H2A.Z is an essential histone variant that has multiple chromosomal functions. One such role is transcriptional regulation. However, its role in this process is complex since it has been reported to function both as a repressor and activator. Earlier work in our lab showed that H2A.Z can be post-translationally modified with monoubiquitin (H2A.Zub1) and this form of H2A.Z is linked to transcriptional silencing. We further predicted that changes in the H2A.Z ubiquitylation status directly modulated its function in transcription. Furthermore, H2A.Z-containing nucleosomes possess a unique set of post-translational modifications (PTMs), compared to H2A nucleosomes, many of which are linked to transcriptional activation. The central aim of this thesis was to characterize the role of PTMs on H2A.Z nucleosomes in transcriptional regulation. To this end, I have provided the first evidence linking H2A.Z deubiquitylation to transcriptional activation. I demonstrated that ubiquitin specific protease 10 (USP10) is a deubiquitylase that targets H2A.Z in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, I found that both H2A.Z and USP10 are required for activation of androgen-receptor (AR)-regulated genes, and that USP10 regulates the levels of H2A.Zub1 at these genes. To understand how H2A.Z engages downstream effector proteins, in the nucleosome context, we used a mass spectrometry approach to identify H2A.Z-nucleosome-interacting proteins. Many of the identified proteins contained conserved structural motifs that bind post-translationally modified histones. For example, we found that Brd2 contains tandem bromodomains that engage H2A.Z nucleosomes through acetylated H4 residues. To investigate the biological relevance of this interaction, I present evidence that Brd2 is recruited to AR-regulated genes in a manner dependent on H2A.Z and the bromodomains of Brd2. Consistent with this observation, chemical inhibition of Brd2 recruitment greatly inhibited AR-regulated gene expression. Collectively, these studies have defined how H2A.Z mediates transcriptional regulation through multiple mechanisms and pathways.

There are many tools available for the study of post-translational modifications. The majority of these tools is specific towards the individual modification and involves separation of modified proteins from non-modified ones. The drawback of using a modification specific method is that there is a lack of flexibility in its usage for other modifications. The goal of these studies was to investigate the possibility of obtaining a similar separation effect by fractionating post-translationally modified proteins based on the physical properties of proteins. The post-translational modification chosen to be the basis of this study was the O-GlcNAc modification. Using the C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line, it was determined that the optimal conditions for producing lysates containing increased yields of O-GlcNAc modified proteins was to treat differentiated C2C12 cells with 10nM insulin, 12g/L glucose and 2mM of the O-GlcNAcase inhibitor Streptozotocin for 24 hours. Using the optimized lysis buffer, it was shown that protein separation by surface charge using standard anion exchange separation did not provide enough resolution or material to obtain any identifications of modified proteins. However, when a chromatofocusing method which separates proteins on the basis of their isoelectric points was used, a separation scheme with larger capacity and higher resolution was possible. Using this separation method followed by gel electrophoresis of individual fractions, proteins which are potentially O-GlcNAc modified were identified by mass spectrometry. It was evident from the number of protein bands observed per fraction on the Coomassie stained gels and the number of proteins identified per protein band by mass spectrometry that further reduction in sample complexity was required to assist in the positive identification of O-GlcNAc modified proteins. Among the identified proteins, 32 percent were metabolic proteins, 21 percent were protein processing proteins, 16 percent were structural proteins and the remainder a mix of other proteins. Unfortunately, it was not possible to validate the presence or absence of the O-GlcNAc modification on these proteins using available methodologies such as immunoprecipitation. As such, further work is required to optimize the separation strategy and to verify the usefulness of this separation strategy in identifying O-GlcNAc/post-translationally modified proteins.

