The extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5), also known as big mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase 1 (BMK1), is a non-redundant mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) implicated in mediating the response of cells to mitogens, oxidative and osmotic stresses. The molecular complexity of the ERK5 cascade has been mostly delineated by over-expression studies. For example, like other MAPKs, ERK5 activity increases upon phosphorylation by a MAPK/ERK kinase, namely MEK5. However, the physiological role of ERK5 is not rigorously established by these data. Furthermore, in comparison to the other members of the family, little is known about the downstream targets of ERK5. This constitutes an obstacle for the molecular understanding of the signalling mechanisms that account for the effect of ERK5 activation in vivo. To clarify these issues, I have tested the effect of the conditional loss of ERK5 in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). My results indicate that ERK5 is required for the proliferation of MEFs, at least in part, by promoting the entry into S phase of the cell cycle. ERK5 suppressed the expression of the cyclin-dependent protein kinase (CDK) inhibitors, p21 and p27. As a result, low-level CDK2 activity detected in ERK5-deficient MEFs correlated with hypo-phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma (Rb) protein and with a defect in G1 to S phase transition of the cell cycle. ERK5 blocks p21 expression by decreasing the stability of the p21 transcript. This process might, at least partially, involve a mechanism implicating c-Myc-induced transcriptional up-regulation of the miR-17-92 cluster. Concerning p27, ERK5 decreases p27 protein stability. The stabilisation of p27 in the absence of ERK5 resulted in the accumulation of the protein in the nucleus. To examine the relevance of my findings in cancer, I tested the effect of pharmacological inhibition of ERK5 in two human breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 and MDA- MB-231, using XMD8-92, a novel potent and selective inhibitor of ERK5. My results show that these cells are dependent on ERK5 to proliferate. Furthermore, I found that incubation of MDA- MB-231 cells with XMD8-92 compromised their ability to invade. In both breast cancer cell lines, ERK5 down-regulates p21 and p27 expression. Together with evidence that cancer patients with poor prognosis display a high-level of expression of components of the ERK5 signalling pathway, these findings support the hypothesis that ERK5 can be a potential target for cancer therapy.

A proteína FBXO25 é uma E3-ligase do tipo SCF, responsável pela seletividade da ligação da Ub à proteína substrato e pelo direcionamento da proteína marcada para o barril proteassomal 26s. Sabe-se que FBXO25 é capaz de interagir e ubiquitinar a proteína Elk-1 em células HEK293T e, assim, inibir a expressão de genes importantes na regulação da proliferação celular, como C-FOS e EGR-1, após estímulo com o mitógeno PMA. Aqui mostramos que FBXO25 atua em um outro ponto da via das MAPKs, modulando os níveis de fosforilação de ERK1/2. Por meio da utilização de células nocaute para FBXO25 (FBXO25KO) foi possível observar que o tratamento com PMA promoveu aumento dos níveis de fosforilação de ERK1/2 nestas células quando comparadas com sua linhagem parental. Observouse também que o estímulo com os mitógenos PMA ou ATP levou a um aumento da proliferação celular não relacionada à modulação direta do ciclo celular nas células nocautes, sendo que estas apresentaram uma redução significativa dos seus níveis de apoptose. Tomando esses resultados em conjunto, mostramos que FBXO25 atua sobre a sinalização de MAPK por meio de redução da ativação ERK1/2 e, dessa forma, promove uma resposta secundária sobre o fenótipo de proliferação celular / The FBXO25 protein is an SCF-type E3-ligase responsible for the selectivity of Ub binding to the protein and the targeting of the labeled protein to the 26s proteasome barrel. FBXO25 has been long known to be able to interact and ubiquitinate the Elk-1 protein in HEK293T cells, thereby inducing a decrease in the expression of important genes in the regulation of cell proliferation such as CFOS and EGR-1 after stimulation with the mitogen PMA. Here we show that FBXO25 acts at another point in the MAPK pathway by modulating the ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels. We observed that the treatment with PMA rised the phosphorylated levels of ERK1/2 in knockout cells for FBXO25 (FBXO25KO) when compared to its parental lineage. Stimulation with the mitogens PMA or ATP also led to an increase in cell proliferation unrelated to a direct modulation of the cell cycle in knockout cells, with a significant weight of apoptosis levels being observed. Taking these results together, we show that FBXO25 acts on MAPK signaling by reducing ERK1/2 activation and thus promotes a secondary response on the cell proliferation phenotype.

