Philippe Lecomte

A review of dietary and non-dietary exposure to bisphenol-A.

Due to the large number of applications of bisphenol-A (BPA), the human exposure routes are multiple. We aimed to review shortly the food and non-food sources of BPA, and to evaluate their contribution to the human exposure. Food sources discussed here include epoxy resins, polycarbonate and other applications, such as paperboard and polyvinylchloride materials. Among the non-food sources, exposures through dust, thermal paper, dental materials, and medical devices were summarized. Based on the available data for these exposure sources, it was concluded that the exposure to BPA from non-food sources is generally lower than that from exposure from food by at least one order of magnitude for most studied subgroups. The use of urinary concentrations from biomonitoring studies was evaluated and the back-calculation of BPA intake seems reliable for the overall exposure assessment. In general, the total exposure to BPA is several orders of magnitude lower than the current tolerable daily intake of 50 μg/kg bw/day. Finally, the paper concludes with some critical remarks and recommendations on future human exposure studies to BPA.

Arabidopsis Formin AtFH6 Is a Plasma Membrane-Associated Protein Upregulated in Giant Cells Induced by Parasitic Nematodes

Plant-parasitic nematodes Meloidogyne spp induce an elaborate permanent feeding site characterized by the redifferentiation of root cells into multinucleate and hypertrophied giant cells. We have isolated by a promoter trap strategy an Arabidopsis thaliana formin gene, AtFH6, which is upregulated during giant cell formation. Formins are actin-nucleating proteins that stimulate de novo polymerization of actin filaments. We show here that three type-I formins were upregulated in giant cells and that the AtFH6 protein was anchored to the plasma membrane and uniformly distributed. Suppression of the budding defect of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae bni1Δ bnr1Δ mutant showed that AtFH6 regulates polarized growth by controlling the assembly of actin cables. Our results suggest that AtFH6 might be involved in the isotropic growth of hypertrophied feeding cells via the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. The actin cables would serve as tracks for vesicle trafficking needed for extensive plasma membrane and cell wall biogenesis. Therefore, determining how plant parasitic nematodes modify root cells into giant cells represents an attractive system to identify genes that regulate cell growth and morphogenesis.

MAP65-3 Microtubule-Associated Protein Is Essential for Nematode-Induced Giant Cell Ontogenesis in Arabidopsis

The infection of plants by obligate parasitic nematodes constitutes an interesting model for investigating plant cytoskeleton functions. Root knot nematodes have evolved the ability to manipulate host functions to their own advantage by redifferentiating root cells into multinucleate and hypertrophied feeding cells. These giant cells result from repeated rounds of karyokinesis without cell division. Detailed functional analyses demonstrated that Arabidopsis thaliana Microtubule-Associated Protein65-3 (MAP65-3) was essential for giant cell ontogenesis and that cytokinesis was initiated but not completed in giant cells. In developing giant cells, MAP65-3 was associated with a novel kind of cell plate—the giant cell mini cell plate—that separates daughter nuclei. In the absence of functional MAP65-3, giant cells developed but failed to fully differentiate and were eventually destroyed. These defects in giant cells impaired the maturation of nematode larvae. Thus, MAP65-3 is essential for giant cell development during root knot nematode infection. Subcellular localization of MAP65-3 and analysis of microtubule organization in the dyc283 T-DNA map65-3 mutant demonstrated that MAP65-3 played a critical role in organizing the mitotic microtubule array during both early and late mitosis in all plant organs. Here, we propose a model for the role of MAP65-3 in giant cell ontogenesis.