The dioxin receptor (DR), a transcription factor with basic-helix-loop-helix/PERARNTSIM (bHLH/PAS) homology domains, is activated by toxic xenobiotic ligands leading to severe physiological disturbances most of which are due to deregulation of receptor’s central role in normal development. Activation mechanisms of DR in the presence of exogenous or endogenous ligands are poorly understood. Elucidation of factors involved in the activation of the receptor would assist not only in development of an optimal measure for risk assessment of levels of common environmental pollutants but also in providing novel targets for therapeutic interventions. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) play an indispensable role in all major signal transduction pathways by increasing the inventory of chemical modifications beyond those already present in the side-chains of common amino acids. Thus, by simple on/off or complex patterns generated by these PTMs, they control a myriad of different biological outcomes. Numerous studies that have suggested an important role of posttranslational modifications in DR activation has prompted a search in this direction, however, apart from phosphorylations at Ser36 and Ser68 no other PTM sites are known. Advanced mass spectrometry (MS)-based characterisation of PTMs is an established technique that can comprehensively provide an accurate cast of all PTM variants and their locations on a protein. This thesis reports the first MS-based comprehensive characterisation of all PTM sites of the purified latent DR and preliminary analysis of identified PTM sites of the activated DR in response to developmental signals (suspension-activated DR) and signals leading to toxic outcomes (ligand-activated DR). The PTM map of the latent DR revealed from this study comprises of 25 phosphorylations, 4 monomethyl-lysines, 2 dimethyl-lysines, 1 O-acetyl-serine and 2 O-sulfono-serines. Most of the phosphorylations and other PTMs were present in the conserved regions of the protein. Investigation of the activated samples of the receptor revealed loss of the above repertoire of modifications and possible presence of some rarer modifications such as O-acetyl-serines in suspension-activated instead of O-sulfonations and pyrophosphorylation at Ser716 in both suspension- as well as ligand-activated DR. A comprehensive mutagenesis study is in progress to understand the functional consequence of each of these modification sites and unravel the functional posttranslational system in DR signalling.

The dioxin receptor (DR), a transcription factor with basic-helix-loop-helix/PERARNTSIM (bHLH/PAS) homology domains, is activated by toxic xenobiotic ligands leading to severe physiological disturbances most of which are due to deregulation of receptor’s central role in normal development. Activation mechanisms of DR in the presence of exogenous or endogenous ligands are poorly understood. Elucidation of factors involved in the activation of the receptor would assist not only in development of an optimal measure for risk assessment of levels of common environmental pollutants but also in providing novel targets for therapeutic interventions. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) play an indispensable role in all major signal transduction pathways by increasing the inventory of chemical modifications beyond those already present in the side-chains of common amino acids. Thus, by simple on/off or complex patterns generated by these PTMs, they control a myriad of different biological outcomes. Numerous studies that have suggested an important role of posttranslational modifications in DR activation has prompted a search in this direction, however, apart from phosphorylations at Ser36 and Ser68 no other PTM sites are known. Advanced mass spectrometry (MS)-based characterisation of PTMs is an established technique that can comprehensively provide an accurate cast of all PTM variants and their locations on a protein. This thesis reports the first MS-based comprehensive characterisation of all PTM sites of the purified latent DR and preliminary analysis of identified PTM sites of the activated DR in response to developmental signals (suspension-activated DR) and signals leading to toxic outcomes (ligand-activated DR). The PTM map of the latent DR revealed from this study comprises of 25 phosphorylations, 4 monomethyl-lysines, 2 dimethyl-lysines, 1 O-acetyl-serine and 2 O-sulfono-serines. Most of the phosphorylations and other PTMs were present in the conserved regions of the protein. Investigation of the activated samples of the receptor revealed loss of the above repertoire of modifications and possible presence of some rarer modifications such as O-acetyl-serines in suspension-activated instead of O-sulfonations and pyrophosphorylation at Ser716 in both suspension- as well as ligand-activated DR. A comprehensive mutagenesis study is in progress to understand the functional consequence of each of these modification sites and unravel the functional posttranslational system in DR signalling.

