Photosynthetic membranes were prepared from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7942 with oxygen evolving specific activity of 250-300 µmoles 02/ mg chl/hr. The membranes retained activity with a half-life of 4-5 days when stored at 0°C, or when quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen, greater than 95% of the activity remained after 2 months. Attempts to purify homogeneous preparations of photosystem II complexes from these membranes by detergent extraction were unsuccessful as indicated by a lack of a significant increase in oxygen evolution specific activity of the detergent extracts. Photosynthetic membrane detergent extracts usually maintained the same oxygen evolution specific activity as the orginal membranes, and a considerable amount of Photosystem I activity (75 µmoles 02 consumed /mg chl/hr in the Mehler reaction) was still present. The donor side of the photosystem II particles in the detergent extract was intact since the artificial electron acceptor, 2,6-dichiorophenolindophenol (DCPIP), was reduced at a rate comparable to the oxygen evolving activity. All oxygen evolving activity of the detergent extracts was lost when ion-exchange chromatography was used to resolve the co-extracted photosystem II and photosystem I complexes. / Department of Biology

[Truncated abstract] Transition metals in the plant mitochondrion have dual roles in regulating the function of the organelle. While metals participate in mitochondrial respiratory metabolism as ligands in bioenergetic, detoxifying, and various other metabolic enzymes, a breakdown in metal homeostasis during oxidative stress can perpetuate the cycling of ROS by redox active metal ions. Large-scale studies into the duplicitous roles of metal ions in biological systems has been lacking and in this thesis, a combination of metallomics, database annotations, membrane proteomics, metal-protein interactomics, structural biology, functional assays and mass spectrometry were all used to gain a clearer insight into the involvement of metal ions in affecting plant mitochondrial function. The Arabidopsis mitochondrion was shown to contain the transition metals cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. Interestingly, the redox active copper and iron represented 75% of the mitochondrial metallome and these metal species were revealed to be highly labile during oxidative stress suggesting a possible contribution of metal-catalysed oxidation (MCO) in the damage of biological macromolecules. Bioinformatic analysis of metalloproteins predicted and experimentally determined to be mitochondrially localised revealed that metal ion transporters are poorly characterised. An in-depth proteomic analysis of the membrane proteome was conducted on mitochondria isolated from unstressed and stressed cell cultures resulted in the identification of stress-responsive as well as potential metal ion transporters. Also, many of the annotated metalloproteins predicted to be mitochondrial lack experimental evidence for subcellular localisation. ... However, based on evidence in the literature, it was hypothesised that metal-interacting sites may be the targets for MCO due to their affinity for metal ions. Attempts were made to identify the site specificity of MCO on mitochondrial proteins but no carbonyl sites could be found owing to technical problems associated with non-specific binding of proteins to the enrichment resin and low abundance of the labelled protein carbonyls. The use of the model protein BSA showed that protein oxidation occurs in clusters and the use of model peptides demonstrated that the ability of amino acid residues to complex metal ions is important in dictating susceptibility to MCO. Further experimental verification for the site specificity of MCO is required to determine the consequences of MCO on mitochondrial protein function. Overall, this thesis provided a large-scale analysis of the contributions of metal ions to mitochondrial respiratory metabolism with an emphasis on metal ion induced toxicity. Using multi-facetted approaches, an insight into the dynamic nature of mitochondrial metal homeostasis, stress responsive transporters, the interactions of metal ions with mitochondrial proteins and the possible mechanism in which proteins are specifically oxidised by MCO has been uncovered paving the way for future focused studies characterising the consequences of oxidative stress on specific proteins and their function.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2007. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references.