The Endosymbiosis-Induced Genes ENOD40 and CCS52a Are Involved in Endoparasitic-Nematode Interactions in Medicago truncatula

Plants associate with a wide range of mutualistic and parasitic biotrophic organisms. Here, we investigated whether beneficial plant symbionts and biotrophic pathogens induce distinct or overlapping regulatory pathways in Medicago truncatula. The symbiosis between Sinorhizobium meliloti and this plant results in the formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules requiring the activation of specific genes in the host plant. We studied expression patterns of nodule-expressed genes after infection with the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Two regulators induced during nodule organogenesis, the early nodulin gene ENOD40 involved in primordium formation and the cell cycle gene CCS52a required for cell differentiation and endoreduplication, are expressed in galls of the host plant. Expression analysis of promoter-uidA fusions indicates an accumulation of CCS52a transcripts in giant cells undergoing endoreduplication, while ENOD40 expression is localized in surrounding cell layers. Transgenic plants overexpressing ENOD40 show a significantly higher number of galls. In addition, out of the 192 nodule-expressed genes tested, 38 genes were upregulated in nodules at least threefold compared with control roots, but only two genes, nodulin 26 and cyclin D3, were found to be induced in galls. Taken together, these results suggest that certain events, such as endoreduplication, cell-to-cell communication with vascular tissues, or water transport, might be common between giant cell formation and nodule development.

Recent Developments in Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactones

Polylactones are important biodegradable and biocompatible environmentally friendly polyesters widely used for many applications and more particularly for biomedical applications. This review covers recent advances dealing with their synthesis by ring-opening polymerization (ROP). First, lactones polymerized by ROP will be reviewed with special attention paid to the effect of the ring size on polymerizability. Aliphatic polyesters synthesized by the ROP of lactones can also be obtained by polycondensation. The advantages of ROP compared with polycondensation will be highlighted. The second section is devoted to the different mechanisms used to carry out ROP, such as anionic, coordination, cationic, enzymatic, and organocatalytic polymerization. Special attention will be paid to the control imparted to the polymerization by the use of catalysts and initiators. The polymerization of lactones substituted by functional groups will be shown to afford functionalized aliphatic polyesters. The final section will focus on the synthesis of different architectures such as star-shaped, graft, hyperbranched, and macrocyclic polylactones in the frame of macromolecular engineering.

Plant genes involved in harbouring symbiotic rhizobia or pathogenic nematodes

The establishment and development of plant-microorganism interactions involve impressive transcriptomic reprogramming of target plant genes. The symbiont (Sinorhizobium meliloti) and the root knot-nematode pathogen (Meloidogyne incognita) induce the formation of new root organs, the nodule and the gall, respectively. Using laser-assisted microdissection, we specifically monitored, at the cell level, Medicago gene expression in nodule zone II cells, which are preparing to receive rhizobia, and in gall giant and surrounding cells, which play an essential role in nematode feeding and constitute the typical root swollen structure, respectively. We revealed an important reprogramming of hormone pathways and C1 metabolism in both interactions, which may play key roles in nodule and gall neoformation, rhizobia endocytosis and nematode feeding. Common functions targeted by rhizobia and nematodes were mainly down-regulated, whereas the specificity of the interaction appeared to involve up-regulated genes. Our transcriptomic results provide powerful datasets to unravel the mechanisms involved in the accommodation of rhizobia and root-knot nematodes. Moreover, they raise the question of host specificity and the evolution of plant infection mechanisms by a symbiont and a pathogen.

First example of an unsymmetrical difunctional monomer polymerizable by two living/controlled methods

In this paper the synthesis and (co)polymerizations of 4-(acryloyloxy)-e-caprolactone are reported. This new monomer can be polymerized in a living/ controlled way by two different polymerization mechanisms; atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring-opening polymerization (ROP). ATRP, which was carried out at 90°C using NiBr 2 (PPh 3 ) 2 , leads to new polyacrylates containing pendant caprolactone functionalities with controlled molecular weights and narrow polydispersities (M w /M n ∼1.1). Alternatively, ROP of this functional e-caprolactone bearing a pendant acrylate functionality leads to new poly(4-(acryloyloxy) caprolactone) as well as random copolymers when e-caprolactone and L,L-lactide are added as comonomers. The (co)polymerizations were carried out using either Al(O i Pr) 3 in toluene at 25°C or Sn(Oct) 2 as a catalyst at 110°C producing (co)polymers with controlled molecular weights and narrow polydispersities (M w /M n ∼ 1.2). As a potential application, the introduction of acrylate pendant groups into the polyesters facilitated the preparation of cross-linked biodegradable materials either thermally or by irradiation with ultraviolet light radical curing.

Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Protein Dynamics Reveal Conserved and Unsuspected Roles in Plant Cell Division

Background In eukaryotes, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) ensures that chromosomes undergoing mitosis do not segregate until they are properly attached to the microtubules of the spindle. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the mechanism underlying this surveillance mechanism in plants, by characterising the orthogolous SAC proteins BUBR1, BUB3 and MAD2 from Arabidopsis. We showed that the cell cycle-regulated BUBR1, BUB3.1 and MAD2 proteins interacted physically with each other. Furthermore, BUBR1 and MAD2 interacted specifically at chromocenters. Following SAC activation by global defects in spindle assembly, these three interacting partners localised to unattached kinetochores. In addition, in cases of ‘wait anaphase’, plant SAC proteins were associated with both kinetochores and kinetochore microtubules. Unexpectedly, BUB3.1 was also found in the phragmoplast midline during the final step of cell division in plants. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that plant BUBR1, BUB3.1 and MAD2 proteins may have the SAC protein functions conserved from yeast to humans. The association of BUB3.1 with both unattached kinetochore and phragmoplast suggests that in plant, BUB3.1 may have other roles beyond the spindle assembly checkpoint itself. Finally, this study of the SAC dynamics pinpoints uncharacterised roles of this surveillance mechanism in plant cell division.

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization of new α-norbornenyl poly(ε-caprolactone) macromonomers

Poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) macromonomers capped by a polymerizable norbornene end-group have been synthesized and (co)polymerized by ring-opening metathesis with formation of graft copolymers and polymacromonomers. α-Norbornenyl PCL macromonomers have been synthesized by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of e-caprolactone (eCL) initiated by 2-diethylaluminoxymethyl-5-norbornene. Copolymerization of these PCL macromonomers with norbornene and polymerizable derivatives has been catalyzed by the [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 PCy3/(trimethylsilyl)diazomethane complex yielding a series of poly(norbornene)-graft-poly(e-caprolactone) copolymers. These new graft copolymers have been characterized by a set of analytical methods, i.e., SEC, 1H-NMR, FTIR, DSC, and TGA. Furthermore, PCL macromonomers have been polymerized into high molecular weight comb chains of narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn = 1.10) within high yields (90%).

Amphiphilic copolymers of epsilon-caprolactone and gamma-substituted epsilon-caprolactone. Synthesis and functionalization of poly(D,L-lactide) nanoparticles

Fully biodegradable and surface-functionalized poly(D,L-lactide) (PLA) nanoparticles have been prepared by a co-precipitation technique. Novel amphiphilic random copolyesters P(CL-co-γ XCL) were synthesized by controlled copolymerization of ε-caprolactone and ε-caprolactone substituted in the γ-position by a hydrophilic X group, where X is either a cationic pyridinium (γ PyCL) or a non-ionic hydroxyl (γ OHCL). Nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation of PLA with the P(CL-co-γ XCL) copolyester from a DMSO solution. Small amounts of cationic P(CL-co-γ PyCL) copolymers are needed to quantitatively form stable nanoparticles (ca. 10 mg/100 mg PLA), although larger amounts of non-ionic P(CL-co-γ OHCL) copolymers are needed (⩾12.5 mg/100 mg PLA). Copolymers with a low degree of polymerization (ca. 40) are more efficient stabilizers, probably because of faster migration towards the nanoparticle–water interface. The nanoparticle diameter decreases with the polymer concentration in DMSO, e.g. from ca. 160 nm (16 mg/ml) to ca. 100 nm (2 mg/ml) for PLA/P(CL-co-γ PyCL) nanoparticles. Migration of the P(CL-co-γ XCL) copolyesters to the nanoparticle surface was confirmed by measurement of the zeta potential, i.e. ca. +65 mV for P(CL-co-γ PyCL) and –7 mV for P(CL-co-γ OHCL). The polyamphiphilic copolyesters stabilize PLA nanoparticles by electrostatic or steric repulsions, depending on whether they are charged or not. They also impart functionality and reactivity to the surface, which opens up new opportunities for labelling and targeting purposes.