Metabolomics is used to reduce the complexity of plants and to understand the underlying pathways of the plant phenotype. The metabolic profile of plants can be obtained by mass spectrometry or liquid-state NMR. The extraction of metabolites from the sample is necessary for both techniques to obtain the metabolic profile. This extraction step can be eliminated by making use of high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR. In this review, an HR-MAS NMR-based workflow is described in more detail, including used pulse sequences in metabolomics. The pre-processing steps of one-dimensional HR-MAS NMR spectra are presented, including spectral alignment, baseline correction, bucketing, normalisation and scaling procedures. We also highlight some of the models which can be used to perform multivariate analysis on the HR-MAS NMR spectra. Finally, applications of HR-MAS NMR in plant metabolomics are described and show that HR-MAS NMR is a powerful tool for plant metabolomics studies.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Rodolpho de Campos Braga - 2015.pdf: 15048949 bytes, checksum: 8c5fe5ec8f286e33101963872c33d8d5 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In view of the alarming scenario of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil and in the world, especially due to the increasing number of cases of drug resistance and due to the few drugs available, it is essential to search for new therapeutic alternatives for this parasitosis. The complete sequencing of the genome of the main species of Leishmania opened great possibilities in understanding these diseases and initiated the post-genomic era of drug discovery against kinetoplastids. In this context, the enzyme 14 a-sterol demethylase (CYP51) of Leishmania is especially involved in the biosynthesis of ergosterol, the main sterol membrane and vital to the parasite. Furthermore, it was recently shown that inhibition of CYP51 of L. donovani is essential for the growth of the parasite, and therefore, is a validated target for the development of new leishmanicidal drugs. The aim of this work was the development and implementation of integrated strategies in medicinal chemistry to identify new bioactive compounds against L. infantum using CYP51 enzyme as molecular target. For this, we compiled, integrated and prepared the largest publicly available data sets related to CYP51 and phenotypic assays for Leishmania infantum amastigotes. Virtual screening models (VS) were constructed and extensively validated and applied to filter over 1 million of commercial compounds. The best models for VS were ROCS (LBDD) and pharmacophore (SBDD), with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) values of 0.86-0.90. The consensus between the two models had greater performance, with AUC of 0.93 and high recognition ability active ligands in the top 1% hits. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models robust and predictive were generated and validated for L. infantum (amastigote forms). The models were able to discriminate inactive active compounds with correct classification rate (CCR) values of 0.77 to 0.95 when evaluated for the external validation set. After the virtual screening, QSAR models were used to assist in the final selection of the compounds to be experimentally evaluated. This strategy allowed the identification of 12 compounds that were selected and acquired for in vitro assays against Leishmania (L.) infantum (MHOM / BR / 1972 / LD) in promastigote and amastigote forms, and determination of selectivity/cytotoxicity in NCTC in mammalian cells. Of the twelve compounds tested, six of them showed 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values raging from 3.48 to 58.94 μM and were more potent than the standard drug meglumine antimoniate, which is the drug of choice for the treatment of all forms of leishmaniasis. Three most promising compounds (LabMol-007, LabMol-009 and LabMol-012), had activity in leishmanicidal as amastigote and selectivity index promising (IC50 < 5.21 μM and selectivity index > 6.8) and were selected as new hits. We analyzed the parasite metabolic changes in the presence of known CYP51 inhibitors and new inhibitors using HR-MAS NMR 1H . We observed major changes in the energetic metabolism, amino acids catabolism, sterol biosynthesis, purine biosynthesis and thiol-redox system of the parasite. The three hit compounds identified in this work will continue in the drug development process, being necessary to carry out in vivo studies, elucidation of the mechanism of action, hit optimization, as well as the study of pharmacokinetic properties and toxicity. / Tendo em vista o quadro alarmante da leishmaniose visceral no Brasil e no mundo, especialmente devido ao crescente número de casos de resistência e aos poucos medi- camentos disponíveis, é imprescindível a busca de novas alternativas terapêuticas para esta parasitose. O sequenciamento completo do genoma das principais espécies de Leish- mania abriu grandes possibilidades no entendimento desses organismos e iniciou a era pós-genômica da descoberta de fármacos contra tripanossomatídeos. Nesse contexto, destaca-se a enzima 14 a-esterol desmetilase (CYP51) de Leishmania, que é especial- mente envolvida na biossíntese do ergosterol, principal esterol de membrana e vital para o parasito. Além disso, recentemente foi demonstrado que a inibição da CYP51 de L. donovani é essencial para o crescimento do parasito, sendo, portanto, um alvo validado para o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos leishmanicidas. