G proteins are alpha-beta-gamma heterotrimers in the resting state, bound to GDP and complexed with the unbound receptor. Once the receptor becomes occupied, the alpha subunit exchanges GDP for GTP, becomes activated, and dissociates from the receptor and can stimulate or inhibit many intracellular activities such as phosphorylation and channel conductance. For example, Gs and Golf alpha subunits stimulate and Gi alpha subunits inhibit adenylyl cyclase. Go alpha subunits are abundant in brain, but are of unknown function. cDNAs for the alpha subunit have been cloned. In order to examine the relative distributions of G proteins in the brain, we used in situ hybridization with radiolabelled synthetic oligonucleotide probes. By using a tyrosine hydroxylase antibody, we found that the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra and the noradrenergic neurons of the locus ceruleus express mRNA for the alpha subunits for each of Gi, Go, and Gs. We noted a paucity of Gs mRNA in the striatum. This was surprising because the basal ganglia contain a dopamine-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity which has been assumed to be transduced by Gs. Also, immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, and cholera ADP-ribosylation indicated a very high level of Gs alpha-like protein in the striatum. In order to ascertain which specific G protein we were detecting, we made probes to a new G protein previously identified in the olfactory system. Golf is a stimulatory G protein with size and sequence characteristics similar to those of Gs. The cholera toxin ADP-ribosylation site and C-terminal region to which the antibody was made are identical. We made oligonucloetide probes to the translated and untranslated portions of Golf alpha. High levels Golf mRNA and protein were detected in the striatum and nucleus accumbens, in addition to the expected high levels in the olfactory tubercle. Northern blot studies indicated that Golf transcripts are approximately ten-fold more abundant than Gs alpha transcripts in the striatum. These data indicate that Golf in not an olfactory-specific G protein. It is also the major stimulatory G protein in the basal ganglia. The selective expression of high levels of Golf in dopamine-rich forebrain areas suggest that it may couple DI dopamine receptors to adenylyl cyclase. The role of Golf in dopaminergic neurotransmission and neuropsychiatric disease should be considered. / Medicine, Faculty of / Graduate

Glyoxalase 11, the second enzyme of the glyoxalase system, hydrolyzes S-D-lactoylglutathione (SLG) to regenerate glutathione (GSH) and liberate free D-lactate. It was found that GTP binds with Gil from rat liver and inhibits Gil activity. Preincubation experiments showed that the binding is relatively tight, since more than 15 minutes are required to release GTP from the complex following dilution. Inhibition kinetics studies indicate that GTP is a "partially competitive inhibitor"; Thus, it would appear that the binding sites for substrate (SLG) and inhibitor (GTP) are different, but spatially close. Glyoxalase 11 binds to a GTP affinity medium, and with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Gil has a higher relative mobility when GTP is present (ATP has no effect). The functional consequences of GTP binding with a specific site on Gil are still unclear. It is speculated that Gil may interact with tubulin by serving as a dissociable GTP carrier, delivering GTP to the tubulinGTP binding site, and thus facilitating tubulin polymerization.

