Orientador: Marcelo Menossi / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T00:11:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cancado_GeraldoMageladeAlmeida_D.pdf: 5945955 bytes, checksum: bf1d61ab84a403512834994e49e96bf1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Solos ácidos são encontrados em todas as regiões do planeta e em grandes proporções nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais. Como conseqüência da acidez do solo, o alumínio (Al), metal mais abundante da crosta terrestre, torna-se solúvel e atinge concentrações tóxicas para a maioria das espécies de plantas cultivadas. O primeiro dano provocado pelo Al iônico é a redução do desenvolvimento radicular, causando distúrbios fisiológicos que acarretam na redução da produção. Devido às limitações dos métodos convencionais de correção do pH do solo e a necessidade de longos períodos de tempo para o desenvolvimento de novas cultivares pelo melhoramento genético clássico, muita ênfase tem sido dada para a compreensão dos mecanismos de toxidez e de tolerância ao Al em plantas. Pois, com a aquisição destes conhecimentos, espera-se mais sucesso na obtenção de plantas tolerantes ao Al com o emprego da tecnologia de DNA recombinante e da seleção assistida por marcadores moleculares. Neste trabalho utilizamos duas linhagens de milho contrastantes para tolerância ao Al: Cat100-6 (tolerante ao Al) e S1587-17 (sensível ao Al), com o objetivo de estudar as alterações na expressão gênica promovidas pelo estresse de Al no ápice radicular. A presente tese esta dividida em três linhas de pesquisa: i) identificação, clonagem e caracterização de um gene codificando uma enzima glutationa S-transferase e avaliação dos efeitos do Al na sua expressão gênica; ii) avaliação das alterações na expressão gênica em ápices de raízes de duas linhagens de milho quando submetidos ao estresse de Al, utilizando um sistema de hibridização heterólogo com ESTs (expressed sequence tags) de cana-de-açúcar; e iii) clonagem e caracterização em milho do gene ALMT1, pertencente a uma nova classe de proteína transportadora de moléculas orgânicas especificamente ativada pelo Al. No trabalho com o gene GST27.2 observamos que este gene foi induzido pelo estresse provocado por Al e por Cd (cadmio) e que mutações que provocavam alterações na composição de aminoácidos da proteína poderiam promover alterações vi na atividade e na especificidade desta enzima. Além disso, o gene GST27.2 parece ser um novo alelo do gene GST27 estando presente como cópia única no genoma das linhagens de milho estudadas. Já no trabalho de avaliação da expressão gênica em larga escala, foram identificados 85 genes nos ápices radiculares das duas linhagens de milho cuja expressão foi diferencialmente alterada pela presença do Al. Embora alguns dos genes já tivessem sido descritos como responsivos ao Al, para a maior parte dos genes identificados neste trabalho, este foi o primeiro relato descrevendo seu envolvimento com o estresse de Al. A clonagem em milho do gene homológo ao gene ALMT1, demonstrou que o milho também deve ter uma proteína de membrana presente em células do ápice radicular que pode estar envolvida com transporte de moléculas orgânicas. Embora a proteína não esteja envolvida com o transporte de malato, a mesma teve sua atividade melhorada pela presença do Al. Entretanto, o gene que codifica esta proteína é reprimido no tecido do ápice radicular das linhagens de milho tolerante e sensível ao Al, o que pode indicar a existência de regulação pós-transcricional. Os resultados obtidos a partir destas três abordagens contribuíram para a compreensão dos mecanismos de tolerância e toxidez ao Al em raízes de milho. Futuramente, essas informações auxiliarão na escolha de genes mais apropriados para a criação de plantas geneticamente alteradas mais adaptadas a presença do Al no solo / Abstract: Acid soils are found worldwide but most of them are located in tropical and subtropical regions. Aluminum (Al), the most abundant metal on the earth surface, becomes soluble in the soil solution as consequence of low pH in acid soils and achieves phytotoxic levels for most of the cultivated plant species. The first symptom of Al toxicity is the inhibition of the root growth that promote physiological disturbs reducing crop yield. Because of limitations of correcting soil pH by liming and the time-consuming process of traditional plant breeding, the elucidation of the mechanisms involved with plant Al-tolerance and Al-toxicity has received more attention, since the production of genetically altered plants has emerged as an effective and fast strategy to the production of improved cultivars. Two maize lines, Cat100-6 (Al-tolerant) and S1587-17 (Al-sensitive), were used in this study with the aim of understanding at the transcriptional level the alterations promoted by Al on the roots. The research was