The Notch receptor family plays a key role in development and disease. In cancer, Notch can act either as an oncogene or as a tumour suppressor, and possibly as a cancer stem-cell factor. Whereas most research has focused on downstream signalling events, little is known about the cell surface organisation of Notch and its ligands. The extracellular part of Notch consists mainly of 36 epidermal growth factor-like domains (EGF-domains), many of which bind calcium. Studies have shown that tandem repeats of calcium-binding EGF domains form a rigid linear arrangement; however, the lack of calcium binding in EGF6, EGF10 and EGF22 led to the hypothesis that these might be sites of flexibility. This thesis addresses the effect of these domains on the organisation of the extracellular region of Notch and provides further insight into the calcium-binding properties of Notch. NMR residual dipolar coupling (RDC) measurements of these regions are presented, together with the X-ray crystallographic data obtained in collaboration. The crystal structure of the human Notch-1 construct EGF4-7 shows a tilt angle of 90° at the EGF5-6 interface which is much larger than the tilt angles of 10-20° observed for the EGF11-13 crystal structure. RDC measurements demonstrated an angle of ~70° in solution. The crystal structures of EGF21-23 and EGF20-23 showed a rod-shaped interface for the EGF21-22 domain, in which a cis-proline forms the packing interaction to a tyrosine at the β-turn in the major β-sheet of EGF22. These two interfaces are novel and demonstrate the possibility of interface formation without Ca²⁺. Crystallisation was unsuccessful for the EGF8-11 construct. However, RDC measurements indicate interdomain motion between EGF9 and EGF10 demonstrating a flexible interface. These data establish new information on the structural organisation and calcium-binding properties of the extracellular region of Notch and identify flexible and rigid interfaces within multiple tandem repeats of EGF domains. This information will be invaluable in constructing models of Notch-ligand complexes for testing in future functional experiments.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is the antineoplastic drug of preference used to treat a wide variety of malignancies, with high survival rates among treated patients. However, the benefits of this drug have become less appealing due to the side effects that occur such as DOX-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC) and an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore the therapeutic options to treat DIC. In this context, adult stem cells have been used as a source to reduce cardiomyocyte apoptosis in DIC; however, the effects of transplanted embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in DIC post MI are unknown. As a result, we wanted to understand how transplanted ES and iPS cells and the factors released by them inhibit apoptosis and improve cardiac function in DIC post MI. C57BL/6 mice were divided into five groups: Sham, DOX-MI, DOX-MI+cell culture (CC) media, DOX-MI+ES cells, and DOX-MI+iPS cells. Mice were treated with DOX (12 mg/kg, cumulative dose) followed by left coronary artery ligation to induce MI. ES or iPS cells (5 x 104 ) were delivered into the peri-infarct region. At day 14 post-MI, echocardiography was performed, mice sacrificed, and hearts harvested for further analyses. To investigate if protective effects are provided by factors released from ES and iPS cells in DIC, we performed in vitro studies using condition media (CM) obtained from ES or iPS cells to treat DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in H9c2 cells. Our data reveal that apoptosis was significantly inhibited in the ES and iPS cell transplanted hearts as well as ESCM and iPSCM treated cells compared with the untreated controls. Furthermore, a significant increase in levels of Notch-1, Hes1, and pAkt survival protein were observed. Decreased levels of PTEN, a negative regulator of Akt pathway, along with improved iv heart function were also observed in the stem cell transplanted groups. In conclusion, our data show that transplantation of ES and iPS cells blunt DOX-induced apoptosis in vivo, which is associated with improved cardiac function. Moreover, decreased apoptosis in both in vitro and in vivo models is mediated by the Notch pathway.

No description available.

