Parabutoporin (PP) and opistoporin 1 (OP1) are cation, a-helical antimicrobial peptides isolated from the southern African scorpion species, Parabuthus schlechteri and Opistophthalmus carinatus, respectively. Along with their antimicrobial action against bacteria and fungi, these peptides show pore-forming properties in the membranes of mammalian cells. Pore-formation and ion selectivity in cardiac myocytes were investigated by measuring the whole cell leak current by means of the patch clamp technique. Pore-formation was observed as the induction of leak currents. Ion selectivity of the pores was indicated by the shift of the reversal potential (E,,,) upon substitution of intra (K' with CS' and CI- with aspartate) and extracellular (Na' with NMDG') ions. Results were compared with the effect of gramicidin A used as a positive control for monovalent cation selective pores. PP and OP I induced a fluctuating leak current and indicate non-selectivity of PP and OP1-induced pores. An osmotic protection assay to determine estimated pore size was performed on the cardiac myocytes. PP and OP1-induced pores had an estimate pore size of 1.38-1.78 nm in diameter. The effect of PP and OP1 on the membrane potential (MP) of a neuroblastoma cell line and cardiac myocytes was investigated. TMRM was used to mark the MP fluorescently and a confocal microscope used to record the data digitally. The resting membrane potential (RMP) of the neuroblastoma cells was calculated at -38.3 f 1.9 mV. PP (0.5 uM) and OP1 (0.5-1 uM) depolarized the entire cell uniformly to a MP of -1 1.9 k 3.9 mV and -9.4 k 1.9 mV, respectively. This occurred after 20-30 min of peptide exposure. In the case of the cardiac myocytes depolarization was induced to -39.7 f 8.4 mV and -32.6 f 5.2 mV by 0.5-1 uM PP and 1.5-2.5 uM OPl, respectively. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Physiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Phytoplasma diseases have caused disastrous effects in vineyards around the world. Therefore, the recent discovery of phytoplasmas in South African vineyards could be highly detrimental to the local wine industry. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules expressed by almost all organisms as part of their non-specific defence system. These peptides can offer protection against a wide variety of bacterial and fungal pathogens in plants. Due to the fact that phytoplasmas lack an outer membrane and cell wall, AMPs are considered to be perfect candidates to confer resistance to this phytopathogen. The current study intends to explore the in planta activity of AMPs against the grapevine pathogen aster yellows phytoplasma (AYp) through Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression. The AMPs, Vv-AMP1, D4E1 and Snakin1 (isolated from potato and grapevine) were selected to be tested for their in planta effect against AYp. Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S expression vectors containing four different AMP-encoding sequences were therefore constructed. As an alternative method to observe the effect Vv-AMP1 might have on AYp in planta, grafting of Vv-AMP1 transgenic Vitis vinifera cv "Sultana‟ plant material was used. To allow assumptions about AMP efficacy in this transient expression system, attempts were made to describe the spatial distribution and pathogen titre of AYp in V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ material. Additionally, transmission experiments were carried out to infect Catharanthus roseus and Nicotiana benthamiana with AYp through the insect vector Mgenia fuscovaria. Material was screened for AYp infection by a nested-PCR procedure using universal primers described by Gundersen and Lee (1996). For quantification of AYp infection, a semi-quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) protocol was optimized, using the SYBR Green-based system. In total, 86 V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ plantlets were screened for AYp infection two-, three-, four-, seven- and eleven weeks after introduction into in vitro conditions. No AYp infection could however be detected and plantlets displayed a "recovery phenotype‟. To examine the distribution of AYp in canes of an infected V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ plant, leaf and the corresponding node material from five canes were screened by a nested-PCR procedure. It can be concluded, that AYp was found predominantly in the nodes when compared to leaf material in the late season of the year. It is also highly unlikely for leaf material to show phytoplasma infection, if in the corresponding node no AYp could be detected. As AYp-infected grapevine material could not be maintained in vitro, the effect of VvAMP-1 transgenic grapevine against AYp could not be tested. Infection of C. roseus and N. benthamiana plants with AYp was successfully achieved by insect vector transmission experiments. Transient expression assays were conducted on AYp-infected N. benthamiana material. Quantification of phytoplasma in this material showed a decrease of AYp in both the AMP treatment groups and the control groups. This study optimized a qPCR procedure to detect and quantify AYp in infected plant material. The Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system used during this study was not reliable, as no significant effect of the AMPs on AYp titre could be observed. This study showed, that AYp cannot be established and maintained in in vitro cultured V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ material, and tissue culture itself might therefore be a way to eradicate AYp in this cultivar. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the spatial distribution of AYp in canes of an infected V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ vine. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Fitoplasma siektes veroorsaak ramspoedige gevolge in wingerde oor die hele wêreld. Dus kan die onlangse ontdekking van fitoplasma in Suid-Afrikaanse wingerde baie nadelige gevolge vir die plaaslike wynbedryf beteken. Antimikrobiese peptiede (AMPe) is klein molekules wat in amper al organismes as deel van hulle nie-spesifieke verdedegingsstelsel tot uitdruk kom. Hierdie peptiede kan beskerming aanbied teen ʼn wye verskeidenheid van bakteriële en swampatogene in plante. As gevolg van die feit dat fitoplasmas geen buitenste membraan en selwand het nie, word AMPe oorweeg as middle om weerstand te verleen teen hierdie fitopatogene. Die huidige studie beoog om die in planta aktiwiteit an AMPe teen die wingerdstok patogeen aster geel fitoplasma (AYp) deur middle van Agrobakteriumbemiddelde tydelike uitdrukkingssiteme, te ondersoek. Die AMPe, Vv-AMP1, D4E1 en Snakin1 (geïsoleer van aartappel en wingerd plante) is gekies om getoets te word vir hul in planta effek teen AYp. Blomkoolmosaïek-viruse 35S uitdrukkingsvektore met vier verskillende AMP-kodering rye, is dus ontwikkel. As ʼn aternatiewe method om die moontlike effek van Vv-AMP1 op AYp in planta in ag te neem, is oorplantings van die Vv-AMP1 transgeniese Vitis vinifera cv "Sultana‟ plantmateriaal gebruik. Om voorsiening te maak vir AMPe se doeltreffenheid in hierdie tydelike uitdrukkingsvektore, is pogings aangewend om die ruimlike verspreiding en patogeen konsentrasie van AYp in V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ te beskryf. Addisioneel is transmissie eksperimente uitgevoer om Catharanthus roseus en Nicotania benthamiana te besmet met AYp deur die insekvektor, Mgenia fuscovaria. Plantmateriaal is getoets vir AYp deur van ʼn PCR protokol gebruik te maak met universele inleiers (grondlae) soos beskyf deur Grundersen en Lee (1996). Vir kwantifiseering van die AYp infeksie, is n semi-kwantitatiewe qPCR protokol geoptimaliseer, met hulp van die SYBR Groen-gebaseerde stelsel. In geheel is 86 V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ planties getoets vir AYp infeksie – twee-, drie-, vier-, sewe- en elf weke na die bekendstelling aan die in vitro voorwaardes. Geen AYp infeksie kon egter opgespoor word en die plante het “herstel fenotipe‟ vertoon. Om die verspreiding van AYp in stingelknope van ʼn besemtte V. vinifera cv "Cardonnay‟ plant, blaar en ooreenstemmende stingelknope uit vyf stingels te ondersoek, is hulle getoets deur ʼn PCR protokol. Daar kon afgelei word dat AYp hoofsaaklik in die stingelknop in vergelyking met die blaarmaterial laat in die season, gevind word. Dit is hoogs oonwaarskynlik om fitoplasma infeksies in blaarmaterial te vind, as in die ooreenstemmende stingelknop daar geen AYp oopgespoor kon word nie. As gevolge daarvan dat die AYp-geinfekteerde wingerdmateriaal nie in vitro gegroei kon word nie, kon die effek van VvAMP-1 transgeniese wingerd teen AYp nie getoets word nie. Infeksies van C. roseus en N. benthamiana plante met AYp is suksesvol bereik deur transmissie eksperiemente. met ʼn insekvektor. Tydellike uitdrukkingvektore toetse is uitgevoer op die AYp besmette N. benthamiana material. Kwantifisering van fitoplasma in hierdie material het die afname van AYp in altwee, die AMP behandelings groepe en die kontrole groepe getoon. Hierdie studie het ʼn qPCR geoptimaliseer om besmette plantmaterial met AYp op te spoor en dit te kwantifiseer. Die Agrobacterium-bemiddelde tydelike uitdrukingsvektore wat in hierdie studie gebruik is, was nie vertroubaar genoeg, want geen beduidelike effek van die AMPe op AYp konsentrasie kon waargeneen word nie. Hierdie studie het bewys dat AYp nie vasgestel is en in stand gehou kan word deur in vitro aankweeking van V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ material nie, en weefselkulture kan dus ʼn manier wees om AYp in hierdie kultivar uit te roei. Tot kennis, is hierdie studie die eerste studie om die ruimtelike verspreiding van AYp in stingelknope van ʼn besmette V. vinifera cv "Chardonnay‟ wingerstok te rapporteur. / Winetech and DAAD

