A research team from Inserm and Université Grenoble Alpes investigated the potential effects on placental DNA of exposure to three major airborne pollutants. When comparing the data obtained from around 1 500 pregnant women, it observed that exposure to these pollutants during pregnancy was associated with epigenetic changes liable to alter the development of the foetus, particularly at the metabolic, immune and neurological levels.
Human embryo compaction, an essential step in the first days of an embryo’s development, is driven by the contractility of its cells. This is the finding of a team of scientists from CNRS, Institut Curie, Inserm, AP-HP and the Collège de France. These results contradict the presupposed driving role of cell adhesion in this phenomenon and pave the way for improved assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Obesity is a major public health problem, affecting around 650 million adults worldwide, and is often associated with systemic and cerebral inflammation as well as anxiety and cognitive disorders, such as memory deficits. In a new study, researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Université Côte d’Azur at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology tried to understand more precisely how diet can cause obesity, and its associated comorbidities.
For the first time, researchers from Institut Curie, the CNRS and Inserm have uncovered a previously unknown chain of biochemical reactions. This chain involves copper and leads to metabolic and epigenetic alterations that activate inflammation and tumorigenesis. But there is more; the research team developed a “drug prototype” capable of mitigating both the mechanisms of inflammation and the processes potentially involved in metastatic spread.
Exposure to extreme temperatures from the fetal stage could impact health. This is what suggests a study by researchers from Inserm, Université Grenoble Alpes and CNRS, based on the SEPAGES cohort, intended to study the impact of various environmental factors on the health of pregnant women and their children.
Mieux comprendre divers processus invisibles à l’œil nu, qui ont lieu à l’échelle de nos cellules, grâce à un minuscule robot construit à base d’ADN... Si cela s’apparenterait presque à un projet de science-fiction, il s’agit en fait de travaux très sérieux menés par des scientifiques. Ce « nano-robot », très innovant, devrait permettre d’étudier de plus près des forces mécaniques qui s’appliquent à des niveaux microscopiques et qui sont cruciales...
Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) or Steinert’s disease is a rare and debilitating genetic neuromuscular disease affecting multiple organs and with a fatal outcome. No treatment is available at present. Encouraged by previous research into its molecular causes, researchers have developed and tested a promising gene therapy that acts directly at the origin of the disease. Initial findings show correction of molecular and physiological alterations in mouse skeletal muscle1.
Over the course of evolution, the genomes of most living organisms have grown more complex thanks to transposable elements, a.k.a. “jumping genes,” or DNA fragments that can move and copy themselves from one chromosome location to another. Researchers from Inserm, the CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, and Université de Montpellier were able to capture these “jumping genes” just after they moved.