A proteína FBXO25 é uma E3-ligase do tipo SCF, responsável pela seletividade da ligação da Ub à proteína substrato e pelo direcionamento da proteína marcada para o barril proteassomal 26s. Sabe-se que FBXO25 é capaz de interagir e ubiquitinar a proteína Elk-1 em células HEK293T e, assim, inibir a expressão de genes importantes na regulação da proliferação celular, como C-FOS e EGR-1, após estímulo com o mitógeno PMA. Aqui mostramos que FBXO25 atua em um outro ponto da via das MAPKs, modulando os níveis de fosforilação de ERK1/2. Por meio da utilização de células nocaute para FBXO25 (FBXO25KO) foi possível observar que o tratamento com PMA promoveu aumento dos níveis de fosforilação de ERK1/2 nestas células quando comparadas com sua linhagem parental. Observouse também que o estímulo com os mitógenos PMA ou ATP levou a um aumento da proliferação celular não relacionada à modulação direta do ciclo celular nas células nocautes, sendo que estas apresentaram uma redução significativa dos seus níveis de apoptose. Tomando esses resultados em conjunto, mostramos que FBXO25 atua sobre a sinalização de MAPK por meio de redução da ativação ERK1/2 e, dessa forma, promove uma resposta secundária sobre o fenótipo de proliferação celular / The FBXO25 protein is an SCF-type E3-ligase responsible for the selectivity of Ub binding to the protein and the targeting of the labeled protein to the 26s proteasome barrel. FBXO25 has been long known to be able to interact and ubiquitinate the Elk-1 protein in HEK293T cells, thereby inducing a decrease in the expression of important genes in the regulation of cell proliferation such as CFOS and EGR-1 after stimulation with the mitogen PMA. Here we show that FBXO25 acts at another point in the MAPK pathway by modulating the ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels. We observed that the treatment with PMA rised the phosphorylated levels of ERK1/2 in knockout cells for FBXO25 (FBXO25KO) when compared to its parental lineage. Stimulation with the mitogens PMA or ATP also led to an increase in cell proliferation unrelated to a direct modulation of the cell cycle in knockout cells, with a significant weight of apoptosis levels being observed. Taking these results together, we show that FBXO25 acts on MAPK signaling by reducing ERK1/2 activation and thus promotes a secondary response on the cell proliferation phenotype.

Clostridium difficile (CD) est l’entéropathogène le plus fréquemment responsable d'infections nosocomiales intestinales post-antibiotiques. L'apparition de cas graves liés à l'émergence de souches hypervirulentes ces dernières années a contribué à accroître la morbidité et la mortalité. Les toxines TcdA et TcdB contribuent directement aux lésions intestinales associées aux infections à CD (ICD), mais d'autres facteurs bactériens sont nécessaires à l’adhésion et la colonisation intestinale. Les flagelles de CD, qui confèrent la mobilité et la chimiotaxie, pourraient jouer un rôle dans la pathogenèse en contribuant à la réponse inflammatoire de l’hôte et aux lésions de la muqueuse. En effet, en activant le récepteur TLR5, les flagelles peuvent provoquer l'activation des cascades de signalisation cellulaire des MAPK et de NF-κB conduisant à la sécrétion de cytokines pro-inflammatoires. Notre objectif était d’étudier ce rôle potentiel des flagelles de CD in vitro et in vivo. Nous avons montré que l'interaction de la flagelline de CD avec le TLR5 active principalement la voie de NF-κB, et, dans une moindre mesure, la voie des MAPK, conduisant ainsi à la régulation de l'expression de gènes pro-inflammatoires et à la synthèse de médiateurs pro-inflammatoires. De plus, en utilisant un modèle murin d’ICD, nous avons démontré un effet synergique des flagelles et des toxines dans l’induction d’une réponse inflammatoire de la muqueuse caecale. Dans ce modèle, l'absence de flagelles diminue considérablement le degré d'inflammation de la muqueuse caecale et la seule présence de toxines, sans flagelles, ne suffit pas à provoquer d’importantes lésions épithéliales. Ces résultats mettent en évidence le rôle des flagelles de CD dans l’induction d’une réponse inflammatoire intestinale en synergie avec l’action des toxines bactériennes sur l'épithélium. / Clostridium difficile (CD) is the most common enteropathogen responsible for intestinal nosocomial post-antibiotic infections. The appearance of severe cases related to the emergence of hypervirulent strains these last years has contributed to increased mortality and morbidity. The CD TcdA and TcdB toxins contribute directly to CD infection (CDI)-associated lesions of the gut, but other bacterial factors are needed for the bacteria to adhere and colonize the gut. The CD flagella, which confer motility and chemotaxis for successful intestinal colonization, could play an additional role in bacterial pathogenesis by contributing to the inflammatory response of the host and mucosal injury. Indeed, by activating the TLR5, flagella can elicit activation of the MAPK and NF-κB cascades of cell signaling, leading to the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our objective was to study the potential role of CD flagella in vitro and in vivo. We reported that the interaction of CD flagellin-TLR5 predominantly activates the NF-κB, and, in a lesser degree, the MAPKs pathways, thus leading to up-regulation of pro-inflammatory gene expression and subsequent synthesis of pro-inflammatory mediators. Moreover, by using a mouse model of CDI, we demonstrated a synergic effect of flagella and toxins in eliciting an inflammatory mucosal response. In this model, the absence of flagella dramatically decreased the degree of mucosal inflammation in mice and the sole presence of toxins without flagella was not enough to elicit epithelial lesions. These results highlight the important role of CD flagella in eliciting mucosal lesions as long as the toxins exert their action on the epithelium.