Flotillin-1 és una proteïna associada a membrana plasmàtica implicada en processos de trànsit de vesícules, reordenació del citoesquelet i transducció de senyals. Estudis previs en el laboratori han demostrat que Flotillin-1 és capaç de translocar-se a nucli en resposta a un estímul mitogènic i afavorir la proliferació de diverses línies cel·lulars. Els mecanismes mitjançant els quals provoca aquests efectes són desconeguts i objecte del present estudi.D'una banda demostrem que Flotillin-1 és un factor regulador de la cinasa Aurora B, una proteïna que intervé en el control de la mitosi i més concretament en el anaphase checkpoint. El knock-down de Flotillin-1 provoca events mitòtics aberrants, acompanyats del descens tant en l'expressió d'Aurora B com de la seva activitat mesurada com els nivells de fosforilació de la histona H3. Flotillin-1 interacciona amb Aurora B i evita la seva degradació per la via del proteasoma.D'altra banda, Flotillin-1 interacciona amb el receptor transmembrana Notch1, implicat en nombrosos processos de regulació de proliferació, diferenciació, apoptosi, etc. Flotillin-1 regula la localització subcel·lular de Notch1 així com la seva capacitat com activador transcripcional. La depleció o mutació de Flotillin-1 dificulta l'entrada de Notch1 a nucli i l'expressió dels gens diana de les famílies Hes/Hrt. En conjunt, es presenta a Flotillin-1 com una proteïna capaç d'actuar a diferents nivells i regular processos i vies de senyalització cel·lular que li confereixen un paper com a regulador de la proliferació cel·lular. / Flotillin-1 is a protein associated to plasma membrane involved in vesicle trafficking, cyotskeleton reorganization and signal transduction. Previous findings in our laboratory has shown that Flotillin-1 is able to translocate the nucleus under mitogenic stimulus and increase proliferation rates of several cell lines. The mechanisms of action are unknown and object of the present study.First, we show that Flotillin-1 is a regulator factor of the mitotic kinase Aurora B, a protein involved in control of mitosis and, specifically, in the anaphase checkpoint. The knock-down of Flotillin-1 causes aberrant mitotic events, decrease in Aurora B levels and its activity, measured as protein levels of phosporilated histone H3. Flotillin-1 interacts with Aurora B and avoid its degradation by the proteasome pathway.In addition, Flotillin-1 interacts with the transmembrane receptor Notch1, involved in many regulatory processes of proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, etc. Flotillin-1 regulates the subcellular localization of Notch1 and its activity as transcriptional activator. The mutation or depletion of Flotillin-1 difficult the entry of Notch1 in the nucleus and the expression of its target genes Hes/ HRT. Overall, Flotillin-1 is a protein capable of acting at different levels, processes and signaling pathways in order to be a regulator of cell proliferation.

<p>Liposarcoma (LPS) arises from adipocytes and is a rare malignancy among all cancer types, but represents the most common form of soft tissue sarcoma, with approximately 2,000 new cases reported annually. Clinically, liposarcomas are classified into four subtypes based on histological analysis: well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS), dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS), myxoid/round cell liposarcoma, and pleomorphic liposarcoma. Although histological analysis provides useful information for identifying various liposarcoma subtypes, treatment options rely on a fundamental understanding of driver mutations and molecular mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis. This thesis focuses on elucidating important driver mutations and therapeutic targets to eradicate DDLPS. Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway essential for organ development and stem cell function. Aberrant Notch signaling underlies the tumorigenesis of many cancers including LPS. However, the specific role of Notch signaling in development of LPS remains elusive. In Chapter 2, I provide evidence demonstrating that Notch signaling plays a key role in cancer stem cells (CSCs), also referred to as tumor-initiating cells (TICs), that drive aggressive DDLPS. I used serial transplantation to enrich and generate a murine DDLPS cell line with constitutively activated Notch signaling (NICDOE). My analyses revealed that NICDOE DDLPS cells are heterogeneous and contain TICs that express cancer stem cell markers. Chapter 3 elucidates how Notch signaling regulates CSCs of LPS. I analyzed human LPS samples to establish a strong correlation between Notch signaling activation and tumor marker expression and prognosis. I further performed gene expression and metabolic analyses of NICDOE DDLPS cells. These assays revealed that NICDOE reduced mitochondrial respiration in DDLPS cells, which was associated with diminished expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. CRISPR/CAS9-mediated deletion of the NICDOE cassette rescued the expression of PGC-1α and mitochondrial respiration in DDLPS cells. Similarly, overexpression of PGC-1α was sufficient to rescue mitochondrial biogenesis in DDLPS cells. Together, these data demonstrate that Notch signaling regulates CSCs, at least partially by controlling PGC-1α mediated mitochondria biogenesis.</p>