NK (natural killer) cells, with their ability to identify antigens and extraneous substances, available in the organism through various moleculary receptors, are an important component of the immune system. The NKR-P1A and NKR-P1B proteins belong to the lectin receptors of natural killer cells. Primary ligands of lectin receptors comprise terminal oligosaccharides of glycoproteins on the surface of target (e.g. tumor) cells. The interaction between carbohydrate structures on the surface of antigens and their binding partners on NK receptors is followed by triggering the effector function of NK cells against the targets. The NK cells and NK receptors findings and their interactions with ligands are greatly utilized in the treatment of cancer, viral and autoimmune diseases. Heterologous protein production in the eukaryotic organism brings a lot of advantages. Unlike the prokaryotic organism, the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has the capability of performing many posttranslational modifications resulting in production of biological active protein molecule. Usually, the P. pastoris expression system disposes of high level protein expression and is also generally regarded as being faster, easier, and less expensive to use than expression systems derived from other eukaryotes. In this thesis, I...

Inibidores tipo Kunitz são proteínas de aproximadamente 20 kDa, que geralmente possuem de dois a quatro resíduos de cisteína, formando uma ou duas pontes dissulfeto, sendo responsáveis por inibir uma ou diversas serina proteinases com grande especificidade. Eles são importantes tanto por atuarem em situações de defesa na planta como por estarem envolvidos na inibição de diversas proteinases, como aquelas presentes na cascata de coagulação sanguínea, no processo inflamatório ou e até mesmo atuarem na supressão de tumores. Este trabalho teve como alvo o estudo de um inibidor tipo Kunitz encontrado em sementes de Bauhinia bauhinioides (Martius) Macbr., denominado BbKI (Bauhinia bauhinioides Kallikrein Inhibitor). Um fragmento gênico codificando a seqüência primária madura de BbKI foi amplificado por RT-PCR e clonado no vetor pGEM-T. Através da técnica de RACE (3 e 5) foi possível constatar que a proteína é sintetizada inicialmente como um prepropeptídeo com a seguinte estrutura: peptídeo sinal (19 resíduos de aminoácidos), proteína madura (164 resíduos), e peptídeo C-terminal (10 resíduos). A presença do peptídeo sinal demonstra que a proteína segue uma rota de síntese via retículo endoplasmático e sugere que este inibidor possa seguir para outro compartimento celular, sinalizado pelo peptídeo C-terminal. Para avaliar se este peptídeo não seria um mero inibidor da atividade biológica, foram feitas duas subclonagens em vetores do sistema pET: uma com o fragmento gênico codificador para BbKI madura, e outra adicionando a seqüência codificante para a porção C-terminal na proteína madura. As proteínas recombinantes foram expressas em células de E. coli BL21(DE3), as quais foram purificadas através de cromatografia de afinidade (Ni-NTA) e filtração em gel, apresentando a massa molecular esperada de 20 kDa. Testes de atividade com tripsina mostraram que ambas as proteínas são biologicamente ativas, embora com diferentes constantes de inibição. Estudos de Dicroísmo Circular revelaram estruturas secundárias similares para ambas as proteínas. Quando analisado por espectroscopia de fluorescência, o inibidor maduro mostrou-se estável numa ampla faixa de pH. A proteína madura recombinante foi ainda cristalizada e o cristal foi difratado por raios X até a resolução máxima de 1,9 A, permitindo a resolução e o refinamento de sua estrutura. A análise da estrutura revelou que o inibidor apresenta um enovelamento -trefoil que é típico nos inibidores tipo Kunitz previamente estudados. Sua estrutura terciária mostrou que no centro ativo o loop inibitório está exposto ao solvente e que os únicos W e C ficam escondidos no interior da proteína, rodeados por resíduos hidrofóbicos / Kunitz-type inhibitors are proteins of about 20 kDa that usually contain from 2 to 4 cystein residues used to form one or two dissulfide bridges. They are responsible for inhibiting one or severa1 serine proteinases with large specificity. Kunitz inhibitors are important both for playing defense roles in plants and also for being involved in the inhibition of many proteinases, like those present in the blood coagulation cascade, in inflammatory processes, or even for suppressing tumors. The aim of this work was to study a Kunitz-type inhibitor from Bauhinia bauhinioides (Martius) Macbr. seeds, denominated BbKI (Bauhinia buhinioides Kallikrein Inhibitor). A gene fragment codifying the mature primary sequence of BbKI was amplified by RT-PCR and was cloned in the pGEM-T vector. Using the RACE (3 and 5) technique we could verify that this protein is synthesized as a prepropeptide with the following structure: signal peptide (19 amino acid residues), mature protein (164 residues) and C-terminal peptide (10 residues). The presence of the peptide signal shows this protein follows a synthesis pathway via endoplasmatic reticulum and suggests the inhibitor can move to another cell compartment guided by the C-terminal peptide. To evaluate if this peptide was just an inhibitor of the biological activity, we performed two subclonings in the system pET vectors: one using the gene fragment codifying to mature BbKI, and another adding the codifying sequence for the C-terminal peptide to the mature protein. The recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells which were purified by affinity chromatography (Ni-NTA) and gel filtration thus presenting the expected molecular mass of 20kDa. Activity assays with trypsin showed that both of proteins are biologically active, although they presented different inhibition constants. Circular Dichroism studies revealed that both proteins have similar secondary structures. When analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy the mature inhibitor was stable in a wide pH range. The mature recombinant protein was latter crystallized and the crystal was diffracted by X-ray at 1.9A resolution, allowing the resolution and refinement of its structure. The analysis of this structure revealed the inhibitor presents a -trefoil fold, which is typical in the Kunitz-type inhibitors previously studied. Its tertiary structure showed that in the active site the inhibitory loop is exposed to solvent, and that the W and the C are buried into the protein surrounded by hydrophobic residues.