divided in three main sections: i) detection, cloning and characterization of a gene encoding a Glutathione S-transferase in maize and evaluation of Al effects on its expression; ii) Large-scale evaluation of gene expression in root tips of maize under Al stress using a heterologous system with Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) of sugarcane; and iii) cloning and characterization of the ALMT1 gene in maize and evaluation of Al-effects on its activity. In the first section was observed that Al and Cd-stress induced the GST27.2 gene. Two mutations present on the nucleotide chain of this gene promoted alteration on the amino acid compositions. These alterations might be responsible by alterations on the specificity and activity of the GST enzyme. Besides that, the GST27.2 is a single copy gene in maize and seem to be a new allele of GST27. In the section of large-scale gene expression evaluation were identified 85 genes in root tips of two Al-tolerant contrasting maize lines whose expression was altered by Al stress. Although several of the genes identified here were previously described as Al responsive in other works, to most of them this study is the first report about the involvement of these genes with Al stress. The cloning of the ALMT1 homologue in tissue from the root apex of maize shown that maize has a gene encoding a membrane protein that might be involved with organic molecules transport. Although the protein encoded by the maize homologue gene was not associated with malate transport the activity of this protein was stimulated by the presence of Al. Interestingly, the gene expression of the this gene was repressed by Al in the Al-tolerant and Al-sensitive genotype. This result might be an indicative of existence of posttranscriptional regulation. The results accomplished with the experiments described here launched new light into the understanding of the Al-tolerance and Al-toxicity mechanisms in maize roots. Furthermore, the information presented here will contribute to a more accurate selection of genes that will be used to produce transgenic plants better adapted to soils with high Al concentration / Doutorado / Genetica Vegetal e Melhoramento / Doutor em Genetica e Biologia Molecular

Le bois représente une des ressources en polymères les plus abondantes de l’écosystème terrestre. Les champignons dégradant la matière lignocellulosique jouent un rôle important dans le cycle du carbone. Ils présentent un fort intérêt au niveau biotechnologique en particulier pour la production d’enzymes. Parmi les champignons saprophytes, ceux de la classe des Agaricomycota sont particulièrement intéressants puisqu’ils possèdent la capacité de dégrader les différents composés du bois : cellulose, hémicelloloses et lignine. De plus, ces champignons ont développé un système de détoxication impliquant des enzymes telles que les glutathion transférases (GST). Celles-ci sont impliquées dans la dégradation de composés potentiellement toxiques générés lors de la dégradation du bois mais également la dégradation de xénobiotiques. L’étude des systèmes extracellulaires et intracellulaires de Trametes versicolor impliqués dans les processus de décomposition du bois, décrite dans ce manuscrit, avait pour objectif d’identifier les facteurs moléculaires impliqués dans l’adaptation des champignons à leur environnement. Les approches pluridiciplinaires mises en œuvre lors de cette thèse ont permis d’identifier une variabilité phénotypique intraspécifique chez une dizaine de souches de T. versicolor, cette variabilité semblant être liée à la nature de l’essence ligneuse d’origine de ces souches. De plus, les travaux réalisés sur les GSTs apparteant aux classes oméga et GHR ont contribué à améliorer nos connaissances sur l’implication de cette famille multigénique dans l’adaptation des champignons xylophages à leur mode de vie / Wood is one of the most abundant polymer resources of the Earth’s ecosystem. Wood decaying fungi play an important role in the carbon cycle. They have a strong interest in biotechnology level in particular for the production of enzymes. Among the saprophytic fungi, those of the class of agaricomycota are particularly studied since they possess the ability to degrade varous compounds from wood : cellulose, hemicelluloses dand lignin. In addition, these fungi have developed a detoxification system involving enzymes such as glutathione transferases (GST). These latter are involved in degradation of wood but also in the degradation of xenobiotics. In this manuscript, the study of extracellular and intracellular system from Trametes versicolor, involved in wood decay process is described, the main goal being to identify the molecular factors involved in adaptation of the to their environment. Multidisciplinary approaches used in this PhD led to identification of an intraspecific phenotypic variability among ten strains of T. versicolor, this variability appearing to be related to the tree species where these strains have been isolated. Moreover, the work done on GSTs belonging to GHR and omega classes have improved our knowledge of the involvement of this gene family in adaptating the wood decayers to thrit lifestyle

