D-4F, an ApoA-I mimetic peptide, alleviates mechanical hyperalgesia after administration to rodents suffering from inflammatory and neuropathic pain. D-4F scavenges proalgesic oxidized lipids – as such an anti-inflammatory drug – but also activates ATP-binding cassette transporters (Abca1 and Abcg1) – as such an anti-atherosclerotic drug. Aim of the project was to investigate the impact of neuropathy and its treatment with D-4F on the expression of Abca1/Abcg1 as well as cytokines. / D-4F, ein ApoA-I-mimetisches Peptid, lindert mechanische Hyperalgesie nach Verabreichung an Nagetiere, die an entzündlichen und neuropathischen Schmerzen leiden. D-4F fängt proalgetische oxidierte Lipide ab – als ein solches entzündungshemmendes Medikament – ​​aktiviert aber auch ATP-bindende Kassettentransporter (Abca1 und Abcg1) – als ein solches anti-atherosklerotisches Medikament. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, den Einfluss von Neuropathie und deren Behandlung mit D-4F auf die Expression von Abca1/Abcg1 sowie Zytokinen zu untersuchen.

Microorganisms primarily acquire phosphorus (P) in the form of inorganic phosphate (PO4-3 or Pi) through expression of a suite of phosphate scavenging or phosphate transporter systems in response to limiting environmental phosphate. One such system is the Pit family of single protein Pi transport systems found in all domains. These vary in size from 300 to 800 amino acids (a.a.) in size. Previously, the pit gene of the soil bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti, was found to encode a 334 a.a. Pi uptake system (KM 1-2µM) that is repressed in low Pi conditions. However, the S. meliloti pit gene is encoded in an operon and overlaps the coding sequence of a protein of unknown function, which was denoted as pap (pit-accessory protein). Using a conditional Pi-transport deficient mutant strain of S. meliloti, the effects of pap or pit mutations on Pit-mediated Pi uptake were studied by conducting growth experiments in minimal media (with Pi as the sole source of P) and Pi uptake experiments. Both pap and pit deletions resulted in a loss of growth and Pi uptake, which could be complemented by integration of the pap and pit genes into the deletion locus. Heterologous Pap-Pit systems from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Shewanella oneidensis were found to have KM values (17 and 8.5 µM, respectively) similar to previously reported values of S. meliloti Pap-Pit. However, the Shewanella Pit protein was capable of transporting Pi in the absence of the cognate Pap protein, albeit with greatly reduced velocity at all measured concentrations. Pap-Pit orthologs were identified in ~2000 diverse prokaryotic proteomes using Pfam motifs of Pit (PHO4) and Pap (PhoU_div) protein domains. pap-pit operons were found in a third of all proteomes, and were predicted to be a co-transcribed operon in >95% of cases. This provided additional evidence that Pap is directly involved in Pit-mediated Pi uptake, and also that Pap-Pit systems have a significant role in microbial Pi uptake. Pap protein sequences and structures show striking similarities with that of PhoU, a protein of unknown function implicated as a modulator of the Pst uptake system. Pap and PhoU proteins share highly conserved putative metal-binding motifs (E/DXXXD) of which several Pap missense mutations were found to result in reduced Pi transport. This suggests that like PhoU, Pap may function as a modulator of Pi uptake by an interaction with its cognate transporter, Pit. However, the molecular mechanisms of PhoU and Pap proteins have yet to be defined. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Microbes acquire and assimilate phosphorus (P) in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi) through a variety of mechanisms. Pit (Pi transporter) are a family of diverse transporters found in all kingdoms of life. Unlike other Pit systems, the Sinorhizobium meliloti pit gene is encoded in an operon with a protein of unknown function, denoted the pit-accessory protein (pap). Using S. meliloti Pap-Pit and orthologues from other bacteria as model systems, we demonstrate that Pap functions as a positive modulator of Pi uptake via Pit, as Pap is required for active uptake of Pi. Pap-Pit systems are found in 30% of all bacteria and archaea, and thus broadly distributed. Understanding the mechanism of Pap-Pit has biotechnological applications, as multiple Pap-Pit systems are present in phosphorus-accumulating bacteria utilized for waste-water treatment.

