Mutations cause genetic variations among cells within an individual as well as variations between individuals within a species. It is the fuel for evolution and contributes to most human diseases. Despite its importance, it still remains elusive how mutagenesis and repair shape the mutation pattern in the human genome and how to interpret the impact of a mutation with respect to its ability to cause disease (referred to as pathogenicity). The availability of large-scale genomic data provides us an opportunity to use machine learning methods to answer these questions. This thesis is composed of two parts. In the first part, a single statistical model is applied to both mutations in germline and soma to compare the determinant factors that influence local mutation. Notably, our model revealed that one determinant, expression level, has an opposite effect on mutation rate in the two types of tissues. More specifically, somatic mutation rates decrease with expression levels and, in sharp contrast, germline mutation rates increase with expression levels, indicating that the DNA damage or repair processes during transcription differ between them. In the second part, we developed a new neural-network-based machine learning method to predict the pathogenicity of missense variants. Besides predictors commonly used in previous methods, we included additional predictors at the variant-level such as the probability of being in protein-protein interaction interface and gene-level such as dosage sensitivity and protein complex formation probability. To benchmark real-world performance, we compiled somatic mutation data in cancer and germline de novo mutation data in developmental disorders. Our model achieved better performance in prioritizing pathogenic missense variants than previously published methods.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy that results from the unregulated growth of B-cell and T-cell lymphoid progenitors. Despite the implementation of risk-stratification and improved multi-agent therapeutic regimens, 20% of pediatric and 50% of adult patients fail to achieve remission and end up relapsing. NT5C2 (5’ cytosolic nucleotidase II) is the most frequently mutated gene specifically found in relapsed ALL. NT5C2 mutations are present in 20% of relapsed T-ALLs and 3-10% of relapsed B-ALLs and present as heterozygous gain of function alleles exhibiting increased nucleotidase activity. As NT5C2 can dephosphorylate and inactivate the cytotoxic metabolites generated by 6-mercaptopurine, a chemotherapy used in the treatment of ALL, these NT5C2 activating mutations can contribute to thiopurine chemotherapy resistance (Tzoneva, Perez-Garcia et al. 2013). Here we perform an extensive structure-function study to understand how relapse-associated NT5C2 mutations result in increased nucleotidase activity and contribute to chemotherapy resistance in ALL. Crystallization of 15 NT5C2 WT and mutant structures as well as enzymatic, structural modeling, and genetic screens identified three regulatory mechanisms of NT5C2, which are disrupted by these gain of function alleles. Class I NT5C2 mutations lock the protein in an active configuration through stabilization of the helixA region, which allows for substrate processing and catalysis. Class II NT5C2 mutations disrupt an intramolecular switch off domain involving the arm region and the intermonomeric positively charged pocket. And a single C-terminus truncating mutant creates a third class of mutations, which show increased nucleotidase activity due to the loss of the C-terminus blockade against allosteric activation. These studies provide new insight into the regulatory controls that mediate NT5C2 activity providing a framework for the development of targeted inhibitors for the treatment of relapsed ALL. In addition to looking at relapse associated NT5C2 mutations on a structural level, we also explored how NT5C2 mutations shape the clonal architecture and evolutionary dynamics during tumor initiation and disease progression in ALL. To formally address these questions, we developed a murine NOTCH1-driven T-ALL with conditional knock-in of the Nt5c2R367Q mutation, the most recurrent mutation found in relapsed ALL, from the endogenous locus. Using this model, we confirmed that Nt5c2+/R367Q lymphoblasts show increased resistance to 6-MP in vitro and in vivo. We also found that Nt5c2+/R367Q mutant lymphoblasts exhibit impaired cell fitness and decreased leukemia initiating cell capacity. Metabolomic profiling and guanosine rescue experiments show that this decrease in cell fitness is due to excess clearance of purine metabolites out of the cell as a result of deregulated Nt5c2 nucleotidase activity. However, in the context of 6-MP therapy, Nt5c2+/R367Q mutant cells are positively selected for in mixed population studies in vitro and in vivo. These results identify a clear selective advantage for NT5C2 mutant cells in the context of 6-MP chemotherapy. In addition, NT5C2 mutant chemoresistant cells show collateral sensitivity to inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) with mizoribine, which further disrupts guanosine production pointing to a potentially selective therapy against NT5C2 mutant cells. We also show here the initial development of a small molecule NT5C2 inhibitor for the treatment of relapsed ALL. Using a malachite green based NT5C2 nucleotidase assay, we performed a small molecule high throughput assay and identified HTP_2 as a lead compound with low micromolar inhibitory activity against NT5C2 R367Q mutant recombinant protein. HTP_2 can reverse 6-MP resistance in Nt5c2+/R367Q mouse lymphoblasts and NT5C2 R29Q mutant expressing human cell lines. Interestingly, HTP_2 treatment also results in increased sensitivity to 6-MP therapy in NT5C2 wild-type cells, suggesting a role for wild-type NT5C2 activity in the clearance of 6-MP and supporting a potential therapeutic use for NT5C2 inhibitors in potentiating the effects of 6-MP based chemotherapy in NT5C2 wild-type cells as well. NT5C2 knockdown cells and Nt5c2 knockout mice show no apparent toxicities suggesting that systemic inhibition of NT5C2 could be fairly well tolerated. In all, this work presents a framework for the development of a high affinity NT5C2 inhibitor for the reversal of 6-MP resistance in relapsed ALL patients. These studies presented here address the role of NT5C2 mutant proteins as drivers of resistance and as therapeutic targets in relapsed ALL. Improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for increased NT5C2 nucleotidase activity and on the process of clonal evolution during disease progression provide important insight into the mechanism driving ALL resistance and relapse. The identification of IMPDH inhibition as a collateral vulnerability in NT5C2 mutant ALL cells and the development of a first-in-class NT5C2 inhibitor serve as framework for the development of new combination therapies aimed at curtailing the emergence of these thiopurine-resistant relapse driving clones in ALL.

