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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
101

Human β<sub>1</sub>-adrenergic receptor:biosynthesis, processing and the carboxyl-terminal polymorphism

Hakalahti, A. (Anna) 20 September 2011 (has links)
Abstract The β1-adrenergic receptor (β1AR) belongs to the large family of G protein-coupled receptors. It is activated by epinephrine and norepinephrine and thus has a central role in mediating the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. β1AR is the predominant adrenergic receptor in the heart, where it mediates positive inotropy and chronotropy. Thus, it is the most important target receptor for β-adrenergic antagonists, which are widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, β1AR is also expressed in the brain, where it has a crucial role in regulating memory formation and synaptic plasticity. Human β1AR (hβ1AR) has two polymorphisms, one at each terminus. The carboxyl-terminal (C-terminal) Arg389Gly8.56 polymorphism has previously been shown to have functional significance. Despite the clinical importance of hβ1AR, its biosynthetic profile and post-translational processing have not been well characterized to date. The aims of the present study were to shed light on these events, focusing on the limited proteolysis of hβ1AR and the impact of β-adrenergic ligands on receptor processing. In addition, the C-terminal polymorphism and its associations with certain parameters were investigated in a population consisting of survivors of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). By using a heterologous expression system, hβ1AR biosynthesis was revealed to be efficient and rapid. The N-terminus of the mature receptor was modified with O-glycans and one N-glycan, but despite these modifications it was subject to cleavage at the cell surface that resulted in two C-terminal fragments. The cleavage was mediated by a metalloproteinase, and importantly, it also occurred in vivo. Moreover, receptor activation enhanced the cleavage, which suggests that it represents a novel regulatory mechanism of hβ1AR. Interestingly, those ligands that enhanced the cleavage stabilized intracellular hβ1AR precursors, possibly via a pharmacological chaperone activity. Thus, the present study demonstrates that β-adrenergic ligands can have different regulatory effects on distinct hβ1AR forms. Among the AMI survivors, the Arg3898.56 homozygotes had significantly increased left ventricular mass indexes, when compared to the Gly3898.56 carriers, which suggests an association between Arg3898.56 and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). When euglycemic and diabetic patients were analyzed separately, the association existed among the euglycemic patients but was not present in diabetic patients. Diabetes is one of several risk factors that have previously been shown to influence the progression of LVH. Here, diabetes was shown to have a stronger effect on the development of LVH, when compared with the Arg3898.56 variant of hβ1AR. / Tiivistelmä β1-adrenerginen reseptori (β1AR) kuuluu laajaan G-proteiineihin kytkettyjen reseptorien perheeseen. β1AR on tärkeässä asemassa sympaattisen hermoston toiminnassa. Sydämessä β1AR on vallitseva adrenerginen reseptori, ja sydänlihaksen supistusvireys sekä -taajuus voimistuvat β1AR:n aktivaation kautta. Siten se edustaa sydän- ja verisuonisairauksissa käytettävien β-salpaajien tärkeintä kohdereseptoria. β1AR:n luontaisia agonisteja ovat lisämunuaisytimestä ja hermopäätteistä vapautuvat adrenaliini ja noradrenaliini. Sydänlihaksen lisäksi β1AR:a ilmennetään myös aivoissa, jossa reseptorilla on keskeinen asema muistin ja synaptisen muovautuvuuden kannalta. Ihmisen β1AR (hβ1AR) sisältää kaksi polymorfismia, joista toinen (Arg389Gly8.56) sijaitsee reseptorin karboksyyli- (C-) terminaalissa solulimassa. Tällä polymorfismilla on havaittu olevan toiminnallista merkitystä. Vaikka hβ1AR:n kliininen merkitys on huomattava, sen biosynteesistä ja translaationjälkeisestä muokkauksesta ei ole tähän mennessä ollut juurikaan tutkimustietoa. Tämän väitöskirjatyön tavoite oli kuvata näitä tapahtumia ja erityisesti keskittyä hβ1AR:n solunulkoisen amino- (N-) terminaalin rajoitettuun proteolyysiin. Lisäksi haluttiin tutkia, onko β-adrenergisillä ligandeilla vaikutusta reseptorin prosessointiin. Tutkimuksen kliinisessä osiossa kartoitettiin C-terminaalisen polymorfian yhteyttä valikoituihin muuttujiin aineistossa, joka koostui akuutin sydäninfarktin (AMI) sairastaneista potilaista. hβ1AR:n biosynteesin havaittiin olevan tehokas ja nopea heterologisessa systeemissä. Kypsän reseptorin N-terminaalissa havaittiin useita O-kytkennäisiä ja yksi N-kytkennäinen glykaani. Glykosyloinnista huolimatta N-terminaali pilkkoutui solun pinnalla, mikä tuotti kaksi solukalvolla sijaitsevaa, C-terminaalista reseptoripalasta. Pilkkoutumista, joka havaittiin myös in vivo, katalysoi metalloproteinaasi. Reseptorin aktivaatio kiihdytti pilkkoutumista, joka siten todennäköisesti edustaa uudenlaista hβ1AR:n säätelymekanismia. Ligandit, jotka kiihdyttivät pilkkoutumista, toisaalta stabiloivat solunsisäisiä hβ1AR:n epäkypsiä muotoja toimien luultavasti ns. farmakologisina kaperoneina. Näin ollen väitöskirjatyö osoittaa, että β-adrenergisillä ligandeilla voi olla erilaisia säätelyvaikutuksia eri hβ1AR-muotoihin. Kliinisessä tutkimuksessa Arg3898.56-homotsygooteilla potilailla havaittiin merkittävästi suurentunut vasemman kammion massaindeksi Gly3898.56-kantajiin verrattuina, mikä puoltaa Arg3898.56-polymorfismin ja vasemman kammion hypertrofian (LVH) välistä yhteyttä. Kun euglykeemisiä potilaita ja diabeetikkoja tutkittiin erikseen, yhteys ilmeni vain euglykeemisessä ryhmässä. Diabetes on riskitekijä, joka vaikuttaa LVH:n kehittymiseen. Tässä tutkimuksessa diabeteksellä havaittiin olevan voimakkaampi vaikutus LVH:n kehittymiseen Arg3898.56 -polymorfismiin verrattuna.
102