Resumo: Proposição: Avaliar a resposta tecidual ao enxerto xenógeno inorgânico de osso bovino, por meio de análise histomorfológica e histomorfométrica. Material e método: O enxerto foi obtido da costela de boi resfriada após 8 horas de sacrifício do animal e processado da seguinte maneira: imersão por 60 minutos em água oxigenada a temperatura ambiente, com trocas a cada 15 minutos; imersão em água oxigenada aquecida, a uma temperatura de 100ºC, por 30 segundos e resfriamento imediato com água destilada a uma temperatura variando de 6º a 8ºC; enxague em água destilada corrente por 6 horas; imersão em álcool 70º, 90º e 100º, respectivamente, sendo 15 minutos em cada álcool; esterilização em autoclave. Em seguida, 10 coelhos brancos (Nova Zelândia) foram utilizados, originando dois grupos: Grupo I - enxerto inserido no pavilhão auricular e Grupo II - enxerto inserido e fixado em tíbia. Decorridos 180 dias, foi realizado sacrifício dos animais por injeção excessiva de anestésico. Resultados: No Grupo I, o enxerto apresentou-se em íntimo contato com tecido subcutâneo. No Grupo II, o enxerto apresentou-se em justaposição com o leito ósseo receptor. E nos dois grupos havia espaços medulares preenchidos por medula óssea ativa e osso neoformado, além da ausência de osteócitos no osso bovino e presença destas células no osso neoformado, próximo aos espaços medulares. Conclusão: Em razão dos resultados obtidos o enxerto xenógeno inorgânico de osso bovino demonstrou biocompatibilidade, capacidade osteocondutora e discreta perda de volume, preenchendo requisitos importantes do material ideal para reconstrução óssea. / Abstract: Objective: To evaluate tissue response to inorganic bovine bone xenograft by histomorphological and histomorphometrical analyses. Material and methods: The bone grafts was obtained from cooled bovine rib 8 hours after slaughtering and were processed as follows: 60-minute immersion in hydrogen peroxide at room temperature, with changes at 15-minute intervals; 30-second immersion in hydrogen peroxide at 100ºC; immediate cooling with distilled water at temperatures ranging from 6º to 8ºC; rinsing in running distilled water for 6 hours; immersion in alcohol grades of 70º, 90º and 100ºGL (15-minute in each solution); autoclaving. Thereafter, 10 white New Zealand rabbits were distributed into two groups: Group I - graft inserted in the ear pavilion and Group II - graft inserted and fixed in the tibia. After 180 days, the animals were sacrificed by anesthetic overdose. Results: In Group I, the graft was in intimate contact with the subcutaneous tissue, while in Group II the graft was juxtaposed to the recipient site. Both groups presented medullar spaces filled with active bone marrow and newly formed bone. In addition, osteocytes were absent in the bovine bone graft and present in the newly formed bone, close to the medullar spaces. Conclusion: From the obtained results, the inorganic bovine bone xenograft showed biocompatibility. / Orientador: Wilson Roberto Poi / Coorientador: Idelmo Rangel Garcia Júnior / Banca: Osvaldo Magro Filho / Banca: Roberta Okamoto / Banca: José Luiz Rodrigues Leles / Banca: Eleonor Álvaro Garbin Júnior / Doutor

