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In most eukaryotes, chromosomes ends are protected by telomeres which are formed by repetitive DNA, specialized binding proteins, and higher order structures. Telomeres become shorter following replication due to the positioning and degradation of terminal RNA primers, as well as resection by nucleases. Extensive telomere shortening over many cell cycles elicits a DNA damage checkpoint that culminates in senescence or, in the absence of tumor suppressor pathways, apoptosis. These effects block the expansion of cells with unstable genomes, but can also precipitate disease in tissues that rely on regeneration for function. In many unicellular eukaryotes and proliferative human cells including cancer cells, telomeres can be maintained by the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and its associated RNA (TR). The elongation of telomeric DNA by telomerase depends on the telomerase essential N-terminal (TEN) and C terminal reverse transcriptase (RT) domains. We found that human TEN interacted with single-stranded telomeric DNA and restored function, in trans, to an hTERT mutant lacking hTEN. Telomerase required hTEN residues for activity, telomere maintenance, and extension of cellular replicative lifespan. Two inactive hTERT variants bearing mutations in TEN and RT domains, respectively, cooperated to regenerate telomerase activity in vitro. hTEN interacted with several regions of hTERT suggesting that dimerization may occur via TEN-TERT interactions. The in vivo defect of certain hTEN mutants may involve an inability to interact with factors that recruit the enzyme to the telomere and/or stimulate activity. Human homologs of the S. cerevisiae recruitment factor Est1 interacted with telomerase in a species-specific manner. The TPR domain of hEST1A interacted with the N-terminus of hTERT. The TPR domain of ScEst1 was required for telomere length maintenance by telomerase, and, paradoxically, also negatively regulated telomere length. In preliminary experiments, hTERT interacted with hPOT1/hTPP1. This interaction may stimulate the elongation of telomeres by telomerase. The DNA and protein interactions described herein expand our knowledge of telomerase and present new targets for the manipulation of telomerase function in human disease.

In most eukaryotes, chromosomes ends are protected by telomeres which are formed by repetitive DNA, specialized binding proteins, and higher order structures. Telomeres become shorter following replication due to the positioning and degradation of terminal RNA primers, as well as resection by nucleases. Extensive telomere shortening over many cell cycles elicits a DNA damage checkpoint that culminates in senescence or, in the absence of tumor suppressor pathways, apoptosis. These effects block the expansion of cells with unstable genomes, but can also precipitate disease in tissues that rely on regeneration for function. In many unicellular eukaryotes and proliferative human cells including cancer cells, telomeres can be maintained by the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and its associated RNA (TR). The elongation of telomeric DNA by telomerase depends on the telomerase essential N-terminal (TEN) and C terminal reverse transcriptase (RT) domains. We found that human TEN interacted with single-stranded telomeric DNA and restored function, in trans, to an hTERT mutant lacking hTEN. Telomerase required hTEN residues for activity, telomere maintenance, and extension of cellular replicative lifespan. Two inactive hTERT variants bearing mutations in TEN and RT domains, respectively, cooperated to regenerate telomerase activity in vitro. hTEN interacted with several regions of hTERT suggesting that dimerization may occur via TEN-TERT interactions. The in vivo defect of certain hTEN mutants may involve an inability to interact with factors that recruit the enzyme to the telomere and/or stimulate activity. Human homologs of the S. cerevisiae recruitment factor Est1 interacted with telomerase in a species-specific manner. The TPR domain of hEST1A interacted with the N-terminus of hTERT. The TPR domain of ScEst1 was required for telomere length maintenance by telomerase, and, paradoxically, also negatively regulated telomere length. In preliminary experiments, hTERT interacted with hPOT1/hTPP1. This interaction may stimulate the elongation of telomeres by telomerase. The DNA and protein interactions described herein expand our knowledge of telomerase and present new targets for the manipulation of telomerase function in human disease.

