Many pathologies affecting muscles (muscular dystrophies, sarcopenia, cachexia, renal insufficiency, obesity, diabetes type 2, etc.) are now clearly linked to mechanisms involving oxidative stress. ...In this context, there is a growing interest in exploring plants to find new natural antioxidants to prevent the appearance and the development of these muscle disorders. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant properties of
leaves in a model of primary human muscle cells exposed to H
O
oxidative stress. We identified using bioassay-guided purification, onopordopicrin, a sesquiterpene lactone as the main molecule responsible for the antioxidant activity of
leaf extract. According to our findings, onopordopicrin inhibited the H
O
-mediated loss of muscle cell viability, by limiting the production of free radicals and abolishing DNA cellular damages. Moreover, we showed that onopordopicrin promoted the expression of the nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) downstream target protein heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in muscle cells. By using siRNA, we demonstrated that the inhibition of the expression of Nrf2 reduced the protective effect of onopordopicrin, indicating that the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway mediates the antioxidant effect of onopordopicrin in primary human muscle cells. Therefore, our results suggest that onopordopicrin may be a potential therapeutic molecule to fight against oxidative stress in pathological specific muscle disorders.
In the social imagination, there is no wait for a so-called “medical emergency,” because it seems obvious to everyone that “saving lives” is not up for discussion. In the context of such social ...consensus, it is unthinkable to question access to emergency healthcare through the prism of discrimination and social inequality. Yet these social representations of emergency do not withstand ethnographic inquiry. Several years spent behind the scenes in this world revealed that there do in fact exist social selection practices in the realm of emergency care in France. More specifically, this study shows that medical interests and the interests of both public and private institutions have led to the production of socially differentiated pathways of access to emergency care. The first pathway is through private, for-profit clinics, the second is through public hospitals, a third occurs by “bypassing” the emergency department, and a final one groups the non-governmental social and health assistance structures. In this article, we discuss the specific mechanisms they have for selecting patients, and show how the organization of emergency care in France contributes to reproducing or even aggravating inequalities in health and access to healthcare.
•France has four socially graduated channels of access to (emergency) healthcare.•The private and public emergency departments avoid certain patient profiles.•A socio-medical assistance pathway exists for the patients deemed “undesirable”.•There is an “invisible” pathway which bypasses the emergency department.•The emergency healthcare system reproduces or even aggravates social inequalities.
A good quality of life requires maintaining adequate skeletal muscle mass and strength, but therapeutic agents are lacking for this. We developed a bioassay-guided fractionation approach to identify ...molecules with hypertrophy-promoting effect in human skeletal muscle cells. We found that extracts from rosemary leaves induce muscle cell hypertrophy. By bioassay-guided purification we identified the phenolic diterpene carnosol as the compound responsible for the hypertrophy-promoting activity of rosemary leaf extracts. We then evaluated the impact of carnosol on the different signaling pathways involved in the control of muscle cell size. We found that activation of the NRF2 signaling pathway by carnosol is not sufficient to mediate its hypertrophy-promoting effect. Moreover, carnosol inhibits the expression of the ubiquitin ligase E3 Muscle RING Finger protein-1 that plays an important role in muscle remodeling, but has no effect on the protein synthesis pathway controlled by the protein kinase B/mechanistic target of rapamycin pathway. By measuring the chymotrypsin-like activity of the proteasome, we found that proteasome activity was significantly decreased by carnosol and Muscle RING Finger 1 inactivation. These results strongly suggest that carnosol can induce skeletal muscle hypertrophy by repressing the ubiquitin-proteasome system-dependent protein degradation pathway through inhibition of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Muscle RING Finger protein-1.