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Leukemia is a hematological neoplasm with abnormal genetic mutation or chromosomal translocation in the myeloblast or lymphoblast, and characterized by accumulation of immature cells and malfunction of lymphocytes and myeloid-derived cells. The prognosis of treatment depends on genetic mutation, chromosomal aberration, disease progression and age of patients. Currently, bone marrow transplantation is a useful therapeutic strategy, but the success in therapy is limited by the bone marrow of donors and life-threatening events such as immune repulsion. Although chemotherapy improves leukemia treatment, long-term chemotherapy usually leads to the production of drug-resistant cancer cells. Thus, the development of new modality in overcoming drug-resistant should be beneficial for in leukemia therapy. In this thesis, Naja nigricollis toxin £^, piceatannol, caffeine, and Bungarus multicinctus protease inhibitor-like protein 1 (PILP-1) are employed to investigate the molecular mechanisms in regulating apoptosis and invasion of leukemic cell lines K562 and U937. Hopefully, the signaling pathways elicited by these treatments may be aid in identifying new targets in treating leukemia. Toxin £^ inducing cell death is found to evoke p38 MAPK-mediated Bcl-2 down-regulation, which facilitates mitochondria dysfunction, ROS generation and cytiochrome c release. Finally, activation of caspases leads to apoptotic death of toxin £^-treated cells. Piceatannol elicits Ca2+/p38£\ MAPK- mediated c-Jun and ATF-2 phosphorylation, leading to up-regulation of Fas/FasL protein expression and autocrine Fas-mediated death pathway activation. Caffeine treatment down-regulates MMP-2/-9 down-regulation via Ca2+/ROS-mediated inactivation of ERK/c-Fos and activation of p38 MAPK/c-Jun pathway. Consequently, caffeine treatment suppresses invasion of leukemia cells. PILP-1-induced ADAM17 down-regulation suppresses Lyn-mediated Akt phosphorylation, resulting in death of PILP-1-treated leukemia cells. Taken together, the results of the present study elucidate the signaling pathways responsible for apoptosis and invasion of leukemia cells. Moreover, these findings might suggest new targets in developing therapeutic strategy in treating leukemia.

Neuroblastoma is one of the most aggressive cancers and has a complex form of differentiation. We hypothesized that the advanced cellular differentiation may alter the susceptibility of neuroblastoma to photodynamic therapy (PDT) and have a selective survival advantage. We compared the photocytotoxicity treated by Hematoporphyrin (Hp) for PDT on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells with retinoic acid (RA)-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. The undifferentiated neuroblastoma cells were shown to cause elevated photocytotoxic effect by MTT assay and also confirmed by Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. In undifferentiated cells, Hp-PDT increased the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, characteristic chromatin condensation displaying, PARP cleavage, the downregulated expression of Bcl-2, and the activation of caspase-9, -3 was more significant than that of the differentiated cells. In undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells, cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase was accompanied by the decrease in cyclin B1 level, and could be reversed by the disruption of intracellular ROS caused by PDT. Furthermore, the ROS scavenger markedly inhibited Hp-PDT induced activation of caspase-3, a sustained phosphorylation of Akt/GSK-3£] and ERK, and cytotoxicity in undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells, but not in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. Blockage of p38 and JNK activation can significantly attenuate PDT-induced viability loss in both SH-SY5Y cells, but the less significant activation of p38 and JNK, as well as more significant phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3£], and a prolonged ERK activation appeared to make differentiated SH-SY5Y cells more resistant to photocytotoxicity. Collectively, these data suggested that differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were more resistant to PDT induced apoptosis than undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells, and ROS played the most important regulatory role on the susceptibility to Hp-PDT between undifferentiated and differentiated neuroblastoma cells. These results may have important implications for neuroblastoma patients undergoing PDT.

