Collège de France

About: Collège de France is a education organization based out in Paris, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Receptor. The organization has 6541 authors who have published 11983 publications receiving 648742 citations. The organization is also known as: College de France.

Isolation of a human teratoma cell line which expresses F9 antigen

Abstract: THE F9 antigen, defined by antisera raised in syngeneic mice against pluripotent embryonal carcinoma cells, is present on early mouse embryos, spermatozoa and male germinal cells, but not on adult somatic tissues1,2. This antigen, thought to be coded by gene(s) located at, or linked to, the developmentally important T/t complex, may play a part in early embryogenesis3–5. This idea is supported by the fact that the antigen seems to have been conserved during mammalian evolution. Anti-F9 activity is absorbed by sperm of several species including man, rat, rabbit and bull5–7 and there is evidence for its presence on the morulae of rabbit, rat and cow, and on human foetal testicular cells2,5. The cross reaction of anti-F9 with human sperm suggested that undifferentiated stem cells in human teratocarcinomas might also carry F9 on their surface, and we report here the isolation of human teratocarcinoma cell line which expresses F9 antigen.

Linking genes underlying deafness to hair-bundle development and function.

Abstract: The identification of mutations underlying monogenic, early-onset forms of deafness in humans has provided unprecedented insight into the molecular mechanisms of hearing in the peripheral auditory system. The molecules involved in the development and function of the cochlea eluded characterization until recently owing to the scarcity of the principal cell types present. The genetic approach has circumvented this problem and succeeded in identifying proteins and deciphering some of the molecular complexes that operate in these cells. In combination with mouse models, the genetic approach is now revealing some of the principles underlying the development and physiology of the cochlea. Focusing on the hair bundle, the mechanosensory device of the sensory hair cell, we highlight recent advances in understanding the way in which the hair bundle is formed, how it operates as a mechanotransducer and how it processes sound. In particular, we discuss how these findings confer a central role on the various hair-bundle links in these processes.