(EN) Analogously to normal stem cells within the tissues, cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been proposed to be responsible for maintenance and growth of tumours. CSCs represent a small fraction of cells within the tumour, which is characterised by self-renewal capacity and ability to give rise to a tumour when grafted into immunocompromised mice. Cells with increased stemness properties are believed to be responsible for tumour resistance, metastases formation and relapse after tumour treatment. The first part of this work concentrates on resistance of the tumours, which is often associated with increased expression of ATP-binding cassete (ABC) transporters pumping chemotherapeutics out of the cells. For the purposes of this study, we utilized an in vitro model of CSCs, based on cultivation of cells as 3D "spheres". Expression profiling demonstrates that our model of CSCs derived from breast and prostate cancer cell lines express higher mRNA level of ABC transporters, particularly ABCA1, ABCA3, ABCA5, ABCA12, ABCA13, ABCB7, ABCB9, ABCB10, ABCC1, ABCC2, ABCC3, ABCC5, ABCC8, ABCC10, ABCC11 and ABCG2 among the cell lines tested. The protein level of ABC transporters tested in breast CSCs showed higher expression of ABCB8, ABCC1, ABCC2, ABCC10 and ABCG2 but downregulation of ABCB10 and ABCF2 proteins....

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La multichimiorésistance est caractérisée par une résistance simultanée à des agents chimiothérapeutiques de structures diverses, induite notamment par l’efflux des substances actives hors des cellules. Les transporteurs ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) sont des protéines transmembranaires impliquées dans cet efflux et qui participent à l’échec du traitement de certains cancers. Par ailleurs, ce mécanisme d’efflux a également été évoqué dans le cadre de la résistance de certains microorganismes aux antimicrobiens. Dans cette étude, nous avons conçu et synthétisé des dérivés susceptibles d’inhiber certains transporteurs ABC, en particulier, la glycoprotéine-P (Pgp) impliquée dans la multichimiorésistance des tumeurs humaines, et CpABC3, rencontré chez le parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. Dans un premier temps, nous avons synthétisé trois dérivés de type 4-alkyl-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-7-one, hétérocycles destinés à se fixer sur le site à ATP des transporteurs ABC. L’activité de ces composés a été évaluée vis-à-vis d’un fragment recombinant (H6-NBD1) de CpABC3, et un de ceux-ci a montré une liaison (faible) à ce fragment. Nous avons ensuite préparé dix-sept dérivés bivalents susceptibles d’inhiber la Pgp, constitués d’une molécule d’adénine (ciblant le site à ATP) reliée à la progestérone (ciblant le site aux stéroïdes) par un bras de géométrie variable. Ces dérivés ont été testés sur des lignées cellulaires K562/R7 surexprimant la Pgp, et un de ceux-ci a montré une activité supérieure à celle de la progestérone. Enfin, nous avons mis au point une synthèse de chaînes de type oligocyclohexylidène, qui sont de bons candidats pour constituer des bras espaceurs rigides / Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is characterized by a simultaneous resistance to a wide range of structurally unrelated chemotherapeutic agents, partly caused by the efflux of active compounds out of the cell. ABC transporters (ATP-Binding Cassette) are transmembrane proteins implicated in this efflux, and thus, they contribute to the failure of some cancer treatments. Furthermore, this mechanism was evoked in some microorganism resistances to antimicrobial agents. In this study, we designed and synthesized potential inhibitors of ABC transporters, especially P-glycoprotein (Pgp) implicated in human tumors multi-drug resistance, and CpABC3, a transporter found in a human parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum. First, we synthesized three 4-alkyl-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-7-one derivatives, targeting ATP-binding site of ABC transporters. Their biological activities were evaluated toward a recombinant fragment of the CpABC3 transporter (H6-NBD1 fragment). One of these compounds showed a weak-binding to this fragment. Next, we prepared seventeen progesterone-adenine hybrids as potential bivalent ligands which may bind simultaneously to the ATP-binding site and the steroid-binding region. We chose to synthesize derivatives with rather short-length linkers with different conformational flexibilities. These bivalent compounds were tested on K562/R7 human leukemic cells overexpressing Pgp. One of them has showed a better activity than progesterone. Finally, we optimized the synthesis of oligocyclohexylidene chains, which are good candidates to constitute rigid linkers