Orientador: Sergio R. Peres Line / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-21T06:53:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Zaia_AlexandreAugusto_D.pdf: 2456850 bytes, checksum: d1b3ef837bc68e43f27ecb9248a2d266 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1996 / Resumo: Atrofia obstrutiva de glândulas salivares é uma alteração comum que pode ser causada pela presença de cálculos, infecções ou processos neoplásicos. No presente estudo utilizamos microscopia eletrônica de transmissão e métodos bioquímicos para estudar alterações que ocorrem na matriz extracelular durante atrofia experimental de glândulas submandibulares de ratos. Estudos imunohistoquímicos da laminina e do colágeno IV mostraram distribuição irregular dessas proteínas ao redor das estruturas ductais e acinares atróficas. Análise em "Western blot" mostrou que glândulas submandibulares de ratos expressam laminina contendo apenas cadeias S, enquanto a cadeia A é presente em pequena quantidade. Isso foi observado tanto em glândulas normais como atróficas. Investigação da expressão da colagenase fibroblástica (MMP-1) por técnica zimográfica mostrou altos níveis desta enzima após 5 dias de atrofia. Com a evolução da atrofia, a atividade gelatinolítica regrediu gradativamente até 30 dias de atrofia. Microscopia eletrônica mostrou extensivas alterações morfológicas nas células glandulares. Células mioepiteliais de glândulas atróficas mostraram áreas com espessamento da membrana basal. A atrofia experimental de glândulas salivares pode ser usada como modelo in vivo para estudar eventos moleculares que ocorrem durante remodelação da matriz extracelular / Abstract: Obstructive atrophy of salivary glands is a common disease. It may occur by ductal obstruction caused by calculus, infection or neoplastic processes. In the present work we have used electron microscopy and biochemical methods to study the changes that occur in the expression laminin, type IV collagen and metaloproteinases during the experimental atrophy of the submandibular gland in rats. Immunohistochemical studies of laminin and type IV collagen showed an irregular distribution of there proteins around atrophies ducts and acini. The composition of laminin chains was not altered during glandular atrophy. Western blot analysis showed that rat submandibular gland laminin contain B chains, while A chain seems to be present only in small amounts. Investigation of the expression of fibroblast collagenase (MMP1), by zimographic analysis showed. high levels of this enzyme after 5, days of ligation. Gelatinolytic activity decrease progressively until 30 days of atrophy. Electron microscopy showed extensive morphologic changes in glandular cells. Myoepithelial cells showed "wrinkling" of outer plasma membrane leading to a thickening of the associated basement membrane. We conclude that the atrophy of salivary gland is an useful in vivo model to study the molecular events that take part in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix / Doutorado / Biologia e Patologia Buco-Dental / Doutor em Odontologia

Orientador: Pedro Duarte Novaes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T03:52:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Omar_NadiaFayez_D.pdf: 1979982 bytes, checksum: 2ca79a3afb3b73396fe8807889683960 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O ligamento periodontal (LP) é um tecido conjuntivo que ocupa o espaço entre o dente e seu alvéolo, e tem a função principal de ancoragem e suporte dos dentes. Baseados em dados na literatura que mostram que dentes em hipofunção são mais facilmente extraídos, investigamos qual(is) fatores e/ou moléculas poderiam ter relação com esse enfraquecimento da ancoragem do dente no osso por meio do LP. Dentre eles, investigamos a expressão de MMPs e TIMP-2, e organização do colágeno no LP, além da resistência que o LP oferece ao movimento eruptivo nos incisivos de ratos. Para isso, produzimos alteração na erupção de incisivos inferiores de ratos, durante períodos experimentais diferentes, produzindo hipofunção, hiperfunção e contenção do processo eruptivo, além da erupção normal; fazendo a medição da taxa de erupção em todos os grupos ao longo do período experimental. Os resultados mostraram que no grupo hipofuncional a atividade de MMP-2 e a desorganização do colágeno aumentaram, contribuindo para a diminuição da força de resistência ao movimento eruptivo e para o aumento da taxa de erupção neste grupo. No grupo contido, a erupção dos incisivos foi interrompida, porém a atividade de MMP-2 aumentou em níveis variados ao longo do período experimental, enquanto a organização do colágeno e, consequentemente, a força de resistência do LP ao movimento eruptivo foram levemente menores. Por outro lado no grupo hiperfuncional a taxa de erupção não sofreu alteração, mas a atividade de MMP-2 estava aumentada, juntamente com a força de resistência do LP ao movimento eruptivo, com leve desorganização do colágeno indicando, portanto, possíveis alterações em outras moléculas envolvidas no processo de remodelação da matriz extracelular no ligamento periodontal. As análises de MT1-MMP e TIMP-2, nas condições deste estudo, não mostraram diferenças estatísticas entre os grupos e períodos estudados. Esses dados sugerem papel da MMP-2 na remodelação do ligamento periodontal de incisivos de ratos, durante alterações na erupção, atuando diretamente sobre a degradação do colágeno, o que leva à alterações na resistência do ligamento ao movimento eruptivo, principalmente em hipofunção; e que MT1- MMP e TIMP-2 podem ter participação secundária neste processo / Abstract: The periodontal ligament (PL) is a tissue that occupies the space between tooth and its socket, and has main function to anchor and support the teeth. Based on published datas showing that hypofunctional teeth are more easily extracted, we investigated which one(s) factors and/or molecules could be related to the weakening of the periodontal ligament anchoring. We investigated the expression of MMPs and TIMP-2, collagen organization in the PL, and the resistance that the PL offers to the eruptive movement in rat incisors. Therefore, we altered the eruption of rat incisors, during different experimental periods, producing hypofunction, hyperfunction and restrain of the eruptive process, beyond the normal eruption, measuring the eruption rate, in all groups, throughout the experimental period. The results showed that in the hypofunctional group the MMP-2 activity and collagen disorganization increased, contributing to the decrease in the resistance strength to the eruptive movement and increased eruption rate in this group. In the restrain group, the incisor eruption was interrupted, but the MMP-2 activity increased, to varying degrees, throughout the experimental period, while the collagen organization and, thus, the resistance strength to the eruptive movement of the PL were slightly lower. On the other hand, in the hyperfunctional group the eruption rate did not change, but MMP-2 activity and PL resistance strength to eruptive movement were increased, with a slight collagen disorganization, indicating, therefore, possible changes in other molecules involved in the periodontal ligament extracellular matrix remodeling. Analyses of MT1-MMP and TIMP-2, under the conditions of this study, showed no statistical differences between groups and experimental periods. These data suggest the role of MMP-2 in periodontal ligament remodeling of rat incisors, during altered eruption, acting directly on collagen degradation, which leads to changes in PL resistance to the eruptive movement, in hypofunction condition, and MT1- MMP and TIMP-2 may have secondary participation in this process / Doutorado / Histologia e Embriologia / Doutor em Biologia Buco-Dental