abstract: ABSTRACT Post Translational Modifications (PTMs) are a series of chemical modifications with the capacity to expand the structural and functional repertoire of proteins. PTMs can regulate protein-protein interaction, localization, protein turn-over, the active state of the protein, and much more. This can dramatically affect cell processes as relevant as gene expression, cell-cell recognition, and cell signaling. Along these lines, this Ph.D. thesis examines the role of two of the most important PTMs: glycosylation and phosphorylation. In chapters 2, 3 and 4, a 10,000 peptide microarray is used to analyze the glycan variations in a series lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Gram negative bacteria. This research was the first to demonstrate that using a small subset of random sequence peptides, it was possible to identify a small subset with the capacity to bind to the LPS of bacteria. These peptides bound to LPS not only in the solid surface of the array but also in solution as demonstrated with surface plasmon resonance (SPR), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and flow cytometry. Interestingly, some of the LPS binding peptides also exhibit antimicrobial activity, a property that is also analyzed in this work. In chapters 5 and 6, the role of protein phosphorylation, another PTM, is analyzed in the context of human cancer. High risk neuroblastoma, a very aggressive pediatric cancer, was studied with emphasis on the phosphorylations of two selected oncoproteins: the transcription factor NMYC and the adaptor protein ShcC. Both proteins were isolated from high risk neuroblastoma cells, and a targeted-directed tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methodology was used to identify the phosphorylation sites in each protein. Using this method dramatically improved the phosphorylation site detection and increased the number of sites detected up to 250% in comparison with previous studies. Several of the novel identified sites were located in functional domain of the proteins and that some of them are homologous to known active sites in other proteins of the same family. The chapter concludes with a computational prediction of the kinases that potentially phosphorylate those sites and a series of assays to show this phosphorylation occurred in vitro. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biochemistry 2014

La phosphorylation/déphosphorylation des protéines est une modification clé dans les mécanismes qui contrôlent les évènements mitotiques.Classiquement, l’entrée en mitose requiert l’activation de Cdk1. Pour se faire, les phosphorylations inhibitrices sur Cdk1 par Myt1 et Wee1 doivent être éliminées par Cdc25. Le complexe Cdk1-Cycline B (MPF) est ainsi actif, les kinases inhibitrices inactivées.Dernièrement, une nouvelle protéine kinase clé pour l’entrée en mitose a été mise en évidence : Greatwall (Gwl). Les récents résultats publiés par notre équipe montrent que Gwl permet l’entrée et le maintien en mitose en inhibant l’activité de la phosphatase PP2A, la phosphatase responsable de la déphosphorylation des substrats de la protéine kinase Cdk1-Cycline B, via son substrat Arpp19. Gwl phosphoryle Arpp19 sur la sérine 71 lui conférant ainsi la capacité d’inhiber l’activité de la phosphatase PP2A.Une étude sur les modifications post traductionnelles d’Arpp19 a été initiée dans l’équipe et met en évidence plusieurs sites de phosphorylation : <br>• La sérine 71, site de phosphorylation par Gwl <br>• La sérine 28, dont la phosphorylation est attribuée à Cdk1 (vérifié in vitro) <br>• La sérine 113, site de phosphorylation par pKA <br>Ce projet de thèse s’inscrit dans la suite logique du travail déjà effectué dans l’équipe et a pour objectif de caractériser les modifications post traductionnelles d’Arpp19, leurs rôles dans la progression mitotique, leurs incidences sur la liaison et l’inhibition de la cible d’Arpp19, PP2A.Cette partie du projet repose sur la synthèse de mutants d’Arpp19Xe, mutants phosphomimétiques d’une part (sérine transformée en acide aspartique par mutagenèse dirigée) ou mutants dont la phosphorylation est impossible (sérine en alanine). Ces mutants nous ont permis de travailler sur l’impact de ces différentes phosphorylations dans l’extrait d’œufs de Xénope.Ce