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Οι νικοτινικοί υποδοχείς της ακετυλοχολίνης είναι ομο- ή ετεροπενταμερείς διαμεμβρανικές γλυκοπρωτεΐνες οι οποίες, σχηματίζοντας ιοντικά κανάλια, συμβάλλουν στην λειτουργία του μυικού και νευρικού συστήματος. Η επικείμενη εμπλοκή των υποδοχέων αυτών σε διάφορες παθολογικές καταστάσεις του οργανισμού, επιβάλλει τη γνώση της δομής τους, απαραίτητη προϋπόθεση για την ανάπτυξη εξειδικευμένων θεραπευτικών προσεγγίσεων. Μέχρι τώρα, δεν έχουν δημοσιευτεί υψηλής ανάλυσης πληροφορίες για τη δομή του μορίου του ανθρώπινου υποδοχέα μέσω κρυσταλλογραφίας ακτίνων Χ ή μέσω πειραμάτων πυρηνικού μαγνητικού συντονισμού (NMR). Η απουσία των συγκεκριμένων πληροφοριών, οφείλεται στη φύση του μορίου του υποδοχέα όπως η ύπαρξη των υδρόφοβων διαμεμβρανικών περιοχών, το μέγεθος του μορίου καθώς και η αδυναμία απομόνωσης σε μεγάλες ποσότητες από φυσικές πηγές. Για το λόγο αυτό, είναι αναγκαίο να προκύψουν πρωτεϊνικά μόρια υδατοδιαλυτά, λειτουργικά, με δομή η οποία να πλησιάζει αρκετά τη φυσική διαμόρφωσή τους και σε ποσότητες ικανές ώστε να είναι εφικτές οι δομικές μελέτες τους. Τα τμήματα του νικοτινικού υποδοχέα της ακετυλοχολίνης, τα οποία συγκεντρώνουν τις παραπάνω προϋποθέσεις, είναι τα εξωκυτταρικά αμινοτελικά πολυπεπτίδια των διαφόρων υπομονάδων που τον αποτελούν. Από την άλλη πλευρά, ο οργανισμός που πρόκειται να χρησιμοποιηθεί ως σύστημα ετερόλογης έκφρασης, πρέπει να είναι εύκολος στους χειρισμούς του, γρήγορος, οικονομικός, με μεγάλο επίπεδο έκφρασης (όπως τα βακτήρια π.χ. E.coli) αλλά ταυτόχρονα να έχει την ικανότητα να πραγματοποιεί μεταμεταφραστικές τροποποιήσεις στις πρωτεΐνες που εκφράζει ώστε τα παραγόμενα μόρια να μπορούν να αναδιπλωθούν (όπως τα ευκαρυωτικά κύτταρα). Άρα, για να προκύψουν τα επιθυμητά μόρια, σύμφωνα με τις παραπάνω προϋποθέσεις, εκφράστηκαν τα εξωκυτταρικά τμήματα (ECDs) των ανθρώπινων υπομονάδων α1, α4 και β2 στο υπερκείμενο καλλιέργειας του μεθυλοτροφικού ζυμομύκητα P. pastoris. Αρχικά, μελετήθηκαν τα εξωκυτταρικά τμήματα των α4 και β2 υπομονάδων με διαφορετικούς επιτόπους ώστε να γίνει η επιλογή του καλύτερου συνδιασμού που πρόκειται να χρησιμοποιηθεί για έκφραση των δύο υπομονάδων στο ίδιο σύστημα. Η έκφραση των α4 και β2 ECDs με τον επίτοπο των έξι αμινοξικών καταλοίπων στο καρβοξυτελικό τους άκρο (α4-ECD-6xHis και β2-ECD-6xHis) στο υπερκείμενο καλλιέργειας του P. pastoris, κατέληξε στην απομόνωση μικρών ποσοτήτων πρωτεϊνικών συσσωματωμάτων τα οποία κρίνονται ακατάλληλα για δομικές μελέτες εξαιτίας της υδροφοβικότητας και κατά συνέπεια του μεγέθους τους. Όταν πραγματοποιήθηκε αλλαγή της υδρόφοβης περιοχής μεταξύ των κυστεινών 128 και 142 με την αντίστοιχη υδρόφιλη ολιγοπεπτιδική αλληλουχία της πρωτεΐνης η οποία δεσμεύει ακετυλοχολίνη (AChBP) στις ανασυνδιασμένες πρωτεΐνες, παρατηρήθηκε αισθητή βελτίωση για την β2-ECD υπομονάδα (β2-cysloop-ECD-6xHis) τόσο σε επίπεδο έκφρασης όσο και στο μέγεθος το οποίο σχηματίζει. Ωστόσο, παρόμοια βελτίωση για την α4-cysloop-ECD-6xHis υπομονάδα, παρατηρήθηκε όταν αντικαταστάθηκε ο καρβοξυτελικός επίτοπος των έξι αμινοξικών καταλοίπων ιστιδίνης από τον επίτοπο του οκταπεπτιδίου FLAG (α4-cysloop-ECD-FLAG). Στα πειράματα συνέκφρασης, των δύο υπομονάδων στο ζυμομύκητα P. pastoris που ακολούθησαν, αρχικά πιστοποιήθηκε η συνέκφραση και στη συνέχεια ο σχηματισμός ετεροπολυμερούς των δύο υπομονάδων. Ακόμα, η απογλυκοζυλίωση των α4-cysloop-ECD-FLAG και β2-cysloop-ECD-6xHis όταν εκφράζονται μόνες τους ή όταν εκφράζονται ταυτόχρονα στο υπερκείμενο του P. pastoris, φανέρωσε την αύξηση της ομοιογένειας των μορίων τους. Επιπλέον, ενθαρυντική ήταν η εύρεση της επιθυμητής στοιχειομετρίας 2 α4/ 3 β2 των υπομονάδων βάση της οποίας συμμετέχουν στο σχηματισμό του ετεροπολυμερούς. Ωστόσο, η μάζα του ετεροπολυμερούς των ανασυνδιασμένων α4 και β2 υπομονάδων, όπως προέκυψε από την επεξεργασία των αποτελεσμάτων της χρωματογραφίας μοριακής διήθησης (1191 και 496kDa), απέχει κατά πολύ από την θεωρητικά αναμενόμενη μάζα ετεροπενταμερούς των 175kDa. Μελέτες δυναμικής σκέδασης φωτός σε δείγματα του απομονωμένου ετεροπολυμερούς, επιβεβαίωσαν το παραπάνω αποτέλεσμα. Τα αποτελέσματα της μελέτης μείωσης του μεγέθους των ετεροπολυμερών με απορρυπαντικά, έδειξαν ότι είναι δυνατή η επιθυμητή μείωση του μεγέθους αλλά σε υψηλές τιμές συγκεντρώσεων απορρυπαντικού. Επιπλέον, η ανάγκη για ακόμα υψηλότερες τιμές απορρυπαντικών προς βελτίωση της ομοιογένειας δεν συνίσταται, διότι κατευθύνει τους σχηματισμούς των πρωτεϊνικών μοριών σε ασταθείς καταστάσεις οι οποίες χαρακτηρίζονται από ευμετάβλητες διαμορφώσεις και πολλές φορές καταστροφή των υπό μελέτη πρωτεϊνών. Ακόμα, το γεγονός ότι τα απομονωμέμενα ετεροπολυμερή των α4 και β2 ECDs δεν εμφανίζουν την ικανότητα δέσμευσης νικοτίνης, σε συνδιασμό με τα παραπάνω αποτελέσματα μελέτης τους, οδήγησαν στο συμπέρασμα ότι δεν τηρούν τις προϋποθέσεις των κατάλληλων πρωτεϊνικών δειγμάτων τα οποία προορίζονται για πειράματα μελέτης της δομής τους. Η έκφραση της ανασυνδιασμένης α1-ECD με τον επίτοπο των έξι αμινοξικών καταλοίπων στο καρβοξυτελικό της άκρο (α1-ECD-6xHis) στο υπερκείμενο καλλιέργειας του P. pastoris, κατέληξε στην απομόνωση υδατοδιαλυτού και λειτουργικού μορίου. Οι πληροφορίες των μελετών κυκλικού διχρωισμού σε δείγμα της απομονωμένης ανασυνδιασμένης πρωτεΐνης, δείχνουν ότι πρόκειται για ένα μόριο με διαμόρφωση και μάλιστα, σε επίπεδο δευτεροταγούς δομής, εμφανίζει ένα πλούσιο περιεχόμενο β-πτυχωτής επιφάνειας (40,9%). Ωστόσο, οι δοκιμές κρυστάλλωσης στις οποίες τέθηκαν δείγματα της α1-ECD-6xHis, δεν απέδωσαν το επιθυμητό αποτέλεσμα της κρυστάλλωσης του μορίου. Ακόμα και όταν πραγματοποιήθηκε προσπάθεια μελέτης του μορίου σε διαλύματα (NH4)2SO4 με μεταβλητή συγκέντρωση, pH και θερμοκρασία, στάθηκε αδύνατο να κρυσταλλωθεί το μόριο. Το πρόβλημα της συγκεκριμένης έκφρασης, εντοπίστηκε επιπλέον και στο ποσό της ανασυνδιασμένης πρωτεΐνης που είναι δυνατόν να απομονωθεί. Για να αυξηθεί το επίπεδο έκφρασης, πραγματοποιήθηκαν πειράματα μεταβολής των συνθηκών καλλιέργειας (θερμοκρασία, σύσταση θρεπτικού μέσου) όπως επίσης και των συνθηκών απομόνωσης. Παρατηρήθηκε βελτίωση στην ποσότητα του τελικού απομονωμένου προϊόντος η οποία όμως δεν θεωρείται ικανοποιητική. Για το λόγο αυτό, στη συνέχεια, πραγματοποιήθηκε έκφραση και απομόνωση της α1-ECD με τον επίτοπο του οκταπεπτιδίου FLAG στο αμινοτελικό της άκρο, στο υπερκείμενο καλλιέργειας του ίδιου ζυμομύκητα. Το επίπεδο έκφρασης της συγκεκριμένης ανασυνδιασμένης πρωτεΐνης, ήταν αρκετά ικανοποιητικό (1mg πρωτεΐνης /lt υπερκειμένου καλλιέργειας) και μάλιστα αυξημένο κατά πολύ σε σχέση με τις προηγούμενες εκφράσεις (0,34mg πρωτεΐνης /lt υπερκειμένου καλλιέργειας). Ωστόσο, η αδυναμία ορθής λήψης φάσματος του μορίου μέσω κυκλικού διχρωισμού εξαιτίας αυξημένου θορύβου, στάθηκε η αιτία να σταματήσει η έκφραση της συγκεκριμένης ανασυνδιασμένης πρωτεΐνης. / Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are homo- or heteropentameric transmembrane glycoproteins which form ion channels and contribute to the function of muscles and neurons. The involvement of these receptors in pathological situations, imposes the knowledge of their structure for the development of specific therapeutic approaches. Till now, there is not sufficient knowledge about the structure of the human acetylcholine receptor through x-ray crystallography or through NMR experiments. The absence of these data, comes from the nature of the receptor molecules such as the existence of hydrophobic transmembrane domains, the size of the molecule. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain hydrophilic and functional protein molecules with native-like structure and in adequate quantities in order to be possible structural studies of these molecules. So, the most suitable domains of the acetylchlonine receptors to be used for these studies, are the extracellular domains. At the beginning, studies of extracellular domains of α4 and β2 subunits with different tags were accomplished in order to choose the best combination to be used in cooexpression experiments in Pichia Pastoris. The expression of the extracellular domains of α4 and β2 tagged with 6xHis in the C-terminus (α4-ECD-6xHis and β2-ECD-6xHis) to the supernatant of the P. pastoris culture, gave very little amounts of protein aggregates which are not suitable for structural studies because of their hydrophobicity. When the hydrophobic region between Cys 128 and Cys 142 was changed with the respective hydrophilic region from Acetylcholine Binding Protein, an increase of expression of the β2-ECD subunit and a decrease of protein aggregation was observed. However, a similar improvement for α4-cysloop-ECD-6xHis subunit was observed after substitution of 6xHis tag with FLAG tag. Thereafter, the cooexpression experiments through P. pastoris, showed the formation of an heteropolymer which is formed by the two different subunits. Moreover, the in vitro deglycosylation of α4-cysloop-ECD-FLAG and β2-cysloop-ECD-6xHis, either they are coexpressed or not, revealed an improvement of homogeneity of these molecules. Besides these results, the determination of the desirable stoichiometry 2 α4/ 3 β2 of the subunits that participate in the heteropolymer, was also encouraging. However, the estimation of protein mass of the α4β2 heteropolymer, through gel filtration chromatography (1191 and 496 kDa), showed that these formations are much bigger than the expected mass of heteropentamers. This result is also confirmed by dynamic light scattering experiments. The results from decreasing the size of heteropolymers in the presence of detergents, showed that this is possible to be achieved in high concentrations of detergents with the danger of denaturing the protein molecules. So, it was obvious that this strategy for studying the structure of the extracellular domain of α4β2 receptors, had to be changed. The expression of the extracellular domain of α1 subunit tagged with 6xHis to the supernatant of P. pastoris culture, led to the isolation of water soluble and functional molecule. Data from circular dicroism studies in a protein sample, showed that α1-ECD has a formation rich in β-sheets (40.9%). However, crystallization trials in samples of α1-ECD-6xHis, gave no protein crystals. Moreover, the yield of the purified protein was too small. In order to achieve an increase of the protein yield, experiments of modifying the temperature and the composition of nutrient were carried out. The result from these experiments showed a slight improvement for the final quantity of protein that is obtained but not satisfactory. For this reason, there were performed expression and isolation of the extracellular domain of α1 subunit with a FLAG tag in the N-terminus, to the supernatant of P. pastoris culture. The quantity of purified protein was dramatically increased (1mg protein/lt of culture supernatant). However, it was not possible to obtain a circular dichroism spectrum without background noise and that was the reason for not continuing the expression of this protein.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-223).