No description available.

No description available.

Transcriptional regulation by the family of SNAG (Snail/Gfi-1) zinc fingers has been shown to play a role in various developmental states and diseases. These transcriptional repressors have function in both DNA- and protein-binding, allowing for multiple interactions by a single family member. This work aims to characterize the SNAG members Slug, Smuc, Snail, Scratch, Gfi-1, Gfi-1B, and IA-1 in terms of both DNA-protein and protein-protein interactions. The specific DNA sequences to which the zinc finger regions bind were determined for each member, and a general consensus of TGCACCTGTCCGA, was developed for four of the members. Via these studies, we also reveal thebinding affinities of E-box (CANNTG) sequences to the members, since this core is found for multiple members' binding sites. Additionally, protein-protein interactions of SNAG members to other biological molecules were investigated. The Slug domain and Scratch domain have unknown function, yet through yeast two-hybrid screening, we were able to determine protein interaction partners for them as well as for other full length SNAG members. These protein-interacting partners have suggested function as corepressors during transcriptional repression. The comprehensive information determined from these studies allow for a better understanding of the functional relationship between SNAG-ZFPs and other genes. The collected data not only creates a new profile for each member investigated, but it also allows for further studies to be initiated from the results. / by Cindy Chiang. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi demonstrar a viabilidade do acoplamento entre as técnicas de cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com a espectrometria de emissão óptica com plasma indutivamente acoplado (HPLC - ICP OES) em um equipamento da Thermo Fisher Scientific, visando análise de especiação elementar de espécies com maiores concentrações na amostra. A identificação de espécies moleculares associadas aos elementos Cu, Fe, Mg, e Zn em amostras de castanha de caju foi adotada como modelo para comprovar tal acoplamento. Para que o ICP OES pudesse adquirir sinais de emissão ao longo de um tempo determinado, ou seja, para que o equipamento pudesse coletar um sinal transiente, fundamental para o acoplamento HPLC - ICP OES, foi necessário executar algumas modificações. Para isso, foram feitas alterações na placa eletrônica principal do equipamento, e trocada sua caixa controladora de gases. Os parâmetros instrumentais do ICP OES foram otimizados em uma série de ensaios com o intuito de estabelecer e avaliar desempenho do instrumento e a robustez do método empregado nas análises de castanha de caju. Determinações das concentrações totais de Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, e Zn foram feitas em amostras de castanha de caju e nos materiais de referência NIST 1515 e NIST 1547, apresentando uma exatidão do método aceitável, levando-se em consideração o preparo de amostra e a medida no ICP OES. As determinações totais elementares nas amostras de castanha de caju indicaram que os teores de Ca foram de (0,04 ± 0,01) % ; Cu (26,3 ± 5,0) mg kg-1; Fe (47,9 ± 8,8) mg kg-1; Mg (0,31 ± 0,04) %; Mn (25,6 ± 3,9) mg kg-1; Ni (24,8 ± 1,9) mg kg-1; Zn (66,3 ± 2,4) mg kg-1. Para identificação de espécies moleculares associadas aos elementos Cu, Fe, Mg, e Zn, foi feita nas amostras de castanha de caju uma extração de metais e proteínas utilizando-se de uma solução extrato de NaOH 1 mol L-1. O extrato ainda foi submetido à uma etapa de clean-up, com precipitação das proteínas com acetona e ressupenção das mesmas com tampão Tris-HCl, pH 7,4. As proteínas e metais ressupensos em tampão foram analisados no sistema HPLC ICP OES, em que a separação cromatográfica ocorreu através de uma coluna de exclusão por tamanho (SEC), a detecção molecular através do detector UV-Vis do HPLC, e a detecção elementar através do ICP OES. As espécies moleculares identificadas estão no intervalo de massa molecular