Sweet potato (SP), Ipomoea batatas Lam, belongs to the Convolvulaceae family. It produces edible storage roots. Currently, orange varieties contribute to improving food systems and managing vitamin A ...deficiency. Processing of this food crop into flour allows better conservation. However, nutrition health data regarding SP flour obtained by green extraction remains scarce. In this study, we therefore explored its phytochemistry and its associated bioactivity potential for human health. We analyzed the nutritional composition of orange flesh sweet potato (OFSP) flour and assessed the antioxidant (free radical scavenging) and immunomodulatory (on inflammatory murine macrophages) properties of the extract. More specifically, we measured the impact of OFSP flour extract on mediators such as Nitric Oxide (NO) and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-alpha), Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1), and Prostaglandin-E2 (PGE-2). Our results indicated significant fiber, mineral, beta-carotene, and polyphenols content in the extracts, and antioxidant and immunomodulatory bioactivities were also demonstrated with a concentration-dependent inhibition of cytokine production. Taken together, our results suggest that Ipomoea batatas flour could, in addition to being a good source of energy and beta-carotene provitamin A, constitute a food of interest for the prophylaxis of metabolic diseases associated with an underlying low-grade inflammatory state.
The release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere has accelerated during the last two decades. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (eCO2) is known as an agent that improves plant ...photosynthesis. However, eCO2 was also correlated with alterations in the macronutrient and micronutrient compositions of various dietary crops. In order to explore the effect of eCO2 on the nutritional and health properties of tomatoes, three parental lines of the Magic population, which includes a large part of the genetic diversity present in large fruit varieties, were used as models. The plants were grown in growth chambers under ambient (400 ppm) or eCO2 (900 ppm) conditions. The macronutrient and micronutrient contents were measured. The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivities were assessed in vitro on activated macrophages. These analyses highlighted that the carbohydrate content was not affected by the eCO2, whereas the protein, carotenoid, lycopene, and mineral contents decreased. Regarding the anti-oxidant properties, no influence of eCO2 exposure was observed. Similarly, the anti-inflammatory properties were not affected by the eCO2. These data are in contrast with previous studies conducted on different plant species or accessions, indicating that the effect of eCO2 on crops’ nutrition and health properties is based on complex mechanisms in which growth conditions and genetic backgrounds play a central role.
Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are involved in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Among them, cellular accumulation of AGEs contributes to vascular complications in diabetes. Besides ...using drugs to lower blood sugar, a balanced diet and the intake of herbal products potentially limiting AGE formation could be considered beneficial for patients' health. The current paper presents a simple and cheap high-throughput screening (HTS) assay based on AGE fluorescence and suitable for plant extract screening. We have already implemented an HTS assay based on vesperlysines-like fluorescing AGEs quickly (24 h) formed from BSA and ribose under physiological conditions. However, interference was noted when fluorescent compounds and/or complex mixtures were tested. To overcome these problems and apply this HTS assay to plant extracts, we developed a technique for systematic quantification of both vesperlysines (λ(exc) 370 nm; λ(em) 440 nm) and pentosidine-like (λ(exc) 335 nm; λ(em) 385 nm) AGEs. In a batch of medicinal and food plant extracts, hits were selected as soon as fluorescence decreased under a fixed threshold for at least one wavelength. Hits revealed during this study appeared to contain well-known and powerful anti-AGE substances, thus demonstrating the suitability of this assay for screening crude extracts (0.1 mg/mL). Finally, quercetin was found to be a more powerful reference compound than aminoguanidine in such assay.
(1) Background: The anthropogenically induced rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO
) and associated climate change are considered a potential threat to human nutrition. Indeed, an elevated CO
...concentration was associated with significant alterations in macronutrient and micronutrient content in various dietary crops. (2) Method: In order to explore the impact of elevated CO
on the nutritional-health properties of tomato, we used the dwarf tomato variety Micro-Tom plant model. Micro-Toms were grown in culture chambers under 400 ppm (ambient) or 900 ppm (elevated) carbon dioxide. Macronutrients, carotenoids, and mineral contents were analyzed. Biological anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivities were assessed in vitro on activated macrophages. (3) Results: Micro-Tom exposure to 900 ppm carbon dioxide was associated with an increased carbohydrate content whereas protein, minerals, and total carotenoids content were decreased. These modifications of composition were associated with an altered bioactivity profile. Indeed, antioxidant anti-inflammatory potential were altered by 900 ppm CO
exposure. (4) Conclusions: Taken together, our results suggest that (i) the Micro-Tom is a laboratory model of interest to study elevated CO
effects on crops and (ii) exposure to 900 ppm CO
led to the decrease of nutritional potential and an increase of health beneficial properties of tomatoes for human health.