Lors de pathologies pulmonaires inflammatoires chroniques comme la mucoviscidose ou la BPCO, le déséquilibre de la balance protéases/antiprotéases aboutit à la dégradation du tissu pulmonaire et à l’inactivation des défenses antimicrobiennes. Les cathepsines à cystéine participent à l’inactivation protéolytique de peptides et protéines antimicrobiens (PAMs) pulmonaires comme le SLPI, la lactoferrine, et les β-défensines HBD-2 et -3 lors de l’emphysème ou de la mucoviscidose. Lors de cette thèse, nous avons étudié la capacité des cathepsines à cystéine B, K, L et S à hydrolyser le peptide LL-37, qui est un PAM important dans l’immunité innée pulmonaire. Seules les cathepsines K et S clivent le LL-37 et inactivent efficacement son activité antimicrobienne. A l’inverse, le LL-37 est un inhibiteur compétitif de la cathepsine L. D’autre part, l’expression pulmonaire de la cathepsine S est fortement augmentée chez les individus fumeurs atteints ou non de BPCO. La fumée de cigarette qui est une source importante de stress oxydatif induit une augmentation significative de l'expression et l'activité de la cathepsine S. Malgré un environnement oxydatif non favorable à l'activité des cathepsines, la cathepsine S parvient à hydrolyser le peptide LL-37 et pourrait ainsi augmenter le risque d’exacerbation lors de la BPCO. / During chronic inflammatory lung diseases like cystic fibrosis or COPD, proteases/antiproteases imbalance leads to pulmonary tissue degradation and compromise antimicrobial barrier. Cysteine cathepsins are involved in the proteolytic inactivation of several lung antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as SLPI, lactoferrin and β- defensins -2 and -3 during emphysema or cystic fibrosis. During this thesis, we studied the ability of cathepsins B, K, L and S to degrade LL-37, which is an important AMP in lung immunity. Only cathepsins K and S degrade readily LL-37 and inactivate its antimicrobial property. Conversely, LL-37 is a competitive inhibitor of cathepsin L. Beside, lung expression of human cathepsin S is significantly increased in smokers with or without COPD compared to non-smokers. Cigarette smoke that is a major source of oxidative stress significantly increases the expression and activity of cathepsin S. Despite an unfavorable oxidative environment, cathepsin S retains its proteolytic activity toward LL-37 and thus could participate to COPD exacerbation.

Data de aprova??o ausente. / Submitted by Jos? Henrique Henrique (jose.neves@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2016-12-21T16:01:47Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) isabela_pereira_gomes.pdf: 4600043 bytes, checksum: 3419d89b2ca19457442da4e144781e1b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2017-01-21T11:24:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 9 bytes, checksum: 42dd12a06de379d3ffa39b67dc9c7aff (MD5) isabela_pereira_gomes.pdf: 4600043 bytes, checksum: 3419d89b2ca19457442da4e144781e1b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-21T11:24:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 9 bytes, checksum: 42dd12a06de379d3ffa39b67dc9c7aff (MD5) isabela_pereira_gomes.pdf: 4600043 bytes, checksum: 3419d89b2ca19457442da4e144781e1b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) / Micro-organismos resistentes a antibi?ticos v?m atingindo ?ndices elevados nos ?ltimos anos, agravando problemas de sa?de p?blica e econ?micos. O impacto na sociedade devido ? resist?ncia de bact?rias aos antibi?ticos convencionais tem mobilizado a pesquisa para o desenvolvimento de novas drogas. Nesse contexto, surgem os pept?deos antimicrobianos, que s?o mol?culas efetoras do sistema imune inato e podem ser encontrados em praticamente todos os seres vivos. Para prote??o contra os micro-organismos presentes em seu habitat, a pele de anuros apresenta um verdadeiro arsenal qu?mico, constitu?do, em sua maioria, de diferentes classes de pept?deos. Dentre esses, os antimicrobianos s?o considerados os mais avan?ados participantes do sistema imunol?gico. V?rios estudos sugerem que os pept?deos antimicrobianos podem atuar por diferentes mecanismo como miceliza??o, forma??o de poros na superf?cie da membrana ou, ainda, pelo ataque a algum alvo intracelular. Embora a maioria dos modelos existentes proponham que pept?deos antimicrobianos exercem suas atividades biol?gicas por meio da intera??o com a membrana bacteriana, o mecanismo de a??o dessas mol?culas ainda n?o ? completamente compreendido. Dessa forma, o presente estudo tem como objetivo obter informa??es estruturais, conformacionais e de intera??o em ambientes que mimetizam membranas biol?gicas, do pept?deo Hylaseptina P1 (HSP-1), composto por 14 res?duos de amino?cidos e isolado do anuro da esp?cie Hyla punctata visando o entendimento do seu mecanismo de a??o. Neste trabalho, o pept?deo HSP-1 foi sintetizado manualmente atrav?s da s?ntese de pept?deos em fase s?lida via estrat?gia Fmoc. As prefer?ncias conformacionais do pept?deo em meios micelares de dodecilsulfato de s?dio (SDS), dodecilfosfocolina (DPC) e ves?culas fosfolip?dicas de 1-palmitoil-2-oleilfosfatidilcolina (PC) e 1-palmitoil-2-oleoil-fosfatidilglicerol (PG) foram avaliadas por Dicro?smo Circular. Observou-se que em meio aquoso HSP-1 adota estrutura desenovelada, enquanto que, em meios micelares e ves?culas fosfolip?dicas, apresentou conforma??o ?