L'unité structurale de la chromatine, nommée nucléosome, est composée d'un double brin d'ADN enroulé autour d'un octamère d'histone, et subit une pléthore de modifications post-traductionnelles. Les conséquences biologiques de l’acétylation des lysines et de l’isomérisation des liaisons peptidyl-prolyl ont été étudiées à travers une analyse à l’échelle atomique par RMN de systèmes d'intérêt reconstitués in vitro. Les liaisons peptidyl-prolyl du domaine N-terminal de l'histone H3 sont substrats in vitro d’une isomérase chez S. cerevisiae nommée Fpr4p, laquelle exerce un contrôle catalyse-dépendant de la transcription. La résolution de la structure du domaine catalytique de Fpr4p, à partir de contraintes géométriques mesurées par RMN, révéla un domaine canonique de la famille FKBP (FK506-binding protein). Grâce à l'analyse de la séquence primaire et aux expériences RMN, nous proposons un modèle structural préliminaire de Fpr4p entière. L'analyse fonctionnelle est réalisée grâce à trois décapeptides construits à partir de la séquence primaire de H3 chez S. cerevisiae. Ils sont tous substrats de Fpr4p et la catalyse est équivalente pour Pro16 et Pro30. La proportion à l'équilibre du conformère cis fut déterminée pour les trois peptides et celle-ci n'est pas affectée par l'activité catalytique de Fpr4p. Les structures en solution des substrats en conformation trans ont été résolues par spectroscopie RMN, et seront utilisées pour des appariements moléculaires in silico sur le domaine catalytique de Fpr4p. Pour étudier le rôle biologique de l'acétylation des histones, une méthodologie de production de protéines acétylées a été développée. Le protocole repose sur la mutation d'une lysine en cystéine d'une protéine recombinante, suivie d'une alkylation contrôlée exploitant la nucléophilie du groupe thiol préalablement introduit. La production de l'agent alkylant adéquat est simple, rapide, réalisable dans un laboratoire de biologie et permet différents marquages isotopiques du groupe acétyle. L'alkylation d'une protéine repliée fut réalisée avec succès en conditions natives. Le dimère d'histone H2A-H2B, un intermédiaire de l'assemblage du nucléosome et siège d'acétylation in vivo, fut reconstruit in vitro. Les déplacements chimiques des domaines N et C-terminaux de H2A sont cohérents avec un état intrinsèquement déstructuré bien que leurs dynamiques moléculaires ne soient pas équivalentes. / The structural unit of chromatin, the nucleosome, is composed of double-stranded DNA wrapped around a histone octamer and is subject to a plethora of post-translational modifications. The biological consequences of peptidyl-prolyl isomerization and lysine acetylation were investigated at atomic scale through analysis of in vitro reconstituted systems by NMR. Peptidyl-prolyl bonds of histone H3 N-terminal domain are substrates in vitro of an isomerase from S. cerevisiae named Fpr4p, which underlies transcriptional control dependent on its catalytic activity. The solution structure of the catalytic domain of Fpr4p was calculated based on restraints from NMR spectroscopy, and reveals a canonical catalytic domain belonging to the FK506-binding protein (FKBP) family. Based on primary sequence analysis and NMR experiments, a preliminary structural model of full length Fpr4p is also presented. Functional analyses were performed with three decapeptides designed from the primary sequence from the N-terminal tail of S. cerevisiae histone H3. All three constitute substrates of Fpr4p, with equivalent catalysis observed for Pro16 and Pro30. The equilibrium proportion of the cis-proline conformer has been determined for all three decapeptides, and these populations are unaffected by Fpr4p catalytic activity. Structural ensembles of the substrates with proline in the trans conformation were determined by using NMR spectroscopy, and will be subsequently used for in silico molecular docking onto Fpr4p. To study a second form of histone regulation, a semi-synthetic method to produce acetylated protein was developed. The protocol relies on the site-specific mutation of lysine to cysteine in recombinant proteins followed by controlled alkylation thanks to nucleophilicity of the introduced thiol. The production of the required alkylation reagent is easy, quick, and suitable for biology laboratory and allows diverse isotopic labeling within the acetyl group. Alkylation of folded proteins has also been achieved in native conditions. As one target of acetylation in vivo, the histone H2A-H2B dimer is an intermediate of nucleosome assembly and was reconstituted in vitro. Chemical shift values of the N- and C-terminal domains of H2A are in agreement with an intrinsically disordered state although they display differences in dynamic mobility.