compreendido entre 2 e 177 kDa, sendo que Cu, Fe e Zn apresentam associação com essas espécies moleculares. Foram monitorados ainda, no ICP OES, os sinais de intensidade de emissão de P e S. Esses elementos também apresentaram associação com espécies moleculares com peso molecular entre 2 e 177 kDa, sugerindo que essas espécies se tratam de metaloproteínas. / The aim of this study was to demonstrate the capability of coupling between liquid chromatography techniques of high efficiency with the optical emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (HPLC - ICP OES) in an equipment of Thermo Fisher Scientific, aiming elemental speciation analysis of species with higher concentrations in the sample. The identification of molecular species associated with elements Cu, Fe, Mg and Zn in cashew nuts samples was adopted as a model to prove such coupling. For ICP OES could get emission signal through a certain time, so that the equipment could collect a transient signal, critical to the HPLC coupling - ICP OES, it was necessary to perform some modifications in the instrument. For this, changes were made to the main electronic board of the equipment and also changed their gas controller box. The instrumental parameters of the ICP OES were optimized in a series of tests in order to establish and evaluate performance of the instrument and the robustness of the method employed in cashew nut analysis. Determination of the total concentration of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni and Zn were made in cashew sample and reference materials NIST 1515 and NIST in 1547, with an accuracy acceptable method, taking into account the sample preparation and measurement by ICP OES. The elemental total determinations in cashew nut samples indicated that Ca were (0.04 ± 0.01)%; Cu (26.3 ± 5.0) mg kg-1; Fe (47.9 ± 8.8) mg kg-1; Mg (0.31 ± 0.04)%; Mn (25.6 ± 3.9) mg kg-1; Ni (24.8 ± 1.9) mg kg-1; Zn (66.3 ± 2.4) mg kg-1. For the identification of molecular species associated with the elements Cu, Fe, Mg, and Zn was performed on samples of cashew nuts an extract of metals and proteins using an extract solution of NaOH 1 mol L-1. The extract was further subjected to one-step of clean-up with protein precipitation with acetone following by a resuspension with Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.4. Proteins and metals resuspended in buffer, were analyzed in the HPLC - ICP OES system, wherein the chromatographic separation took place by a size exclusion column (SEC), the molecular detection by UV-Vis detector of HPLC, and elemental detection by ICP OES. The molecular species were identified in the molecular weight range between 2 and 177 kDa, and Cu, Fe and Zn are associated with these molecular species. Were also monitored in the ICP OES, P and S emission intensity signals. These elements also associated with molecular species having a molecular weight between 2 and 177 kDa, suggesting that this species are metalloproteins.

Transcriptional regulation is an important area of research due to the fact that it leads to gene expression. Transcription factors associated with the regulation can either be activators or repressors of target genes, acting directly or with the aid of other factors. A majority of transcriptional repressors are zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) which bind to specific DNA sequences. The Snail/Gfi (SNAG) domain family, with members such as Slug, Smuc, Snail, and Scratch, are transcriptional repressors shown to play a role in various diseases such as cancer. The SNAG transcription factors contain a conserved SNAG repression domain and DNA binding domain zinc fingers. The specific DNA sequences to which each SNAG-ZFP binds, as well as a general consensus -TGCACCTGTCCGA, have been determined. Also, putative protein-protein interactions in which the Slug domain participates has been identified via binding assays. All these results contribute to better understanding of SNAG-ZFP functions. / by Cindy Chung-Yue Chiang. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.