La vanillyl alcool oxydase est un biocatalyseur prometteur d’un point de vue réactionnel en raison de sa faible sélectivité sur les composés phénoliques substitués en position para. Elle catalyse l’oxydation d’une large gamme de dérivés 4-hydroxybenzylique, des réactions de déméthylation oxydative, de désamination, de déshydrogénation et d’hydroxylation ; notamment celle de l’eugénol. L’hydroxylation de ce dernier conduit à la formation d’alcool coniférylique. Dans le but d’utiliser l’eugénol comme substrat de biosytnhèse de dérivés vanilliques, nous avons développé, au cours de ce travail de thèse, deux souches exprimant le biocatalyseur d’intérêt : une souche de levure et une souche bactérienne.La première partie de la thèse a donc consisté à mettre au point un système d’expression pour la production de VAO dans la levure de boulanger et un procédé d’hydroxylation de l’eugénol en fermenteur. Le principal apport réside dans la construction de la souche 93645, qui contient la cassette d’expression VAO et une activité oxydase propre permettant la bioconversion de l’alcool coniférylique formé en acide férulique. En fonction des conditions de fermentation, 20 g/l d’alcool coniférylique ou 27 g/l d’acide férulique sont produits par les cultures de S. cereviaise- VAO 93645. La reproductibilité des procédés, ainsi que leur faisabilité à l’échelle pilote, ont été démontrés.Dans la seconde partie de cette étude, le même travail de clonage a été réalisé dans la souche Amycetales Streptomyces setonii ATCC 39116. La bactérie, reclassifiée en 2009 sous le nom d’Amycolatopsis sp 39116, est connue pour sa capacité à bioconvertir l’acide férulique en vanilline ; d’où l’intérêt d’exprimer l’enzyme VAO dans cette souche. Plusieurs stratégies de clonage ont été expérimentées et une souche recombinante, exprimant une activité VAO active a été obtenue. Les conditions optimales pour l'utilisation de cette dernière dans le cadre de la production de vanilline et d’alcool coniférylique ont été identifiées. Elles conduisent à la biosynthèse de 0,4 g/l vanilline et de 15 g/l d’alcool coniférylique. Les résultats mettent en évidence une activité insuffisante des oxydases de Streptomyces sur l’alcool coniférylique formé. Ce type de production n’a encore jamais été réalisé chez S. setonii et ces premiers résultats demandent encore des mises au point avec, sans doute, le clonage d’oxydases hétérologues permettant la bioconversion de l’alcool coniférylique formé en acide férulique. / Our aim was to develop a process for the biosynthesis of vanillin derivatives from eugenol.Vanillyl alcohol oxidase isolated from Peniciiiium simplissicimum, catalyzes the hydroxylation of eugenolinto coniferyl alcohol. In this study, two strains expressing the biocatalyst were constructed: a yeast,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a bacteria; Streptomyces setonii.It has been demonstrated that the wild strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae can bioconvert coniferyl alcohol, most probably due to its dehydrogenase activity. Strain 93645, genetically modified to expressvanillyl-alcohol oxidase, enabled us to optimize an industrial scale process for the production of natural ferulic acid.Streptomyces setonii strain ATCC 39116 was also genetically engineered to over-express VAO. Abioconversion process was developed leading to a coniferyl alcohol concentration of 15 g/1 coniferyl alcohol. The impact of several parameters; such as temperature, substrate addition mode and pH, werealso explored to improve the bioconversion reaction of coniferyl alcohol to vanillin. The amounts of product resulting from bacterial biosynthesis were however too low for implementation of an industrial process.

