Biology subjects

Sutter, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Sutter, C..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

How urban vegetation influences dynamics of Aedes albopictus egg density: three years of surveillance in Montpellier (France)

Nature-Based Solutions are increasingly promoted to address current urban challenges. While their potential effects on vector-borne disease risks have been documented, data on Aedes albopictus, a known arbovirus vector, remain limited in France. A previous study showed that urban vegetation moderately increases the abundance of adult mosquitoes of this species, but the monitoring period lasted only six months. Using ovitraps, we monitored Ae. albopictus egg density dynamics over multiple years (2022 to 2024) and analysed its environmental predictors in various urban environments. We included lagged meteorological variables, land cover metrics, and the cumulated egg densities recorded in the previous weeks as environmental predictors. Both parametric (GLMM) and non-parametric (Random Forest) models were fitted to weekly egg counts per trap. Our findings highlight that (i) egg density dynamics were related to how vegetation classes structured the landscape, (ii) growing degree days and cumulated number of eggs recorded in specific lagged time windows were the main contributors to egg density, and (iii) the non-parametric and parametric models performed similarly in terms of prediction accuracy.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

Athletes exposed to uncommon vestibular stimulation strengthen their tactile-neural pathway

Strikingly, highly trained athletes engaged in vertiginous activities (e.g., dance and slacklining) and patients with bilateral vestibular loss show a similar pattern of neural plasticity, likely resulting from reduced vestibular sensory processes. However, unlike patients, these athletes show no balance impairments, quite the opposite. This suggests that the attenuation of vestibular processing represents an adaptive recalibration to excessive vestibular stimulation rather than a sign of dysfunction. Concurrently, tactile processing increases as vestibular processing attenuates. Our findings indicate that effective adaptation extends beyond simple tactile compensation: it involves a strengthened tactile-brain pathway. Indeed, following unexpected base-of-support translations, the coupling between plantar shear forces (i.e., a proxy of plantar sole tactile afferents) and cortical responses over the somatosensory areas was markedly enhanced in Athletes. Cross-correlation analysis revealed stronger (r = 0.71) and faster (36 ms) tactile-brain coupling in Athletes (n = 25) compared with age- and gender-matched Controls (n = 18). This enhancement occurred within the first 180 ms following translation, that is, during the critical early phase of skin-surface interaction. Notably, artistic swimmers, who undergo intense vestibular stimulation in a weightless underwater environment without balance equilibrium constraints, also exhibit enhanced tactile-brain coupling. This suggests that strengthening the tactile-brain coupling is not merely a byproduct of balance expertise, but rather a broader adaptive response to sustained vestibular stimulation. Multimodal neurons integrating vestibular and somatosensory inputs, such as those in the somatosensory cortex and thalamus, may increase their responsiveness to foot tactile afferents when vestibular inputs become excessive. In such contexts, the somatosensory system may assume a dominant role in providing gravity-related information for balance control.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Vegetated urban spaces increase Aedes albopictus survival and the risk of Dengue and Chikungunya Transmission: a field and modelling study in Montpellier, France

IntroductionBy 2025, Aedes albopictus had spread across France, leading to a rise in indigenous arboviral cases since 2021. While urban greening is promoted for its health and climate benefits, its potential adverse effects on arboviral risk remain understudied. Urban green spaces may enhance mosquito habitats and human-vector contact. MethodsThis study investigates the variation in Aedes albopictus longevity across months and urban environments in Montpellier, a green Mediterranean city, and its impact on the theoretical basic reproductive number (R0) for Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses. From May to October 2023, female mosquitoes were sampled monthly using CO2 traps in three urban environments: urban parks, impervious areas, and residential areas composed of houses with gardens. Daily mosquito survival was estimated from parity rate measurements, and the associated environmental determinants were analysed. Modelled predictions, crude field estimates of vector density and parity rates, and microclimatic data were used to parameterize and feed R0 models. For each environment (or sampling area), 1000 monthly R0 simulations were run, followed by sensitivity analyses. Results/DiscussionThe highest mean daily survival (0.917) was observed in residential areas, compared to parks (0.887) and impervious areas (0.873). A daily average exposure of 10% of possible bites induces potential transmission risks for CHIKV and DENV. R0 varied by environment and month, with higher values in residential areas and with greater variability in impervious areas. Parity rate emerged as the main driver of R0 variability. These results highlight the value of fine-scale field data for arboviral risk assessment.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Movement sonification during haptic exploration shifts emotional outcome without altering texture perception

