No description available.

The degree of DNA supercoiling in the cell is carefully controlled by DNA topoisomerases. These enzymes catalyze the passage of individual DNA strands (Type I DNA topoisomerases), or double helices (Type II DNA topoisomerases) through one another. The purpose of the present study is to conduct a detailed analysis of the topo llα and β mRNAs expressed in several vertebrate cell lines. The final aim of this project is to analyze the relative roles of topo llα in chromatin condensation and chromosome segregation during mitosis, by performing topo llα gene targeting experiments in the DT 40 chicken lymphoblastoid cell line. The knock-out strategy was based on the observation of a high rate of homologous recombination versus random integration in the DT40 cell line. The topo llα gene was shown to be located on the chicken chromosome 2 (APM unpublished), for which the DT40 cell line is trisomic. The targeting vector completely replaced the 32 kb topo IIα genomic locus, generating a topo llα (-/+/+)cell line, which showed an increased resistance to topo II inhibitors. Paradoxically, 150 uM etoposide or 100 uM mitoxanthrone induced apoptosis within 5 hours in the topo llα (-1+1+) cell line, more rapidly as compared to the normal DT 40 cells. A topo IIα (-I-I+) cell line has also been generated. This study revealed the presence of evolutionarily conserved alternatively spliced forms of both topo llα and β isoforms between birds and humans. Hybridization screening of two chicken cDNA libraries, MSB-1 and DU249, revealed the presence of two distinct forms of both topo llα and β cDNAs. One form of topo llα, designated topo llα-1, encodes the chicken topo llα amino acid sequence previously reported (dbjiAB007445) in the database (unpublished). The second form, designated topo llα-2, encodes a protein containing an additional 35 amino acids inserted after Lysine-322 of chicken topo IIα-1 protein sequence. In the case of topo 11(3 mANA, one form, designated topo IIβ-1, encodes the protein already described (dbjiAB007446). The second form, tapa IIβ-2, would encode a protein missing the next 86 amino acids after Valine-25 in tapa II β-1 protein sequence. The tapa 11β variant is positioned similarly to one previously described in human (Hela) cells. The 5 amino acid insertion in the human tapa 11β-2 variant follows v23. In chicken cells, a longer insertion of 86 amino acids sequence follows v25, the homologous position in the tapa 11β protein. In human cells, the situation with tapa llα is more complex, as revealed by RT-PCR experiments (APM, unpublished) which generated several bands. One of these amplified species was found to contain a 36 amino acids insertion, positioned after residue K321 in the human tapa IIα cDNA, similarly to chicken tapa IIα-2 variant. The second human tapa llα spliced form cDNA was shown to contain a 26 amino acids insertion after residue A401 in the canonical human tapa llα protein sequence. The third cDNA variant isolated from human cells was described to encode a 81 amino acids insertion after residue Q355 positioned within the known human tapa IIα protein. It appears possible that the posttranslational modifications of the a-2 and β-2 isoforms may differ substantially from those of the canonical a-1 and β-1 isoforms. Such variant proteins could fulfil specialized functions, which might be tissue or cell-type specific. In summary, two novel forms of tapa llα and β cDNAs have been identified in three chicken cell lines. These spliced versions of both tapa llα and 13 isoforms seem to be evolutionary conserved, with similar forms occurring in their human counterparts. Future functional analysis of vertebrate tapa IIα and β will have to account for the existence of these novel isoforms, which might encode proteins that may exhibit different regulation of their subcellular localization, interaction with other proteins, or catalytic activity.

