<p>In this study the formation of supported membranes onto planar solid supports has been investigated. The stability and activity of reconstituted membrane receptors has been studied. The potential use of such preparations in biosensor applications is discussed.</p><p>The lipid films were made by the Langmuir Blodgett and by the liposome fusion techniques. These supported films were characterised by ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and resonant mirror techniques. The thickness of the films was in agreement with that of a cell membrane. The kinetics of formation of the lipid films was studied and discussed.</p><p>The proteins, bacteriorhodopsin, cytochrome oxidase, acetylcholinesterase and the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor were reconstituted into the supported membrane. The subsequent analysis showed that the proteins were individually distributed and that the activity was retained, in some cases for several weeks after immobilisation.</p><p>The glycolipids, GM1, GM2, GD1b, asialo-GM1, globotriaosylceramide, lactosylceramide and galactosylceramide, were also reconstituted into the supported membranes. Their specific interaction with the toxin ricin or with its B-chain was examined using SPR. The affinity of intact toxin and of its B-chain differed markedly and was pH dependent. The carbohydrate chain length and charge density of the glycolipids also influenced the affinity.</p>

<p>A number of active site mutants of human Alpha class glutathione transferase A1-1 (hGST A1-1) were made and characterized to determine the structural determinants for alkenal activity. The choice of mutations was based on primary structure alignments of hGST A1-1 and the Alpha class enzyme with the highest alkenal activity, hGST A4-4, from three different species and crystal structure comparisons between the human enzymes. The result was an enzyme with a 3000-fold change in substrate specificity for nonenal over 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB).</p><p>The C-terminus of the Alpha class enzymes is an α-helix that folds over the active site upon substrate binding. The rate-determining step is product release, which is influenced by the movements of the C-terminus, thereby opening the active site. Phenylalanine 220, near the end of the C-terminus, forms an aromatic cluster with tyrosine 9 and phenylalanine 10, positioning the β-carbon of the cysteinyl moiety of glutathione. The effects of phenylalanine 220 mutations on the mobility of the C-terminus were studied by the viscosity dependence of k_cat and k_cat/K_m with glutathione and CDNB as the varied substrates. </p><p>The compatibility of slightly different subunit interfaces within the Alpha class has been studied by heterodimerization between monomers from hGST A1-1 and hGST A4-4. The heterodimer was temperature sensitive, and rehybridized into homodimers at 40 ˚C. The heterodimers did not show strictly additive activities with alkenals and CDNB. This result combined with further studies indicates that there are factors at the subunit interface influencing the catalytic properties of hGST A1-1.</p>

<p>Tissue factor (TF) is the initiator of the coagulation cascade. Monocytes do not normally express TF, but can be induced to do so by certain stimuli. Aberrant TF expression is important in the thrombotic complications of bacterial sepsis, certain malignancies and coronary artery disease (CAD). In this thesis, regulation of monocyte TF by cytokines and by interactions with other vascular cells were studied, as well as the activation of blood cells, inflammation and coagulation in CAD patients and the association of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 with prognosis in unstable CAD. </p><p>In a whole blood experimental system, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was shown to suppress lipopolysaccharide-induced TF expression in monocytes, whereas IL-4 and IL-13 did not, contrary to previous in vitro findings. Activated platelets also induced monocyte TF in whole blood in a P-selectin-dependent manner, causing a rapid surface exposure of TF independent of mRNA formation. The differentiated monocytic cell line U-937 displayed different kinetics of platelet-stimulated TF induction.</p><p>In co-culture with cytokine-activated human coronary artery endothelial cells, U-937 cells expressed TF, and also IL-6. The endothelial cells up-regulated their production of IL-10. Simvastatin, enalapril and dalteparin, all commonly used drugs in CAD treatment, suppressed TF induction but did not alter cytokine expression in co-cultures.</p><p>In unstable CAD, there was an activation of both coagulation and inflammation compared to stable CAD that coincided with an increased activation of platelets and leukocytes. Women had different patterns of cellular activation than men, indicating differences in pathogenetic mechanisms.</p><p>Plasma levels of IL-6 above 5 ng/L proved to be a strong, independent marker for increased risk of death in a 6-12 month perspective in patients with unstable CAD. This risk was significantly reduced by an early invasive strategy.</p>

