STAT5A et B sont des facteurs de transcription qui constituent le point de convergence de nombreux signaux extracellulaires. Parmi leurs fonctions biologiques, ils sont connus pour leur rôle dans le développement et la différentiation des cellules hématopoïétiques. Cependant, un taux d’activation et/ou d’expression élevé de ces protéines aboutit à une prolifération incontrôlée des cellules aboutissant ainsi à une leucémogenèse. Ce présent travail vise à caractériser des aptamères ADN (Apta1 et Apta2) sélectionnés préalablement au sein de notre laboratoire contre STAT5B afin de réguler son activité dans le contexte leucémique. Les aptamères ADN sont des oligonucléotides simple brin qui adoptent une structure 3D et interagissent de manière spécifique avec leurs cibles. Contrairement aux anticorps, ils sont peu immunogènes ; ils possèdent alors un potentiel thérapeutique intéressant. La première partie de ce projet se focalise sur l’étude de la capacité d’Apta1 et Apta2 à interagir avec la forme cellulaire et recombinante de STAT5B par pull down et calorimétrie à titrage isotherme. La seconde partie concerne l’évaluation de l’activité d’Apta2 par l’étude de son effet sur la viabilité d’un modèle de leucémie myéloïde chronique et sur sa capacité à perturber la voie de signalisation impliquant STAT5. / STAT5A and B are common transcription factors that constitute a convergent point for many cellular pathways. Among their multiple biological functions, they are well known in promoting immune cell development and differentiation. When some oncogenic mutations occur, STAT5A and B are highly activated leading to uncontrolled proliferation and then to leukemia. Thus, they constitute a prime target to therapeutic intervention. In this work, we characterize new DNA aptamers (Apta1 and Apta2) selected previously by our laboratory against STAT5B. DNA aptamers are single stranded DNA molecules that can adopt 3D structures and recognize specific targets. Unlike antibodies, they fail to induce the immune response: they emerge as potentiel therapeutic molecules. In the first part of this work, the selected aptamers were assessed on their ability to interact with the cellular and recombinant form of STAT5B by using pull down assay and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry. In the second part, we focused on evaluating the effect of Apta2 on chronic myeloid leukemia cell line. For this purpose, cell viability, apoptosis process and JAK-STAT5 signaling pathway were depicted when cells are treated with Apta2.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this work, DNA aptamer biosensor systems were developed for the detection of l7p-estradiol - an estrogeneous endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). Endocrine disrupting chemicals are group of compounds that impact negatively on the endocrine system of humans and wildlife. High concentrations of l7p-estradiol in water or food chain disrupts the physiology of the endocrine system of various animal species, leading to feminisation in fish and stimulates the proliferation of cancer cells in humans. Aptasensor systems for the determination of l7pestradiol were prepared with three immobilization platforms: (i) poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene) {PEDOT} doped with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to form PEDOTIAuNPs polymeric nanocomposite, (ii) generation 1 poly(propylene thiophenoimine)-copoly( 3 ,4-ethy lenedioxythiophene) dendritic star copolymer (G 1PPT -co-PEDOT), and (iii) generation 2 poly (propylene thiophenoimine)-co-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) dendritic star copolymer (G2PPT-co-PEDOT). The morphological properties of the sensor platforms were interrogated by scanning emission microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), while their spectroscopic characteristics were studied by Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The electrochemical behaviour of the platforms and the aptasensors were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). The DNA aptamer developed for detecting 17~-estradiol and which was used in the fabrication of all aptamer biosensors in this study is a 76-mer biotinylated aptamer (5'-BiotinGCTTCCAGCTTATTGAATTACACGCAGAGG TAGCGGCTCTGCGCATTCAATGCTGCGCGCTGAAGCGCGGAAGC-3'). AulPEDOTIAuNPslAptamer (platform 1) was obtained by covalently attaching streptavidin to the polymeric nanocomposite platform using carbodiimide