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled eukaryotic pathogen, has infected one-third of the world’s population and is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis. The disease primarily affects immunocompromised individuals such as AIDS, cancer, and transplant patients. The parasites can infect any nucleated cell in warm-blooded vertebrates, but because they preferentially target CNS, heart, and ocular tissue, manifestations of infection often include encephalitis, myocarditis, and a host of neurological and ocular disorders. Toxoplasma can also be transmitted congenitally by a mother who becomes infected for the first time during pregnancy, which may result in spontaneous abortion or birth defects in the child. Unfortunately, the therapy currently available for treating toxoplasmosis exhibits serious side effects and can cause severe allergic reactions. Therefore, there is a desperate need to identify novel drug targets for developing more effective, less toxic treatments. The regulation of proteins via lysine acetylation, a reversible post-translational modification, has previously been validated as a promising avenue for drug development. Lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) are responsible for the acetylation of hundreds of proteins throughout prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In Toxoplasma, we identified a KAT that exhibits homology to Elongator protein 3 (TgElp3), the catalytic component of a transcriptional elongation complex. TgElp3 contains the highly conserved radical S-adenosylmethionine and KAT domains but also possesses a unique C-terminal transmembrane domain (TMD). Interestingly, we found that the TMD anchors TgElp3 in the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) such that the catalytic domains are oriented towards the cytosol. Our results uncovered the first tail-anchored mitochondrial KAT reported for any species to date. We also discovered a shortened form of Elp3 present in mouse mitochondria, suggesting that Elp3 functions beyond transcriptional elongation across eukaryotes. Furthermore, we established that TgElp3 is essential for parasite viability and that its OMM localization is important for its function, highlighting its value as a potential target for future drug development.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Murine double minute (Mdm2) is a highly modified and multi-faceted protein that is overexpressed in numerous human malignancies. It engages in many cellular activities and is essential for development since deletion of mdm2 is lethal in early stages of embryonic development. The most studied function of Mdm2 is as a negative regulator of the tumor suppressor protein p53. Mdm2 achieves this regulation by binding to p53 and inhibiting p53 transcriptional activity. Mdm2 also functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase that signals p53 for destruction by the proteasome. Interestingly recent evidence has shown that Mdm2 can also function as an E3 neddylating enzyme that can conjugate the ubiquitin-like molecule, nedd8, to p53. This modification results in inhibition of p53 activity, while maintaining p53 protein levels. While the signaling events that regulate Mdm2 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity have been extensively studied, what activates the neddylating activity of Mdm2 has remained elusive. My investigations have centered on understanding whether tyrosine kinase signaling could activate the neddylating activity of Mdm2. I have shown that c-Src, a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase that is involved in a variety of cellular processes, phosphorylates Mdm2 on tyrosines 281 and 302. This phosphorylation event increases the half-life and neddylating activity of Mdm2 resulting in a neddylation dependent reduction of p53 transcriptional activity. Mdm2 also has many p53-independent cellular functions that are beginning to be linked to its role as an oncogene. There is an emerging role for Mdm2 in tumor metastasis. Metastasis is a process involving tumor cells migrating from a primary site to a distal site and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. To date, the involvement of Mdm2 in breast cancer metastasis has only been correlative, with no in vivo model to definitively define a role for Mdm2. Here I have shown in vivo that Mdm2 enhances breast to lung metastasis through the up regulation of multiple angiogenic factors, including HIF-1 alpha and VEGF. Taken together my data provide novel insights into important p53-dependent and independent functions of Mdm2 that represent potential new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation delves into two research projects that aim to characterize post-translational modifications in two distinct proteins, each originating from a different species – one from the eukaryotic sea slug Aplysia californica and the other from the bacterial pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica.</p><p dir="ltr">Aplysia have an unusually large neuron and therefore serve as an excellent model for studying cell signaling regulating neuronal chemotaxis. Cortactin is an actin binding protein that is regulated by post-translational modifications, including acetylation and phosphorylation. Studies have shown that Src2 tyrosine kinase phosphorylates cortactin to regulate lamellipodia protrusion and filopodia formation in Aplysia bag cell neurons. However, these in vivo phenotypes have not been tested mechanistically in vitro. To this end, the goal of my thesis work was to validate in vivo observations. The following work describes the methodology we developed to purify homogenous non-phosphorylated proteins. Our collaborative results show that Src2 phosphorylates cortactin at Y499, although Y505 is the preferred site in vitro.