XPA (xeroderma pigmentosum group A) protein is an essential factor for NER (nucleotide excision repair) which is believed to be involved in DNA damage recognition/verification, NER factor recruiting and stabilization of repair intermediates. Past studies on the structure of XPA have focused primarily on XPA interaction with damaged DNA. However, how XPA interacts with other DNA structures remains unknown though recent evidence suggest that these structures could be important for its roles in both NER and non-NER activities. Previously, we reported that XPA recognizes undamaged DNA ds/ssDNA (double-strand/single-strandDNA) junctions with a binding affinity much higher than its ability to bind bulky DNA damage. To understand how this interaction occurs biochemically we implemented a structural determination of the interaction using a MS-based protein footprinting method and limited proteolysis. By monitoring surface accessibility of XPA lysines to NHS-biotin modification in the free protein and the DNA junction-bound complex we show that XPA physically interacts with the DNA junctions via two lysines, K168 and K179, located in the previously known XPA(98-219) DBD (DNA-binding domain). Importantly, we also uncovered new lysine residues, outside of the known DBD, involved in the binding. We found that residues K221, K222, K224 and K236 in the C-terminal domain are involved in DNA binding. Limited proteolysis analysis of XPA-DNA interactions further confirmed this observation. Structural modelling with these data suggests a clamp-like DBD for the XPA binding to ds/ssDNA junctions. Our results provide a novel structure-function view of XPA-DNA junction interactions.

There has been tremendous amount of effort focused on the development and improvement of genome editing applications over the decades. Particularly, the development of programmable nucleases has revolutionized genome editing with regards to their improvements in mutagenesis efficacy and targeting feasibility. Programmable nucleases are competent for a variety of genome editing applications. There is growing interest in employing the programmable nucleases in therapeutic genome editing applications, such as correcting mutations in genetic disorders. Type II CRISPR-Cas9 bacterial adaptive immunity systems have recently been engineered as RNA-guided programmable nucleases. Native CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases have two stages of sequence-specific target DNA recognition prior to cleavage: the intrinsic binding of the Cas9 nuclease to a short DNA element (the PAM) followed by testing target site complementarity with the programmable guide RNA. The ease of reprogramming CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases for new target sequences makes them favorable genome editing platform for many applications including gene therapy. However, wild-type Cas9 nucleases have limitations: (i) The PAM element requirement restricts the targeting range of Cas9; (ii) despite the presence of two stages of target recognition, wild-type Cas9 can cleave DNA at unintended sites, which is not desired for therapeutic purposes; and (iii) there is a lack of control over the mutagenic editing product that is procuded. In this study, we developed and characterized chimeric Cas9 platforms to provide solutions to these limitations. In these platforms, the DNA-binding affinity of Cas9 protein from S. pyogenes is attenuated such that the target site binding is dependent on a fused programmable DNA-targeting-unit that recognizes a neighboring DNA-sequence. This modification extends the range of usable PAM elements and substantially improves the targeting specify of wild type Cas9. Furthermore, one of the featured chimeric Cas9 variants developed in this study has both robust nuclease activity and ability to generate predictable uniform editing products. These superior properties of the chimeric Cas9 platforms make them favorable for various genome editing applications and bring programmable nucleases one step closer to therapeutic applications.

Les dinoflagellés jouent un rôle très important dans l’écologie des océans en y réalisant une grande partie de la production primaire, en formant une association symbiotique avec les coraux et en ayant la capacité de produire des fleurs d’algues potentiellement toxiques pour les communautés côtières humaines et animales. Malgré tout, la biologie moléculaire des dinoflagellés n’a que très peu été étudiée dans les dernières années, les connaissances de processus de base comme la régulation de la transcription y étant fortement limitées. Une tentative pour élucider ce mécanisme a été réalisée chez les dinoflagellés photosynthétiques Lingulodinium polyedrum et Amphidinium carterae. Une expérience d’induction de la transcription du gène de la Peridinin chlorophyll-a binding protein, le complexe majeur de collecte de lumière, a été réalisée par une baisse de l’intensité lumineuse et a montré une faible augmentation (moins de 2 fois) du transcrit à court et long terme. Des expériences de simple-hybride et de retard sur gel (EMSA) ont été faits pour identifier de potentielles interactions protéine-ADN dans la région intergénique du gène PCP organisé en