chemistry and the aptamer immobilized via streptavidin-biotin interaction. The electrochemical signal generated from the aptamer-target molecule interaction was monitored electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry in the presence of [Fe(CN)6J 3-/4- as a redox probe. The signal current observed was inversely proportional to the concentration of 17Bestradiol. The aptasensor demonstrated specificity toward 17~-estradiol. The detectable concentration range of the 17B estradiol was 0.01 nM-O .09 nM with a detection limit of 3.2 pM. The 76-mer biotinylated aptamer for 17~-estradiol was incorporated into a generation 1 poly(propylenethiophenoimine )-co-poly(3 ,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) dendritic star copolymer modified Au electrode via biotin-avidin interaction (platform 2). The Bode plot shows that the charge transfer dynamics of the nanoelectrode can be frequency modulated while the AulG 1PPTco- PEDOT nanoelectrode exhibited greater semi-conductor behavior (higher phase angle value) than AulG 1PPT due to the incorporation of charged functionalized dendrimer at low frequencies (100 mHz). The biosensor response to 17~-estradiol was based on the decrease in the SWV current as the EDC binds to the ssDNA aptamer on the biosensor. The dynamic linear range of the sensor was 0.01-0.07 nM with a detection limit of7.27 pM. Synthesis of electro synthetic generation G2PPT-co-PEDOT (platform 3) was performed by copolymerization of PEDOT with G2PPT dendrimer modified electrode immersed in a solution of 0.1 M LiCI04 containing 0.1 M EDOT monomer and 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) for ten (10) cycles. The electrochemical behaviour of the dendritic star copolymer was investigated with CV and EIS in LiCI04 and phosphate buffer solutions. The results show that the electrochemical deposition of G2PPT-co-PEDOT on gold electrode decreased the electrochemical charge transfer resistance when compared to AuiPEDOTILiCI04 and AuiLiCI04 interfaces. Bode impedimetric analysis indicates that G2PPT-co-PEDOT is a semiconductor. The fabrication of two novel aptasensors (based on platforms 2 and 3) simultaneously on a screen printed micro array electrode of 96-well multichannel electrochemical robotic sensor testing system for the detection of endocrine disrupting l7~-estradiol, was also carried out. The aptasensors responses to l7~-estradiol, based on the decrease in the SWV current, were evaluated.

Des millions de patients souffrant d’insuffisance cardiaque bénéficieraient d’analyses sanguines hebdomadaires pour surveiller l’évolution de leur état de santé comme c’est le cas avec les personnes atteintes du diabète. Cependant, il n’existe pas de technologies d’analyses sanguines rapides et efficaces pour détecter des marqueurs d’insuffisance cardiaque, telle que la créatinine, la NT-proBNP et la troponine I par exemple. La possibilité pour les patients de surveiller leurs taux de créatinine régulièrement, du confort de chez soi, améliorerait largement leur qualité de vie ainsi que leur taux de survie. En suivant leur taux de créatinine, le patient pourrait prédire des signes d’insuffisance cardiaque, et ainsi faire ajuster leur plan de traitement en conséquence. Pour y arriver, les biocapteurs électrochimiques, dont un exemple est le glucomètre, représentent une classe prometteuse de dispositifs d’analyse sanguine puisqu’ils sont faciles à utiliser, rapides, peu coûteux, sensibles, stables et potentiellement universels. Les biocapteurs électrochimiques à base d’ADN pourraient potentiellement être adaptés en biocapteur de créatinine, par l’entremise d’aptamères. Le but de cette recherche est de développer un nouveau mécanisme de détection universel et efficace pouvant être adapté directement à partir des stratégies de sélection des aptamères. Pour ce faire, nous avons identifié et caractérisé un élément de bioreconnaissance sélectif pour la créatinine. Ensuite, nous avons conçu une nouvelle stratégie de détection et nous avons validé cette nouvelle stratégie par spectroscopie de fluorescence avant de l’adapter pour une détection électrochimique. Par la suite, nous avons optimisé les performances du biocapteur en modulant des paramètres analytiques tels que sa gamme linéaire et son gain de signal, tout en validant ses performances dans une matrice complexe comme le sérum. Les résultats de cette recherche suggèrent que la stratégie de conception du nouveau biocapteur