Nouveaux concepts dans la pharmacologie des récepteurs aux acides gras à chaîne courte FFA2 et FFA3 / New insights into the pharmacology of the short-chain free fatty acid receptors 2 and 3

Moussaud, Elisabeth 10 June 2011 (has links)
Les maladies métaboliques, comme le diabète, la dyslipidémie ou l’obésité, constituent un problème majeur de santé publique dans les pays développés. Ces maladies très répandues restent encore difficiles à traiter malgré une recherche active. Les stratégies thérapeutiques contre ces maladies incluent le développement de nouvelles molécules ciblant les récepteurs aux acides gras, étant donné leur rôle essentiel dans l’homéostasie du métabolisme. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrit ce travail portant sur deux récepteurs couplés aux protéines G, les récepteurs aux acides gras à courte chaîne 2 et 3 ou free fatty acid receptors 2 (FFA2) et 3 (FFA3). Nous avons tout d'abord cherché à déterminer le profil d'expression des deux récepteurs. Ensuite, nous avons établi des lignées cellulaires stable exprimant FFA2 ou FFA3 afin d’étudier la pharmacologie d’agonistes synthétiques et endogènes de ces récepteurs. Après avoir identifié les voies de signalisation engendrées par l’activation des récepteurs, nous avons démontré que les agonistes synthétiques étaient des activateurs allostériques, c’est-à-dire qu’ils se liaient aux récepteurs sur un site distinct de celui des ligands endogènes. Pour identifier les résidus d’acides aminés nécessaires à la reconnaissance des ligands, nous avons généré une gamme de mutants ponctuels de ces récepteurs par mutagénèse dirigée. En analysant l’effet des mutations dans des tests fonctionnels, nous avons pu déterminer avec précision où se liaient les ligands et ainsi pu dessiner par informatique des modèles structuraux des récepteurs qui pourront être utilisés pour le drug design de futures molécules agonistes de ces récepteurs. / Metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia or obesity, are more and more weighing on public health expenses in developed countries. Despite active research, these widespread diseases remain difficult to handle. Promising new therapeutic strategies against metabolic diseases include the development of drugs targeting the free fatty acid receptors, as key players in metabolism homeostasis. In this context, the current PhD thesis focuses on the study of two G protein-coupled receptors, namely the short-chain free fatty acid receptors 2 (FFA2) and 3 (FFA3). First, we investigated the expression of the two receptors of interest in a variety of cell types. Then, in order to study the pharmacology and the binding mode of endogenous and synthetic agonists on FFA2 and FFA3, we established stable cell lines expressing each receptor. Once we identified the signaling pathways engendered in response to receptor activation, we showed that synthetic agonists were allosteric activators of the receptors, in the sense that they bind to the receptors at a distinct site from short-chain fatty acids, i.e. the endogenous agonists. To identify the aminoacid residues that were involved in ligand binding, we generated a variety of point mutated receptors by site-directed mutagenesis. By analyzing the effects of the mutations in functional tests, we determined precisely the aminoacid residues that were essential for ligand binding. From these results, we designed in silico structural models which may aid future drug design efforts for the discovery of new FFA2 and FFA3 agonists.
103

Sphingosine 1-phosphate enhances excitability of sensory neurons through sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors 1 and/or 3