</p><p dir="ltr"> Filamentation induced by cAMP (Fic) proteins constitute a recently characterized family of enzymes that are being recognized to regulate diverse cellular processes in bacteria and metazoans. While Fic proteins predominantly utilize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to post-translationally modify target proteins via a covalent addition of AMP, two Fic proteins have been reported that utilize uridine triphosphate (UTP) and cytidine diphosphate-choline (CDP-choline) to alter the activity of their target. In this dissertation, we report the discovery of the first guanosine triphosphate (GTP) specific Fic protein – BB0907 (BbFic) from Bordetella bronchiseptica. BbFic displays weak to no binding to ATP; instead has a 10-fold increased preferential usage for GTP. We identify key residues involved in GTP recognition. Additionally, sequence similarity network (SSN) analyses reveal that BbFic represents a distinct clade of Fic proteins, highlighting BbFic as a representative new class of guanylyltransferase. Our discovery adds to the functional diversity of the growing Fic protein family and frames the groundwork for understanding Fic-mediated GMPylation as a novel signaling paradigm. </p><p dir="ltr">Taken together, my thesis work provides novel insights into biological consequences of Fic-mediated GMPylation in bacteria and Src-mediated phosphorylation in filopodia formation.</p><p><br></p>

Reversible Phosphorylierung ist die bekannteste posttranslationale Modifikation (PTM) und die O-Phosphomonoester von Serin, Threonin und Tyrosin galten lange als die einzigen relevanten Vertreter. Vor kurzem wurden erste Erkenntnisse über die biologische Relevanz von labilen Phosphorylierungen veröffentlicht, z.B. die Phosphorylierung von Histidin, Arginin und Cystein sowie die Pyrophosphorylierung von Serin und Threonin. Auch die Aufklärung von Phospho-Lysin (pLys) wurde mit der Etablierung einer chemoselektiven Synthese zur Darstellung ortsselektiv phosphorylierter Lysinpeptide und der Entwicklung massenspektrometrischer Protokolle zur eindeutigen pLys-Identifizierung in Angriff genommen. Dennoch wurde bisher kein endogenes pLys beschrieben oder eingehende Untersuchungen mit interagierenden Enzymen durchgeführt. In dieser Arbeit werden mehrere Ansätze zur Erweiterung des Wissens über pLys vorgestellt. Dazu gehören das Design einer alternativen Syntheseroute zu pLys-Peptiden und die Entwicklung sowie Evaluierung von zwei stabilen Analoga als Bausteine für die Peptidsynthese. Weiterhin wurde die Protonierung des Phosphoramidatstickstoffs untersucht. In systematischen Enzymaktivitätsassays wurden die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) und verschiedenen Phospho-Substraten untersucht. Dabei zeigte sich eine ausgeprägte Selektivität für pLys, eine hohe Sequenzabhängigkeit der LHPP-Aktivität und ein klares Bindungsmotiv. Darüber hinaus wurden proteomische Methoden hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung für pLys-Peptide evaluiert. Im Laufe dieser Untersuchung wurden mehrere pLys-Immunogene für die Generierung von monoklonalen anti-pLys-Antikörpern und ein Workflow für die Histontrennung und -analyse entwickelt. Des Weiteren wurde die chelationsverstärkte Fluoreszenz von markierten Phospho-Peptiden als Werkzeug zur Bestimmung des Phosphorylierungsgrades in Enzymaktivitäts- oder Stabilitätsassays untersucht. / Reversible phosphorylation is the most prominent post-translational modification (PTM) and the O-phosphomonoesters of serine, threonine and tyrosine have been considered as the only notable forms for long time. Recent developments have paved the way to insights into the biological relevance of labile phosphorylations, e.g. phosphorylation of histidine, arginine and cysteine as well as pyrophosphorylation of serine and threonine. Also, the elucidation of phospho-lysine (pLys) was tackled with the establishment of a chemoselective synthesis to obtain site-selectively phosphorylated lysine peptides and the development of mass spectrometric protocols to unambiguously identify modification sites. Nonetheless, no endogenous pLys site has been described or in-depth investigations of interacting enzymes have been conducted. In this thesis, several approaches to enhance the knowledge about pLys are introduced. These include the design of an alternative synthesis route to pLys peptides and the development as well as evaluation of two stable analogues as building blocks for peptide synthesis. Furthermore, the protonation of the phosphoramidate-nitrogen was investigated. In systematic phosphoramidate hydrolase and phosphatase activity assays, the interactions between phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) and various phospho-substrates were examined. Thereby, distinct selectivity for pLys, high sequence dependence of LHPP activity and a distinct binding motif were revealed. In addition to that, proteomic methods were evaluated regarding their suitability for pLys peptides. Over the course of this investigation, several pLys immunogens for the generation of monoclonal anti-pLys antibodies and a workflow for histone separation and analysis were developed. Furthermore, chelation-enhanced fluorescence of labeled phospho-peptides was studied as a tool for determining the degree of phosphorylation in enzyme activity or stability assays.

