M S-medecine Sciences最新文献

The role of the World Health Organization (WHO) is a central question in the ongoing debate on reforms of the institutional architecture of global health. The WHO's management of the Covid-19 pandemic drew strong criticism, highlighted by both its difficulty in orchestrating a coordinated global response to the emergency and its inability to ensure equity between high-income and low-income countries in access to vaccines. The debate over the role of the WHO has resurfaced in recent months, following the announcement of the United States' withdrawal from the organization last January and the anticipation of a 40 % reduction in its resources for 2026-2027, pushing the WHO into an urgent exercise of prioritization.

Muscle regeneration in response to injury is a fine regulated process which relies on the ability of resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs) to activate, proliferate and differentiate to repair the injured myofibers. Muscle stem cells fate and correct skeletal muscle regeneration upon injury is guaranteed by a finely controlled crosstalk between transcriptional, epigenetic and metabolic regulation. Here, we explore the tight connection between cellular metabolism and epigenetic regulation during muscle stem cells fate focusing our attention on lysine demethylase enzymes.

Myology is thriving in the African continent, at a slow but steady pace. North Africa already showed the path but sub-Saharan Africa is not left much behind. Several recent initiatives tend to boost this improvement within a continent being regarded, rightly, as having an enormous potential.

Antibiotics are molecules that can kill bacteria or inhibit their growth by targeting essential cellular functions. They act by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis (β-lactams, glycopeptides and fosfomycin); protein synthesis (aminoglycosides, macrolides lincosamides and streptogramins -tetracyclines, tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, fusidic acid, oxazolidinones-); or nucleic acid synthesis (quinolones/ fluoroquinolones and rifamycins) or interfering with key metabolic pathways such as folate biosynthesis (cotrimoxazole). However, the extensive and sometimes inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of resistance, progressively reducing their efficacy and highlighting the need for the development of new antibacterial agents. This review presents the origin, structure, mechanism of action, main clinical agents, and spectrum of activity of each class of antibiotic.

In the context of multidisciplinary biomedical research (biological, biophysical, clinical, computational, environmental, human, and social sciences), the framework of scientific integrity and ethics is becoming increasingly complex. This essay explores its dimensions: respect for living beings, societies, and the environment; open science based on FAIR principles and open access; integration of "ethics-by-design" in the face of digital risks and Artificial Intelligence (AI); and reformed and responsible evaluation. Responsibility for this framework lies with both institutions and researchers, who are aware of the political aspects, issues, and criticisms.

Organoids have emerged as innovative three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models capable of reproducing the essential structural and functional characteristics of human organs. They offer an alternative between traditional two dimensions (2D) cell cultures and animal models. Derived from stem cells, organoids have an intrinsic capacity for self-organisation and morphogenesis, recapitulating the processes of embryonic development. Three elements are crucial for their generation: the origin of the stem cells, the extracellular matrix, and controlled exposure to morphogens. Among the most promising applications, neuromuscular organoids (NMOs) enable the co-differentiation of motor neurons, skeletal muscle cells, and Schwann cells from neuro-mesodermal progenitors. 3D NMO models and simplified 2D versions have been developed, complemented by assembloid-type approaches or microfluidic devices, facilitating the study of inter-cellular interactions and pharmacological testing. Produced from patients' iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells), NMOs offer a relevant platform for disease modelling, study of functional phenotypes and pharmacological screening in personalized medicine. Despite these advances, limitations remain, hindering the routine use of organoids. The standardization of protocols and the automation of analyses will enable the full translational potential of organoids to be exploited in the future.

Inflammatory myopathies (IM) are autoimmune diseases characterized by chronic inflammation of skeletal muscle and muscle weakness. Despite immunomodulatory treatments, a high proportion of IM patients who reach low disease activity still suffer sustained disability. This condition, termed "damage", is frequent, and correlates with handicap and mortality. Our study aimed to investigate the association between various myokines imbalance, assessed at the time of inclusion, and the "total damages" in extension and severity, assessed using IMACS (International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies) scores, and the "global damage" as assessed by a physician. For this purpose, 40 adult IM patients with disease duration of 12 months or more, low disease activity for at least 6 months, and 30 healthy volunteers (HV) were included. Serum level of fatty acid-binding protein 3 [FABP-3] was 1.8-fold higher in IM patients as compared to HV, and positively correlated with total damage (extension and severity) and global damage scores. Among the IMACS damage domains, the strongest associations were found with gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and muscle scores. In conclusion, increased circulating level of FABP-3 is a candidate biomarker of damage in IM. Knowing the role of FABP-3 in muscle energy metabolism and trophicity, it may also represent an actor of IM damage pathophysiology. Thus, these results may impact the quantification and the development of pharmacological treatment for IM damage.