<p>The hydrolysis kinetics of bacterial cellulose and its derivatives by <i>Trichoderma reesei</i> cellulases was studied. The cellulose surface erosion model was introduced to explain the gradual and strong retardation of the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. This model identifies the decrease in apparent processivity of cellobiohydrolases during the hydrolysis as a major contributor to the decreased rates. Both enzyme-related (non-productive binding) and substrate-related (erosion of cellulose surface) processes contribute to the decrease in apparent processivity. Furthermore, the surface erosion model allows, in addition to conventional endo-exo synergism, the possibility for different modes of synergistic action between cellulases. The second mode of synergism operates in parallel with the conventional one and was found to be predominant in the hydrolysis of more crystalline celluloses and also in the synergistic action of two cellobiohydrolases. </p><p>A mechanism of substrate inhibition in synergistic hydrolysis of bacterial cellulose was proposed whereby the inhibition is a result of surface dilution of reaction components (bound cellobiohydrolase and cellulose chain ends) at lower enzyme-to-substrate ratios. </p><p>The inhibition of cellulases by the hydrolysis product, cellobiose, was found to be strongly dependent on the nature of the substrate. The hydrolysis of a low molecular weight model substrate, such as para-nitrophenyl cellobioside, by cellobiohydrolase I is strongly inhibited by cellobiose with a competitive inhibition constant around 20 μM, whereas the hydrolysis of cellulose is more resistant to inhibition with an apparent inhibition constant around 1.5 mM for cellobiose.</p>

<p>The mouse xenobiotic-inducible <i>Cyp2a5</i> gene is both transcriptionally and posttranscriptionally regulated. One of the most potent <i>Cyp2a5</i> inducers, the hepatotoxin pyrazole, increases the CYP2A5 mRNA half-life. The induction is accomplished through the interaction of a pyrazole-inducible protein with a 71 nt long, putative hairpin-loop region in the 3' UTR of the CYP2A5 mRNA.</p><p>The aims of this thesis have been to identify the pyrazole-inducible protein, to investigate its role in the <i>Cyp2a5</i> expression and the significance of the 71 nt hairpin-loop region for the <i>Cyp2a5</i> expression, and to examine a possible coupling between transcriptional and posttranscriptional processes in <i>Cyp2a5</i> expression.</p><p>The pyrazole-inducible protein was identified as the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A1. Studies performed in mouse primary hepatocytes overexpressing hnRNP A1, and in mouse erythroleukemia derived cells lacking hnRNP A1, revealed that the 71 nt region in the 3' UTR of the CYP2A5 mRNA is essential for <i>Cyp2a5</i> expression.</p><p>The hnRNP A1 is a multifunctional nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein, with the ability to bind both RNA and DNA. These properties make it an interesting candidate mediating a coupling between nuclear and cytoplasmic gene regulatory events, which was investigated for the <i>Cyp2a5</i>. In conditions of cellular stress hnRNP A1 translocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The accumulation of cytoplasmic hnRNP A1 after RNA polymerase II transcription inhibition, resulted in an increased binding of hnRNP A1 to the CYP2A5 mRNA, parallel with a stabilization of the CYP2A5 mRNA.</p><p>Treating primary mouse hepatocytes with phenobarbital (PB), a <i>Cyp2a5</i> transcriptional inducer, resulted in a mainly nuclear localization of the hnRNP A1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with nuclear extracts from control or PB-treated mice, revealed that hnRNP A1 interacts with two regions in the <i>Cyp2a5</i> proximal promoter, and that the interaction to one of the regions was stimulated by PB treatment.</p><p>In conclusion, the change in hnRNP A1 subcellular localization after transcriptional inhibition or activation, together with the effects on the interaction of hnRNP A1 with the CYP2A5 mRNA and <i>Cyp2a5</i> promoter, suggest that hnRNP A1 could couple the nuclear and cytoplasmic events of the <i>Cyp2a5</i> expression.</p><p>The presented studies are the first showing involvement of an hnRNP protein in the regulation of a <i>Cyp</i> gene. Moreover, it is the first time an interconnected transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation has been suggested for a member of the <i>Cyp</i> gene family.</p>