électrochimique à base d’aptamère est prometteuse pour la détection efficace de biomarqueurs sanguins. Ce type de mécanisme pourrait être facilement adapté pour détecter d'autres molécules cliniquement pertinentes en modifiant simplement la stratégie de sélection de l'aptamère. / Millions of patients suffering from heart failure would greatly benefit from weekly blood analysis to help them manage their disease state like patients suffering from diabetes. However, no simple blood monitoring technologies detecting heart failure biomarkers, such as creatinine, NT-proBNP, and troponin I, are available. The ability to determine and regularly monitor the creatinine level in the home setting would greatly improve the patient’s quality of life and survival rate. Knowing the concentration of creatinine help to predict heart failure and to revise the treatment plan if the concentration of creatinine is abnormal. To achieve this, electrochemical sensors, like a glucometer, represent a promising class of blood analysis devices due to their ease of use, fast response, low cost, inherent sensitivity and stability, and potential universality. More specifically, DNA-based electrochemical biosensors could potentially be adapted into a creatinine sensor by using aptamers specific to a biomarker. To achieve this goal, we identified a selective biorecognition element for creatinine detection and characterized it. We also designed a novel sensing aptamer-based strategy and validated this strategy by fluorescent spectroscopy before transposing it into the electrochemical format. We then optimized the performance of the sensor by tuning its signal gain and characterizing the dynamic range while also validating its performance in serum. The results of this work suggest that the electrochemical aptamer-based strategy represents a promising sensing mechanism. We believe this mechanism could be easily adapted to detect other clinically relevant molecules by simply relying on the aptamer’s selection strategy.

This project is aimed toward finding DNA aptamers against prostate cancer peptide antigens. DNA aptamers can function to find and indicate the presence of certain molecules in a specimen. These aptamers will be obtained through the process of evolutionary selection, a specific process called SELEX which stands for Systemic Evolution of Ligands by Experimental Enrichment. By conducting several rounds of SELEX, a DNA aptamer will be selected to bind to a known peptide antigen. A biotinylated column will be utilized to stabilize a random library of DNA aptamers, and those peptides that bind to certain aptamers will cause a conformational change leading to the elution of those specific DNA aptamers. This SELEX process will be conducted again on the eluted aptamers to further select for strong binding DNA aptamers. The DNA aptamers that are obtained can further on be sequenced or used for prostate cancer research studies. Another possible usage of aptamers is to diagnose and determine the stage of various different cancer types. Our prediction is that this research will produce a DNA aptamer that will bind to a specific prostate cancer peptide antigen.

Aptamers being used as sensors is an emerging field that has capabilities of being tomorrow’s diagnostic tools. As aptameric sensors have become more popular, their visualization systems have been limited. The majority of today’s aptameric sensors require expensive machinery such as a fluorometer in order to visualize results. We propose a system that will cut the need for instrumentation and be detected via the naked eye. With the selection of an aptamer to bind the pH indicating dye bromocresol purple (BCP) this may be achieved. When rendered active, the binding towards BCP will facilitate a color change from yellow to purple or vice versa. Previous studies have shown albumin contains the ability to facilitate this role and we now intend to use a DNA aptamer to achieve this as well. The BCP aptamer has the potential to serve as a signaling domain to any already selected aptamer thus making it a universal tool for both research and diagnostic measures. We have found that an alternative structure-switching systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) method which left the dye unaltered was not sufficient for selecting an aptamer. We believe that a classical SELEX will enable us to select an aptamer that may be used to accomplish this role as a universal visual detector.