Yes / In Escherichia coli, the biogenesis of both cytochrome bd-type quinol oxidases and periplasmic cytochromes requires the ATP-binding cassette-type cysteine/GSH transporter, CydDC. Recombinant CydDC was purified as a heterodimer and found to be an active ATPase both in soluble form with detergent and when reconstituted into a lipid environment. Two-dimensional crystals of CydDC were analyzed by electron cryomicroscopy, and the protein was shown to be made up of two non-identical domains corresponding to the putative CydD and CydC subunits, with dimensions characteristic of other ATP-binding cassette transporters. CydDC binds heme b. Detergent-solubilized CydDC appears to adopt at least two structural states, each associated with a characteristic level of bound heme. The purified protein in detergent showed a weak basal ATPase activity (approximately 100 nmol Pi/min/mg) that was stimulated ∼3-fold by various thiol compounds, suggesting that CydDC could act as a thiol transporter. The presence of heme (either intrinsic or added in the form of hemin) led to a further enhancement of thiol-stimulated ATPase activity, although a large excess of heme inhibited activity. Similar responses of the ATPase activity were observed with CydDC reconstituted into E. coli lipids. These results suggest that heme may have a regulatory role in CydDC-mediated transmembrane thiol transport. / This work was supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant BBS/B/14418 (Membrane Protein Structure Initiative).

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The high affinity sodium/glucose cotransporter (SGLT1) couples transport of Na+ and glucose. Investigation of the structure/function relationships of the sodium/glucose transporter (SGLT1) is crucial to understanding co-transporter mechanism. In the first project, we used cysteine-scanning mutagenesis and chemical modification by methanethiosulphonate (MTS) derivatives to test whether predicted TM IV participates in sugar binding. Charged and polar residues and glucose/galactose malabsorption (GGM) missense mutations in TM IV were replaced with cysteine. Mutants exhibited sufficient expression to be studied in detail using the two-electrode voltage-clamp method in Xenopus laevis oocytes and COS-7 cells. The results from mutants T156C and K157C suggest that TM IV participates in sugar interaction with SGLT1. This work has been published in Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 295 (1), C64-72, 2008. The crystal structure of Vibrio parahaemolyticus SGLT (vSGLT) was recently published (1) and showed discrepancy with the predicted topology of mammalian SGLT1 in the region surrounding transmembrane segments IV-V. Therefore, in the second project, we investigated the topology in this region, thirty-eight residues from I143 to A180 in the N-terminal half of rabbit SGLT1 were individually replaced with cysteine and then expressed in COS-7 cells or Xenopus laevis oocytes. Based on the results from biotinylation of mutants in intact COS-7 cells, MTSES accessibility of cysteine mutants expressed in COS-7 cells, effect of substrate on the accessibility of mutant T156C in TM IV expressed in COS-7 cells, and characterization of cysteine mutants in TM V expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, we suggest that the region including residues 143-180 forms part of the Na+- and sugar substrate-binding cavity. Our results also suggest that TM IV of mammalian SGLT1 extends from residue 143-171 and support the crystal structure of vSGLT. This work has been published in Biochem Biophys Res Commun 378 (1), 133-138, 2009 Previous studies established that mutant Q457C human SGLT1 retains full activity, and sugar translocation is abolished in mutant Q457R or in mutant Q457C following reaction with methanethiosulfonate derivatives, but Na+ and sugar binding remain intact. Therefore, in the third project, we explored the mechanism by which modulation of Q457 abolishes transport, Q457C and Q457R of rabbit SGLT1 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes were studied using chemical modification, the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique and computer model simulations. Our results suggest that glutamine 457, in addition to being involved in sugar binding, is a residue that is sensitive to conformational changes of the carrier. This work has been published in Biophysical Journal 96 (2), 748-760, 2009. Taken together our study along with previous biochemical characterization of SGLT1 and crystal structure of vSGLT, we propose a limited structural model that attempts to bring together the functions of substrate binding (Na+ and sugar), coupling, and translocation. We propose that both Na+ and sugar enter a hydrophilic cavity formed by multiple transmembrane helices from both N-terminal half of SGLT1 and C-terminal half of SGLT1, analogous to all of the known crystal structures of ion-coupled transporters (the Na+/leucine transporter, Na+/aspartate transporter and lactose permease). The functionally important residues in SGLT1 (T156 and K157 in TM 4, D454 and Q457 in TM 11) are close to sugar binding sites.