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento e a aplicação de estratégias integradas em Química Medicinal para a identificação de novas substâncias bioativas contra L. infantum, utilizando a enzima CYP51 como alvo molecular. Para isso, foram compilados, integrados e preparados os maiores conjuntos de dados disponíveis publicamente relacionados a CYP51 e a ensaios fenotípicos para Leishmania spp. Modelos de triagem virtual (VS) foram construídos, exaustivamente validados e aplicados para filtrar uma quimioteca com mais de 1 milhão de compostos comerciais. Os melhores modelos para a VS foram o ROCS (LBDD) e o farmacofórico (SBDD), com valores de área sob a curva ROC (AUC) de 0,86-0,90. O consenso entre esses dois modelos foi superior com valor de AUC de 0,93 e alta capacidade de reconhecimento de ligantes ativos no topo de 1% hits. Modelos de relação quantitativa entre estrutura e atividade (QSAR) robustos e preditivos foram gerados e validados para um conjunto de dados de compostos com atividade contra L. infantum (formas amastigota). Os modelos de QSAR foram capazes de discriminar compostos ati- vos de inativos com uma taxa de acerto (CCR) de 0,77-0,95, quando avaliados utilizando o conjunto de validação externa. Após a triagem virtual, os modelos de QSAR foram usados para auxiliar na seleção final dos compostos a avaliados experimentalmente. Essa estratégia permitiu a identificação de 12 compostos que foram selecionados e adquiridos para realização de ensaios de atividade biológica in vitro contra Leishmania (L.) infantum (MHOM/BR/1972/LD) em formas promastigotas e amastigotas, e determinação de sele- tividade/citotoxidade em células mamíferas NCTC. Dos doze compostos testados, seis deles apresentaram valores de concentração inibitória de 50% (IC50) entre 3,48-58,94 μM e foram mais potentes que o fármaco padrão antimoniato de meglumina, que é o fármaco de primeira escolha para o tratamento de todas as formas de leishmaniose. Três compostos mais (LabMol-007, LabMol-009 e LabMol-012) tiveram atividade em leishmanicida na forma amastigota e índice de seletividade bastante promissores (IC50 < 5,21 μM e índice de seletividade > 6,8) e foram selecionados como novos hits. Analisou-se as alterações metabólicas do parasito na presença inibidores conhecidos de CYP51 e dos novos inibi- dores, empregando-se RMN HR-MAS 1H. Foram observadas alterações principais nas vias de metabolismo energético, catabolismo de aminoácidos, biossíntese de esteróis, metabolismo purinas e no sistema tiol-redox do parasito. Os três hits identificados neste trabalho prosseguirão no processo de desenvolvimento de novos fármacos, sendo necessá- ria a realização de estudos in vivo, elucidação do mecanismo de ação, otimização dos hits, além do estudo de propriedades farmacocinéticas e toxicidade.

La principale limite en chirurgie hépatobiliaire est représentée par l’insuffisance hépatocellulaire (IHC) posthépatectomie (Hx) ou la dysfonction du greffon (EAD) après transplantation (TH). Peu d’études ont évalué le métabolisme du foie dans son ensemble, du fait du manque de technique utilisable en clinique. La métabolomique HR-MAS-RMN pourrait pallier à ce manque. Le but de cette thèse était d’évaluer l’apport de cette technique en chirurgie hépatobiliaire.En TH (n=42), le profil métabolique (PM) prédisait le risque d’EAD et identifiait le lactate et la phosphocholine comme biomarqueurs permettant d’envisager un matching métabolique. Après Hx majeure (n=45), le PM prédisait la survenue d’un décès par IHC. Ce PM différait du profil cirrhotique en décompensation et était compatible avec celui de système cellulaire prolifératif. Une étude préliminaire montrait que le PM prédisait la récidive à 1 an après hépatectomie. Ce travail montre l’intérêt de la métabolomique par HR MAS RMN pour prédire l’issue d’une Hx ou d’une TH dans un temps compatible avec la clinique. Ces données orientent vers la piste de l’intervention métabolique en chirurgie hépatique. / One of the main limits in liver surgery is the risk of liver failure (LF) after hepatectomy (Hx) or graft dysfunction (EAD) after liver transplantation (LT). Few studies have evaluated global liver metabolism, probably due to the lack of clinically relevant techniques. HR-MAS-NMR metabolomics may fulfill this lack and the goal of this work was to evaluate its capacity to predict early outcomes after hepatectomy and LT. In LT (n=42), metabolic profile predicted EAD and lactate and phosphocholine were potent biomarkers providing means for metabolic matching. In liver biopsies harvested at the end of major Hx (n=45), metabolic profile predicted PHLF. The profile at risk of LF differed from that of decompensated cirrhosis but correlated to that of proliferative multicellular systems. A preliminary study showed that the metabolic profile predicted the risk of liver metastases recurrence at 1 year. This work underlines the potential value of HR-MAS-NMR metabolomics in the prediction of short-term outcomes in liver surgery. It provides clues to be further investigated for future evaluation of metabolic intervention in the field of liver surgery.