Adding movement sonification to haptic exploration can change the perceptual outcome of a textured surface through multisensory processing. We hypothesized that auditory-evoked emotions would influence the appraisal of textured surfaces, with corresponding changes reflected in cortical excitability. Participants actively rubbed two different textured surfaces (slippery and rough) either without movement sonification, or with pleasant or disagreeable movement sonification. We found that sounds, whether agreeable or disagreeable, did not change the texture appraisal. However, the less pleasant surface was associated with a stronger negative hedonic valence, particularly when paired with disagreeable movement sonification. Time frequency analyses of EEG activities revealed a significant reduction in beta-band power [15-25 Hz] within the source-estimated sensorimotor and superior posterior parietal cortices when contrasting both pleasant and unpleasant sound with the silent touch. This suggests that the primary somatosensory cortices together with the superior parietal regions participated in the audio-tactile binding, with both pleasant and unpleasant sounds. In addition, we observed a significant increase in beta-band power in medial visual areas, specifically when disagreeable movement sonification was paired with tactile exploration. This may reflect a disengagement of visual cortical processing, potentially amplifying auditory-driven emotional responses and intensifying the perceived unpleasantness of the explored surfaces.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

When mechanical engineering inspired from physiology improves postural-related somatosensory processes

Being the first stimulated by the relative movement of foot skin and the underneath moving support surface, the plantar tactile receptors (i.e., mechanoreceptors) play an important role in the sensorimotor transformation giving rise to a postural reaction. In this light, a biomimetic surface, i.e., complying with the characteristics of the mechanoreceptors and the skin dermatoglyphs (i.e., pattern of the ridges) should facilitate the cortical processes in response to the somatosensory stimulation involved in the balance recovery motor control. Healthy young adults (n = 21) were standing still either on a biomimetic surface or on two control surfaces (i.e., grooved or smooth), when a sudden but low acceleration of the supporting surface along the lateral direction was triggered. A shorter and more robust evoked somatosensory response (i.e., SEP) was observed when participants were standing on the biomimetic surface. As well, a lower oscillatory response in the theta (5-7 Hz) time-frequency domain in the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC) was observed with the biomimetic surface. The greater shear forces induced by the interaction between the feet and the biomimetic surface during the platform motion was likely at the origin of the increased SEP. Besides, the decrease of theta power suggests that the balance task became less challenging. This interpretation was tested in a second experiment by adding a cognitive task, which should be less detrimental for the postural reaction when standing on a biomimetic surface. Consistent with this hypothesis, a more efficient postural reaction (i.e., shorter latency and greater amplitude) was observed when the cognitive task was performed while standing on the biomimetic surface.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Cortical facilitation of somatosensory inputs using gravity-related tactile information in patients with bilateral vestibular loss

A few years after their bilateral vestibular loss, individuals usually show a motor repertoire that is almost back to normal. This recovery is thought to involve an up-regulation of the visual and proprioceptive information that compensates for the lack of vestibular information. Here, we investigated whether plantar tactile inputs, which provide body information relative to the ground and to the Earth-vertical, contribute to this compensation. More specifically, we tested the hypothesis that somatosensory cortex response to electric stimulation of the plantar sole in standing adults will be greater in patients (n = 10) with bilateral vestibular loss than in an aged-matched healthy group (n = 10). Showing significant greater somatosensory evoked potentials (i.e., P1N1) in patients than in controls, the electroencephalographic recordings supported this hypothesis. Furthermore, we found evidence that increasing the differential pressure between both feet, by adding a 1 kg mass at each pending wrist, enhanced the internal representation of body orientation and motion relative to a gravitational reference frame. The large decreased in alpha/beta power in the right posterior parietal cortex (and not in the left) is in line with this assumption. Finally, our behavioral analyses showed smaller body sway oscillations for patients, likely originated from a tactile-based control strategy. Conversely, healthy subjects showed smaller head oscillations suggesting a vestibular-based control strategy, the head serving as a reference for balance control. HighlightsO_LISomatosensory cortex excitability is greater in patients with bilateral vestibular loss than in aged-matched healthy individuals C_LIO_LITo control balance, healthy individuals "locked" the head while vestibular patients "locked" their pelvis C_LIO_LIFor vestibular patients, increasing loading/unloading mechanism enhances the internal representation of body state in the posterior parietal cortex C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Replication Study: RAF inhibitors prime wild-type RAF to activate the MAPK pathway and enhance growth