Long bone lengthening occurs at the growth plate (GP) by well-regulated chondrocyte proliferation, hypertrophy and terminal matrix deposition. GP chondrocyte (GPC) hypertrophy has been implicated to be the main determinant of bone growth rate; however the mechanism is poorly understood. The work of this thesis examined some of the cellular process that drives the chondrocyte swelling or hypertrophy particularly in a mammalian post natal GPs using living in situ GPC and fixed GP tissues. Confocal scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to determine living in situ GPC volume and dimension changes in proliferative zone (PZ) through to hypertrophic zone (HZ) chondrocytes of different GPs of various bones. While PZ cells showed similar volumes and dimensions, HZ cells varied in different GPs, even within the same long bone but at opposite ends. However, the hypertrophic cell volume measured at a single post natal age (day 7) was independent of the corresponding bone length. This could reflect a complex interplay between local and systemic factors in different GPs, which occurs throughout the active phase of bone growth. Maintaining GPC morphology was critical in studying GPC hypertrophy using fixed tissues. This work highlighted a problem caused by conventional fixative solutions, which caused up to 44% hypertrophic GPC shrinkage following GP fixation. This artifact appeared to be associated with the hyperosmotic nature of the fixatives used and could be abolished by adjusting the fixative osmolarity close to physiological level (280 mOsm), or could be significantly reduced by bisecting bone tissues prior to tissue fixation. This thesis proposed roles for plasma membrane transporter(s) in mediating GPC hypertrophy. This hypothesis was tested by examining roles of sodium-hydrogen exchanger (NHE) and anion exchanger (AE) in GPC hypertrophy using an ex vivo bone growth inhibition model. Inhibition of bone growth by inhibitors of NHE (EIPA) and AE (DIDS) respectively was shown to be dose-dependent. The histology of bones demonstrated that the late HZ width was significantly reduced in GPs treated with EIPA or DIDS. Although in situ GPC volumes in the PZ and HZ were not notably different in DIDS-treated GP, the cell volumes in both zones were significantly reduced by EIPA treatment. Fluorescence immunohistochemistry revealed distinctive cellular localisations of NHE1 and AE2 in the PZ and early HZ. These results suggest a possible role of AE in mediating GPC volume increase in PZ chondrocytes and those in the early stages of cell hypertrophy, whereas NHE could possibly maintain intracellular pH of GPC throughout all GP zones. This thesis has characterized various changes in volume and dimensions of living in situ GPC from PZ through to HZ of different GPs of postnatal rats. This work emphasized the importance of fixative osmolarity in order to accurately preserve the normal volume/morphology of cells within tissues. Most importantly, this thesis confirmed a potential role of the plasma membrane transporters, AE and NHE in GPC hypertrophy of growing bones.

Meperidine has been shown to have potent binding affinity for serotonin transporters (SERT) (Ki = 41 nM) and be an inhibitor of serotonin reuptake. Based upon these pharmacological results meperidine has been identified as a lead compound for the development of a novel class of serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). A variety of potent analogues of meperidine have been synthesized and evaluated in vitro as potential ligands for the serotonin transporter. Substitutions have been made on the aryl ring, the ester moiety and the piperidine nitrogen of meperidine. Potent analogues of the aryl substituted series that included 4-iodophenyl, 2-naphthyl, 3,4-dichlorophenyl and 4-biphenyl meperidine derivatives were synthesized and chosen for further optimization of the benzyl ester analogues. Benzyl ester analogues included 4-nitro, 4-methoxyl and 3,4-dichloro benzyl analogues and exhibited high potency for serotonin transporters and high selectivity over the dopamine transporter (DAT) and the norepinephrine transporter (NET). Also the N-demethylated analogues improve the binding affinity and selectivity for serotonin transporter. The analogue 4- (carboxymethoxybenzyl)-4-(4-iodophenyl) piperidine (69f), was found the most potent (Ki=0.6 nM) and selective ligand for serotonin transporter (DAT/SERT >4500; NET/SERT >4500) for the series and has been advanced to in vivo evaluation.

