Abstract: The present invention concerns a chimeric construct comprising a SMC-specific promoter operably linked to a muscle-specific enhancer. It also provides an expression cassette comprising such a chimeric construct to control expression of a therapeutic gene. Finally, the invention relates to a recombinant vector, a viral particle, an eukaryotic host cell, a composition comprising said expression cassette and their use for specific expression in SMCs and for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, a method for the treatment of a human or animal organism as well as a transgenic non-human animal comprising integrated into its genome the chimeric construct, the expression cassette or the vector of the present invention.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of substrates of an UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and salts thereof, for the prevention and/or the treatment of neurological disorders. In preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to the use of substrates of at least an UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) expressed in brain and salts thereof, for the prevention and/or the treatment of neurological disorders. It further relates to the use of said substrates, and salts thereof, for preventing and/or treating glutamate cytotoxicity, and more specifically of glutamate induced neurological disorders. Additionally, it concerns the use of said substrates, and salts thereof, for making drugs exerting an inhibitory effect on the release of glutamate.

Abstract: The present invention concerns chimeric constructs comprising a skeletal alpha-actin gene promoter operably linked with at least a skeletal muscle-specific enhancer of a human gene. It also provides an expression cassette comprising such a chimeric construct to control expression of a gene of interest. The invention also relates to a vector, a viral particle, an eukaryotic host cell, a pharmaceutical composition comprising said expression cassette and their use for specific expression in skeletal muscle cells as well as for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes. Finally, the present invention also provides the therapeutic use of an expression cassette, a vector and a viral particle comprising a gene of interest placed under the control of a skeletal alpha-actin gene promoter and a muscle-specific enhancer, especially for treating peripheral ischemia.

Abstract: Device (2) for administering a composition in a duct (14) of a human or animal body, comprising means (4) able to enter an inner surface of the duct wall to make blind openings in a thickness of the wall and dispenser means (20) to place the composition in contact with the openings.