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Discipline récente, la chimie supramoléculaire est l'un des domaines les plus fertiles de la recherche chimique. Motivé par le défi que représente la reconnaissance moléculaire sur mesure d'édifices complexes, un grand intérêt est apparu pour la conception et la synthèse des récepteurs macrocycliques polyfonctionnalisés. Nous avons récemment décrit une nouvelle classe de récepteurs moléculaires accessibles et polyvalents: les Dyn[n]arenes. Cette nouvelle classe est obtenue à partir de briques moléculaires 1,4-dithiophénols fonctionnalisés en position ortho assemblées par des liaisons disulfures. Cette stratégie de macrocyclisation contrôlée thermodynamiquement permet de produire de grandes quantités de produit final avec un moindre coût synthétique. Des récepteurs sur-mesure pour la reconnaissance d'anions, de cations et de zwitterions ont été obtenus par cette approche polyvalente. En particulier, le Dyn[4]arene octacarboxylate a montré la capacité de reconnaître sélectivement des dérivés de la lysine par via un ajustement induit asymétrique du récepteur lors de l'association. L'utilisation de ce récepteur pour reconnaître des peptides et protéines portant en position N-terminale une lysine a été étudiée. Enfin, la post-fonctionnalisation de ces Dyn[4]arenes a été explorée afin d'améliorer leur solubilité et leur propriétés de reconnaissance vis-à-vis de cibles biologiquement actives, ainsi que pour étudier la possibilité de leur greffage sur phase solide et leur utilisation en chromatographie d'affinité / As a recent discipline, supramolecular chemistry is one of the most active and fast-growing fields of chemical research. Driven by the challenge that tailored molecular recognition of complex molecules represents, a large interest has grown for the design and synthesis of multi-functionalized macrocyclic receptors. We recently described a new class of accessible and versatile molecular receptors: Dyn[n]arenes. This new class is obtained from 1,4-dithiophenols units functionalized in ortho position and assembled by disulfide linkages. This strategy of thermodynamically controlled macrocyclization allows producing large amounts of final product with a low synthetic cost. On demand receptors for anions, cations and zwitterions were obtained by this versatile approach. Particularly, the octacarboxylate-bearing dyn[4]arene showed the ability to selectively recognize Lysine derivatives via an asymmetric induced adjustment of the receptor upon the complexation. The use of this receptor to recognize N-terminal Lysine tagged peptides and proteins have been investigated. Finally, post-functionalization of Dyn[4]arenes have been explored to improve their solubility and recognition properties toward biologically active target and to investigate their solid phase grafting to be implemented in affinity chromatography

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is regulated by multiple modifications to the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit, Rpb1. This study has focused on the relationship between hyperphosphorylation of the CTD and RNAPII turnover and proteolytic degradation as well as post-translational modifications of the globular core of RNAPII. Following tandem affinity purification, western blot analysis showed that MG132 treated RTR1 ERG6 deletion yeast cells have accumulation of total RNAPII and in particular, the hyperphosphorylated form of the protein complex. In addition, proteomic studies using MuDPIT have revealed increased interaction between proteins of the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation system in the mutant MG132 treated yeast cells as well as potential ubiquitin and phosphorylation sites in RNAPII subunits, Rpb6 and Rpb1, respectively. A novel Rpb1 phosphorylation site, T1471-P, is located in the linker region between the CTD and globular domain of Rpb1 and will be the focus of future studies to determine biological significance of this post-translational modification.