Energy-Coupling-Factor (ECF)-Transporter sind Aufnahmesysteme für Vitamine und Übergangsmetallkationen in Prokaryoten. Sie bestehen aus den zwei unverwandten Membranproteinen S und T sowie einem Paar ABC-ATPasen (A). Die S-Einheit vermittelt die Substratspezifität. Die Kombination aus der T- und den A-Einheiten wird als ECF bezeichnet. In dieser Arbeit wurden Fragen zur kontrovers diskutierten Stöchiometrie der Untereinheiten von ECF-Transportern sowie zur zuvor postulierten Substrattransport-Funktion einzelner S-Komponenten auch ohne ECF untersucht. Dazu wurden der ECF-Biotintransporter BioMNY, mehrere natürlicherweise in Organismen ohne ECF existierende biotinspezifische S Einheiten (BioY) sowie zwei Vertreter der metallspezifischen ECF-Systeme genutzt. Die S-Einheit BioY des dreiteiligen Biotinimporters lag in vitro als Monomer und Dimer vor. Oligomeres BioY wurde außerdem in lebenden Bakterienzellen beobachtet. „Pull-down“-Experimente zeigten, dass die T Komponente BioN im BioMNY-Komplex zum Teil als Dimer vorlag. Wachstumsuntersuchungen bestätigten die Transportfunktion von acht solitär vorkommenden BioY. Die in vitro auch für diese BioY-Proteine nachgewiesene Dimerisierung könnte die Transportfunktion von BioY ohne ECF erklären. Die metallspezifischen S Einheiten CbiM/NikM interagieren mit für die Transportfunktion essentiellen, zusätzlichen Transmembranproteinen (N) und zeichnen sich durch eine Topologie mit sieben Transmembranhelices und einem extrem konservierten, weit in das Proteininnere hineinragenden N-Terminus aus. Die Metallbindestelle besteht aus vier Stickstoffatomen von Met1, His2 und His67 und wird durch ein Netz aus Wasserstoffbrückenbindungen stabilisiert. Die Transport¬funktion von CbiMN bzw. Nik(MN) ohne ECF wurde in vivo mittels des nickelabhängigen Enzyms Urease als Indikator für die intrazelluläre Nickelkonzentration verifiziert. Zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt ist die Funktion der für den Transport essentiellen N-Komponente jedoch noch unklar. / Energy-coupling factor (ECF) transporters are uptake systems for vitamins and transition metal cations in prokaryotes. They consist of the two unrelated membrane proteins S and T, and a pair of ABC ATPases (A). The S unit mediates substrate specificity. The combination of the T and the A units is called ECF. In this thesis the controversially discussed stoichiometry of the subunits of ECF transporters and the postulated substrate transport function of solitary S units without ECF were analysed. For this purpose, the biotin-specific ECF transporter BioMNY, several biotin-specific S units (BioY) encoded in organisms lacking any recognizable ECF and two metal-specific ECF transporters were used. The S unit BioY of the tripartite biotin importer existed in vitro as monomer and dimer. Furthermore, oligomeric BioY was observed in living bacterial cells. Oligomerisation of a part of the T unit BioN in the BioMNY complex was shown by “pull-down”- experiments. Growth analyses confirmed the transport function of eight solitary BioY proteins. The dimerisation, also proved for these solitary BioY proteins in vitro, could be an explanation for the transport function of BioY without ECF. The metal-specific S units CbiM/NikM interact with additional and for the transport function essential transmembrane proteins (N). The S units consist of seven transmembrane helices and an extremely conserved N-terminus, which extends deeply into the protein. The metal-binding site consists of four nitrogen atoms from Met1, His2 and His67 and is stabilised by a series of hydrogen bonds. The transport function of CbiMN and Nik(MN) without ECF was verified respectively in vivo using the nickel-depending enzyme urease as an indicator for intracellular nickel concentration, respectively. However, the role of the N component, which is essential for transport activity, is currently under investigation.

The calorie restriction (CR) and insulin/IGF-I-like signalling (IIS) are two pathways regulating the lifespan of C. elegans. Recent studies showed that glucose restriction extends the lifespan of C. elegans while excessive glucose shortens the lifespan of the worms. The first step of the glucose metabolism is the transport of glucose across the plasma membrane by the glucose transporters. The work described in this thesis aims to identify glucose transporters in C. elegans and to provide a primary investigation of the in vitro and in vivo function of the identified glucose transporter. Nine putative transporters have been cloned and expressed. Out of the nice cloned putative transporters in the C. elegans genome, H17B01.1 (H17) only is identified as a fully functional glucose transporter using an oocyte expression system in which glucose transport activity is directly measured. The two transcripts of H17 are both capable of transporting glucose with high affinity, as well as transporting trehalose. Heterologous expression of H17 in mammalian CHO-T cells suggests that the protein is localised both on the plasma membrane and in the cytosol. In vitro studies of H17 show that the protein does not respond to insulin stimulation when expressed in mammalian CHO-T cell and rat primary adipocyte systems. In vivo functional studies using H17 RNAi indicate that the worm’s lifespan is not affected by the H17 knockdown. However, glucose metabolism of C. elegans (as measured by glucose oxidation to CO2 and incorporation into fat reserves) is influenced by the decreased expression of H17, especially in the daf-2 mutant strain, e1370. However, the increase of glucose metabolism caused by H17 knockdown observed in daf-2 mutant is inhibited in the age-1 and akt-1 mutant strains. The findings reported in this thesis suggest that the H17 glucose transporter may play an important role glucose metabolism in C. elegans and that this transport and metabolism is influenced by insulin receptor activity and serine kinase cascades.