Cette thèse présente une approche multicompartimentée en métabolomique appliquée au diagnostic des tumeurs indéterminées de la thyroïde et à la caractérisation de l’effet du fructo-oligosaccharide sous condition de régime hyperlipidique chez la souris. L’objectif était de montrer qu’une telle approche permettrait de visualiser de façon plus globale des modulations du métabolisme induites, et par conséquent, d’améliorer la pertinence des marqueurs discriminants identifiés. Dans le cas de l'analyse nutritionnelle, l’analyse mono-compartimentée des différentes organes/segments intestinaux des souris ont permis de mettre en évidence les voies métaboliques affectées par le régime hyperlipidique mais pas d’observer un effet significatif du prébiotique FOS. Dans le cas du cancer de la thyroïde, l’étude multicompartimentée n’a pas pu être mise en place dans de bonnes conditions (problème de prélèvement d’échantillons). Cependant, l’analyse métabolomique monocompartimentée basée sur l’analyse HR-MAS des ponctions prélevées à l’aiguille fine a mené à une discrimination significative entre les lésions bénignes et malignes avec une prédictivité similaire aux tests moléculaires actuellement disponibles. En parallèle, nous avons exploré la technique HR-MAS à rotation lente dans le but de préserver l’intégrité des tissus au cours des expériences. L’utilisation de cette technique s’accompagne d’un certain nombre d’inconvénients que nous avons contournés en utilisant des séquences RMN particulières, et en mettant en place un protocole robuste de préparation d’échantillons. Enfin, nous avons évalué le filtre T1ρ et son application en métabolomique comme alternative au filtre T2. / This thesis presents a multicompartmental metabolomics approach applied to the diagnosis of indeterminate thyroid tumours and to the characterization of the effect of fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), a prebiotic, under high fat diet condition in a mouse model. The aim of this project is to show that such approach could lead to a more global visualization of the induced metabolic modulations, and therefore, improve the identified discriminant markers relevance. Regarding the diet study, the mono-compartmental analysis of the different mouse organs/intestine segments enabled us to identify metabolic pathways affected by the high fat diet whereas the effect of FOS could only be characterized for the feces samples collected at day 28. Regarding the thyroid cancer study, the multi-compartmental approach could not have been continued due to sample handling issues. However, the classical metabolomics analysis of the fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) from patients with benign or malignant tumours led to a clear discrimination between both groups with a predictivity similar to that of commercial diagnosis tests. In the meantime, we explored the slow-spinning NMR HR-MAS technique in order to preserve the integrity of the tissues during the experiments. The use of this technique is accompanied by a number of drawbacks that we have avoided using special NMR sequences, and putting in place a robust protocol for sample preparation. Finally, we evaluated the T1ρ filter and its applications to metabolomics as an alternative to T2 filter.

La majorité des méthodes d’analyse et de contrôle actuelles dans l’agroalimentaire sont basées sur une approche ciblée, c'est-à-dire avec une définition en amont des contaminants recherchés, et présentent ainsi le risque de ne pas détecter certaines fraudes ou sources potentielles de contaminations de produits authentiques. C’est autour de cette problématique que le projet Agrifood GPS (Global Protection System), dont fait partie cette thèse, a été initié. Celui-ci a pour objectif principal la mise en place de nouvelles méthodes analytiques de criblage (non-ciblées) afin de garantir l’intégrité des produits analysés. Cette thèse regroupe ainsi les différents résultats obtenus sur des matrices semi-solides (poisson principalement), par RMN Haute Résolution en Rotation à l’Angle Magique (HR-MAS), et sur des extraits de caviar par RMN liquide haute résolution (HR). Ce manuscrit présente, tout d’abord, une méthode de détermination rapide de la fraîcheur et la qualité du poisson basée sur la mesure de deux indicateurs chimiques (le TMA-N et la valeur K) ainsi que les résultats portant sur l’évaluation de la texture du poisson à travers l’étude du temps de relaxation transversale (T2) de l’eau contenue dans les tissus musculaires, ces deux études étant réalisées par RMN HR-MAS. Puis, les résultats des travaux réalisés sur la détermination de l’origine géographique du caviar à l’aide du profil métabolique enregistré par spectroscopie RMN liquide haute résolution et d’analyses statistiques multivariées, dans le cadre de la démarche d’obtention d’une IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) des producteurs de l’Aquitaine, et sur l’étude de la dégradation du caviar au cours de sa conservation au réfrigérateur sont alors présentés. / Most of the current analytical and quality control methods in the food industry are based on a targeted approach, with an upstream definition of the intended contaminants, and may fail to detect some frauds or contaminations of genuine products. It is around this issue that the Agrifood GPS (Global Protection System), of which this thesis is part of, has been initiated. This project aims at developing new holistic analytical methods (untargeted) in order to ensure the integrity of the foodstuff analyzed. This thesis manuscript gathers the results obtained on semi-solid foodstuffs (mainly fish), by High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning NMR, and on caviar extracts by high resolution liquid-state NMR (HR NMR). First of all, it presents a rapid method to evaluate fish freshness and quality based on the determination of two chemical indicators (the TMA-N and the K-value) and the results of a fish texture study through the measurement of the transverse relaxation time (T2) of water in muscle tissues, both by HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy. Thereafter, are presented the results of the work carried out on the determination of the geographical origin of caviar using the metabolic profile acquired by liquid-state NMR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis in the context of the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status for the Aquitaine producers, and on the degradation study of caviar during its storage in a fridge.

