Les surcharges en fer, qu’elles soient d’origine génétique ou secondaire, favorisent la baisse de densité minérale osseuse et par conséquent l’apparition d’une ostéoporose. Des liens entre surcharge en fer et perte osseuse ont pu être établis in vivo et in vitro, néanmoins les mécanismes mis en jeu, notamment sur la cellule ostéoblastique, restent incomplètement caractérisés. Notre objectif a donc été de préciser les mécanismes cellulaires conduisant à l’altération du phénotype et de l’activité ostéoblastique observée en présence d’un excès de fer. La réalisation préalable d’une étude transcriptomique sur la lignée ostéoblastique humaine MG-63 nous a permis d’identifier plusieurs gènes susceptibles de voir leur niveau d’ARNm régulé par le fer. Il a été fait l’hypothèse que ces différents gènes pouvaient être impliqués dans la survenue des pertes osseuses observées au cours des surcharges en fer. Ainsi l’expression du gène SPNS2, dont la protéine permet l’export de la Sphingosine-1-Phosphate (S1P), a été identifiée comme potentiellement induite par un excès de fer. Les relations entre l’expression du gène SPNS2 et un excès de fer ont ainsi été investiguées et les résultats obtenus ont mis en évidence une augmentation fer-dépendante de l’ARNm du gène SPNS2 dans la lignée MG-63, non retrouvée dans d’autres types cellulaires. Cette caractérisation nous a ainsi conduits à déterminer, dans la lignée MG-63, l’impact fonctionnel d’une exposition au fer sur l’export cellulaire de la S1P. Nous avons donc pour cela mis au point une méthode d’étude basée sur une stratégie « fluxomique » nous permettant d’évaluer l’efflux de la S1P au moyen d’un outil de spectrométrie de masse. Nos résultats objectivent une diminution des capacités de synthèse et d’export de la S1P en présence de fer et ceci malgré la surexpression du gène SPNS2. La diminution concomitante de l’expression du récepteur S1PR1 et du gène COL1A1 codant pour la chaîne α du collagène de type I suggère un impact fonctionnel de la baisse de concentration en S1P extracellulaire sur la cellule MG-63. La mise en évidence, dans un modèle ostéoblastique, d’une altération fer-dépendante de l’axe de signalisation S1P/S1PR ouvre de nouvelles perspectives quant à la compréhension des mécanismes mis en jeu lors des pertes osseuses associées aux surcharges en fer. / Osteoporosis may complicate genetic or secondary iron overload as reported in clinical and animal studies. However, the mechanisms leading to disrupted bone homeostasis are still to be fully elucidated. In vitro, iron exposure of both osteoblast and osteoclast cell models induces phenotypic and functional impairment, but the molecular mechanisms of iron excess on bone cell physiology are not well characterized, particularly in osteoblast. Our objective was to study the impact of iron overload on osteoblast biology and characterize the molecular mechanisms involved. Transcriptomic analysis previously performed by our group on MG-63 osteoblast-like cell-line to identify iron-modulated genes revealed that expression of SPNS2 gene, which encodes a transporter for the signaling lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), is potentially induced by iron. The purpose of this work was to characterize the SPNS2 iron-related regulation and analyze its potential impact on S1P efflux and the S1P/S1PR signaling pathway in MG-63 cells. Our findings showed that iron exposure induces a dose-dependent increase of SPNS2 mRNA levels in MG-63 osteoblast-like cells that was not observed in hepatocyte and enterocyte cell models. We then performed a fluxomic assay on MG-63 cells to investigate iron potential impact on S1P efflux. Unexpectedly, our data showed that extracellular S1P levels were decreased in presence of iron excess and its associated SPNS2 upregulation. Furthermore, based on the observed iron associated S1PR1 and COL1A1 decrease, the defect in S1P export system seems to have functional consequence on MG-63 cells. These results suggest that iron may affect osteoblast S1P/SPR signaling and potentially alter a wide range of bone processes, thus participating in bone impairment in situations of chronic iron overload. These data open a new door for the understanding of mechanisms involved in iron-induced osteoporosis.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a lipid chemoattractant molecule. Once formed, S1P can be transported extracellularly by S1P transporters spinster homolog 2 (Spns2) or major facilitator domain containing 2B (mfsd2b). In the extracellular space, S1P can bind to S1P-specific G-protein coupled receptors (S1PR), which initiate many signaling pathways. A critical role of extracellular S1P is its ability to cause lymphocyte egress, which can have implications for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. For this reason, there has been a growing interest in exploring potential spns2 inhibitors to further elucidate their therapeutic potential. Initial screenings confirmed that fused heterocycles, including phthalimide and benzoxazoles, demonstrated moderate inhibition of Spns2 using a HeLa cell assay. An extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) study of these scaffolds was performed to analyze the impact of various amine head groups, regioisomers, and alkyl tails on performance. It was