Première cause de décès par cancer chez la femme, le cancer du sein développe souvent une résistance à la chimiothérapie pouvant impliquer des transporteurs ABC (ATP Binding Cassette). Ils transportent les médicaments hors de la cellule et diminuent leur efficacité thérapeutique. Nous nous sommes intéressés à la protéine ABCC11 ou MRP8 (Multidrug Resistance Protein 8), exprimée dans le sein et responsable de l’efflux de certains anticancéreux (5FdUMP et méthotrexate). Nous avons démontré que l’expression d’ABCC11 était dépendante des voies de signalisation impliquant ER (Récepteur aux œstrogènes) ou PR (Récepteurs à la Progestérone). De plus, le tamoxifène (antagoniste d’ER) et la dexaméthasone (activateur de PR), utilisés en association avec la chimiothérapie, induisent l’expression d’ABCC11 et influenceraient négativement la réponse aux traitements anticancéreux à base de substrats d’ABCC11. L’expression d’ABCC11 a été positivement corrélée à celles d’ER et PR dans des cancers du sein. En parallèle, nous avons généré 2 modèles in silico en conformation ouverte vers l’intracellulaire ou vers l’extracellulaire et identifier des acides aminés potentiellement critiques dans l’architecture de la protéine ainsi que dans la liaison avec certains substrats (5FdUMP et GMPc). Nous avons également généré les outils moléculaires permettant l’étude de l’impact de 13 SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) non synonymes d’ABCC11. En raison d’une instabilité des lignées cellulaires, l’étude n’a pu être menée à son terme. Notre travail a ainsi contribué à une meilleure caractérisation d’ABCC11 et souligne sa potentielle valeur pronostic et prédictive dans le traitement du cancer du sein. / Leading cause of woman death by cancer, breast cancer can unfortunately develops chemotherapy resistance involving ABC (ATP Binding Cassette) transporters. They transport drugs out of cells and decrease their therapeutic efficiency. We studied one ABCC sub-family member: ABCC11 or MRP8 (Multidrug Resistance Protein 8), expressed in breast and responsible for anticancer agent efflux (5FdUMP and methotrexate). We have demonstrated that ABCC11 expression was associated with ER (Estrogen Receptor) and PR (Progesterone Receptor) signaling pathways. Furthermore, tamoxifen (ER antagonist) and dexamethasone (PR activator), used in association with chemotherapy, increased ABCC11 expression and would negatively influence the response of ABCC11 substrate based anticancer treatments. Moreover, ABCC11 expression was positively correlated to ER and PR expression in breast cancer. In parallel, we have generated two in silico models obtained by homology. They represent two different spatial conformations: intracellular-facing (ready to bind substrate) or extracellular-facing (ready to release substrate). This has allowed us to identify amino acid residues potentially essential for the protein architecture and for substrate binding (5FdUMP and cGMP). In order to analyze SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) impact on ABCC11 expression and function, we generated vectors coding a wild-type or a mutated ABCC11 with 13 nonsynonymous SNPs. But, we did not succeed to create stable expressing cell lines to make a complete study of those SNPs. In conclusion, our work led to ABCC11 better characterization and underlined its putative prognostic and predictive value in breast cancer treatment.

ABCB1 (ou P-gp pour “glycoprotéine-P”), ABCC1 (ou MRP1 pour “Multidrug Resistance Protein 1”) et ABCG2 (ou BCRP pour “Breast Cancer Resistance Protein”) sont les trois transporteurs ABC humains les plus impliqués dans la chimiorésistance de certaines cellules cancéreuses. Deux stratégies sont possibles pour éradiquer cette résistance : 1) l'élimination ciblée des cellules surexprimant ces transporteurs, grâce au talon d'Achille qu'elles ont développé comme conséquence de leur chimiorésistance : la sensibilité collatérale (ou hypersensibilité), et 2) l'identification et l'optimisation d'inhibiteurs spécifiques. Lors de ce projet, nous nous sommes particulièrement intéressés au transporteur ABCG2. Dans un premier temps, comme la sensibilité collatérale avait été décrite dans le cas de la surexpression d'ABCB1 ou d'ABCC1, nous voulions vérifier son implication éventuelle dans le cas de la surexpression d'ABCG2. Sans pouvoir finalement conclure sur son existence, nous avons démontré que le mécanisme d'action ne pouvait pas impliquer un efflux massif de glutathion par la protéine, comme c'est le cas pour ABCC1, contrairement à certaines données de la littérature. Dans le cadre de la seconde approche, nous avons criblé différentes séries de composés, apparentés aux flavonoïdes, pour identifier des inhibiteurs spécifiques d'ABCG2. Nous avons ainsi pu mettre en évidence des relations structure-activité démontrant l'importance de certains substituants, notamment des groupements méthoxy, non seulement