<p><b>Background and aims:</b> Type 2 diabetes mellitus is connected with elevated glucose levels, which cause impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and degeneration of β-cells. Mechanisms for such glucotoxic effects were explored in the present study.</p><p><b>Materials and methods:</b> INS-1E cells were cultured for 5 days in 5.5, 11, 20 or 27 mM glucose in the presence or absence of AMPK-agonist AICAR. GSIS was determined from INS-1E cells and islets obtained from type 2 diabetes and control donors. Human islets and INS-1E cells were functionally characterized (GSIS) and protein profiled (SELDI-TOF MS). Glucose-induced <i>de novo</i> synthesis of fatty acyls (HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy), fatty acid composition (GC-MS), triglyceride content and specific proteins (Western blotting) were determined in INS-1E cells.</p><p><b>Results:</b> Impaired GSIS was observed from INS-1E cells exposed to chronic hyperglycaemia and islets isolated from type 2 diabetics compared to INS-1E cells cultured at normal glucose levels and control islets, respectively. Several glucose-regulated proteins were found when type 2 diabetes and control islets or mitochondria from INS-1E cells cultured at different glucose concentrations were protein profiled. Glucose induced lipid <i>de novo</i> synthesis of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in specific proportions. Glucose-induced impairment of function and mass was reverted by inclusion of AICAR, which lowered levels of pro-apoptotic protein CHOP but left triglyceride content unaffected.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b> Impaired GSIS and increased apoptosis observed in β-cells after prolonged exposure to elevated glucose concentrations involved accumulation of lipid species in specific proportions, AMPK-inactivation, ER-stress activation and complex, coordinated changes in expression patterns of mitochondrial and human islet proteins.</p>

<b>Background and aims:</b> Type 2 diabetes mellitus is connected with elevated glucose levels, which cause impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and degeneration of β-cells. Mechanisms for such glucotoxic effects were explored in the present study. <b>Materials and methods:</b> INS-1E cells were cultured for 5 days in 5.5, 11, 20 or 27 mM glucose in the presence or absence of AMPK-agonist AICAR. GSIS was determined from INS-1E cells and islets obtained from type 2 diabetes and control donors. Human islets and INS-1E cells were functionally characterized (GSIS) and protein profiled (SELDI-TOF MS). Glucose-induced de novo synthesis of fatty acyls (HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy), fatty acid composition (GC-MS), triglyceride content and specific proteins (Western blotting) were determined in INS-1E cells. <b>Results:</b> Impaired GSIS was observed from INS-1E cells exposed to chronic hyperglycaemia and islets isolated from type 2 diabetics compared to INS-1E cells cultured at normal glucose levels and control islets, respectively. Several glucose-regulated proteins were found when type 2 diabetes and control islets or mitochondria from INS-1E cells cultured at different glucose concentrations were protein profiled. Glucose induced lipid de novo synthesis of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in specific proportions. Glucose-induced impairment of function and mass was reverted by inclusion of AICAR, which lowered levels of pro-apoptotic protein CHOP but left triglyceride content unaffected. <b>Conclusions:</b> Impaired GSIS and increased apoptosis observed in β-cells after prolonged exposure to elevated glucose concentrations involved accumulation of lipid species in specific proportions, AMPK-inactivation, ER-stress activation and complex, coordinated changes in expression patterns of mitochondrial and human islet proteins.