determined that 2-aminobenzoxazoles with secondary amines were potent inhibitors of the transporter. Additionally, the position of the lipophilic tail moiety played a large role in activity. From these modifications, SLB1122168 (2.44p) was found to be our lead compound. It was determined that (2.44p) had an IC50 of 94 ± 6 nM and was shown to be efficacious in decreasing lymphocyte count by 55% in a dose-dependent manner in both rat and mice models. The discovery of (2.44p) can serve as a novel chemical tool to investigate Spns2 biology and use it as a probe to determine the potential of Spns2 as a drug target. Organoboron compounds are useful synthetic intermediates in forming C-X, C-C, and C-H bonds. One way to synthesize these compounds is through copper catalysis. Copper is favorable to other transition metals because it is an Earth-abundant, low-cost metal that can be utilized in regio- and stereoselective reactions. Conjugated 1,3-enynes are important functional groups that iii are found in active natural products, organic synthetic intermediates, and materials. Previous methods used rare transition metals, designer ligands, or harsh acidic conditions to synthesize such compounds. In this dissertation, we developed a stereoselective one-pot copper-catalyzed semi-reduction of 1,3-diynes to produce (Z)-1,3-enynes. This method uses Cu(OAc)2, HBpin and Xantphos to successfully synthesize (Z)-1,3-enynes that were tolerated well over a broad substrate scope, including heterocyclic, alkyl, and aryl substituents. It was determined that this reaction went through a 2-boryl intermediate which was facilitated by a CuH species. / Doctor of Philosophy / Autoimmune diseases are caused by immune cells attacking healthy cells. The signaling lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) plays a major role in trafficking immune cells, in which immune cells follow the S1P gradient from low concentrations (secondary lymphoid tissues) to high concentrations (lymph). In the case of multiple sclerosis, immune cells can attack healthy neurons that cause a myriad of symptoms. Currently, there are four drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) targeting the S1P pathway for multiple sclerosis. In all cases, these drugs act as S1P-receptor (S1PR) functional antagonists, which decreases the amount of extracellular S1P, which in turn decreases the immune cells in the lymph that can attack healthy cells. Unfortunately, all four drugs exhibit on-target cardiovascular side effects. To circumvent the on-target side effects seen in current FDA-approved drugs, other nodes of the S1P pathway have been assessed for multiple sclerosis. One node of interest is spinster homolog 2 (Spns2), a transporter of S1P, whose inhibition has also been shown to decrease extracellular S1P. In this dissertation, we will be assessing various inhibitors for their in vitro and in vivo properties. 1,3-Enynes are a functional group found in medicinally relevant compounds and can be used as intermediates to make more complex compounds. Current methods to make this functional group use expensive rare metals or harsh acidic conditions. We developed new methods that utilized copper, an abundant metal, and boron, an atom whose empty p orbital allows for unique reactivity. Utilizing a copper-hydride species allowed us to semi-reduce 1,3-diynes to (Z)-1,3-enynes, where water was used instead of acid to allow for the semi-reduction to occur. This reaction was shown to tolerate a wide range of substrates and gave good to excellent yield.

Doctor of Philosophy / Autoimmune diseases are caused when a person's immune system attacks its own healthy cells. In a person with multiple sclerosis, their immune system becomes sensitized to the myelin sheath that covers their neurons in the central nervous system. This results in the degradation of the myelin sheath and irreversible degradation of the nerve cell axons. This damage leads to the development of several neurological impairments, such as pain, fatigue, mobility problems, and numbness. While there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, disease-modifying therapies are typically taken by patients to suppress their immune system and slow disease progression. Sphingsoine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a lipid that is important for the trafficking of lymphocytes into a person's central nervous system. This trafficking is largely due to the natural gradient of S1P which is high levels in blood but low in tissues. Lymphocytes will follow this gradient from areas of low S1P concentration (lymphatic tissue) to areas with higher S1P concentrations. Modulation of S1P levels is the mechanism of action for several FDA approved drugs as they target primarily S1P1 receptors to achieve lower levels of circulating lymphocytes. However, targeting this receptor also results in cardiovascular side effects such as first-dose bradycardia. The transporter for S1P, spinster homolog 2 (Spns2), which is upstream of the S1P receptors, is another viable target that our lab has recently been targeting. Spns2 inhibition decreases extracellular S1P levels and result in reduced lymphocytes in mice models. In this dissertation, several inhibitors were developed and assessed for their in vitro and in vivo ability to inhibit Spns2.