O carcinoma epidermoide da cabeça e pescoço (CECP) tem alta prevalência mundial, alta morbimortalidade e impacto negativo na saúde individual e pública. Apresenta como principais fatores de risco o tabagismo, etilismo e infecção pelo Papilomavírus humano (HPV). A glutationa S-transferase pi (GSTPI) é uma enzima de detoxificação de carcinógenos com expressão aumentada em alguns tipos de câncer e parece associar-se a pior resposta terapêutica. Estudamos a expressão da GSTPI e a influência dos fatores de risco tabagismo, etilismo e HPV em amostras de tecido tumoral e margens não tumorais de portadores de CECP. Os dados foram obtidos do projeto temático Genoma do Câncer de Cabeça e Pescoço (GENCAPO). Os pacientes foram caracterizados: não tabagistas e não etilistas (NTNE) e tabagistas e etilistas (TE) e posteriormente pareados, perfazendo um total de 47 pares. O pareamento baseou-se em idade, sítio tumoral, estadiamento TNM, grau de diferenciação tumoral e variantes morfológicas. As amostras foram coradas por imuno-histoquímica para GSTPI e a presença de imunomarcação semiquantificada em escores de 0 a 3 (0: 0 a 10%; 1: de 10% a 30%; 2: de 31% a 60%: 3: para > 60%). Os dados foram analisados pelo teste de McNemar, Fisher, a sobrevida pela curva de Kaplan-Meier e teste de long rank. Houve expressão do biomarcador no tumor independente do hábito tabágico ou etílico. A expressão de GSTPI na margem do tumor foi maior no grupo TE (p=0,004). Não houve associação entre a marcação de GSTPI nas amostras de pacientes NTNE e TE em relação à positividade para HPV. Não houve óbitos no grupo NTNE com baixa imunomarcação no tumor, o que inviabilizou as análises de sobrevida neste grupo. Não houve diferença de sobrevida conforme a imunomarcação para GSTPI em margem de tumor (p=0.538). Este estudo demonstra que a marcação de GSTPI em CECP está presente no tumor independente do hábito. Na margem do tumor, os fatores de risco tabagismo e etilismo associam-se a maior presença do biomarcador, sugerindo o papel da GSTPI na tentativa de eliminação destas toxinas / Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) presents a high prevalence worldwide, high mortality and negative impact on individual and public health. Its main risk factors are tobacco, alcohol consumers and human papillomavirus infection (HPV). The pi glutathione S-transferase (GSTPI) is a carcinogen-detoxifying enzyme with increases expression in some kinds of cancer and it seems to worsen the therapy response. We studied the expression of GSTPI in tumors samples and the influence of risk factors; tobacco, alcohol and HPV. The data were obtained from Genome Head and Neck Cancer Thematic Project (GENCAPO). Patients were divided in two groups: non smokers and non drinkers (NSND) and smokers and drinkers (SD) and then selected in 47 pairs based on age, sex, tumor site, TNM staging, degree of tumor differentiation and morphological variants. Each pair was previously tested for HPV in GENCAPO project. Samples were stained by immunohistochemistry for GSTPI and analyzed by semi-quantitative method for scores from 0 to 3 according to immunostaning (0: 0 to 10%; 1: 10% to 30%; 2: 31% to 60% : 3: to > 60%). Data were analyzed using McNemar test, Fisher and for survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier curve and long rank test. The biomarker expression in the tumor was present in both groups independently of smoking and drinking habits. The GSTPI expression in tumor margin was higher in SD group (p = 0.004). There was no association between GSTPI expression and positivity for HPV in both groups. There were no deaths in NSND group presenting low tumor GSTPI expression, which prevented the survival analysis in this group. The survival rate was similar in both groups according to GSTPI immunostaining in tumor margin (p = 0.538). This study showed that the GSTPI biomarker in HNSCC was present independently of the smoking and drinking habit or positivity to HPV. Tobacco and alcohol consumption were associated with greater biomarker expression in the tumor margin, suggesting that GSTPI may modulate the elimination of these toxins