projet s’attache également à mettre en lumière l’ensemble de la voie de signalisation aboutissant aux différentes modifications post traductionnelles d’Arpp19, leurs chronologies au cours du cycle et ainsi identifier les protéines effectrices de ces phosphorylations sur Arpp19 qui sont autant de leviers potentiels sur lesquels les thérapies anti-tumorales pourraient s’appuyer. / Proteins phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are key post translational modifications controlling mitotic events.Traditionally, mitotic entry requires Cdk1 activation. To allow this to occur, inhibitory phosphorylations on Cdk1 by Myt1 and Wee1 kinases must be removed by phosphatase Cdc25. Thus, the Cdk1-Cyclin B complex, also called MPF (Mitotic Promoting Factor), is active and inhibitory kinases inactivated.Along this canonic scheme, another key kinase has been shown to play a critical role: the Greatwall (Gwl) kinase also called MAST-L for MAST like. Results published by our team show that in Xenopus laevis, Gwl allows entry and maintains mitosis by inhibiting the activity of the phosphatase responsible for dephosphorylation of Cdk1/Cycline B substrates: PP2A. This activity is driven by Gwl target: Arpp19. Gwl phosphorylates Arpp19 on its 71st residue turning it into a potent inhibitor of PP2A.A study of Arpp19 post translational modifications of Arpp19 has been initiated in the team which will allow the further study of several phosphosites: <br>• Serine 71, Gwl phosphosite, the best documented site. <br>• Serine 28, shown in vitro to be a Cdk1-CycB phosphosite. <br>• Serine 113, assigned to PKA. <br>This thesis project joins logically after the work already made in the team and has for objective to characterize the post translational modifications of Arpp19, their roles in mitotic progress, their incidences on binding and inhibition of Arpp19’s target, PP2A.This part of the project relies on mutants' synthesis of Arpp19Xe, phosphomimetics’ mutants on one hand (serine transformed into aspartic acid by mutagenesis) or mutants unable to be phosphorylated (serine into alanine). These mutants allowed us to work on the impact of these various phosphorylations in Xenopus eggs extracts.This project also attempts to highlight the whole signalization pathway ending in the various post translational modifications of Arpp19, their timelines during the cycle and thus to identify effector proteins of these phosphorylations on Arpp19 which are as much as potential levers on which can serve as targets for cancer therapy.

There are many tools available for the study of post-translational modifications. The majority of these tools is specific towards the individual modification and involves separation of modified proteins from non-modified ones. The drawback of using a modification specific method is that there is a lack of flexibility in its usage for other modifications. The goal of these studies was to investigate the possibility of obtaining a similar separation effect by fractionating post-translationally modified proteins based on the physical properties of proteins. The post-translational modification chosen to be the basis of this study was the O-GlcNAc modification. Using the C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line, it was determined that the optimal conditions for producing lysates containing increased yields of O-GlcNAc modified proteins was to treat differentiated C2C12 cells with 10nM insulin, 12g/L glucose and 2mM of the O-GlcNAcase inhibitor Streptozotocin for 24 hours. Using the optimized lysis buffer, it was shown that protein separation by surface charge using standard anion exchange separation did not provide enough resolution or material to obtain any identifications of modified proteins. However, when a chromatofocusing method which separates proteins on the basis of their isoelectric points was used, a separation scheme with larger capacity and higher resolution was possible. Using this separation method followed by gel electrophoresis of individual fractions, proteins which are potentially O-GlcNAc modified were identified by mass spectrometry. It was evident from the number of protein bands observed per fraction on the Coomassie stained gels and the number of proteins identified per protein band by mass spectrometry that