As part of the parasympathetic nervous system, muscarinic receptors are involved in the regulation of numerous functions in the human body. However, targeting a specific subtype of muscarinic receptors is challenging due to the high degree of similarity within the binding site of the endogenous neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Therefore, this study focused on the investigation of dualsteric ligands. Such hybrid ligands target the orthosteric acetylcholine binding site and, simultaneously, a distinct allosteric binding site. Since allosteric binding regions show significant structural differences throughout muscarinic receptor subtypes, it was aimed to produce selective ligands by means of combination of two pharmacophores in one molecule. Herein, the thienopyridine derivatives LY2033298 and LY2119620 were chosen as allosteric moieties. Based on literature studies, the investigated allosteric modulators were analyzed in terms of adequate attachment points for the combination with an orthosteric agonist. As orthosteric units, muscarinic superagonist iperoxo, xanomeline, and TMA were applied in this work. Since the distance between orthosteric and allosteric moieties plays a crucial role for dualsteric ligand binding, the linker chain length was also varied. Pharmacological investigations of the synthesized hybrid ligands were perfomed via FRET- and BRET-assay measurements. / Als Teil des parasympathischen Nervensystems sind muskarinische Acetylcholinrezeptoren an der Regulation einer Vielzahl von Prozessen des menschlichen Körpers beteiligt. Die fünf unterschiedlichen Subtypen der Muskarinrezeptoren weisen allerdings kaum Abweichungen innerhalb der Bindestelle für den körpereigenen Neurotransmitter Acetylcholin auf, sodass eine subtypspezifische Rezeptoraktivierung immer noch eine große Herausforderung darstellt.[9, 19] Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigte sich deswegen mit dem Design dualsterischer Liganden, welche gleichzeitig die orthosterische Bindestelle für Acetylcholin sowie eine weitere, allosterische Bindestelle adressieren. Da sich die allosterischen Bindestellen der verschiedenen Muskarinrezeptoren teilweise deutlich voneinander unterscheiden, war das Ziel dieser Studie die Herstellung selektiver Liganden durch die Kombination zweier Pharmakophore.[8, 60, 61] ...

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Au cours des dernières décennies, une augmentation non négligeable du phénomène de résistance aux antibiotiques des bactéries a été observée. Ces bactéries possèdent plusieurs mécanismes de résistance parmi lesquels l’utilisation de transporteurs de type MDR (MultiDrug Resistance) dont certains appartiennent à la famille des transporteurs ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette). Les transporteurs ABC sont des protéines membranaires et ubiquitaires qui possèdent une topologie commune avec deux domaines transmembranaires et deux domaines cytoplasmiques. Les transporteurs ABC de type exportateur permettent le transport de molécules à l’extérieur de la cellule en utilisant l’énergie fournie par l’hydrolyse de l’ATP. PatA-PatB est un transporteur ABC de Streptococcus pneumoniae, un pathogène humain responsable de pneumonies et de méningites. Cette protéine est impliquée dans la résistance de ce pathogène à des antibiotiques de types fluoroquinolones. Pour étudier son mécanisme moléculaire, nous avons optimisé la surexpression fonctionnelle de ce transporteur chez Escherichia coli. Ainsi, nous avons pu caractériser son activité de transport de drogues et son activité d’hydrolyse de nucléotides. Ces expériences ont révélé que PatA-PatB a la particularité d’utiliser préférentiellement le GTP comme source d’énergie, contrairement aux autres membres de cette famille. Afin d’identifier l’origine de cette propriété au niveau moléculaire, des expériences de mutagénèse dirigée ont été effectuées et nous avons ainsi identifié deux simples mutants qui transportent les drogues aussi bien avec du GTP que de l’ATP / The excessive use of antibiotics during the past decades led to the amplification of multidrug resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Bacteria have developed several mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. One of them involves the antibiotic efflux by MDR (MultiDrug Resistance) transporters, some of which belong to the ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) transporter family. ABC transporter are ubiquitous membrane proteins with a conserved topology comprising four domains : two «TransMembrane Domain» and two cytoplasmic domains named « Nucleotide-Binding Domain ». ABC exporters expel drugs outside the bacteria using the energy of ATP hydrolysis. PatA-PatB is an ABC transporter from Streptococcus pneumoniae, a human pathogen bacterium responsible for pneumonia and meningitis. This protein is involved in S. pneumoniae resistance against fluoroquinolone antibiotics. To study the molecular mechanism, we optimized the functional expression of this transporter in Escherichia coli. Then, we characterized its drug transport activity and its nucleotide hydrolysis activity. These experiments showed that PatA-PatB, in contrast to other members of the ABC superfamily, preferentially uses GTP as energy supply. To identify the origin of this property at a molecular level, mutagenesis experiments were performed and we identified two mutants capable of an even drug transport with ATP and GTP

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2008. / Spine title: Characterization of BAI1. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online through Digital Dissertations as viewed 4/21/2009.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2008. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2002. / Vita. Bibliography: 116-128.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online through Digital Dissertations.