To maintain genomic integrity, all cells must accurately duplicate their genetic material in order to provide intact and complete copies to each daughter cell following cell division. Successful inheritance of chromosomal information without changing even a single nucleotide requires accurate and robust DNA replication. This requires that cells tightly control replication initiation from the origin(s), processive elongation of the replisome, and the completion of DNA replication by resolving convergent replication forks ensuring that each sequence is duplicated without alteration. Unlike initiation and elongation, the process by which replication forks converge and are resolved into two discrete, inheritable DNA molecules is not well understood. This process must be remarkably efficient, occurring thousands of times per cell division in human cells, and is likely to be a fundamental step in regulating genome stability in all cells. In this dissertation I address how DNA replication completes in the model system Escherichia coli. To achieve this, I examined candidate mutants for impairments in the completion of DNA replication. By evaluating growth, viability, chromosomal copy number, and plasmid stability I identified a requirement for the proteins RecBCD, ExoI, and SbcCD in the completion reaction. SbcCD and ExoI act before RecBCD in the completion reaction and process the DNA intermediates arising as replication forks converge. These enzymes act in the completion reaction without recombination or RecA, but in the absence of the normal process recombination is required to complete DNA replication via an aberrant pathway that results in genomic instability.

Maintaining mitochondrial genome sequence integrity is essential for preserving normal mitochondrial function. Several human diseases have been associated with heteroplasmic mitochondrial genome mutations, but few genetic systems can simultaneously represent pathogenic mitochondrial genome evolution and inheritance. The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is one such model. Natural C. briggsae isolates are globally-distributed and phylogenetically grouped into three distinct clades, with isolates exhibiting varying levels of a large-scale mtDNA deletion, nad5∆. Furthermore, a small subset of clade II isolates exhibits putative compensatory mutations that may reduce the risk of deletion formation and accumulation in those populations. In this thesis, the author characterizes the dynamics of nad5∆ heteroplasmy levels during both development and transmission in several C. briggsae natural isolates, including two containing putatively protective compensatory mutations (C+). For all isolates tested, nad5∆ heteroplasmy levels increased across nematode development, with L1 (first larval stage) exhibiting the lowest deletion load for all but one isolate that exhibited highly variable nad5∆ levels, while the increase was slowest and overall nad5∆ levels remained relatively low in C+ isolates. These results support previous work suggesting that nad5∆ is a selfish element and demonstrate the protective nature of compensatory mutations in inhibiting mtDNA deletion accumulation. In nad5∆ inheritance assays, C+ isolates displayed a strong pattern of reversion to wildtype mtDNA levels that was not seen in isolates lacking compensatory mutations (C-). These assays also showed that nad5∆ inheritance was not well predicted by total maternal nad5∆ proportion in either C+ or C- isolates; offspring nad5∆ levels were generally much lower than maternal levels, consistent with some form of negative selection operating between generations. Assays of both maternal somatic and gonadal tissues had slightly more power to predict offspring deletion levels than did assays of whole-worm maternal samples; this result likely points to variance in deletion levels originating from an untested parental tissue type present within the whole-worm samples. This thesis provided deeper insights into the patterns of mtDNA deletion transmission and age-associated dynamics. It was the first project of its type to survey mutation dynamics and heteroplasmy levels of a naturally-occurring large-scale mtDNA deletion. Thus, this work serves to further develop C. briggsae for use as an experimental model of human mtDNA deletion dynamics and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Wild-type and minute mutants of the T4 strain of bacteriophages were treated with 1.0-12.0 ug per ml concentrations of aminoacridine. Escherichia coli was the host organism for the bacteriophages.Concentrations of acridine less than 2.0 ug per ml had no noticeable effect on wild-type ormmutant plaque formation. Two and one half to seven ug per ml concentrations of acridine reduced the size (diameter) and number of plaques formed from both. Concentrations greater than 7.0 ug per ml completely inhibited the growth of both.The host organism (Escherichia coli) was not affected by the acridine.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Food Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-35).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / RGL after WOC in title is in superscript. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / RGL after WOC in title is in superscript. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-108). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-115). Also available in print.