further reduction in sample complexity was required to assist in the positive identification of O-GlcNAc modified proteins. Among the identified proteins, 32 percent were metabolic proteins, 21 percent were protein processing proteins, 16 percent were structural proteins and the remainder a mix of other proteins. Unfortunately, it was not possible to validate the presence or absence of the O-GlcNAc modification on these proteins using available methodologies such as immunoprecipitation. As such, further work is required to optimize the separation strategy and to verify the usefulness of this separation strategy in identifying O-GlcNAc/post-translationally modified proteins. / Medicine, Faculty of / Medicine, Department of / Experimental Medicine, Division of / Graduate

Les lamines sont le principal composant du nucléosquelette. Elles sont principalement localisées à l’enveloppe nucléaire, où elles interagissent avec la membrane nucléaire interne, les protéines associées à la chromatine ainsi qu’avec des modulateurs de la signalisation cellulaire. Le gène LMNA code pour la prélamine A et la lamine C. La région C-terminale de la prélamine A est prédite pour être désordonnée et est la cible de plusieurs événements de maturation. En effet, la protéine est farnésylée, coupée, carboxyméthylée, puis coupée à nouveau ; perdant finalement son groupement farnésyl. Un mutant de cette protéine, dont 50 acides aminés sont manquants, est responsable du syndrome d’Huchtinson-Gilford, appelé progéria (Eriksson et al., 2003). Chez ce mutant, appelé progérine, le site de coupure finale est absent et la protéine reste constitutivement farnésylée. La lamine A est connue pour interagir avec la protéine de la membrane nucléaire interne, l’émerine. L’absence d’émerine est responsable de la dystrophie musculaire d’Emery Dreifuss. L’émerine contient un LEM, suivi d’une région prédite comme désordonnée, essentielle pour l’auto-assemblage de l’émerine (Berk et al., 2014). L’oligomérisation de l’émerine régule ses interactions avec plusieurs partenaires à la membrane nucléaire interne et à la chromatine. Nous avions auparavant démontré que la région nucléoplasmique de l’émerine peut s’auto-associer pour former des filaments in vitro (Herrada et al., 2015) et nous avons récemment révélé que ces filaments sont capables d’interagir directement avec la queue de la lamine A (Samson et al., 2018). Ici, je me suis intéressé à l’analyse structurale des régions prédites comme désordonnées chez (1) l’émerine (2) la prélamine A. Dans le cas de l’émerine, j’ai analysé la conformation de la région nucléoplasmique d’émerine avant et après auto-assemblage, en travaillant avec l’émerine sauvage et plusieurs mutants entraînant des myopathies. J’ai montré que deux fragments de l’émerine 1-187 et 67-221 peuvent polymériser, tandis que leur région commune 67-187, reste toujours monomérique dans nos conditions (Samson et al., 2018). Nous avons aussi montré que le domaine LEM est au moins partiellement déplié au cours de l’assemblage de la région 1-187. J’ai également attribué les signaux RMN de la région désordonnée 67-170, dans le but d’étudier par la suite l’impact des phosphorylations de cette région sur la structure de l’émerine et sur ses propriétés d’auto-assemblage (Samson et al., 2016). Dans le cas de la lamine A, j’ai étudié la région C-terminale de la prélamine A, prédite comme dépliée et qui est le siège de nombreuses modifications post-traductionnelles. J’ai attribué les signaux RMN du peptide prélamine A ainsi que de son mutant progérine (Celli et al., 2018). J’ai montré que ces deux peptides sont en effet déplés et possèdent une hélice  transitoire très conservée. Je propose cette hélice comme site de liaison pour un partenaire encore non identifié. J’ai également démontré que le peptide prélamine A possède une tendance à s’auto-assembler. Cependant, la prélamine A et le peptide progérine sauvages et farnésylés, n’interagissent pas avec le domaine IgFold de la lamine A ni avec BAF, deux domaines associés avec la progéria. J’ai étudié par la suite les interactions de ces peptides avec deux autres partenaires associés à la progéria : la protéine de la membrane nucléaire interne SUN1 et la protéine associée à la chromatine RBBP4. SUN1 est également intrinsèquement désordonnée et