As part of the Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, we published a Registered Report (Bhargava et al., 2016) that described how we intended to replicate selected experiments from the paper "RAF inhibitors prime wild-type RAF to activate the MAPK pathway and enhance growth" (Hatzivassiliou et al., 2010). Here we report the results. We found two unrelated RAF inhibitors, PLX4720 or GDC-0879, selectively inhibited BRAF(V600E) cell proliferation, while the MEK inhibitor, PD0325901, inhibited BRAF(V600E), wild-type RAF/RAS, and mutant RAS cancer cell proliferation, similar to the original study (Figure 1A; Hatzivassiliou et al., 2010). We found knockdown of CRAF, but not BRAF, in mutant RAS cells attenuated the phospho-MEK induction observed after PLX4720 treatment, similar to the original study (Figure 2B; Hatzivassiliou et al., 2010). The original study reported analogous results with GDC-0879, which was not observed in this replication, although unexpected control results confound the interpretation. We also attempted a replication of an assay with recombinant proteins to test the differential effect of RAF inhibitors on BRAF-CRAF heterodimerization (Figure 4A; Hatzivassiliou et al., 2010). Although we were unable to conduct the experiment as planned, we observed differential binding of BRAF by RAF inhibitors; however, it was between BRAF and beads, independent of CRAF. While these data were unable to address whether, under the conditions of the original study, the same observations could be observed, we discuss key differences between the original study and this replication that are important to consider for further experiments. Finally, where possible, we report meta-analyses for each result. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=62 SRC="FIGDIR/small/470372v2_fig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (7K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f77d0eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1333494org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c10824org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@fda30f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 1.C_FLOATNO Cellular dose response curves for RAF and MEK inhibitors in BRAF(V600E), mutant RAS, and wild-type RAF/RAS cell lines Cell viability assays were performed for RAF inhibitors (PLX4720 and GDC-0879) and MEK inhibitor (PD0325901) against A375, (BRAF(V600E)), HCT116 (mutant RAS), and MeWo (wild-type RAF/RAS) cells. Absolute half-maximum effective concentration (EC50) values ({micro}M) were determined for each biological repeat. EC50 values unable to be accurately estimated are reported as either >20 {micro}M or <0.078 {micro}M, which are the largest and smallest doses tested, respectively. Absolute EC50 values for each biological repeat for A375, HCT116, and MeWo cells treated with (A) PLX4720, (B) GDC-0879, or (C) PD0325901 for this replication attempt are plotted with the EC50 value reported in Hatzivassiliou et al. (2010) displayed as a single point (red triangle) for comparison. Where possible the mean and 95% confidence interval of the replication data are shown. Additional details for this experiment can be found at https://osf.io/52zp9/. C_FIG O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=198 SRC="FIGDIR/small/470372v2_fig2.gif" ALT="Figure 2"> View larger version (34K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1dc3058org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e9f5d9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@baf5eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@126717a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 2.C_FLOATNO Cellular dose response curves for each biological repeat This is the same experiment as in Figure 1. The dose response curve of each biological repeat [n=4] for A375, HCT116, and MeWo cells treated with (A) PLX4720, (B) GDC-0879, or (C) PD0325901 for this replication attempt are plotted. Additional details for this experiment can be found at https://osf.io/52zp9/. C_FIG O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=111 SRC="FIGDIR/small/470372v2_fig4.gif" ALT="Figure 4"> View larger version (33K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e4357eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@73e9ceorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fb01c6org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@31a799_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 4.C_FLOATNO Testing of BRAF and CRAF antibodies used in original study The BRAF and CRAF antibodies reported in the original study (Hatzivassiliou et al., 2010) were tested for suitability by Western blot. (A) Representative Western blots and Ponceau-stained membrane (experiment performed independently 3 times) of 0.5 {micro}g of purified recombinant BRAF kinase domain (KD). Membranes were probed with the BRAF antibody used in the original study (RRID:AB_1840330) or with a different BRAF antibody used in this replication attempt (RRID:AB_2721113). (B) Representative Western blots and Ponceau-stained membrane (experiment performed independently 3 times) of 0.5 {micro}g of purified recombinant GST tagged CRAF KD. Membranes were probed with the CRAF antibody used in the original study (RRID:AB_397552) or with a different CRAF antibody used in this replication attempt (RRID:AB_10989977). (C) Representative Western blots (experiment performed once) of 16 {micro}g of whole cell lysates from the indicated human cell lines. Membranes were probed with the BRAF (RRID:AB_1840330) or CRAF (RRID:AB_397552) antibodies used in the original study. (D) Screenshot from the Constraint-based Multiple Alignment Tool (COBALT) (Papadopoulos and Agarwala, 2007) showing the alignment of full-length BRAF (NCBI Reference Sequence: NP_004324.2), the region of BRAF used as the immunogenic peptide used to generate the BRAF antibody used in the original study (RRID:AB_1840330), the BRAF KD used in this replication attempt, and the BRAF KD used in the original study. (E) Screenshot from COBALT showing the alignment of full-length CRAF (NCBI Reference Sequence: NP_002871.1), the region of CRAF used as the immunogenic peptide used to generate the CRAF antibody used in the original study (RRID:AB_397552), and the CRAF KD used in the original study and this replication attempt. Additional details for this experiment can be found at https://osf.io/6f3sk/. C_FIG

cancer biology↗