Short Notes are concise reports which promote Open Science, by making accessible so far unshared scientific results. Find here the Short Notes accepted after review by experts. For detailed guidance or to share your research findings, visit the Short Notes submission platform.
Manon De Boni, Nour Kotaich, Yannis El Halfa, Lucille Cartier, Chaimaa Laassili, Valérie Untereiner, Célia Maquin, Elodie Barbosa, Jerome Devy, Damien Parent, Judicaël Hotton, Laurent Corsois, Olivier Piot, Yacine Merrouche, Stephane Vignot, Stephane Potteaux
Posted on Friday August 21, 2026
DOI: 10.60675/krk9-zs80/sn20260821-15r/short-notes 
Patient-derived spheroids and organoids are increasingly used in cancer research to reduce animal experimentation and enhance reproducibility. However, these models do not recapitulate the tumor microenvironment, which prevents from taking interpatient variability into account. To overcome this limitation, we developed a patient-derived 3D breast cancer model, termed patient-derived tumorosphere (PDTs), which preserves the cellular heterogeneity of the original tumor microenvironment without requiring exogenous scaffold support. PDTs are generated from fresh surgical specimens, thereby maintaining patient-specific stromal and immune cell populations. Immunohistochemistry revealed strong concordance in molecular markers, as well as in immune and endothelial cell representation, between PDTs and their corresponding primary tumors. Second harmonic generation and autofluorescence microscopy confirmed de novo synthesis of extracellular matrix components. Infrared micro-spectroscopy combined with K-means clustering revealed structural heterogeneity within PDTs but strong morpho-spectroscopic similarity to native tissue. Preliminary drug-response assays with paclitaxel revealed a clear dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic effect. Collectively, these findings indicate that PDTs recapitulate the architecture and cellular complexity of the patient tumor microenvironment, highlighting their potential as a rapid, scaffold-free, and physiologically relevant model for personalized therapy research, drug screening, and reduction of animal use in preclinical studies.
Laila Boubeker, Marie-Céline Littré, Caroline Jeannière, Eloïse Latouille, Maéva Zysman, Vincent Studer, Isabelle Dupin, Pauline Henrot
Posted on Thursday April 16, 2026
DOI: 10.60675/za47-dr97/sn20260416-13r/short-notes
Skeletal muscle in vitro modelling requires appropriate biochemical and mechanical cues, which remains challenging to reproduce in standard 2D culture. Developing human-relevant models integrating extracellular matrix (ECM) composition, substrate stiffness and geometric confinement is essential for studying muscle physiology and disorders such as sarcopenia. Here, we sought to optimize two critical steps necessary to establish in vitro micropatterned models from human muscle cells. First, we compared human primary muscle cells isolation via two explant-based culture methods: Matrigel embedding versus coverslip-mediated immobilization. Although the first emerging cells from the explants were seen significantly earlier with the coverslip technique, both methods seem to allowed generation of CD56+ satellite cells suitable for proper myotube differentiation in a similar way. Secondly, we evaluated cellular adhesion on fibronectin versus laminin micropatterns on soft Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. Fibronectin led to better cellular adhesion, consistent with integrin switching during satellite cell activation. Immunostaining of myotubes seeded on fibronectin patterns revealed well-defined sarcomeric organization with -actinin Z-lines. These optimizations provide a foundation for future integration of micropatterning in human primary myoblasts culture.
Vincent Brochard, Alice Galle, Alice Jouneau
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026
DOI: 10.60675/yrr0-6e39/sn20260212-12r/short-notes
Pluripotency is defined as the ability of cells to differentiate into all cell types. In vivo, this capacity is gradually acquired by pluripotent cells in the epiblast as they polarize and arrange themselves into a three-dimensional structure known as a 'rosette', which then forms a lumen. Major epigenetic and metabolic changes occur during this crucial period of early development. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), an in vitro model for early epiblast cells, can self-organise into rosettes when cultured in 3D, making them an ideal model for studying the events that accompany this morphogenesis. While this model is relevant to the 3Rs in terms of reducing the use of embryos, there is a significant drawback: the hydrogel commonly used for 3D cultures, Matrigel, is derived from animals. Furthermore, some rosette formation protocols use a serum-containing medium. The aim of this study was therefore to test alternative, commercially available, synthetic hydrogels and to compare the use of serum-containing and serum-free medium for modelling epiblast morphogenesis. Our results demonstrate that morphogenesis is more efficient in serum-free medium but did not occur in the synthetic hydrogels tested. This underscores the need for further optimisation of these systems
Nathan Lambert, Mathilde Pauchard, Clara Saleri, David Thura
Posted on Tuesday December 02, 2025
DOI: 10.60675/vnga-dk52/sn20251202-5r/short-notes
Stereotypies, defined as repetitive behaviors with no apparent purpose, are frequent in some animals kept in captivity, posing a major ethical and scientific challenge for biomedical research involving animals for scientific purposes. This article describes the case of a rhesus macaque who tends to express marked stereotypies when temporarily separated from his partner. In an attempt to improve the animal's condition during these short periods of separation, the impact of exposure to a video of his partner was tested. This video was shown to the animal during five experimental sessions, and the animal's behavior was analyzed using BORIS software, which quantifies the duration of stereotypies. The results indicate an immediate and significant reduction in stereotypic behaviors when the animal is first exposed to the video of his partner during her absence. However, a gradual return of stereotypies is observed during subsequent exposures, suggesting habituation to the visual enrichment offered. A lasting improvement in well-being through social visual enrichment is therefore not observed for this animal. These data are discussed in light of the specificity of the protocol used, the factors that may have interfered with its effectiveness, and the profile of the animal in question.
Sandra Wiart-Letort, Laurence Finot
Posted on Tuesday September 23, 2025
DOI: 10.60675/yfh3-8k03/sn20250923-8/short-notes
As part of the GIS FC3R leading project to replace animal-derived antibodies by recombinant ones, we tested four recombinant antibodies to detect by immunofluorescence, keratin 14, a protein expressed by the basal epithelial cells. Two antibodies, the clones E7W6V and SP53 from respectively, Cell Signaling Tech. and Abcam, were able to recognize the target in the mammary gland of bovine and porcine species. Only the clone E7W6V recognized keratin 14 in the mammary tissue of all three species, including goats.