Foi estudado o efeito da lactona sesquiterpênica licnofolido sobre o \"burst\" respiratório de leucócitos polimorfonucleares inflamatórios (PMN) estimulados por forbol (PMA), pelo peptídeo quimiotático fMLP ou zimozan opsonizado (OZ). O licnofolido inibiu de forma dose-dependente a liberação de O2•- pelos PMN, sem alteração do período \"Iag\" do complexo NADPH. oxidase. O efeito foi mais acentuado quando os PMN foram estimulados diretamente pela via de proteína quinase C. A adição de ditiotreitol ou glutationa reduzida (GSH) às suspensões celulares antes da incubação com licnofolido preveniu parcialmente o efeito inibitório. O tratamento dos PMN com a lactona determinou uma queda drástica dos níveis celulares de GSH livre, sem incremento de glutationa oxidada (GSSG). A reação direta entre GSH e licnofolido foi confirmada com a detecção de um aduto glutationil-licnofolido através de identificação por espectrometria de massa (ESI-MS/MS). A S-tiolação protéica induzida pelo PMA foi reduzida em PMN tratados com Iicnofo/ido, como detectado através de determinação de incorporação de [35S], sendo que 80% desses tióis foram identificados como GSH. Uma série de proteínas S-glutationadas foi detectada através de autoradiografias, sendo que aquelas correspondentes a 38 e 24 kDa tiveram essa modificação póstraducional suprimida pelo tratamento com dose de licnofolido capaz de suprimir o \"burst\" respiratório dos PMN. Estes resultados indicam que a depleção celular de GSH causada pelo licnofolido impede a sustentação do \"burst\" respiratório pelos PMN, em correlação direta com a diminuição de S-glutationação protéica. / An investigation was made into the action of the sesquiterpene lactone lychnopholide on the respiratory burst of inflammatory polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Lychnopholide determined concentration-related inhibition of the generation of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-, chemotatic peptide-, and opsonized zymozan-induced superoxide anion with no effect on the lag time of the assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex, such action was greater on the protein kinase C pathway that on both membrane receptor dependent stimuli via. Subsequent additions of D-glucose, Ca2+, Mg2+, dithiothreitol ar reduced glutathione (GSH) did not reverse the inhibitory action. The addition of both thiols prior to the lychnopholide treatment partially hindered the inhibition rate. The endogenous level of GSH in leukocytes was drastically depleted under the lychnopholide treatment, without corresponding increases occurring in the oxidized form (GSSG). A direct reaction between glutathione and lychnopholide was confirmed from a glutathionyl-lychnopholide adduct detected by electrospray mass spectrometry analysis and identified by tandem mass analysis in cellular extracts. Protein S-thiolation induced by PMA stimulation was decreased in lactone-treated PMN as detected by [35S] scintillation count, which indicated that about 80% of the thiols were glutathione. A subset of S-glutathionylated proteins was identified through gel electrophoresis, which revealed that the modification of the phorbol-triggered protein sulfhydryl in the protein bands corresponding to 38 and 24 kDa was precluded by the lychnopholide treatment correlated with respiratory burst inhibition. These results show that GSH depletion determined by lychnopholide treatment renders PMN to sustain respiratory burst, whose action is proportional to protein S-glutahionylation decrease.

O carcinoma epidermoide da cabeça e pescoço (CECP) tem alta prevalência mundial, alta morbimortalidade e impacto negativo na saúde individual e pública. Apresenta como principais fatores de risco o tabagismo, etilismo e infecção pelo Papilomavírus humano (HPV). A glutationa S-transferase pi (GSTPI) é uma enzima de detoxificação de carcinógenos com expressão aumentada em alguns tipos de câncer e parece associar-se a pior resposta terapêutica. Estudamos a expressão da GSTPI e a influência dos fatores de risco tabagismo, etilismo e HPV em amostras de tecido tumoral e margens não tumorais de portadores de CECP. Os dados foram obtidos do projeto temático Genoma do Câncer de Cabeça e Pescoço (GENCAPO). Os pacientes foram caracterizados: não tabagistas e não etilistas (NTNE) e tabagistas e etilistas (TE) e posteriormente pareados, perfazendo um total de 47 pares. O pareamento baseou-se em idade, sítio tumoral, estadiamento TNM, grau de diferenciação tumoral e variantes morfológicas. As amostras foram coradas por imuno-histoquímica para GSTPI e a presença de imunomarcação semiquantificada em escores de 0 a 3 (0: 0 a 10%; 1: de 10% a 30%; 2: de 31% a 60%: 3: para > 60%). Os dados foram analisados pelo teste de McNemar, Fisher, a sobrevida pela curva de Kaplan-Meier e teste de long rank. Houve expressão do biomarcador no tumor independente do hábito tabágico ou etílico. A expressão de GSTPI na margem do tumor foi maior no grupo TE (p=0,004). Não houve associação entre a marcação de GSTPI nas amostras de pacientes NTNE e TE em relação à positividade para HPV. Não houve óbitos no grupo NTNE com baixa imunomarcação no tumor, o que inviabilizou as análises de sobrevida neste grupo. Não houve diferença de sobrevida conforme a imunomarcação para GSTPI em margem de