Submitted by Izabella Pazzoto Alves null (izapazzoto@hotmail.com) on 2017-03-29T18:48:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Mestrado - Alves, IP 2017.pdf: 1322169 bytes, checksum: 9b200f325b4ed42b13b4e4aafcd85329 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-03-30T18:04:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_ip_me_jabo.pdf: 1322169 bytes, checksum: 9b200f325b4ed42b13b4e4aafcd85329 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-30T18:04:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_ip_me_jabo.pdf: 1322169 bytes, checksum: 9b200f325b4ed42b13b4e4aafcd85329 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A avaliação de espermatozoides em tecnologias de reprodução assistida raramente analisa a integridade do DNA, crucial para o desenvolvimento embrionário. A técnica do azul de toluidina permite identificar alterações da cromatina com avaliação concomitante da morfometria espermática. O método foi descrito em diversas espécies, mas ao conhecimento dos autores, ainda não foi relatado em gatos. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a aplicabilidade da técnica de coloração de azul de toluidina em avaliar as anormalidades de DNA de espermatozoides epididimários (cabeça, corpo e cauda) de gatos. Investigar ainda se houve correlação entre as variáveis: condensação do DNA, morfologia e morfometria da cabeça espermática. Para este propósito, os índices de alteração de DNA obtidos pela técnica de azul de toluidina e laranja de acridina foram comparados, observando correlação de 65,38% (p<0,001). A estabilidade da cromatina aumentou significativamente da região da cabeça (92,06%) do epidídimo para a cauda (97,94%, p=0,0023), mas não houve diferença entre as regiões do corpo e da cauda, demonstrando que os espermatozoides provenientes destas regiões já possuem maturidade reprodutiva. Não houve correlação entre a anormalidade do DNA e a morfologia espermática como nas demais espécies, mas sim com a morfometria. Observou-se diminuição significativa do tamanho da cabeça do espermatozoide durante a passagem pelas três regiões epididimárias (p < 0,0001). A porcentagem de espermatozoides com cromatina descondensada diminuiu significativamente da região da cabeça até a cauda do epidídimo (26,36%, 15,69%, 3,38%, respectivamente, p<0,0001). Assim, concluímos que existe correlação entre área da cabeça do espermatozoide felino e condensação da cromatina. / Sperm selection in assisted reproductive technologies rarely evaluates the DNA integrity, which is crucial to the embryo’s development. The toluidine blue technique allows identification of chromatin alterations, simultaneously with evaluation of sperm morphometry. The method has been described in many species, but to the authors’ knowledge, it has yet to be described in cats. The objective of this study was to verify the applicability of the toluidine blue technique in analyzing DNA abnormalities of epididymal sperm (caput, corpus and cauda) in cats and further investigating if there was correlation between the variables: DNA condensation, morphology and morphometry of the sperm head. For this purpose, the DNA alteration indexes obtained by both toluidine blue and acridine orange techniques were compared and a 65.38% (p < 0.001) correlation was observed. The chromatin stability increased significantly in the head region of the epididymis (92.06%) in relation to the cauda (97.94%, p = 0.0023), however there was no difference between the caput and cauda regions, which demonstrates that sperm coming from these region are already mature. There was no correlation between the DNA abnormality and the sperm morphology as observed in other species, however there was correlation to morphometry. A significant decrease of the sperm head size was observed during the passage of the three epididymal regions (p < 0.0001). The percentage of sperm with deficient chromatin condensation decreased significantly from caput region to cauda of the epididymis (26.36%, 15.69%, 3.38%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Therefore, the evaluation of sperm head size can predict the quality of chromatin condensation.

The proper packaging of the genome in eukaryotic nuclei is essential for proper gene expression and cell function. Chromatin at the large scale is divided into two major compartments heterochromatin and euchromatin. Heterochromatin compromises the transcriptionally inactive tightly packaged regions of chromatin, while euchromatin is the transcriptionally active region of chromatin. The Heterochromatin Protein family (HP1) proteins are epigenetic hallmarks of constitutive heterochromatin. Recent evidence suggests human HP1α undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation suggesting a role for HP1 phase separation in the formation of compacted heterochromatin within HP1 droplets. Phase separation is a biophysical property of proteins with intrinsically disordered domains which are protein domains that lack a defined secondary structure and have the ability to undertake multiple conformations. In this thesis, I investigated the ability of C. elegans HP1 homologs HPL-2A and HPL-1 to phase separate utilizing directed mutations to elucidate the intermolecular interactions that govern this phenomenon and different assays to assess their phase separation. I concluded that HPL-2A is a bona fide phase separating protein that selectively condenses chromatin. HPL-2A’s phase separation depends on specific interactions, mainly dimerization and the presence of lysine and arginine residues in the hinge region. HPL-2A has a specific IDR that drives its phase separation which is the hinge region as the CTE and NTE are not essential for its phase separation.

1 Abstract: Cryopreservation of cells is a complex process with many useful applications in basic biological research, medicine and agriculture. In this work we deepened the current understanding of the cryopreservation process both at physical and biological level. Results include characteristics of selected cryoprotectants (primarily DMSO, trehalose, antifreeze protein ApAFP752) in liquid phase, during phase transition and in solid phase, as well as their impact on cryopreserved cells states. Specifically, the level of cell viability, state of cell membrane and condition of cell nucleus (nuclear membrane, chromatin condensation, DNA strand breaks) are monitored over several time points after thawing. It is shown that S-phase cells (NHDF and MCF7 lines) suffer massive collapse of replication forks during cryopreservation which makes them much less suitable for cryopreservation than cells in other phases of the cell cycle. Several methods (most importantly Atomic Force Microscopy, Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy and Flow Cytometry) were used to examine the post-thaw state of cryopreserved cells. The acquired insights into cryodamage of cells can lead to optimization of current cryopreservation protocols and to more thorough evaluation of efficacy of future novel cryoprotectants.

No description available.