pour l'inhibition de l'activité du transporteur mais aussi pour la cytotoxicité des molécules. Ces études nous ont également permis de classer les inhibiteurs identifiés en 4 familles distinctes, quant à leur mécanisme d'action à la fois sur l'efflux de drogues comme la mitoxantrone et l'activité ATPasique d'ABCG2. Enfin, le meilleur inhibiteur spécifique d'ABCG2 décrit à ce jour, la chromone 6g (ou MBL-II-141) a été caractérisé plus en détails. Son efficacité in vivo pour empêcher la croissance de tumeurs humaines xénogreffées chez la souris nous incite à être optimistes sur la possibilité de proposer un inhibiteur d'ABCG2 comme candidat médicament pour de futures études précliniques / ABCB1, ABCC1 and ABCG2 are the 3 human ABC transporters mainly involved in chemoresistance of some cancer cells. Two strategies may eradicate such a resistance: 1) by selectively killing cells overexpressing these transporters thanks to the Achille’s heel they develop consequently to chemoresistance: the so called collateral sensitivity; 2) by the identification and optimization of specific inhibitors. This project has focused on the ABCG2 transporter. Firstly, since collateral sensitivity had already been described in ABCB1- and ABCC1-overexpressing cells, we wanted to verify if it might occur in cases of ABCG2 overexpression. Finally, we could not conclude on its occurence, but we demonstrated that the mechanism could not imply glutathione efflux as it is known to be the case for ABCC1, by contrast with some literature data. Concerning the second approach, we screened different flavonoid compounds to identify new specific ABCG2 inhibitors. We could propose some structure-activity relationships highlighting substituents critical role, particularly concerning methoxy groups, toward both inhibition of the transporter activity and intrinsic cytotoxicity of the molecules. These studies allowed us to propose a classification of the inhibitors into 4 families, thanks to their action mechanism on both inhibition of drug efflux and ATPase activitiy. Finally, the best specific ABCG2 inhibitor, chromone 6g (or MBL-II-141), has been further investigated. Its efficacy to prevent the growth of human tumors xenografted in mice, make us quite optimistic on the possibility to propose an ABCG2 inhibitor as a new drug candidate for future preclinical studies

La barrière hémato-encéphalique (BHE) contrôle le passage des médicaments, en partie par la présence d’ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporteurs. Dans de nombreuses pathologies cérébrales, la BHE est altérée. Parmi elles, les hémorragies intracérébrales (HIC), qui sont un effet iatrogène des anticoagulants. Des analyses cliniques montrent que les patients sous Anticoagulants Oraux Directs (AODs) présentent moins d’HIC que les patients traités avec les anticoagulants de référence, les anti-vitamine K (AVK), sans que les mécanismes cellulaires soient élucidés. Une des différences entre les AODs et les AVK résident dans leur profil pharmacocinétique, effectivement, les AODs sont des substrats des ABC transporteurs contrairement aux AVKs. Au cours des HIC, la thrombine est activée et entraine une altération de la BHE par clivage et des récepteurs protease activated receptor (PAR). Les objectifs de ce travail de thèse ont été de mettre en place un modèle in vitro de BHE afin d’étudier les interactions des médicaments avec les ABC transporteurs. Ensuite, le modèle est utilisé pour étudier les interactions des AODs en condition pathologique. Le modèle développé est basé sur la lignée HBEC-5i, peu décrite dans la littérature. Les cellules ont été cultivées en monocouche sur insert avec milieu conditionné issu d’astrocytes humains. Le modèle permet l’étude de l’interaction de thérapeutiques avec des ABC transporteurs par des mesures d’efflux ratios. Le modèle a été validé par des études de transport de molécules pharmacologiques. Ensuite, nous avons comparé, sur notre modèle, les effets de l’exposition à la thrombine avec ou sans prétraitement d’anticoagulants (rivaroxaban, dabigatran, apixaban, warfarine et héparine). Les AODs limitent l’ouverture de la BHE induite par la thrombine contrairement aux autres anticoagulants. Nos résultats ont montré que l’altération de la BHE est médiée par le clivage du récepteur PAR-1 par la thrombine. Ce clivage n’est pas le même en fonction de la classe d’anticoagulants utilisée, les AODs minimisant ce clivage. L’ensemble de ce travail de thèse a permis de donner des premières explications cellulaires quant aux mécanismes d’ouverture de la BHE consécutifs aux HIC sous AODs. / The blood-brain barrier (BBB) controls the passage of drugs, in part through the expression of the ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters. In many brain diseases, the BBB is altered. Among them, intracerebral haemorrhages (ICH), which