très peu soluble dans nos conditions. Les résultats montrent que le peptide prélamine A ne lie pas RBBP4 mais pourrait avoir besoin de la partie C-terminale qui la précède. Cependant, RBBP4 lie directement le partenaire de la lamine BAF. Sur les bases de ces résultats, je propose une série d’expériences pour identifier les détails moléculaires des interactions entre la queue C-terminale de la lamine A, BAF et RBBP4. / Lamins are the main components of the nucleoskeleton. They are primarily located at the nuclear envelope, where they interact with inner nuclear membrane proteins, chromatin-associated proteins and cell signaling modulators. The LMNA gene codes for prelamin A and lamin C. The C-terminal region of prelamin A is predicted to be unfolded and is the target of several maturation events. Indeed, the protein is farnesylated, cleaved, carboxymethylated and cleaved again; losing eventually its farnesyl group. A mutant of this protein, lacking 50 amino acids, is responsible for the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (Eriksson et al., Nature 2003). In this mutant, called progerin, the final cleavage site is absent and the protein stays constitutively farnesylated. Lamin A is reported to interact with the inner nuclear membrane protein emerin. Lack of emerin is responsible for Emery Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy. Emerin contains a folded LEM domain, followed by a region that is predicted to be disordered and is essential for emerin self-assembly (Berk et al., 2014). Emerin oligomerization regulates its interaction with several partners at the inner nuclear membrane and at the chromatin. We previously showed that the nucleoplasmic region of emerin can self-assemble to form curvilinear filaments in vitro (Herrada et al., 2015) and we recently revealed that these filaments are able to directly bind to the lamin A tail (Samson et al., 2018).Here I focused on the structural analysis of regions that are predicted to be unfolded in (1) emerin, (2) prelamin A. In the case of emerin, I analysed the conformation of the nucleoplasmic region of emerin before and after self-assembly, working on wild-type emerin as well as several mutants causing myopathies. I showed that the two fragments of emerin 1-187 and 67-221 were able to self-assemble, whereas their common region, 67-187, is always a monomer in our conditions (Samson et al., 2018). I also revealed that the LEM domain is at least partially unfolded during self-assembly of region 1-187, as a mutant with a destabilized LEM domain self-assembles faster and a mutant with a LEM domain locked in its folded conformation cannot self-assemble (Samson et al., 2017). I also assigned all the NMR signals of the unfolded region 67-170, in order to further study by NMR the impact of phosphorylation of this region on emerin structure and self-assembly properties (Samson et al., 2016). In the case of lamin A, I studied the C-terminal region of prelamin A that is predicted as unfolded and is heavily post-translationally modified. I assigned the NMR signals of this prelamin A peptide as well as its mutant peptide corresponding to the progerin sequence (Celli et al., 2018). I showed that both peptides are indeed unstructured and exhibit a partially populated  helix that has a highly conserved sequence. I propose that this helix is a binding site for a yet unidentified partner. I also revealed that the prelamin A peptide has a tendency to self-assemble. However, the monomeric prelamin A and progerin peptides, wild-type as well as farnesylated, do not interact with the immunoglobulin-like domain of lamin A/C and with BAF, two domains associated with progeria. Then, I investigated the interactions mediated by these peptides and two other important partners associated to progeria: the inner nuclear membrane SUN1 and the chromatin-associated protein RBBP4. However, SUN1 is also intrinsically disordered and poorly soluble in our conditions. First results showed that the prelamin peptide does not bind to RBBP4 but might need the remaining part of the lamin A tail for this interaction. However, RBBP4 directly binds to the lamin partner BAF. Based on my results, I propose a set of experiments to identify the molecular details of the interactions between the lamin A tail, BAF and RBBP4.