Li, Chao January 2014 (has links)
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid that has proven to be an important signaling molecule both as an extracellular primary messenger and as an intracellular second messenger. Extracellular S1P acts through a family of five S1P receptors, S1PR1-5, all of which are G protein-coupled receptors associated with different G proteins. Previous work from our laboratory shows that externally applied S1P increases the excitability of small-diameter sensory neurons by enhancing the action potential firing. The increased neuronal excitability is mediated primarily, but not exclusively, through S1PR1. This raises the question as to which other S1PRs mediate the enhanced excitability in sensory neurons. To address this question, the expression of different S1PR subtypes in small-diameter sensory neurons was examined by single-cell quantitative PCR. The results show that sensory neurons express the mRNAs for all five S1PRs, with S1PR1 mRNA level significantly greater than the other subtypes. To investigate the functional contribution of other S1PRs in augmenting excitability, sensory neurons were treated with a pool of three individual siRNAs targeted to S1PR1, R2 and R3. This treatment prevented S1P from augmenting excitability, indicating that S1PR1, R2 and/or R3 are essential in mediating S1P-induced sensitization. To study the role of S1PR2 in S1P-induced sensitization, JTE-013, a selective antagonist at S1PR2, was used. Surprisingly, JTE-013 by itself enhanced neuronal excitability. Alternatively, sensory neurons were pretreated with FTY720, which is an agonist at S1PR1/R3/R4/R5 and presumably downregulates these receptors. FTY720 pretreatment prevented S1P from increasing neuronal excitability, suggesting that S1PR2 does not mediate the S1P-induced sensitization. To test the hypothesis that S1PR1 and R3 mediate S1P-induced sensitization, sensory neurons were pretreated with specific antagonists for S1PR1 and R3, or with siRNAs targeted to S1PR1 and R3. Both treatments blocked the capacity of S1P to enhance neuronal excitability. Therefore my results demonstrate that the enhanced excitability produced by S1P is mediated by S1PR1 and/or S1PR3. Additionally, my results indicate that S1P/S1PR1 elevates neuronal excitability through the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase. The data from antagonism at S1PR1 to regulate neuronal excitability provides insight into the importance of S1P/S1PR1 axis in modulating pain signal transduction.
104

Glycosylation and dimerization of the human δ-opioid receptor polymorphic variants

Lackman, J. (Jarkko) 04 December 2018 (has links)
Abstract Cellular signaling by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) governs a wide array of physiological functions throughout the body. The human δ-opioid receptor (hδOR) is a GPCR that modulates the sensation of pain and mood and has great potential for the treatment of pain and a variety of neurological disorders. A common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the extracellular N-terminal tail of hδOR changes Phe to Cys at position 27. Using various biochemical and cell biological methods, the study demonstrates that several events during receptor biosynthesis and cell surface delivery are affected by the SNP. These events participate in the multifaceted regulation of the receptor and modulate receptor behavior at the cell surface. Two distinct pathways were shown to scrutinize the quality of the synthesized hδOR in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and target some for degradation in N-glycan-dependent and -independent ways. The hδORCys27 that matures inefficiently required N-glycan-mediated interactions with the lectin-chaperone calnexin to be expressed in a fully functional form at the cell surface, whereas the N-glycan-independent pathway was sufficient for hδORPhe27. For both variants, the N-glycan-independent quality control, which is likely to operate as a back-up pathway, led to a more rapid export from the ER and receptors at the cell surface that were less stable. Receptor dimerization emerged as an important regulatory step for receptor cell surface delivery. In co-transfected cells, interactions between the newly-synthesized variants led to the retention and subsequent ER-associated degradation of hδORPhe27. This dominant-negative attenuation of hδORPhe27 cell surface expression by hδORCys27 may have unpredictable consequences for opioid signaling in heterozygous individuals. Finally, the study shows that N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-type O-glycosylation catalyzed in the Golgi modulates hδOR expression at the cell surface by enhancing receptor stability and inhibiting constitutive downregulation. The modification of Ser residues in the receptor N-terminus by GalNAc-transferase 2 was affected by the SNP, which presents another distinction in the cellular processing of the two variants. The findings highlight the importance of the biosynthetic pathway in the regulation of GPCR behavior and pave way for strategies for treatments targeting GPCRs at this level. / Tiivistelmä Solujenvälisellä viestinnällä on keskeinen tehtävä kehon kaikissa toiminnoissa. δ-opioidireseptori (δOR) on solusignalointiin erikoistuneen kalvoproteiiniperheen (G-proteiiniin kytketyt reseptorit) jäsen, joka ohjaa kivuntuntemusta ja mielialoja. Sitä pidetään mahdollisena lääkekehityksen kohteena paitsi kivunlievityksen, myös useiden neurologisten häiriöiden hoidossa. δOR ilmenee kahtena polymorfisena muotona sen solunulkoisessa osassa tapahtuneen aminohappomuutoksen vuoksi (Phe27Cys). Työssä tutkittiin reseptorin glykosylaatiota ja dimerisaatiota, jotka säätelevät sen prosessointia, käyttäytymistä ja toimintaa. Käyttäen useita biokemiallisia ja solubiologisia menetelmiä työssä osoitettiin polymorfian vaikuttavan useisiin prosessointivaiheisiin ja muokkaavan siten reseptorin viestintää. Proteiinien laadunvalvontakoneiston havaittiin säätelevän reseptorin siirtymistä endoplasmakalvostolta solun pinnalle kahdella eri mekanismilla ohjaten osan reseptoreista hajotukseen. Toisin kuin Phe27-variantin, tehottomasti kypsyvän Cys27-variantin laadunvalvonta on riippuvainen reseptoriin liittyvistä N-glykaaneista ja näihin sitoutuvasta kaitsijaproteiinista, kalneksiinista. Reseptorivariantit, joista N-glykaanit puuttuvat, siirtyvät nopeammin solukalvolle, mutta ne ovat epästabiileja ja häviävät nopeasti solun pinnalta. Vaihtoehtoinen N-glykaaneista riippumaton laadunvalvontamekanismi sallii myös inaktiivisen Cys27-variantin pääsyn solun pinnalle. Varianttien dimerisoitumisen osoitettiin säätelevän niiden kuljetusta soluissa. Cys27-variantin havaittiin sitoutuvan Phe27-varianttiin aikaisessa biosynteesivaiheessa ja ohjaavan osan siitä hajotukseen. Tällä voi olla suuri merkitys opioidiviestinnässä molempia alleeleja kantavilla henkilöillä. Työssä havaittiin myös GalNAc-transferaasi-2-entsyymin ohjaavan Golgin laitteessa tapahtuvaa reseptorin O-glykosylaatiota. Se glykosyloi reseptorin solunulkoisen osan seriinitähteitä (Ser6, Ser25, Ser29), stabiloiden siten solun pinnan reseptoreita ja tehostaen niiden viestintää. Lisäksi havaittiin eroja varianttien O-glykosylaatiossa, mikä voi osaltaan selittää varianttien ilmentymisessä todettuja eroja. Tutkimus luo uutta tietoa biosynteesireitin merkityksestä G-proteiiniin kytkettyjen reseptorien säätelyssä sekä antaa pohjaa keinoille, joilla tätä voitaisiin hyödyntää farmakologisesti.
105