-h?lice. A estrutura tridimensional foi estudada na presen?a de micelas de SDS e DPC por Espectroscopia de Resson?ncia Magn?tica Nuclear em solu??o, revelando que, em micelas de SDS o pept?deo HSP-1 exibe conforma??o helicoidal mais prolongada do que em micelas de DPC, no qual foi poss?vel verificar pequena dobra da h?lice na regi?o N-terminal da cadeia pept?dica, sugerindo maior inser??o do pept?deo em micelas zwiteri?nicas. O efeito da adi??o de pept?deo no tamanho e na carga superficial de ves?culas fosfolip?dicas de PC e PC:PG (3:1) foi investigado por medidas de espalhamento de luz din?mica e Potencial Zeta. Verificou-se que a adi??o de HSP-1 resulta no aumento do di?metro hidrodin?mico (?Dh ? 20 nm) e aumento do potencial Zeta (?? ? 15 mV) de ves?culas unilamelares (LUV?s) de PC:PG, indicando intera??o eletrost?tica com a superf?cie das ves?culas. Quando ves?culas de PC foram tituladas com HSP-1, foi observada maior altera??o no di?metro hidrodin?mico das LUVs (?Dh ? 22 nm), enquanto que n?o se observaram altera??es significativas nos valores de potencial Zeta (?? ? 0 mV), sendo indicativo de uma maior inser??o do pept?deo em membranas zwiteri?nicas. Conforme observado nos resultados de Calorimetria de Titula??o Isot?rmica, a intera??o com ves?culas zwiteri?nicas foi da ordem de 102 maior do que o valor encontrado para intera??o com ves?culas negativas. Contudo, os dados termodin?micos revelaram a predomin?ncia de intera??es eletrost?ticas de HSP-1 com ves?culas de PC:PG e hidrof?bicas com ves?culas de PG. Finalmente, a capacidade de forma??o de poros de HSP-1 foi examinada por meio de medidas de extravasamento de carboxifluoresce?na (CF) em ves?culas de PC e PC:PG. Em PC-LUVs observou-se uma maior intensidade de fluoresc?ncia em compara??o com PC:PG-LUVs, sugerindo uma maior atividade l?tica do pept?deo em ves?culas zwiteri?nicas. A porcentagem m?xima de CF liberada foi superior em LUVs-PC (65%) quando comparado a LUVs de PC:PG (50%), confirmando que HSP-1 tem maior capacidade de permeabiliza??o em meio zwiteri?nico. Os dados de extravasamento demostraram tamb?m menor cin?tica de libera??o de CF em PC-LUVs, condizente com um mecanismo no qual h? maior inser??o do pept?deo na interface da bicamada lip?dica, e maior cin?tica de libera??o de CF em PC:PG-LUVs, de acordo com um mecanismo tipo carpete, o qual envolve apenas intera??o superficial do pept?deo com a membrana. / Disserta??o (Mestrado) ? Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Qu?mica, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, 2016. / The resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics have reached high levels in recent years, exacerbating public health and economic problems. The impact of bacterial resistance on the global society has mobilized the research community for the development and new drugs discovery. In this context, antimicrobial peptides appear as an alternative antibiotics class, which are effector molecules of the innate immune system in almost every living beings. In order to protect against microorganisms present in their habitat the skin of frogs presents a real chemical arsenal consisting mostly of different peptides classes, which are considered the most advanced participants of the immune system. Several studies suggest that antimicrobial peptides may act by different models such as micellization, pore formation in membrane surface or also intracellular target attack. Although most of models propose that antimicrobial peptides exert their biological activities by interacting with the bacterial membrane, the mechanism of action is not still fully understood. In order to study the action mechanism of antimicrobial peptide Hylaseptina P1 (HSP-1), composed of 14 amino acid residues and isolated from Hyla punctate species, this work presents conformational and thermodynamic analysis of peptide-membrane interaction in biomimetic environments. In this work, the HSP-1 peptide was synthesized manually by solid phase peptide synthesis using Fmoc strategy. The conformational preferences of peptide were evaluated by Circular dichroism in sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and dodecilfosfocolina (DPC) micellar media or 1-palmitoyl-2-oleilfosfatidilcolina (PC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (PG) phospholipid vesicles. A random conformation was observed to HSP-1 in aqueous medium while in micellar or phospholipid vesicles media HSP-1 showed a predominant ?-helix conformation. The three dimensional structure were obtained by solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in the presence of SDS and DPC micelles, revealing that HSP-1 exhibits a longer helical conformation in SDS than DPC micelles. In zwiterionic medium could be verified a subtle bend at the N-terminus, suggesting a partial insertion of the peptide in DPC micelles. The effects of adding peptide in size or surface charge of PC and PC:PG phospholipid vesicles were investigated by Dynamic Light Scattering and Zeta Potential measurements. The addition of HSP-1 to PC:PG-LUVs results in increasing of both hydrodynamic diameter (?Dh ? 20 nm) and zeta potential (?? ? 