Les cancers, qu’il s’agisse de leucémies ou de tumeurs solides, sont le résultat de proliférations cellulaires anormales et non contrôlées au sein des tissus. Ces proliférations anarchiques sont le reflet d’une surexpression et/ou sur-activation de protéines intracellulaires engendrées par un événement oncogénique. Aujourd’hui encore il est donc nécessaire de trouver de nouvelles molécules à usage thérapeutique ciblant spécifiquement ces protéines. C’est dans ce contexte que les facteurs de transcription STAT5 constituent de véritables cibles de choix puisque ces protéines participent activement à la leucogénèse. L’implication directe des protéines STAT5 dans la génèse des leucémies a été démontrée par l’utilisation de formes mutées constitutivement active de STAT5. Les facteurs de transcription STAT5 jouent un rôle essentiel dans la voie de signalisation JAK/STAT. Cette voie aboutit à la régulation de grandes fonctions biologiques telles que la prolifération cellulaire, la différenciation cellulaire ou encore l’apoptose. L’objectif de ce projet consiste donc à cibler spécifiquement les protéines STAT5 dans le but de rétablir le processus de mort cellulaire et empêcher la prolifération des cellules cancéreuses. Les inhibiteurs spécifiques des protéines STAT5 sont sélectionnés selon la méthode SELEX qui permet d’isoler des ligands structurés de forte affinité pour la protéine. L’affinité et la spécificité de ces inhibiteurs, appelés aptamères, sont caractérisées à partir de modèles cellulaires de leucémies dépendant de l’activité des facteurs de transcription STAT5. Les aptamères sont aujourd’hui de véritables outils thérapeutiques en pleine évolution. / Leukemias are due to abnormal cell proliferation, which is the result of intracellular over-expression or excessive activation of protein due to oncogenic event. Still today, it is necessary to find new therapeutic molecules, which specifically target these proteins. STAT5, via the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, controls fundamental cellular processes, including .cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. To struggle against tumorigenesis, JAK/STAT signaling pathway has to be inhibited. The aim of this project is to target specifically STAT5 factors to restore healthy signal transduction. We generated aptamers by an iterative in vitro selection. Aptamers are short-structured single strand DNAs or RNAs that bind with high affinity and specificity to their target. Once STAT5B recombinant proteins are produced, they are subjected to SELEX process. The number of rounds depends on various parameters. After seven rounds, two sequences are retrieved. The specificity and affinity of these aptamers are assessed by fluorescent immunoassays. Binding affinity and kinetics of interaction are characterized by SPR. Aptamer anti proliferative effects are determined by evaluation of the growth of cells depending on STAT5. Finally, we developed several .assays aiming at understanding the mechanism of an aptamer action on STAT5B such as phosphorylation measurement and EMSA. Aptamers are now emerging therapeutic tools; they exhibit significant advantages relative to protein therapeutics.

Protein therapeutics offer numerous advantages over small molecule drugs and are rapidly becoming one of the most prominent classes of therapeutics. Unfortunately, they are delivered almost exclusively by injection due to biological obstacles preventing high bioavailability via the oral route. In this work, numerous approaches to overcoming these barriers are explored. PH-Responsive poly(itaconic acid-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) (P(IA-co-NVP)) hydrogels were synthesized, and the effects of monomer ratios, crosslinking density, microparticle size, protein size, and loading conditions were systematically evaluated using in vitro tests. P(IA-co-NVP) hydrogels demonstrated up to 69% greater equilibrium swelling at neutral conditions than previously-studied poly(methacrylic acid-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) hydrogels and a 10-fold improvement in time-sensitive swelling experiments. Furthermore, P(IA-co-NVP) hydrogel microparticles demonstrated up to a 2.7-fold improvement in delivery of salmon calcitonin (sCT) compared to methacrylic acid-based systems, with a formulation comprised of a 1:2 ratio of itaconic acid to N-vinylpyrrolidone demonstrating the greatest delivery capability. Vast improvement in delivery capability was achieved using reduced ionic strength conditions during drug loading. Use of a 1.50 mM PBS buffer during loading yielded an 83-fold improvement in delivery of sCT compared to a standard 150 mM buffer. With this improvement, a daily dose of sCT could be provided using P(IA-co-NVP) microparticles in one standard-sized gel capsule. P(IA-co-NVP) was also tested with larger proteins urokinase and Rituxan. Crosslinking density provided a facile method for tuning hydrogels to accommodate a wide range of protein sizes. The effects of protein PEGylation were also explored. PEGylated sCT displayed lower release from P(IA-co-NVP) microparticles, but displayed increased apparent permeability across a Caco-2 monolayer by two orders of magnitude. Therefore, PEG-containing systems could yield high bioavailability of orally delivered proteins. Finally, a modified SELEX protocol for cellular selection of transcellular transport-initiating aptamers was developed and used to identify aptamer sequences showing enhanced intestinal perfusion. Over three selection cycles, the selected aptamer library showed significant increases in absorption, and from an initial library of 1.1 trillion sequences, 5-10 sequences were selected that demonstrated up to 10-fold amplification compared to the naïve library. These sequences could provide a means of overcoming the significant final barrier of intestinal absorption. / text

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