Homology modeling and structural analysis of the antipsychotic drugs receptorome

López Muñoz, Laura 22 June 2010 (has links)
Classically it was assumed that the compounds with therapeutic effect exert their action interacting with a single receptor. Nowadays it is widely recognized that the pharmacological effect of most drugs is more complex and involves a set of receptors, some associated to their positive effects and some others to the side effects and toxicity. Antipsychotic drugs are an example of effective compounds characterized by a complex pharmacological profile binding to several receptors (mainly G protein-coupled-receptors, GPCR). In this work we will present a detailed study of known antipsychotic drugs and the receptors potentially involved in their binding profile, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms of the antipsychotic pharmacologic effects.The study started with obtaining homology models for all the receptors putatively involved in the antipsychotic drugs receptorome, suitable for building consistent drug-receptor complexes. These complexes were structurally analyzed and compared using multivariate statistical methods, which in turn allowed the identification of the relationship between the pharmacological properties of the antipsychotic drugs and the structural differences in the receptor targets. The results can be exploited for the design of safer and more effective antipsychotic drugs with an optimum binding profile. / Tradicionalmente se asumía que los fármacos terapéuticamente efectivos actuaban interaccionando con un único receptor. Actualmente está ampliamente reconocido que el efecto farmacológico de la mayoría de los fármacos es más complejo y abarca a un conjunto de receptores, algunos asociados a los efectos terapéuticos y otros a los secundarios y toxicidad. Los fármacos antipsicóticos son un ejemplo de compuestos eficaces que se caracterizan por unirse a varios receptores simultáneamente (principalmente a receptores unidos a proteína G, GPCR). El trabajo de la presente tesis se ha centrado en el estudio de los mecanismos moleculares que determinan el perfil de afinidad de unión por múltiples receptores de los fármacos antipsicóticos.En primer lugar se construyeron modelos de homología para todos los receptores potencialmente implicados en la actividad farmacológica de dichos fármacos, usando una metodología adecuada para construir complejos fármaco-receptor consistentes. La estructura de estos complejos fue analizada y se llevó a cabo una comparación mediante métodos estadísticos multivariantes, que permitió la identificación de asociaciones entre la actividad farmacológica de los fármacos antipsicóticos y diferencias estructurales de los receptores diana. Los resultados obtenidos tienen interés para ser explotados en el diseño de fármacos antipsicóticos con un perfil farmacológico óptimo, más seguros y eficaces.

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