are an iatrogenic effect of anticoagulants. Clinical analyses show that patients with Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOACs) treatment have less HIC than patients treated with the reference anticoagulants, Vitamin K Antagonist (VKA), without understanding the cellular mechanisms. One of the differences between DOACs and VKA lies in their pharmacokinetic profile, indeed, DOACs are substrates of ABC transporters unlike VKA. During HIC, thrombin, is activated and causes alterations in the BBB by the cleavage of the protease activated receptor (PAR). The objectives of this thesis work were first to set up an in vitro model of the BBB in order to study the passage of drugs and their interactions with ABC transporters. In a second step, the model is used to study the interactions of DOACs in pathological conditions. The model developed is based on the HBEC-5i cell line seldom described in the literature. The cells were cultured in monolayer on insert with conditioned medium from human astrocytes. It allows the study of the interaction of therapeutics with ABC transporters by measuring efflux ratios. The model has been validated by transport studies of pharmacological molecules. In order to meet our second objective, we compared the effect of thrombin exposure with or without pretreatment with anticoagulants (rivaroxaban, dabigatran, apixaban, warfarin and heparin sodium) on our model. DOACs limit the BBB damage induced by the thrombin unlike other anticoagulants. Our results showed that alteration of the BBB is mediated by the cleavage of the PAR-1 receptor by thrombin. This cleavage is not the same depending on the class of anticoagulants used, DOACs minimizing this cleavage. All this thesis work made it possible to provide the first cellular explanations of the opening mechanisms of the BBB following HIC under DOACs.

Produtos de glicação avançada (AGE) prejudicam o metabolismo de lipoproteínas e o transporte reverso de colesterol, o que contribui para a aterosclerose no diabete melito (DM). Em particular, a albumina modificada por AGE (albumina-AGE) reduz a remoção de colesterol por diminuir o conteúdo do receptor ABCA-1 em macrófagos. Isto se vincula ao insulto oxidativo e inflamatório, os quais são indutores do estresse do retículo endoplasmático (RE). O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar, em macrófagos, os efeitos do tratamento com albumina-AGE sobre o estresse do RE e suas vias adaptativas (UPR), relacionando-os com o prejuízo na expressão do ABCA-1 e efluxo de colesterol celular. Albumina-AGE foi produzida pela incubação de albumina isenta em ácidos graxos com glicolaldeído 10 mM e, albumina controle (albumina-C) com PBS apenas. Albumina foi isolada do soro de pacientes portadores de DM com controle glicêmico inadequado (albumina-DM) ou indivíduos controles (albumina não- DM) por cromatografia para separação rápida de proteínas seguida por purificação alcoólica. Macrófagos de peritônio de camundongos ou macrófagos da linhagem J774 foram tratados com os diferentes tipos de albumina na presença ou ausência de ácido fenil butírico (PBA; chaperona química que alivia o estresse do RE) ou MG-132 (inibidor do sistema proteasomal) por diferentes intervalos de tempo. A expressão de marcadores do estresse do RE, UPR, proteína dissulfeto isomerase (PDI), calreticulina e ubiquitina foi determinada por imunoblot e o conteúdo de ABCA-1, por citometria de fluxo e imunocitoquímica. O efluxo de 14Ccolesterol foi avaliado, utilizando-se apoA-I como aceptora de colesterol. A albumina-AGE induziu aumento tempo-dependente na expressão das chaperonas marcadoras do estresse do RE - Gr78 e Grp94 - e de proteínas da UPR (ATF6 e eIF2-P) em comparação à albumina-C. O conteúdo de ABCA-1 e o efluxo de colesterol foram reduzidos em, respectivamente, 33% e 47% e ambos foram restaurados pelo tratamento com PBA, o qual também reduziu o estresse do RE. A associação entre estresse de RE e redução de ABCA-1 foi confirmada pelo uso da tunicamicina (indutor clássico de estresse do RE), que diminuiu em 61% o conteúdo de ABCA-1, prejudicando em 82% o efluxo de colesterol. A albumina-AGE aumentou o conteúdo total de ubiquitina. A inibição do sistema proteasomal não foi capaz de restaurar o conteúdo de ABCA-1 em células tratadas com albumina-AGE. Em macrófagos expostos à albumina-DM evidenciou-se maior expressão da PDI e calreticulina, com tendência à maior expressão da Grp94. A albumina-AGE (produzida in vitro ou isolada de portadores de DM) induz estresse de RE, o qual se vincula à redução no conteúdo de ABCA-1 e efluxo de colesterol. Estes eventos podem contribuir para a aterosclerose no DM. Chaperonas químicas, que aliviam o estresse do RE, podem ser ferramentas úteis na prevenção e tratamento da aterosclerose / Advanced glycation end products (AGE) disturb lipoprotein metabolism and reverse