15 mV), indicating an electrostatic interaction with the surface vesicles. On the other hand, when PC-LUVs were titrated with HSP-1 a greater change in hydrodynamic diameter (?Dh ? 22 nm), no significant variations were observed in superficial charge, indicating a partial insertion of the peptide in zwitterionic PC membranes. In addition, the thermodynamic studies carried out by isothermal titration calorimetry showed a peptide-membrane interaction approximately 102 higher with PC-LUVs when compared to negative PC:PG-LUVs. Nevertheless, whereas the greater enthalpic contribution in PC:PG-LUVs revealed the predominance of electrostatic interactions with HSP-1, in PC vesicles predominate hydrophobic interactions. Finally, the ability of poring formation of HSP-1 was examined by carboxyfluorescein (CF) release from PC and PC:PG vesicles. It was observed a higher fluorescence intensity in PC-LUVs compared to PC:PG-LUVs, suggesting a greater lytic activity of the peptide in zwiterionic vesicles. The maximum percentage of CF released was approximately 65% to PC-LUVs and 50% to PC:PG-LUVs, confirming a greater membrane permeabilization in zwiterionic medium. Furthermore, this study has also demonstrated a lesser kinetics of CF leakage in PC-LUVs, consistent with a mechanism in which there is greater insertion of the peptide in the lipid bilayer interface. On the other hand, the higher kinetics of CF leakage in PC:PG?LUVs is in accordance with a carpet-like mechanism, which involve only superficial interaction between peptide and membrane.

Orientadora: Prof. Dra. Fernanda Dias da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnociência, 2016. / A microplusina e um peptideo antimicrobiano, quelante de Cu2+ e Fe2+, isolado do carrapato Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Estudos com macrofagos murinos, derivados de camundongos C57BL/6, demonstraram que a microplusina induziu a producao de TNF- ¿¿ e IL-6, independente da adicao de mediadores do sistema imune como o LPS e IFN-¿Á e potencializou a atividade dos macrofagos estimulados com IFN-¿Á, aumentando a sintese de NO e TNF-¿¿, o que sugere uma possivel atividade pro-inflamatoria da microplusina. Porem, estudos adicionais eram necessarios a fim de se elucidar sua atividade imunomoduladora. Sendo assim, este projeto teve como objetivo investigar a capacidade da microplusina induzir respostas anti-inflamatorias, atraves da sintese da enzima arginase I, ou pro-inflamatorias, atraves da sintese de oxido nitrico (NO), em macrofagos J774, derivados de camundongos BALB/c. Os resultados mostraram que a microplusina recombinante (25¿Êg/mL) induziu a producao de arginase I, com 6 horas de estimulo, com igual eficacia ao controle positivo estimulado pelo extrato de Bordetella parapertussis (30¿Êg/mL), porem nao foi capaz de induzir a sintese de NO, independente da dose do peptideo (5, 25 e 50 ¿Êg/mL), do tempo de estimulo da cultura (24h ou 72h) ou mesmo da adicao de IFN-¿Á (500 pg/mL), o que indica um efeito anti-inflamatorio da microplusina sobre essas celulas. Essa divergencia de resultado entre as duas linhagens pode ser devido a um perfil de respostas imune distinto entre as mesmas. Macrofagos derivados de camundongos BALB/c sao menos sensiveis ao estimulo com IFN-¿Á do que macrofagos derivados de C57BL/6, consequentemente produzindo menos NO. Por outro lado, a linhagem J774 tambem tende a produzir respostas anti-inflamatorias, como por exemplo, a arginase I, em resposta ao LPS. Os dados obtidos mostram que o efeito imunomodulador da microplusina pode variar de uma linhagem celular para outra, sendo necessarios mais estudos a fim de elucidar melhor seu potencial imunomodulador, para que futuramente possa ser estudada em modelos de infeccao. / The microplusin is an antimicrobial peptide, chelating of Cu2+ and Fe2+, isolated from the wood tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Studies with murine macrophages, extracted from C57BL/6 mouse, demonstrated that the microplusin induced the production of TNF-á and IL-6 by these cells, regardless of the addition of mediators of the immune system such as the LPS and IFN-ã, and it also enhanced the macrophages activity stimulated by IFN-ã, increasing the synthesis of NO and TNF-á, suggesting a potential post inflammatory microplusin activity. However, further studies were necessary to elucidate its immunomodulatory effect. Therefore, this project aimed to investigate the ability of microplusin to induce anti-inflammatory responses through the production of the arginase I enzyme, or proinflammatories, through the production of nitric oxide (NO) in the J774 macrophages lineage, derived from BALB/c mouse strain. The results show that recombinant microplusin (25ìg/ml) induced the production of arginase I, within 6 hours of stimulation, having equal efficacy as the positive control stimulated by the extract Bordetella parapertussis (30ìg/ml), but it was not able to induce the production of NO, independently of the peptide dosage (5, 25 e 50 ìg/mL), culture stimulus time (24h or 72h), or even adding IFN-ã (500 pg/mL), indicating a microplusin anti-inflammatory effect on these cells. This divergence of results between these two lineages might be due a distinct immune response profile among themselves. Macrophages derived from BALB/c mouse strain are less sensitive to IFN-ã stimulation than macrophages derived from C57BL/6 mouse strain, thus producing less NO. Moreover, the J774 strain also tends to produce anti-inflammatory responses, such as arginase I in response to LPS. The data show that the immunomodulating effect of microplusin may vary from one cell line to another, requiring further studies to better elucidate immunomodulating potential, so that hereafter, it can be studied in infection models.

