L’analyse du mécanisme d’interaction de l’héparane sulfate protéoglycane (HSPG) avec lesprotéines amyloïdes et l’effet de paramètres physiologiques (pH,…) sur ce mécanisme nouspermettent une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes menant à l’amyloïdogenèse.La transthyrétine (TTR), molécule circulant à la fois dans le plasma et dans le liquidecéphalo-rachidien, est une des protéines impliquée dans les amyloses. Elle est responsable desamyloses à la TTR et elle joue un rôle dans la maladie d’Alzheimer en séquestrant la protéinebêta-amyloïde (Aβ). La biochromatographie est un outil très efficace pour analyser lemécanisme entre un ligand et son récepteur dans des conditions modulables et se rapprochantdes conditions biologiques. De plus, les nanotubes de carbones (NTCs) peuvent être utiliséspour détecter ou transporter des molécules qui se lient sur leur surface externe et peuventinteragir avec d’autres composés. Au cours de ce travail, un support particulaire a été utilisé où l’HSPG est immobilisé sur desparticules de silice pré-activées par des résidus amines. Ce support remplissant une colonnechromatographique a permis dans un premier temps d’étudier et de comparer les mécanismesd’association entre l’HSPG et une forme sauvage de la TTR et une forme sénile de la TTRextraite d’un patient décédé des suites d’une amylose sénile à la TTR. Cette étude a montréque pour la TTR sauvage, l’association avec l’HSPG est indépendante du pH et implique desinteractions faibles. Pour la TTR sénile, cette association est dépendante du pH. A pH<6,5, laprotonation d’un résidu histidine est observée. De plus, l’étude des paramètresthermodynamiques et de la compensation enthalpie/ entropie montrent un changement dans lemécanisme de fixation avec l’apparition d’interactions ioniques à pH<6,5. Un pH acide estnécessaire pour dissocier et dénaturer partiellement la TTR. L’affinité de la TTR avec l’HSPGdépend de la structure tétramérique quaternaire de la TTR qui présente alors des résiduscapables de créer des interactions. Dans un deuxième temps, cette colonne a permis d’évaluerl’effet de la TTR et du pH sur la liaison Aβ/HSPG. Comme précédemment, la protonationd’un résidu histidine présent sur la Aβ est observée à pH<6,5. Ce résultat confirme des étudesmenées auparavant sur le précurseur de la protéine Aβ. Les résultats thermodynamiques ontmis en évidence que l’affinité de Aβ avec l’HSPG diminuait avec la concentration croissanteen TTR et l’étude des chromatogrammes associés a montré que la TTR ne séquestrait passeulement Aβ mais la clivait en fragments plus courts qui diminuent son affinité avecl’HSPG. Dans la maladie d’Alzheimer, la TTR exerce une activité protéolytique vis-à-vis deAβ.2. Dans un troisième temps, l’effet de la fonctionnalisation de la TTR par des nanotubes decarbone sur la liaison TTR/HSPG a été étudié. Les résultats obtenus montrent que lesinteractions entre l’HSPG et la TTR-NTC sont de type van der Waals et hydrogène. Lesparamètres thermodynamiques des liaisons TTR/HSPG et TTR-NTC/HSPG sont similairespour des pH>6. A pH<6, il n’existe quasiment pas de différences entre les valeurs obtenues àpH >6 et celles obtenues à pH<6. Les NTCs empêcheraient la formation de liaisons ioniques / The analysis of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) association mechanism withamyloid proteins and the effect of physiological parameters (pH,…) on this mechanism allowa better understanding of the mechanisms leading to amyloidogenesis.Transthyretin (TTR), which circulates in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, is one of theproteins involved in amyloidosis. It leads to TTR amyloidosis and plays a role in Alzheimer’sdisease in sequestrating the beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein. Biochromatography is an effectivetool for the analysis of the mechanism involved between a ligand and its receptor inadjustable conditions which could be close to biological conditions. Moreover, carbonnanotubes can be used to detect or to carry molecules which bind on its external surface andcould interact with other molecules. In this work, a particulate support was used where the HSPG was immobilized on the silica particles preactivated by amine residues. This support filling a column was used to study andcompare association mechanisms between HSPG and a wild type TTR form and a senile formof the TTR which was was extracted from a patient who died of cardiac failure with a senilesystemic amyloid. This study showed that the association between wild type TTR and HSPGwas independent of the pH and involved weak interactions.For the senile TTR, this association was dependent on pH. At pH<6,5, a histidine residue wasprotonated. Moreover, the study of both thermodynamical parameters and enthalpy-entropycompensation showed a change in the association mechanism with involvement of more ionicinteractions at pH<6,5. An acidic pH was necessary to dissociate and partially denaturate theTTR. The affinity of the TTR with HSPG depends on the tetrameric quaternary structure ofthe TTR which presents some residues which are able to create interactions.In a second time, this column was used to evaluate the effect of both the TTR and the pH onAβ/HSPG binding. As previously, the protonation of a histidine residue present on Aβ wasobserved at pH<6,5. This result confirmed studies on the Aβ precursor. Thermodynamicalvalues highlighted that the affinity of Aβ for l’HSPG decreased with the increase of TTRconcentration, and the study of the chromatograms associated showed that TTR sequestratedAβ and cut Aβ in smaller fragments which decreased its affinity for HSPG. In Alzheimer’sdisease, TTR has a proteolytic activity on Aβ.In a third time, the effect of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs), immobilized on TTR, on theTTR/HSPG binding was studied. Results showed that interactions between TTR-NTC andHSPG are van der Waals and hydrogen. Thermodynamical data of TTR/HSPG et TTRNTC/HSPG bindings are similar at pH>6. At pH<6, no differences between values obtainedat all pH values for TTR-NTC. NTCs would avoid ionic interactions formations.