tandem. Ces essais ont été infructueux pour identifier de telles protéines. Une analyse du transcriptome de L. polyedrum a été effectuée, montrant une importante sous-représentation de domaines de liaison à l’ADN classique (comme Heat-shock factor, bZIP ou Myb) et une surreprésentation du domaine d’origine bactérienne Cold shock en comparaison avec d’autres eucaryotes unicellulaires. Ce travail suggère que les mécanismes de régulation transcriptionnelle des dinoflagellés pourraient différer substantiellement de ceux des autres eucaryotes. / Dinoflagellates are an important part of the ocean’s ecology due to their large contribution to global carbon fixation, the symbiotic association they can make with corals and by their ability to form algal blooms potentially toxic for humans and animals in coastal communities. However, the molecular biology of dinoflagellates has been poorly studied in the past. Basic knowledge, such as regulation of gene expression, is severely limited. An attempt at deciphering basic gene regulation has been undertaken in the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum and Amphidinium carterae using a reduction in available light intensity to induce the expression of the peridinin chlorophyll-a binding gene encoding the major light harvesting complex protein. A small increase in transcript abundance (less than 2 fold) was found in both short and long term experiments, yet neither yeast one-hybrid assays nor electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) showed any potential protein interactions with sequence derived from the intergenic spacer of the PCP tandem gene array. Interestingly, an analysis of the recently sequenced L. polyedrum transcriptome revealed an important under-representation of classic DNA-binding domains (such has Heat-shock factor, bZIP and Myb) and an over-representation of the bacterial cold-shock DNA-binding domain. This suggested that components of the transcription regulation machinery may be at least partially different in dinoflagellates.

Les dinoflagellés jouent un rôle très important dans l’écologie des océans en y réalisant une grande partie de la production primaire, en formant une association symbiotique avec les coraux et en ayant la capacité de produire des fleurs d’algues potentiellement toxiques pour les communautés côtières humaines et animales. Malgré tout, la biologie moléculaire des dinoflagellés n’a que très peu été étudiée dans les dernières années, les connaissances de processus de base comme la régulation de la transcription y étant fortement limitées. Une tentative pour élucider ce mécanisme a été réalisée chez les dinoflagellés photosynthétiques Lingulodinium polyedrum et Amphidinium carterae. Une expérience d’induction de la transcription du gène de la Peridinin chlorophyll-a binding protein, le complexe majeur de collecte de lumière, a été réalisée par une baisse de l’intensité lumineuse et a montré une faible augmentation (moins de 2 fois) du transcrit à court et long terme. Des expériences de simple-hybride et de retard sur gel (EMSA) ont été faits pour identifier de potentielles interactions protéine-ADN dans la région intergénique du gène PCP organisé en tandem. Ces essais ont été infructueux pour identifier de telles protéines. Une analyse du transcriptome de L. polyedrum a été effectuée, montrant une importante sous-représentation de domaines de liaison à l’ADN classique (comme Heat-shock factor, bZIP ou Myb) et une surreprésentation du domaine d’origine bactérienne Cold shock en comparaison avec d’autres eucaryotes unicellulaires. Ce travail suggère que les mécanismes de régulation transcriptionnelle des dinoflagellés pourraient différer substantiellement de ceux des autres eucaryotes. / Dinoflagellates are an important part of the ocean’s ecology due to their large contribution to global carbon fixation, the symbiotic association they can make with corals and by their ability to form algal blooms potentially toxic for humans and animals in coastal communities. However, the molecular biology of dinoflagellates has been poorly studied in the past. Basic knowledge, such as regulation of gene expression, is severely limited. An attempt at deciphering basic gene regulation has been undertaken in the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum and Amphidinium carterae using a reduction in available light intensity to induce the expression of the peridinin chlorophyll-a binding gene encoding the major light harvesting complex protein. A small increase in transcript abundance (less than 2 fold) was found in both short and long term experiments, yet neither yeast one-hybrid assays nor electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) showed any potential protein interactions with sequence derived from the intergenic spacer of the PCP tandem gene array. Interestingly, an analysis of the recently sequenced L. polyedrum transcriptome revealed an important under-representation of classic DNA-binding domains (such has Heat-shock factor, bZIP and Myb) and an over-representation of the bacterial cold-shock DNA-binding domain. This suggested that components of the transcription regulation machinery may be at least partially different in dinoflagellates.