In the social imagination, there is no wait for a so-called “medical emergency,” because it seems obvious to everyone that “saving lives” is not up for discussion. In the context of such social ...consensus, it is unthinkable to question access to emergency healthcare through the prism of discrimination and social inequality. Yet these social representations of emergency do not withstand ethnographic inquiry. Several years spent behind the scenes in this world revealed that there do in fact exist social selection practices in the realm of emergency care in France. More specifically, this study shows that medical interests and the interests of both public and private institutions have led to the production of socially differentiated pathways of access to emergency care. The first pathway is through private, for-profit clinics, the second is through public hospitals, a third occurs by “bypassing” the emergency department, and a final one groups the non-governmental social and health assistance structures. In this article, we discuss the specific mechanisms they have for selecting patients, and show how the organization of emergency care in France contributes to reproducing or even aggravating inequalities in health and access to healthcare.
Dans l'imaginaire social, l'urgence dite « médicale » n'attend pas car il semble évident, pour tout un chacun, que « sauver des vies » ne se discute pas. Dans le cadre d'un tel consensus social, interroger l'accès aux soins d'urgence au prisme de la discrimination et des inégalités sociales relève de l'impensable. Or ces représentions sociales de l'urgence ne résistent pas à l'enquête ethnographique. Une plongée de plusieurs années dans les coulisses de ce monde révèle en effet qu'il existe, en matière d'urgence, en France, des pratiques de sélection sociale. Plus précisément, cette étude montre que les intérêts médicaux et ceux des établissements de soins qu'ils soient public ou privé, conduisent à produire des filières d'accès aux soins d'urgence socialement différenciées : une filière composée des cliniques privées à but lucratif ; une seconde constituée d'hôpitaux publics ; une troisième filière de « contournement » des services d'urgences ; une dernière enfin, réunissant les structures d'assistance socio-sanitaires. Dans cet article, on souhaite revenir sur les mécanismes concrets de sélection des patients et montrer comment l'organisation des soins d'urgence en France participe à reproduire voire aggraver les inégalités de santé et d'accès aux soins. 2
Urgence et tri des malades Morel, Sylvie
Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales,
1/2024, Letnik:
N° 250, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
La littérature sociologique consacrée à l’hôpital, et plus particulièrement aux services d’urgences, a depuis longtemps documenté l’existence d’un tri des patient·es, qui a pour fonction de les faire ...attendre ou non, en vue de les inclure vers la filière de soins appropriée à leur état. À partir d’une relecture de journaux de terrain au prisme d’une sociologie politique de l’attente, nous proposons ici d’appréhender les filières de soins comme autant de files d’attente pour l’accès aux soins d’urgence, mais également de penser le tri comme un dispositif de gouvernement de/par l’attente. Nous montrerons ainsi que ce dispositif produit des files d’attente différentes et socialement stratifiées ayant chacune sa politique du tri dont les contours se définissent dans sa relation avec les autres. Une statistique « armée » par l’ethnographie révèle que les disparités repérées sont le signe d’une qualité de soin variée selon les files d’attente, celle-ci étant appréciée à l’aune du temps d’attente. Sa mesure ethnographique permet de dévoiler in fine l’existence d’un accès aux soins d’urgence à plusieurs « vitesses sociales ».
In Europe, amatoxin-containing mushrooms are responsible for most of the deadly poisonings caused by macrofungi. The present work presents a multidisciplinary revision of the European species of
...sect.
based on morphology, phylogeny, epidemiology, and biochemistry of amatoxins and phallotoxins. Five distinct species of this section have been identified in Europe to date:
,
,
, the recently introduced North American species
, and
sp. nov., which is a new name proposed for the KOH-negative Mediterranean species previously described as
or
by various authors. Epitypes or neotypes are selected for species lacking suitable reference collections, namely
and
. Three additional taxa,
,
and
var.
are here considered later heterotypic synonyms of
,
and
, respectively.
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