tumor (p=0.538). Este estudo demonstra que a marcação de GSTPI em CECP está presente no tumor independente do hábito. Na margem do tumor, os fatores de risco tabagismo e etilismo associam-se a maior presença do biomarcador, sugerindo o papel da GSTPI na tentativa de eliminação destas toxinas / Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) presents a high prevalence worldwide, high mortality and negative impact on individual and public health. Its main risk factors are tobacco, alcohol consumers and human papillomavirus infection (HPV). The pi glutathione S-transferase (GSTPI) is a carcinogen-detoxifying enzyme with increases expression in some kinds of cancer and it seems to worsen the therapy response. We studied the expression of GSTPI in tumors samples and the influence of risk factors; tobacco, alcohol and HPV. The data were obtained from Genome Head and Neck Cancer Thematic Project (GENCAPO). Patients were divided in two groups: non smokers and non drinkers (NSND) and smokers and drinkers (SD) and then selected in 47 pairs based on age, sex, tumor site, TNM staging, degree of tumor differentiation and morphological variants. Each pair was previously tested for HPV in GENCAPO project. Samples were stained by immunohistochemistry for GSTPI and analyzed by semi-quantitative method for scores from 0 to 3 according to immunostaning (0: 0 to 10%; 1: 10% to 30%; 2: 31% to 60% : 3: to > 60%). Data were analyzed using McNemar test, Fisher and for survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier curve and long rank test. The biomarker expression in the tumor was present in both groups independently of smoking and drinking habits. The GSTPI expression in tumor margin was higher in SD group (p = 0.004). There was no association between GSTPI expression and positivity for HPV in both groups. There were no deaths in NSND group presenting low tumor GSTPI expression, which prevented the survival analysis in this group. The survival rate was similar in both groups according to GSTPI immunostaining in tumor margin (p = 0.538). This study showed that the GSTPI biomarker in HNSCC was present independently of the smoking and drinking habit or positivity to HPV. Tobacco and alcohol consumption were associated with greater biomarker expression in the tumor margin, suggesting that GSTPI may modulate the elimination of these toxins

<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>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>The glutathione transferases (GSTs) represent a superfamily of dimeric proteins involved in cellular detoxication by catalyzing the nucleophilic addition of the reduced glutathione (GSH) to the hydrophobic electrophiles. The present work focuses on the functional role of the conserved structures of GSTP1-1. The lock-and-key motif is a highly conserved hydrophobic interaction in the subunit interface of Pi, Mu, and Alpha class GSTs. The key residue (Tyr⁵⁰ in hGSTP1-1) of one subunit is wedged into a hydrophobic pocket of the neighboring subunit. The heterodimer GSTP1/Y50A was constructed from the fully active wild-type GSTP1-1 and the nearly inactive Y50A in order to study how an essentially inactive subunit influences the activity of the neighboring subunit. The results illuminate the vital role of the lock-and-key motif in modulating the GSH binding and the rate of catalysis. Additionally, the two active sites of the dimeric enzyme work synergistically. An observed water network, in hGSTP1-1 structures, connects the two active sites, thereby offering a mechanism for communication between the two active sites.</p><p>Cys⁴⁸ and Tyr⁵⁰ were targeted by mutations and chemical modifications for understanding how the α2 loop residues modulate GSH binding and catalysis. The replacement of Tyr⁵⁰ with different unnatural amino acids showed that the nature of the key residue side-chain influences the interaction with the lock structure and, consequently, the catalytic activity. The K_M^GSH, GSH affinity and protein stability can be modulated by fitting key residue into the lock cavity of the neighbor subunit and, consequently, restriction of the flexibility of the α2 loop. Optimization of the interaction between the key residue and the lock-cavity increases k_cat. Also, the crystal structure of the Cys-free variant was determined. The result indicated that Cys⁴⁸ restricts the flexibility of the α2 loop by interacting with surrounding residues and, consequently, contributes to GSH binding and protein stability.</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). 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.

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. 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. 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. 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). 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.