Nuclear hormone receptors (NHR) are important transcription factors that regulate development and metabolism in the large group of animals. Caenorhabditis elegans contains 284 nuclear receptors, which is unusually large amount compared to receptors of Drosophila melanogaster (18) and humans (48). 15 receptors of the C. elegans have homologous receptor structure with receptors of D. melanogaster and mammals. The remaining 269 NHR are specific to nematodes and belong to the group of supplementary nuclear receptors (SupNRs), the evolutionary precursor of the HNF4 - an important transcription factor in humans. In this work we describe the nuclear hormone receptor nhr-97 C. elegans, whose expression and function have not yet been studied. The gene is encoded in the genome of C. elegans and is among SupNRs. Nhr-97 consists of two isoforms A and B, whose expression in C. elegans tissues is different. Localization of gene expression in vivo was determined using lines expressing nhr-97:: GFP. For the A isoform expression of nhr-97::GFP was localized in neurons in the pharynx and the tail, in the intestine and hypodermis, in isoform B in the pharynx, in neurons around the corpus of pharynx, the head mesodermal cell and in anal sphincter. Nhr-97 expression during development of C. elegans was determined by...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / SETMAR is a chimeric protein that originates from the fusion of a SET domain to the mariner Hsmar1 transposase. This fusion event occurred approximately 50 million years ago, after the split of an anthropoid primate ancestor from the prosimians. Thus, SETMAR is only expressed in anthropoid primates, such as humans, apes, and New World monkeys. Evolutionary sequence analyses have revealed that the DNA-binding domain, one of the two functional domains in the Hsmar1 transposase, has been subjected to a strong purifying selection. Consistent with these analyses, SETMAR retains robust binding specificity to its ancestral terminal inverted repeat (TIR) DNA. In the human genome, this TIR sequence is dispersed in over 1500 perfect or nearly perfect sites. Given that many DNA-binding domains of transcriptional regulators are derived from transposases, we hypothesized that SETMAR may play a role in gene regulation. In this thesis, we determined the crystal structures of the DNA-binding domain bound to both its ancestral TIR DNA and a variant TIR DNA sequence at 2.37 and 3.07 Å, respectively. Overall, the DNA-binding domain contains two helix-turn-helix (HTH) motifs linked by two AT-hook motifs and dimerizes through its HTH1 motif. In both complexes, minor groove interactions with the AT-hook motifs are similar, and major groove interactions with HTH1 involve a single residue. However, four residues from HTH2 participate in nucleobase-specific interactions with the TIR and only two with the variant DNA sequence. Despite these differences in nucleobase-specific interactions, the DNA-binding affinities of SETMAR to TIR or variant TIR differ by less than two-fold. From cell-based studies, we found that SETMAR represses firefly luciferase gene expression while the DNA-binding deficient mutant does not. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay further confirms that SETMAR binds the TIR sequence in cells. Collectively, our studies suggest that SETMAR functions in gene regulation.

This PhD aimed to elucidate the mechanisms by which polymorphisms may alter androgen-induced transactivation of androgen receptor (AR) target genes which may be important in prostate cancer aetiology. The second aspect of this PhD focused on identifying and characterising functional polymorphisms that may have utility as predictive risk indicators for prostate cancer and which may aid in earlier therapeutic intervention and better disease management. Analyses were carried out on the kallikrein-related peptidase 3 (KLK3), also known as the prostate specific antigen (PSA), gene and the kallikrein-related peptidase 4 (KLK4) gene. The PSA and KLK4 genes are part of the serine protease family that have trypsin or chymotrypsin like activity and are thought to play a role in the development of hormone-dependent cancers in tissues such as those in the prostate, breast, endometrium and ovaries. In the prostate, PSA is regulated by androgens and three androgen response elements (AREs) have been described in the promoter and upstream enhancer region. The PSA ARE I harbours a polymorphism at -158 bp from the transcription initiation site (TIS) that results in a G to A transition (G-158A). This PhD investigated the functional significance of the PSA G-158A polymorphism which has been reported to be associated with prostate cancer risk. Electromobility shift assays (EMSAs) investigating the interaction of ARE I variants with the AR DNA binding domain (AR-DBD) demonstrated that the A allele had a two-fold increased binding affinity for the AR-DBD when compared with the G allele. This was confirmed with endogenous AR in limited proteolysis-EMSA