<p>Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are detoxication enzymes involved in the cellular protection against a wide range of reactive substances. The role of GSTs is to catalyze the conjugation of glutathione with electrophilic compounds, which generally results in less toxic products. </p><p>The ability to catalyze the denitrosation of the anticancer drug 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)- 1-nitrosourea (BCNU) was measured in twelve different GSTs. Only three of the enzymes showed any measurable activity with BCNU, of which human GST T1-1 was the most efficient. This is of special interest, since human GST T1-1 is a polymorphic protein and its expression in different patients may be crucial for the response to BCNU.</p><p>DNA shuffling was used to create a mutant library by recombination of cDNA coding for two different Theta-class GSTs. In total, 94 randomly picked mutants were characterized with respect to their catalytic activity with six different substrates, expression level and sequence. A clone with only one point mutation compared to wild-type rat GST T2-2 had a significantly different substrate-activity pattern. A high expressing mutant of human GST T1-1 was also identified, which is important, since the yield of the wild-type GST T1-1 is generally low. </p><p>Characterization of the Theta library demonstrated divergence of GST variants both in structure and function. The properties of every mutant were treated as a point in a six-dimensional substrate-activity space. Groups of mutants were formed based on euclidian distances and K-means cluster analyses. Both methods resulted in a set of five mutants with high alkyltransferase activities toward dichloromethane and 4-nitrophenethyl bromide (NPB). </p><p>The five selected mutants were used as parental genes in a new DNA shuffling. Addition of cDNA coding for mouse and rat GST T1-1 improved the genetic diversity of the library. The evolution of GST variants was directed towards increased alkyltransferase activity including activity with the anticancer drug BCNU. NPB was used as a surrogate substrate in order to facilitate the screening process. A mutant from the second generation displayed a 65-fold increased catalytic activity with NPB as substrate compared to wild-type human GST T1-1. The BCNU activity with the same mutant had increased 175-fold, suggesting that NPB is a suitable model substrate for the anticancer drug. Further evolution presented a mutant in the fifth generation of the library with 110 times higher NPB activity than wild-type human GST T1-1.</p>

<p>Heparan sulfate (HS) is a linear polysaccharide, located on the surface and in the extracellular matrix of most cells, that regulates functions of numerous proteins. HS-protein interaction is mainly mediated by sulfate groups found in N-sulfated (NS) regions of the HS, but may also involve rare HS substituents such as N-unsubstituted glucosamine (GlcNH₂) residues. The location of GlcNH₂ in an HS-epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody 10E4, that specifically stains the prion lesions in scrapie-infected murine brain, suggests an involvement of GlcNH₂ in prion disease and other amyloid-related disorders. HS in general is strongly associated with amyloidosis, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to structurally characterize GlcNH₂-containing HS sequences found in native tissues, to further study HS epitopes recognized by 10E4, and to investigate the possible role(s) of GlcNH₂ and other HS structures in binding to amyloid β peptide (Aβ) (core material in AD plaque lesions, also stained by 10E4).</p><p>The GlcNH₂ content (0.7-4% of total disaccharide units) varied between HS from different tissues. Most GlcNH₂ units were found in poorly modified N-acetylated (NA-) or NA/NS-domains, located toward the polysaccharide-protein linkage region.</p><p>Binding of human cerebral cortex HS to Aβ(1–40) monomers requires N-, 2- and 6-O-sulfation of HS, while binding to Aβ fibrils requires N- and 2-O-sulfation only. GlcNH₂ units do not appreciably contribute to interaction with Aβ. Aβ fibril-binding HS domains also bind to fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), indicating that Aβ (neurotoxic) and FGF-2 (neuroprotective) may compete for common binding sites in HS. However, Aβ had no effect on FGF-2-induced MAPK signaling in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts.</p><p>Continued studies on 10E4-antigenic HS epitope(s) showed that binding of 10E4 to the previously identified antigenic tetrasaccharide, ∆UA-GlcNH₂-GlcA-GlcNAc, requires the nonreducing hexuronic acid (∆UA) to be 4,5 unsaturated (induced by lyase cleavage), and thus is artificial. Further studies are needed to clarify the potential involvement of GlcNH₂ in 10E4-recognition of the native HS epitope(s).</p>

