differently treated hair swatches and (ii) explored possible common wordings used by both panels and their possible links with some physical properties of hairs. METHODS: Two sets of 15 hair swatches of Caucasian and Chinese origins were differently treated (bleached, permed, brushed, etc.) or organized (root-tip vs. tip-root). These were evaluated by tactile assessments by two panels (105 naïve consumers and 10 hair experts) under visual or blind conditions, in two geographical locations. A series of 17 defined antonym adjectives, as descriptors, allowed responses of each panel to being scored and their preference mappings to being defined on a like-dislike scale. Hair swatches were measured and assessed by various instrumental techniques (bending, diameter, cuticle cohesion, alignments of hair). RESULTS: Apart from a few overlaps, all 15 hair swatches were well differentiated by both panels which showed a global agreement, making experts reliable assessors. Only three descriptors among 17 correlated with some objective measurements. Tactile-visual assessments differ from those performed tactile blind in both panels. Agreements between both panels appear, however, closer under tactile-blind conditions. CONCLUSION: Trained hair experts were confirmed as reliable representatives of a larger and naïve cohort, viewed as consumers. Hair swatches were well differentiated by both panels, with comparable descriptor rankings.

Dual role of the ddx5/ddx17 RNA helicases in the control of the pro-migratory NFAT5 transcription factor.

Ddx5 and ddx17 are two highly related RNA helicases involved in both transcription and splicing. These proteins coactivate transcription factors involved in cancer such as the estrogen receptor alpha, p53 and beta-catenin. Ddx5 and ddx17 are part of the splicing machinery and can modulate alternative splicing, the main mechanism increasing the proteome diversity. Alternative splicing also has a role in gene expression level regulation when it is coupled to the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway. In this work, we report that ddx5 and ddx17 have a dual role in the control of the pro-migratory NFAT5 transcription factor. First, ddx5 and ddx17 act as transcriptional coactivators of NFAT5 and are required for activating NFAT5 target genes involved in tumor cell migration. Second, at the splicing level, ddx5 and ddx17 increase the inclusion of NFAT5 exon 5. As exon 5 contains a pre-mature translation termination codon, its inclusion leads to the regulation of NFAT5 mRNAs by the NMD pathway and to a decrease in NFAT5 protein level. Therefore, we demonstrated for the first time that a transcriptional coregulator can simultaneously regulate the transcriptional activity and alternative splicing of a transcription factor. This dual regulation, where ddx5 and ddx17 enhance the transcriptional activity of NFAT5 although reducing its protein expression level, suggests a critical role for ddx5 and ddx17 in tumor cell migration through the fine regulation of NFAT5 pathway.

NFAT3 transcription factor inhibits breast cancer cell motility by targeting the Lipocalin 2 gene.

NFAT1 and NFAT5 act as pro-invasive and pro-migratory transcription factors in breast carcinoma, contributing to the formation of metastases. We report that NFAT3 is specifically expressed in estrogen receptor alpha positive (ERA+) breast cancer cells. We show that NFAT3 inhibits by itself the invasion capacity of ERA+ breast cancer cells and needs to cooperate with ERA to inhibit their migration. Conversely, NFAT3 downregulation results in actin reorganization associated with increased migration and invasion capabilities. NFAT3 signaling reduces migration through inhibition of Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) gene expression. Collectively, our study unravels an earlier unknown NFAT3/LCN2 axis that critically controls motility in breast cancer.

Calcineurin inhibition eliminates the normal inverted U curve, enhances acquisition and prolongs memory in a mammalian 3'-5'-cyclic AMP-dependent learning paradigm.

The role protein phosphatase 2B (calcineurin, CaN) plays in learning and memory has received a significant amount of attention due to its promotion of the dephosphorylation of 3'-5'-cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB). Researchers have ascertained that overexpression of CaN is associated with memory retention deficits [Foster TC, Sharrow KM, Masse JR, Norris CM, Kumar A (2001) Calcineurin links Ca(2+) dysregulation with brain aging. J Neurosci 21:4066-4073; Mansuy IM, Mayford M, Jacob B, Kandel ER, Bach ME (1998) Restricted and regulated overexpression reveals calcineurin as a key component in the transition from short-term to long-term memory. Cell 92:39-49], while CaN inhibition enhances learning and memory [Gerdjikov TV, Beninger RJ (2005) Differential effects of calcineurin inhibition and protein kinase A activation on nucleus accumbens amphetamine-produced conditioned place preference in rats. Eur J Neurosci 22:697-705; Ikegami S, Inokuchi K (2000) Antisense DNA against calcineurin facilitates memory in contextual fear conditioning by lowering the threshold for hippocampal long-term potentiation induction. Neuroscience 98:637-646]. The present study hypothesized that infusion of a CaN inhibitor (FK506) bilaterally into the olfactory bulbs of postnatal day 6 Sprague Dawley rat pups would prolong the duration of a conditioned odor preference and retard cyclic AMP response element binding protein dephosphorylation. A 2 mg/kg s.c. injection of isoproterenol (ISO, beta-adrenoceptor agonist) was paired with a 10 min exposure to peppermint and subsequently an infusion of FK506. Immunohistochemistry for phosphorylated 3'-5'-cyclic AMP response element binding protein (pCREB) revealed that unilateral infusion of FK506 resulted in an amplification of phosphorylated CREB in the olfactory bulb 40 min after training compared with saline-infused bulbs. Pups infused bilaterally with FK506 maintained a learned preference for peppermint 48, 72 and 96 h after training. CaN inhibition also modified the conventional inverted U curve obtained when ISO is used to replace stroking, as the unconditioned stimulus. When pups were infused with FK506, learning occurred with sub- and supra-optimal doses of ISO indicating that CaN overcomes non-optimal effects ISO may have on learning. We demonstrate that CaN inhibition can extend the duration of conditioned olfactory memory and may provide a target for memory prolongation that is superior to even phosphodiesterase inhibition observed in previous studies.

[Evaluation of the CIS Allergen Screen I kit versus the Pharmacia Cap System and skin tests in the diagnosis of respiratory allergy]. / Evaluation de la trousse CIS Allergen Screen I vis-à-vis de Pharmacia Cap System et des tests cutanés dans le diagnostic de l'allergie respiratoire.

This study has given evaluation of a new pneumallergen diagnostic test CIS Allergen Screen I in comparison with Pharmacia Cap System and intradermal skin test. Five allergens (Mite (DPT) D1, Mite (DF) D2, Cat E1, Dog E2, Orchard grass G3) have been studied with in vitro tests (CIS Allergen Screen I Cap System) and the results obtained gave on patient to patient comparison a sensitivity of 91%, a specificity of 100% and on allergen comparison a sensitivity of 84%, a specificity of 99% and an accuracy of 93%. Compared with intradermal skin test for two allergens (Mite (DT) D1 and Orchard grass G3), CIS Allergen Screen I have good results to G3 but less specificity and sensitivity to D1. These results could be to depend on different standardisation between allergen extracts especially for Mite.