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Orientadores: Carmen Verissima Ferreira, Hiroshi Aoyama / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T13:30:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cavagis_AlexandreDonizetiMartins_D.pdf: 4238254 bytes, checksum: af81f06637a0dca49e3ab3fabe00d10d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: O objetivo central deste trabalho foi avaliar a modulação de MAPKs em células de leucemia humana induzidas a apoptose e diferenciação. No capítulo 1, estudou-se o efeito da tetrahidroxiquinona (THQ), uma molécula que pode participar de um ciclo redox formando radicais semiquinona e, conseqüentemente, espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROs). A citotoxicidade da THQ, mediada pela formação de EROs, foi revertida por tratamento das células com glutationa e N-acetil-L-cisteína. A produção de EROs ocorreu concomitan-temente com a apoptose das células HL60 através da via mitocondrial e com redução na atividade de várias moléculas anti-apoptóticas da via de sobrevivência celular, inclusive da proteína quinase B (PKB). A transfecção das células HL60 com a PKB levou à diminuição da citotoxicidade dependente de EROs gerada pela THQ. No capítulo 2, demonstrou-se que a análise de um arranjo simultâneo de 1176 substratos com seqüências de consenso de diferentes quinases permitiu identi-ficar a via de sinalização das MAPKs como principal alvo da violaceína, um pigmento com propriedades antitumorais in vitro produzido pela Chromobacterium violaceum do rio Amazonas e que induz diferenciação de células HL60 em monócitos e granulócitos. Os resultados também indicaram que a análise do quinoma empregando arranjos metabólicos é uma ferramenta promissora na elucidação do modo de ação de fármacos em nível molecular. O capítulo 3 corresponde a um artigo de revisão em português sobre a riboflavi-na, componente do complexo vitamínico B2 que participa de importantes eventos bioquímicos, como reações redox envolvendo transferência de um ou dois elétrons, e também agindo como fotossensibilizador. Este artigo mostra que o comportamento peculiar e multifuncional da riboflavina permite que ela atue como nucleófilo ou eletrófilo e também descreve a associação deste composto com diferentes doenças como o câncer e doenças cardiovasculares / Abstract: The principal aim of this work was to assess the MAPKs family status in human leukaemia cells induced to undergo apoptosis and differentiation. In chapter one, the effect of tetrahydroxyquinone (THQ), a highly redox active molecule which can participate of a redox cycle with semiquinone radicals leading to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), was investigated in HL60 cells. THQ caused substantial ROS formation followed by cytotoxicity that was sensitive to glutathione and N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Furthermore, ROS production coincided with HL60 cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway and was followed by reduced activity of various anti-apoptotic survival molecules, including the protein kinase B pathway. Importantly, transfection of protein kinase B into HL60 cells leading to an artificial increase in protein kinase B activity inhibited ROS-dependent cytotoxicity. In chapter two, peptide arrays of 1176 different kinase consensus substrates unambiguously identified the MAP kinase pathway as a major target for violacein, the anti-leukemic purple-colored pigment produced by Chromobacterium violaceum from the Amazon River that stimulates HL60 cells to differentiate into monocytes and granulocytes. The results also indicate that kinome profiling using metabolic arrays is a promising and suitable tool for studying the molecular mechanisms of drug action. Chapter three is a review article in Portuguese about riboflavin, a component of the vitamin B2 complex, that has important roles in biochemistry, especially in redox reactions due to its ability to participate in both one- and two-electron transfers as well as acting as photosensitizer. This article describes the peculiar and multifunctional behavior of riboflavin which allows it to take part in several biochemical pathways both as nucleophile and electrophile. Moreover, the association of this vitamin with different diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases, is also discussed. / Doutorado / Bioquimica / Doutor em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Bien que la maladie d’Alzheimer (MA) soit la cause de démence la plus fréquente, lesmécanismes qui sous-tendent les déficits cognitifs chez les patients restent mal connus.Cependant, les peptides amyloïdes (Aβ) semblent être un acteur majeur impliqué dansl’apparition des troubles mnésiques au cours de l’évolution de la maladie, notamment de parleur capacité à induire un hypofonctionnement du système cholinergique associé au déclinmnésique. Sur la base de ces observations, le rôle joué par les récepteurs cholinergiquesnicotiniques α7 (α7-nAChRs) a été largement étudié, au vue de leur capacité à interagir avecles Aβ, sans toutefois dégager un consensus quant à l’implication de ces récepteurs dans lesdéficits mnésiques induits par les Aβ.Afin d’améliorer notre compréhension quant aux mécanismes sous-tendant les effetsdélétères induits par les Aβ dans les déficits mnésiques, notre travail visait à identifier le rôlejoué par les récepteurs α7-AChRs via une approche comportementale, pharmacologique etmoléculaire. Ainsi, nous avons utilisé un modèle « souris » basé sur des injections de formesoligomériques d’Aβ(1-42) (Aβo(1-42)) dans la région CA1 de l’hippocampe dorsal (dCA1),structure cérébrale impliquée dans les processus mnésiques, atteinte de manière précoce dansla MA et exprimant fortement les récepteurs α7-nAChRs.La première partie de cette étude a consisté à mettre au point et à valider notre modèleanimal d’étude des effets induits par les Aβo(1-42) dans le dCA1 par une approchecomportementale et moléculaire. Nous montrons que les injections répétées d’Aβo(1-42) dans ledCA1 induisent une perturbation spécifique de la mémoire de travail alors que la mémoirespatiale est préservée lorsque les performances mnésiques sont évaluées 7 jours après ladernière injection. Nous avons également montré que cette perturbation de la mémoire detravail est associée à une absence d’activation/phosphorylation de ERK1/2 au sein du réseauhippocampo-frontal et septo-hippocampique. Ces données nous ont permis de valider notremodèle expérimental permettant d’étudier spécifiquement l’impact des Aβo(1-42) dansl’hippocampe dorsal.Dans une seconde partie, nous nous sommes focalisés sur le rôle joué par lesrécepteurs α7-nAChRs dans les perturbations mnésiques induites par les Aβo(1-42). Nosrésultats montrent que (1) les souris KOα7 ne présentent pas de déficits de mémoire de travailconsécutivement aux injections intra-dCA1 d’Aβo(1-42), (2) les déficits mnésiques ainsi que lala perturbation de l’activation de ERK1/2 induits par les Aβo(1-42) sont compensés par destraitements pharmacologiques agoniste partiel et antagoniste des récepteurs α7-nAChRs, (3)le traitement par un agoniste complet des récepteurs α7-nAChRs ne permet pas de prévenir lesdéficits mnésiques. Au regard de ces résultats, le récepteur α7-nAChRs semble être essentielau développement des déficits mnésiques induits par les Aβo(1-42), et l’utilisationd’antagonistes de ces récepteurs pourraient être une cible potentielle pour le développementde nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques. / Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been considered as one of the major causesfor dementia, the mechanisms by which cognitive decline appear still remain unclear.However, amyloid-β peptides (Aβ) seem to play a central role in the appearance of memoryimpairments in the time course of the disease, inducing down-regulation of the cholinergicsystem which is associated with cognitive decline. Based on these observations, the role of α7nicotinic receptors (α7-nAChRs) which can interact with Aβ was widely studied withoutconsensus about the involvement of these receptors in memory deficits induced by Aβ.In order to improve our knowledge about the mechanisms involved in Aβ side effects,our work aims at identify the role of α7-nAChRs via behavioral and molecular approaches.Thus, we used a mice model based on injections of oligomeric assemblies of Aβo(1-42) (Aβo(1-42)) in the CA1 field of the dorsal hippocampus (dCA1) which is a brain structure stronglyinvolved in memory processes, precociously affected in the AD and with a high density of α7-nAChRs.The first part of this study was to develop and validate this animal model to studythe effects induced by Aβo(1-42) in the dCA1 by behavioral and molecular approaches. Weshow that repeated injections of Aβo(1-42) in the dCA1 induce a specific disruption of workingmemory 7 days after the last injection whereas spatial memory is spared. We also showed thatworking memory disturbance is associated with decreased activation / phosphorylation ofERK1 / 2 in the hippocampo-frontal and septo-hippocampal networks. These data allowed usto validate our experimental model to specifically study the impact of Aβo(1-42) into the dorsalhippocampus.In the second part, we focused on the role played by the α7- nAChRs receptors inmemory disturbances induced by Aβo(1-42). Our results show that (1) KOα7 mice do notexhibit working memory deficits consecutively to intra-dCA1 Aβo(1-42) injections, (2) thememory deficits and decreasing activation of ERK1/2 induced by Aβo(1-42) are offset bypharmacological treatments partial agonist and antagonist of α7-nAChRs receptors, (3)treatment with a full agonist of α7-nAChRs receptors does not prevent memory deficits .Given these results, the α7-nAChRs receptor appears to be essential to the development ofmemory deficits induced by Aβo(1-42), and the use of antagonists of these receptors might be apotential target for developing new therapeutic strategies for AD.