<p>When drug molecules are passively absorbed through the cell membrane in the small intestine, the first key step is partitioning of the drug into the membrane. Partition data can therefore be used to predict drug absorption. The partitioning of a solute can be analyzed by drug partition chromatography on immobilized model membranes, where the chromatographic retention of the solute reflects the partitioning. The aims of this thesis were to develop the model membranes used in drug partition chromatography and to study the effects of different membrane components and membrane structures on drug partitioning, in order to characterize drug–membrane interactions.</p><p>Electrostatic effects were observed on the partitioning of charged drugs into liposomes containing charged detergent, lipid or phospholipid; bilayer disks; proteoliposomes and porcine intestinal brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs), and on the retention of an oligonucleotide on positive liposomes. Biological membranes are naturally charged, which will affect drug partitioning in the human body.</p><p>Proteoliposomes containing transmembrane proteins and cholesterol, BBMVs and bilayer disks were used as novel model membranes in drug partition chromatography. Partition data obtained on proteoliposomes and BBMVs demonstrated how cholesterol and transmembrane proteins interact with drug molecules. Such interactions will occur between drugs and natural cell membranes. In the use of immobilized BBMVs for drug partition chromatography, yet unsolved problems with the stability of the membrane were encountered. A comparison of partition data obtained on bilayer disks with data on multi- and unilamellar liposomes indicated that the structure of the membrane affect the partitioning. The most accurate partition values might be obtained on bilayer disks.</p><p>Drug partition data obtained on immobilized model membranes include both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Such partition data should preferably be used when deriving algorithms or computer programs for prediction of drug absorption.</p>

This thesis describes the use of rational redesign to modify the properties of the enzyme Candida antarctica lipase B. Through carefully selected single-point mutations, we were able to introduce substrate-assisted catalysis and to alter the reaction specificity. Other single-point mutations afforded variants with greatly changed substrate selectivity and enantioselectivity. Mutation of the catalytic serine changed the hydrolase activity into an aldolase activity. The mutation decreased the activation energy for aldol addition by 4 kJ×mol-1, while the activation energy increased so much for hydrolysis that no hydrolysis activity could be detected. This mutant can catalyze aldol additions that no natural aldolases can catalyze. Mutation of the threonine in the oxyanion hole proved the great importance of its hydroxyl group in the transition-state stabilization. The lost transition-state stabilization was partly replaced through substrate-assisted catalysis with substrates carrying a hydroxyl group. The poor selectivity of the wild-type lipase for ethyl 2-hydroxypropanoate (E=1.6) was greatly improved in the mutant (E=22), since only one enantiomer could perform substrate-assisted catalysis. The redesign of the size of the stereospecificity pocket was very successful. Mutation of the tryptophan at the bottom of this pocket removed steric interactions with secondary alcohols that have to position a substituent larger than an ethyl in this pocket. This mutation increased the activity 5 500 times towards 5-nonanol and 130 000 times towards (S)-1-phenylethanol. The acceptance of such large substituents (butyl and phenyl) in the redesigned stereospecificity pocket increases the utility of lipases in biocatalysis. The improved activity with (S)-1-phenylethanol strongly contributed to the 8 300 000 times change in enantioselectivity towards 1-phenylethanol; example of such a large change was not found in the literature. The S-selectivity of the mutant is unique for lipases. Its enantioselectivity increases strongly with temperature reaching a useful S-selectivity (E=44) at 69 °C. Thermodynamics analysis of the enantioselectivity showed that the mutation in the stereospecificity pocket mainly changed the entropic term, while the enthalpic term was only slightly affected. This pinpoints the importance of entropy in enzyme catalysis and entropy should not be neglected in rational redesign.

A number of active site mutants of human Alpha class glutathione transferase A1-1 (hGST A1-1) were made and characterized to determine the structural determinants for alkenal activity. The choice of mutations was based on primary structure alignments of hGST A1-1 and the Alpha class enzyme with the highest alkenal activity, hGST A4-4, from three different species and crystal structure comparisons between the human enzymes. The result was an enzyme with a 3000-fold change in substrate specificity for nonenal over 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB). The C-terminus of the Alpha class enzymes is an α-helix that folds over the active site upon substrate binding. The rate-determining step is product release, which is influenced by the movements of the C-terminus, thereby opening the active site. Phenylalanine 220, near the end of the C-terminus, forms an aromatic cluster with tyrosine 9 and phenylalanine 10, positioning the β-carbon of the cysteinyl moiety of glutathione. The effects of phenylalanine 220 mutations on the mobility of the C-terminus were studied by the viscosity dependence of kcat and kcat/Km with glutathione and CDNB as the varied substrates. The compatibility of slightly different subunit interfaces within the Alpha class has been studied by heterodimerization between monomers from hGST A1-1 and hGST A4-4. The heterodimer was temperature sensitive, and rehybridized into homodimers at 40 ˚C. The heterodimers did not show strictly additive activities with alkenals and CDNB. This result combined with further studies indicates that there are factors at the subunit interface influencing the catalytic properties of hGST A1-1.