Orientador: José Roberto Ruggiero / Banca: Mário Sérgio Palma / Banca: André Farias de Moura / Resumo: Mastoparanos são peptídeos helicoidais, anfipáticos e catiônicos que apresentam diversas funções biológicas, entre elas temos a ação antimicrobiana, que está relacionada à sua afinidade por membranas aniônicas de bactérias e sua capacidade lítica. Recentes estudos têm mostrado que a formação de poros em membranas é facilitada pela agregação de peptídeos carregados. Esta situação favoreceria a hipótese de que a formação de poro é essencialmente similar a eletroporação molecular. Neste trabalho investigamos a estabilidade de um dímero do Eumenine Mastoparan-AF, um membro catiônico (+4) da família dos mastoparanos, em água e mistura TFE-água, mimetizando meio aquoso e meio membranar, respectivamente. Particular atenção foi colocada nas interações eletrostáticas de grupos carregados e polares, principalmente naqueles que participam de ligações de hidrogênio entre os dois peptídeos e na hidratação da cadeia principal e cadeias laterais apolares. Uma estrutura dimérica representativa foi inicialmente obtida por um método de docking rígido e submetida às simulações de dinâmica molecular usando o pacote GROMACS. Resultados de 50 ns de simulação em água mostram uma perda parcial do conteúdo helicoidal dos peptídeos e a estrutura dimérica se desestrutura devido às interações desfavoráveis dos resíduos hidrofóbicos com a água. Por outro lado, simulações em mistura TFE-água mostram que o dímero é estável durante o tempo observado, porque as moléculas de TFE se agrupam ao redor de resíduos hidrofóbicos criando um meio apropriado que protege as ligações de hidrogênio intra- e inter-peptídeos. Surpreendentemente, parece que a repulsão eletrostática não é a principal razão para a desagregação do dímero, o que reforça a importância da. / Abstract: Mastoparans are helical, amphipathic and cationic peptides that display many biological functions, among which is the antimicrobial activity, which is related to its affinity for anionic membranes of bacteria and its lytic capacity. Recent studies have shown that pore formation on membranes is facilitated by the aggregation of charged peptides. This situation would favor the hypothesis that pore formation is essentially similar to the molecular electroporation. In this work, we investigate the stability of a dimer of the Eumenine Mastoparan-AF, a cationic (+4) member of the Mastoparan family, in water and TFE-water mixture, mimicking aqueous and membrane environments, respectively. Particular attention have been put on the electrostatic interactions of charged and polar groups, mainly those participating of hydrogen bonds between the two peptides and on the hydration of the backbone and apolar side chains. A representative dimer conformation was initially obtained by a rigid docking procedure and submitted to molecular dynamics simulations using the GROMACS package. Results of 50 ns of simulation in water show a partial loose of the helical content of the peptides and the dimer structure breaks down due to unfavorable interactions of hydrophobic residues with water. On the other hand, simulations in TFE-water mixture show the dimer is stable in the running time, because TFE molecules assemble around hydrophobic residues creating a suitable environment that protect the intra- and inter-peptides hydrogen bonds. Surprisingly, it seems that electrostatic repulsion is not the main reason for disaggregation of the dimer what reinforces both the importance of aggregation and the molecular electroporation mechanism for pore formation. / Mestre

Os invertebrados impedem o estabelecimento de uma infecção através de uma resposta imune eficiente. Esta resposta envolve reações celulares e humorais. Existem poucos trabalhos sobre a imunidade das aranhas. O principal objetivo deste estudo foi verificar o papel dos hemócitos e dos peptídeos antimicrobianos na resposta imune da aranha Acanthoscurria gomesiana. Inicialmente, a localização relativa da gomesina e da acanthoscurrina foi determinada, mostrando que 58% dos hemócitos armazenam os dois peptídeos antimicrobianos. Além disso, foi verificado que a gomesina é direcionada aos grânulos dos hemócitos da forma de pró-peptídeo. Observou-se ainda, que após um desafio, os hemócitos migram para o sítio de infecção, onde deve secretar componentes da cascata de coagulação e peptídeos antimicrobianos. Além