Inibidores tipo Kunitz são proteínas de aproximadamente 20 kDa, que geralmente possuem de dois a quatro resíduos de cisteína, formando uma ou duas pontes dissulfeto, sendo responsáveis por inibir uma ou diversas serina proteinases com grande especificidade. Eles são importantes tanto por atuarem em situações de defesa na planta como por estarem envolvidos na inibição de diversas proteinases, como aquelas presentes na cascata de coagulação sanguínea, no processo inflamatório ou e até mesmo atuarem na supressão de tumores. Este trabalho teve como alvo o estudo de um inibidor tipo Kunitz encontrado em sementes de Bauhinia bauhinioides (Martius) Macbr., denominado BbKI (Bauhinia bauhinioides Kallikrein Inhibitor). Um fragmento gênico codificando a seqüência primária madura de BbKI foi amplificado por RT-PCR e clonado no vetor pGEM-T. Através da técnica de RACE (3 e 5) foi possível constatar que a proteína é sintetizada inicialmente como um prepropeptídeo com a seguinte estrutura: peptídeo sinal (19 resíduos de aminoácidos), proteína madura (164 resíduos), e peptídeo C-terminal (10 resíduos). A presença do peptídeo sinal demonstra que a proteína segue uma rota de síntese via retículo endoplasmático e sugere que este inibidor possa seguir para outro compartimento celular, sinalizado pelo peptídeo C-terminal. Para avaliar se este peptídeo não seria um mero inibidor da atividade biológica, foram feitas duas subclonagens em vetores do sistema pET: uma com o fragmento gênico codificador para BbKI madura, e outra adicionando a seqüência codificante para a porção C-terminal na proteína madura. As proteínas recombinantes foram expressas em células de E. coli BL21(DE3), as quais foram purificadas através de cromatografia de afinidade (Ni-NTA) e filtração em gel, apresentando a massa molecular esperada de 20 kDa. Testes de atividade com tripsina mostraram que ambas as proteínas são biologicamente ativas, embora com diferentes constantes de inibição. Estudos de Dicroísmo Circular revelaram estruturas secundárias similares para ambas as proteínas. Quando analisado por espectroscopia de fluorescência, o inibidor maduro mostrou-se estável numa ampla faixa de pH. A proteína madura recombinante foi ainda cristalizada e o cristal foi difratado por raios X até a resolução máxima de 1,9 A, permitindo a resolução e o refinamento de sua estrutura. A análise da estrutura revelou que o inibidor apresenta um enovelamento -trefoil que é típico nos inibidores tipo Kunitz previamente estudados. Sua estrutura terciária mostrou que no centro ativo o loop inibitório está exposto ao solvente e que os únicos W e C ficam escondidos no interior da proteína, rodeados por resíduos hidrofóbicos / Kunitz-type inhibitors are proteins of about 20 kDa that usually contain from 2 to 4 cystein residues used to form one or two dissulfide bridges. They are responsible for inhibiting one or severa1 serine proteinases with large specificity. Kunitz inhibitors are important both for playing defense roles in plants and also for being involved in the inhibition of many proteinases, like those present in the blood coagulation cascade, in inflammatory processes, or even for suppressing tumors. The aim of this work was to study a Kunitz-type inhibitor from Bauhinia bauhinioides (Martius) Macbr. seeds, denominated BbKI (Bauhinia buhinioides Kallikrein Inhibitor). A gene fragment codifying the mature primary sequence of BbKI was amplified by RT-PCR and was cloned in the pGEM-T vector. Using the RACE (3 and 5) technique we could verify that this protein is synthesized as a prepropeptide with the following structure: signal peptide (19 amino acid residues), mature protein (164 residues) and C-terminal peptide (10 residues). The presence of the peptide signal shows this protein follows a synthesis pathway via endoplasmatic reticulum and suggests the inhibitor can move to another cell compartment guided by the C-terminal peptide. To evaluate if this peptide was just an inhibitor of the biological activity, we performed two subclonings in the system pET vectors: one using the gene fragment codifying to mature BbKI, and another adding the codifying sequence for the C-terminal peptide to the mature protein. The recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells which were purified by affinity chromatography (Ni-NTA) and gel filtration thus presenting the expected molecular mass of 20kDa. Activity assays with trypsin showed that both of proteins are biologically active, although they presented different inhibition constants. Circular Dichroism studies revealed that both proteins have similar secondary structures. When analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy the mature inhibitor was stable in a wide pH range. The mature recombinant protein was latter crystallized and the crystal was diffracted by X-ray at 1.9A resolution, allowing the resolution and refinement of its structure. The analysis of this structure revealed the inhibitor presents a -trefoil fold, which is typical in the Kunitz-type inhibitors previously studied. Its tertiary structure showed that in the active site the inhibitory loop is exposed to solvent, and that the W and the C are buried into the protein surrounded by hydrophobic residues.