cholesterol transport, contributing to atherosclerosis in diabetes mellitus (DM). Particularly, advanced glycated albumin (AGE-albumin) reduces cell cholesterol removal by impairing the expression of ABCA-1 in macrophages. This is ascribed to the oxidative and inflammatory stress, conditions that elicit endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. In this study it was investigated the effect of AGE-albumin on ER stress and adaptative pathways (UPR) development in macrophages, and its relationship to the reduction in ABCA-1 expression and cholesterol efflux. AGE-albumin was prepared by incubating fatty acid free albumin with 10 mM glycolaldehyde and control albumin (C-albumin) with PBS only. Albumin was isolated from poorly controlled DM patients (DM-albumin) and control individuals (nonDMalbumin) by fast liquid chromatography and purified by alchoolic extraction. Mouse peritoneal macrophages or J774 cells were treated along time with the different types of albumin in the absence or presence of phenyl butiric acic (PBA; a chaperone that aleviates ER stress) or MG132 (a proteasomal inhibitor). The expression of ER stress and UPR markers, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), calreticulin and ubiquitin was determined by immunoblot and ABCA-1 protein level, by flow cytometry and imunocytochemistry. 14Ccholesterol efflux was evaluated utilizing apo A-I as cholesterol acceptor. AGE-albumin induced a time-dependent increase in the expression of ER stress chaperone markers - Gr78 and Grp94 - and UPR proteins (ATF6 and eIF2-P) in comparison to C-albumin. ABCA-1 content and cholesterol efflux were diminished by, respectively, 33% and 47% and both were recovered by the treatment with PBA. The association between ER stress and ABCA-1 reduction was confirmed by the reduction, induced by tunicanycin (a classical ER stress inductior) in ABCA-1 protein level (61%) and cholesterol efflux (82%). AGE-albumin increased the amount of cellular total ubiquitin. The inhibiton of proteasomal system was unable to restore ABCA-1 protein level in cells treated with AGE-albumin. In macrophages exposed to DM-albumin a higher expression of PDI and calreticulin was observed together with a trend of enhanced Grp94 expression. In conclusion, AGE-albumin (produced in vitro or isolated from DM patients) induces ER stress which is related to the reduction in ABCA-1 level and cholesterol efflux in macrophages. These events can contribute to atherosclerosis in DM. Chemical chaperones that alleviate ER stress may be useful in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis

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One major reason of CNS pharmacotherapy's impediment is the existence of "barriers" between blood and CNS, especially the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB), a neurovascular structure localized at the level of brain microvasculature. Main factors responsible for this barrier function are drug efflux transporters type ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) and SLC (SoLute Carrier) expressed at BBB level and known to be at the origin of multi-drug resistance phenomenon. Recent researches aim at unraveling the signaling mechanisms regulating these transporters in order to modulate their activity and improve pharmacotherapy in brain diseases. For years, these transporters have been studied in adult organism. But, there is a wide spread belief that the BBB in embryo, fetus, new born and infant is "immature", implying caution in giving drugs to infants. However, current knowledge on the functional status of the BBB in immature organism remains very limited.This study was performed in the aim of understanding: 1) The ontogenesis of ABC and SLC transporters during brain maturation, 2) the functional role of four BBB drug efflux transporters (P-glycoprotein (P-gp), Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (bcrp), Organic Anion Transporter 3 (oat3), and Transporting Peptide 1a4 (oatp1a4) transporters) in children's brain, and 3) the mechanisms that regulate their functional expression under normal and pathological conditions, mostly under inflammatory conditions, because indeed alterations in structural and functional components of the BBB have been reported in a long list of CNS pathologies in adults. Our results showed changing properties of the BBB during ontogenesis, as well as an age-related differential regulation of BBB drug efflux transporters under normal and inflammatory conditions.These findings highlight the importance of considering an age-related response of CNS to drugs and of taking into account the specific properties of juvenile BBB during definition of therapeutic strategies designed to treat childhood brain diseases, and this in the clinical perspective of developing new drugs with enhanced efficacy in children's CNS.