experiments. The limited proteolysis-EMSA experiments also demonstrated differential sensitivities of PSA ARE I alleles to trypsin digestion, which suggests that the G-158A polymorphism has an allosteric effect on the AR that alters AR/ARE I complex stability. Furthermore, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays suggest that the A allele more readily recruited the AR in vivo when compared with the G allele and is consistent with the in vitro binding data. Luciferase reporter assays carried out in both LNCaP and 22Rv1 prostate cancer cells, and using the natural (dihydrotestosterone; DHT) ligand demonstrated that the A allele was more responsive to androgens in LNCaP cells. Hence, this study has elucidated the potential mechanisms by which the G-158A polymorphism may differentially regulate PSA expression (of which up-regulation of PSA is thought to be important in prostate cancer development and progression). KLK4 has similar tissue-restricted expression as PSA and is up-regulated by steroid hormones in many endocrine cells including those in the prostate. A putative ARE (KLK4-pARE) located at -1,005 to -1019 relative to the more predominantly used transcription initiation site, TIS3, was initially found in supershift assays using AR antibodies to interact with endogenous AR. However, subsequent EMSA analysis using purified AR-DBD suggest that KLK4-pARE may be interacting with the AR indirectly. To investigate this hypothesis, a tandem construct of KLK4-pARE was cloned into the pGL3-Promoter vector for hormone-induced reporter assays. However, reporter assays did not demonstrate any responsiveness of KLK4-pARE to androgens, estradiol or progestins. Consequently, Real-Time PCR was carried out to reassess the hormonal regulation of KLK4 at the mRNA level. Consistent with the literature, data from this study suggests that KLK4 may be up-regulated by androgens, progestins and estradiol in a cyclical manner. Hormone-induced luciferase reporter assays were then carried out on seven promoter constructs that span 2.8 kb of the KLK4 promoter from TIS3. However, none of the seven promoter constructs demonstrated any significant responsiveness to androgens, estradiol or progestins. This study suggests that hormone response elements (HREs) that may drive the hormonal regulation of KLK4 in prostate cancer may be located further upstream from the promoter region investigated in this PhD, or alternatively, may lie 3' of TIS3. The characterisation of KLK4 promoter polymorphisms and their flanking sequences were also carried out in parallel to the functional work with the intent to assess the functional significance of any polymorphisms that may be located within HREs. In total 19 polymorphisms were identified from the public databases and from direct sequencing within 2.8 kb of the KLK4 promoter from TIS3. However, the functional and clinical significance of these 19 polymorphisms were not further pursued given the negative findings from the functional work. The PSA AR enhancer region was also assessed for potential polymorphisms that may be associated with prostate cancer risk. A total of 12 polymorphisms were identified in the PSA enhancer of which two (A-4643G and T-5412C) have been reported to alter functionality of the enhancer region and thus, prioritised for further analysis. Association analysis for prostate cancer risk was then carried out on these PSA enhancer polymorphisms as none of the KLK4 promoter polymorphisms were found in functional HREs. No significant association for either the A-4643G or T-5412C polymorphism with prostate cancer risk was found at the P = 0.05 level. However, under an age-adjusted dominant model a 1.22- (95% CI = 1.16-1.26) and 1.23-fold (95% CI = 1.17-1.29) increased risk for prostate cancer was found for the A-4643G or T-5412C polymorphisms, respectively. Both polymorphisms were also assessed for association with tumour grade and stage and PSA levels. Genotypes were significantly different for the A-4643G and T-5412C polymorphisms with tumour stage and PSA levels, respectively. However, these results are likely to be biased by the case population which consist primarily of men who presented with incidental (pT1) and organ-confined (pT2) tumours. To summarise, the A-4643G and T-5412C polymorphisms are unlikely to be associated with prostate cancer risk, PSA levels or stage/grade of disease. However, further analyses in a larger cohort is warranted given that these polymorphisms alter androgen responsiveness of the PSA enhancer and that elevated PSA levels are indicative of men with prostate cancer. To summarise, this PhD has elucidated the functional significance of the PSA G-158A polymorphism in prostate cancer and which may be important in prostate cancer patho-physiology. This PhD has also furthered the understanding of the hormonal regulation of KLK4 in prostate cancer cells. Finally, this PhD has carried out a pilot study on two functional PSA enhancer polymorphisms (A-4643G and T-5412C) with prostate cancer risk.