Orientador: Maysa Furlan / Banca: Angela Regina Araujo / Banca: Hosana Maria Debonsi / Resumo: As espécies das famílias Celastraceae mostram o acúmulo de substâncias de interesse biológico, com destaque para a friedelina, com potentes efeitos anti-inflamatórios, analgésicos e gastroprotetores, e os triterpenos quinonametídeos, promissores agentes antitumorais. Entretanto, para que sejam utilizados como fármacos, novas metodologias e/ou técnicas para obtenção dos mesmos em larga escala se fazem necessárias. Nesse contexto, um sistema heterólogo composto pela levedura Saccharomyces cerevisiae, foi modificado geneticamente com a inserção de plasmídeos (vetores) contendo genes oriundos de Maytenus ilicifolia que codificam a enzima friedelina sintase, a qual leva a produção de friedelina. A introdução dos genes heterólogos pode perturbar as vias metabólicas do sistema heterólogo e, além do metabólito alvo, outras classes e/ou substâncias de interesse biológico e/ou comercial podem ser produzidas. Para tanto, as leveduras foram cultivadas em meio sintético completo (0,67% de base para levedura nitrogenada sem adição de aminoácidos e 2% de glicose), suplementado com aminoácidos, bases e ácido p-aminobenzóico, sem adição de uracila. Para os estudos de variabilidade metabólica, análises por cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de massas foram realizadas utilizando os extratos etanólicos, clorofórmicos e hexânicos obtidos do sistema heterólogo com e sem modificação genética. Com o auxílio de técnicas metabolômicas foi possível a identificação de uma variedade de substâ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The species of the Celastraceae family shows the accumulation some compounds of biological interest, with emphasis on friedelin, with potent anti-inflammatory, analgesic and gastroprotective effects, as well as quinonemethide triterpenes, promising antitumor agents. However, in order to be used as drugs, new methodologies and / or techniques for obtaining them in large scale are necessary. In this way, a heterologous system of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeyeast was genetically modified with the insertion of plasmids (vectors) containing genes from Maytenus ilicifoliathat encode the enzyme friedelin synthase, looking for the production of friedelin by metabolic engineering. The introduction of the heterologous genes may disrupt the metabolic pathways of the heterologous system and, in addition to the target metabolite, other classes and / or compounds of biological and / or commercial interest may be produced. For this, yeasts were grown in complete synthetic medium (0.67% yeastnitrogen basewithout addition of amino acids and 2% glucose), supplemented with amino acids, bases and p-aminobenzoic acid, without addition of uracil. For metabolic variability studies, gas chromatographic analysis coupled with mass spectrometry were performed using ethanolic, chloroform and hexane extracts, obtained from the heterologous system with and without genetic modification. With the aid of metabolomic techniques it was possible to identify avariety of substances including various fatty acids and derivatives from 1to 5, as well as amides, such as (Z)-9-ocatadecenamide (7), terpenoid precursors such as squalene (8) and 2,3-oxidosesqualene (10), the triterpenes; friedelin (21) and lupeol (15), and alsosteroids ergosterol (14) and lanosterol (19). Due to perturbations in metabolic pathway of mevalonate, different substances were also observed, both in yeasts with the empty vector, plasmid considered as control... / Mestre

The neutral lipid triacylglycerol (TAG) is the main storage lipid in plants. When stored in seeds, TAG provides the carbon and energy source during germination. There is significant human nutritional demand for vegetable oil, but its use in production of renewable biomaterials and fuels has intensified the need to increase oil production. In plants, the final and committed step in TAG biosynthesis is catalyzed by diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGAT) and/or a phospholipid: diacylglycerol acyltransferases (PDAT). Both DGAT and PDAT contribute to seed TAG biosynthesis in an independent or overlapping manner, depending on the species. However, in nonseed tissues such as mesocarp of avocado, the regulation of TAG biosynthesis is not well-studied. Based on the transcriptome data of Persea americana it is hypothesized that both DGAT and PDAT are likely to catalyze the conversion of diacylglycerol to TAG. In this study, putative DGAT1 and DGAT2 were identified and comprehensive in silico analyses were conducted to determine the respective start codons, full-length coding sequences, transmembrane domains, predicted protein structures and phylogenetic relationships with other known DGATs. These data reveal that the putative DGATs of a basal angiosperm species retain features that are conserved not only among angiosperms but also other eukaryotes. For further biochemical characterization, the avocado DGATs were expressed in a TAGdeficient yeast strain and lipotoxicity rescue assays were conducted. The complementation of this yeast strain confirmed enzyme activity and supported the possible role of both avocado DGATs in TAG biosynthesis. Future studies will be focused on determining the substrate specificity of DGAT and its role, relative to PDATs in TAG biosynthesis in avocado mesocarp.