Les structures protéiques sont de nature hautement dynamique contrairement à leur représentation dans les structures cristallines. Une composante majeure de la dynamique structurelle est la flexibilité des protéines inhérentes. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est de comprendre le rôle de la dynamique inhérente dans les structures protéiques et leur propagation. La flexibilité des protéines est analysée à différents niveaux de complexité structurelle, du niveau d'organisation primaire au niveau quaternaire. Chacun des cinq premiers chapitres traite un niveau différent d'organisation structurelle locale avec le premier chapitre traitant des structures secondaires classiques tandis que le second analyse la même chose en utilisant un alphabet structurel - les blocs protéiques. Le troisième chapitre se concentre sur l'impact d'événements physiologiques spéciaux comme les modifications post-traductionnelles et le désordre sur les transitions d'ordre sur la flexibilité des protéines. Ces trois chapitres indiquent une mise en œuvre dépendante du contexte de la flexibilité structurelle dans leur environnement local. Dans les chapitres suivants, des structures plus complexes sont prises en compte. Le chapitre 4 traite de l'intégrine αIIbβ3 impliquée dans des troubles génétiques rares. L'impact des mutations pathologiques sur la flexibilité locale est étudié dans deux domaines rigides de l'intégrine αIIbβ3 ectodomaine. La flexibilité inhérente dans ces domaines est montrée pour moduler l'impact des mutations vers les boucles. Le chapitre 5 traite de la modélisation structurelle et de la dynamique d'une structure protéique plus complexe du récepteur des chimiokines des antigènes du groupe Duffy incorporé dans un système de membrane mimétique érythrocytaire. Le modèle est soutenu par l'analyse phylogénétique la plus complète sur les récepteurs de chimiokines jusqu'à ce jour, comme expliqué dans le dernier chapitre de la thèse. / Protein structures are highly dynamic in nature contrary to their depiction in crystal structures. A major component of structural dynamics is the inherent protein flexibility. The prime objective of this thesis is to understand the role of the inherent dynamics in protein structures and its propagation. Protein flexibility is analyzed at various levels of structural complexity, from primary to quaternary levels of organization. Each of the first five chapters’ deal with a different level of local structural organization with first chapter dealing with classical secondary structures while the second one analysis the same using a structural alphabet - Protein Blocks. The third chapter focuses on the impact of special physiological events like post-translational modifications and disorder to order transitions on protein flexibility. These three chapters indicate towards a context dependent implementation of structural flexibility in their local environment. In subsequent chapters, more complex structures are taken under investigation. Chapter 4 deals with integrin αIIbβ3 that is involved in rare genetic disorders. Impact of the pathological mutations on the local flexibility is studied in two rigid domains of integrin αIIbβ3 ectodomain. Inherent flexibility in these domains is shown to modulate the impact of mutations towards the loops. Chapter 5 deals with the structural modelling and dynamics of a more complex protein structure of Duffy Antigen Chemokine Receptor embedded in an erythrocyte mimic membrane system. The model is supported by the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis on chemokine receptors till date as explained in the last chapter of the thesis.

Inhibitory factor 1 (IF1) is one of the major regulators of mitochondrial ATP synthase activity, a key enzyme of energy metabolism. Its inhibitory effects are known in conditions such as hypoxia or starvation, but the hypothesis that IF1 inhibits ATP synthase activity even under physiological conditions is still not entirely accepted. Disorders of ATP synthase regulation can be fatal to the cell and have been described, for example, in carcinogenesis and ischemia. It has also been found that silencing of the IF1 gene in pancreatic β-cells increases insulin secretion, and thus, IF1 may be important in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. The goal of this work is to summarize the current knowledge about the IF1 protein and to obtain new results that will help elucidate the mechanism by which this protein regulates mitochondrial ATP synthase. Specifically, this work deals with the ratio of IF1 protein to ATP synthase in pancreatic β-cells, depending on different culture conditions. It further investigates the occurrence of post-translational modifications of the IF1 protein in pancreatic β-cells (INS- 1E model cells), which may play a role in the regulation of IF1 activity. It also deals with the cellular ATP/ADP ratio, which is one of the key factors for insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells. An...