disso, os resultados mostraram que a fagocitose não é o principal mecanismo ativado após uma infecção. Assim sendo, as principais respostas imunes da aranha são através da coagulação e secreção dos peptídeos antimicrobianos. / Invertebrates avoid the infection establishment through an efficient immune response. This response consists in cellular and humoral reactions. Few data are available concerning the spider\'s immunity. The main aim of this study was to determine the role of hemocytes and antimicrobial peptides on the immunity of the spider Acanthoscurria gomesiana. Initially, the localization of gomesin and acanthoscurrin was determined, showing that 58% of hemocytes store both antimicrobial peptides. Moreover, our results show that gomesin is addressed to the hemocyte granules as a pro-peptide. We also demonstrate, by in vivo and in vitro experiments, that hemocytes migrate to the site of microbial infection. Once at the site of infection, hemocytes might secrete components of coagulation cascade and antimicrobial peptides. Besides, our results suggest that phagocytosis is not the major defense mechanism activated after microbial challenge. Therefore the main reactions involved in the spider defense might be through the coagulation and antimicrobial peptides secretion.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-03-22Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:49:56Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 lopesfilho_fc_me_sjrp.pdf: 770782 bytes, checksum: 9373005f0d61b57eee8eaf4f430acc27 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Mastoparanos são peptídeos helicoidais, anfipáticos e catiônicos que apresentam diversas funções biológicas, entre elas temos a ação antimicrobiana, que está relacionada à sua afinidade por membranas aniônicas de bactérias e sua capacidade lítica. Recentes estudos têm mostrado que a formação de poros em membranas é facilitada pela agregação de peptídeos carregados. Esta situação favoreceria a hipótese de que a formação de poro é essencialmente similar a eletroporação molecular. Neste trabalho investigamos a estabilidade de um dímero do Eumenine Mastoparan-AF, um membro catiônico (+4) da família dos mastoparanos, em água e mistura TFE-água, mimetizando meio aquoso e meio membranar, respectivamente. Particular atenção foi colocada nas interações eletrostáticas de grupos carregados e polares, principalmente naqueles que participam de ligações de hidrogênio entre os dois peptídeos e na hidratação da cadeia principal e cadeias laterais apolares. Uma estrutura dimérica representativa foi inicialmente obtida por um método de docking rígido e submetida às simulações de dinâmica molecular usando o pacote GROMACS. Resultados de 50 ns de simulação em água mostram uma perda parcial do conteúdo helicoidal dos peptídeos e a estrutura dimérica se desestrutura devido às interações desfavoráveis dos resíduos hidrofóbicos com a água. Por outro lado, simulações em mistura TFE-água mostram que o dímero é estável durante o tempo observado, porque as moléculas de TFE se agrupam ao redor de resíduos hidrofóbicos criando um meio apropriado que protege as ligações de hidrogênio intra- e inter-peptídeos. Surpreendentemente, parece que a repulsão eletrostática não é a principal razão para a desagregação do dímero, o que reforça a importância da. / Mastoparans are helical, amphipathic and cationic peptides that display many biological functions, among which is the antimicrobial activity, which is related to its affinity for anionic membranes of bacteria and its lytic capacity. Recent studies have shown that pore formation on membranes is facilitated by the aggregation of charged peptides. This situation would favor the hypothesis that pore formation is essentially similar to the molecular electroporation. In this work, we investigate the stability of a dimer of the Eumenine Mastoparan-AF, a cationic (+4) member of the Mastoparan family, in water and TFE-water mixture, mimicking aqueous and membrane environments, respectively. Particular attention have been put on the electrostatic interactions of charged and polar groups, mainly those participating of hydrogen bonds between the two peptides and on the hydration of the backbone and apolar side chains. A representative dimer conformation was initially obtained by a rigid docking procedure and submitted to molecular dynamics simulations using the GROMACS package. Results of 50 ns of simulation in water show a partial loose of the helical content of the peptides and the dimer structure breaks down due to unfavorable interactions of hydrophobic residues with water. On the other hand, simulations in TFE-water mixture show the dimer is stable in the running time, because TFE molecules assemble around hydrophobic residues creating a suitable environment that protect the intra- and inter-peptides hydrogen bonds. Surprisingly, it seems that electrostatic repulsion is not the main reason for disaggregation of the dimer what reinforces both the importance of aggregation and the molecular electroporation mechanism for pore formation.

abstract: The study of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is a significant area of interest as these peptides have the potential to be developed into alternative drug therapies to combat microbial pathogens. AMPs represent a class of host-mediated factors that function to prevent microbial infection of their host and serve as a first line of defense. To date, over 1,000 AMPs of various natures have been predicted or experimentally characterized. Their potent bactericidal activities and broad-based target repertoire make them a promising next-generation pharmaceutical therapy to combat bacterial pathogens. It is important to understand the molecular mechanisms, both genetic and physiological, that bacteria employ to circumvent the bactericidal activities of AMPs. These understandings will allow researchers to overcome challenges posed with the development of new drug therapies; as well as identify, at a fundamental level, how bacteria are able to adapt and survive within varied host environments. Here, results are presented from the first reported large scale, systematic screen in which the Keio collection of ~4,000 Escherichia coli deletion mutants were challenged against physiologically significant AMPs to identify genes required for resistance. Less than 3% of the total number of genes on the E. coli chromosome was determined to contribute to bacterial resistance to at least one AMP analyzed in the screen. Further, the screen implicated a single cellular component (enterobacterial common antigen, ECA) and a single transporter system (twin-arginine transporter, Tat) as being required for resistance to each AMP class. Using antimicrobial resistance as a tool to identify novel genetic mechanisms, subsequent analyses were able to identify a two-component system, CpxR/CpxA, as a global regulator in bacterial resistance to AMPs. Multiple previously characterized CpxR/A members, as well as members found in this study, were identified in the screen. Notably, CpxR/A was found to transcriptionally regulate the gene cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of the ECA. Thus, a novel genetic mechanism was uncovered that directly correlates with a physiologically significant cellular component that appears to globally contribute to bacterial resistance to AMPs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Molecular and Cellular Biology 2013

abstract: Pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria employ a variety of molecular mechanisms to combat host defenses. Two-component regulatory systems (TCR systems) are the most ubiquitous signal transduction systems which regulate many genes required for virulence and survival of bacteria. In this study, I analyzed different TCR systems in two clinically-relevant Gram-negative bacteria, i.e., oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis and enterobacterial Escherichia coli. P. gingivalis is a major causative agent of periodontal disease as well as systemic illnesses, like cardiovascular disease. A microarray study found that the putative PorY-PorX TCR system controls the secretion and maturation of virulence factors, as well as loci involved in the PorSS secretion system, which secretes proteinases, i.e., gingipains, responsible for periodontal disease. Proteomic analysis (SILAC) was used to improve the microarray data, reverse-transcription PCR to verify the proteomic data, and primer extension assay to determine the promoter regions of specific PorX regulated loci. I was able to characterize multiple genetic loci regulated by this TCR system, many of which play an essential role in hemagglutination and host-cell adhesion, and likely contribute to virulence in this bacterium. Enteric Gram-negative bacteria must withstand many host defenses such as digestive enzymes, low pH, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The CpxR-CpxA TCR system of E. coli has been extensively characterized and shown to be required for protection against AMPs. Most recently, this TCR system has been shown to up-regulate the rfe-rff operon which encodes genes involved in the production of enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), and confers protection against a variety of AMPs. In this study, I utilized primer extension and DNase I footprinting to determine how CpxR regulates the ECA operon. My findings suggest that CpxR modulates transcription by directly binding to the rfe promoter. Multiple genetic and biochemical approaches were used to demonstrate that specific TCR systems contribute to regulation of virulence factors and resistance to host defenses in P. gingivalis and E. coli, respectively. Understanding these genetic circuits provides insight into strategies for pathogenesis and resistance to host defenses in Gram negative bacterial pathogens. Finally, these data provide compelling potential molecular targets for therapeutics to treat P. gingivalis and E. coli infections. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2013