Traditional solution and solid state approaches (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, X-Ray Crystallography) are methods of choice when analysing both biological and inorganic analytes. However, the characterisation of transient species, often encountered in self-assembling systems, is difficult. Such systems rarely produce crystals of high quality and due to their dynamic nature; their structures are difficult to study with NMR. Hyphenated gas phase methods which rely on mass spectrometry detection offer simultaneous structural analysis and direct stoichiometry measurement. As a consequence, it is possible to investigate specific, non-interacting molecules and molecular complexes in an isolated environment. This thesis focuses on the development and applications of two such methods - ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) and cold ion spectroscopy. IM-MS measurements yield a so called collisional cross sectional area (CCS). This parameter can be pictured as a rotationally averaged, shadow projection of a molecule structure. When correlated with the ion abundance, a CCS distribution yields intuitively interpretable information about the conformational preferences of an isolated molecule. Although indispensable in describing a "global" geometrical structure, the CCS parameter itself provides a limited insight into the local structural features of the assembly. Ion spectroscopy, both in the UV and IR regions, can provide an extra layer of highly descriptive information. Here, we present several cases where the above techniques have been applied. With the aid of IM-MS, we have analysed the geometry of inorganic supramolecular assemblies, highlighting the stability of particular metal-ligand interactions. Using cold ion spectroscopy, we have assessed the fine structural information of self-assembled oligomers of an amyloidogenic peptide. We correlated spectral features of isolated oligomers to features observed in the mature fibrils; therefore attempting to delineate the events in early stages of amyloidogenic aggregation. A major part of this report focusses on technological aspects of the design and development of a high resolution, variable temperature ion mobility mass spectrometer (VT-IM-MS). The thermal stability of molecules is a vital aspect in industrial process development and formulation science. Solution phase Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a widely applied technique, allowing to monitor reversibility of thermally induced conformational transitions, a key aspect in protein folding analysis. The instrument reported here aims to provide parallel information about gaseous ions, with a particular focus on protein ions. Capabilities of the newly built instrument have been tested using small, rigid molecules, a small protein and a large multiprotein complex.

Background. Familial Amyloidosis with Polyneuropathy (FAP) is an autosomal dominantly inherited systemic amyloid disease. The disease is caused by mutations in the transthyretin (TTR) gene, where close to 100 different amyloidogenic mutations have been identified. FAP is found worldwide, but endemic areas with a high frequency of patients are found in Portugal, Japan and northern Sweden. Cases from these endemic areas all share the same TTR c.148G&gt;A, p.V50M ("V30M") mutation, but the phenotype of the disease varies between the areas, and also within the endemic areas. The mean onset of the disease is two decades earlier in Portugal and Japan compared to Sweden, but late as well as early age at onset cases occur within all the populations. Interestingly, the different populations all display a maternal anticipation, where an earlier onset is observed for those individuals who inherit the trait from their mother. Since substantial variation in the phenotype is observed for different populations, epigenetic/genetic and/or environmental factors must exert a significant impact on the penetrance of the disease. Amyloid formation is caused by conformational changes of proteins, which facilitates their assembly into fibrils, amyloid. Oxidative stress can mediate conformational changes of proteins and since the mitochondria regulate oxidative processes within the cell, mitochondrial function may affect amyloid formation. The mitochondrial DNA is a non-nuclear DNA, which is entirely maternally inherited, and therefore could be related to the observed maternal anticipation of the disease. In addition, differences within the surrounding regions of the TTR gene may have an impact on the transcription of the gene and thereby on the expression of the different alleles. Material and methods. DNA from early and late onset V30M cases and from non-carriers (the latter utilised as controls) from Swedish, French, Japanese and Portuguese populations were analysed. In addition, DNA from healthy Swedish V30M carriers was analysed. Conventional analytical methods were employed, such as PCR, sequencing and genotyping. Conventional statistical methods used were t-test, Chi-squared test and maximum likelihood. Results. The study of V30M carrier frequency in two counties (Lycksele and Skellefteå) within the Swedish endemic area revealed a carrier frequency of 2.14% and 2.54%, respectively. The mitochondrial haplogroup analysis showed that in populations with generally late onset (French and Swedish), the haplogroup distribution of late onset cases resembled that of the controls derived from the same area, whereas haplogroup distribution for early onset patients was significantly different. The most pronounced difference was for the rare haplogroup K, of which early onset cases had a higher frequency than the controls. Analysis of the Portuguese population, with predominantly early onset, showed that haplogroup distribution for early onset cases were similar to the Portuguese control group, which had a different distribution than the Swedish control group. By analysis of pedigrees from Swedish and Portuguese patients it could be shown that mitochondrial genetic variation entirely could explain maternal anticipation in the Portuguese patients, whereas for Swedish patients, an additional parent of origin effect is present. Our analysis of the TTR gene disclosed a polymorphism (rs62093482) in the 3'UTR region of the Swedish patients. This polymorphism was found in all V30M carriers, irrespective of symptoms. In addition, homozygous TTR V30M carriers were homozygous also for the polymorphism. Since Swedish patients share a common founder this polymorphism thus is localised on the V30M allele. This polymorphism was found in only 4% of the Swedish controls. French controls showed the same frequency, but none of the French V30M patients displayed the polymorphism. In the Japanese population the polymorphism was not present at all. Interestingly, this polymorphism generates a potential binding site for microRNA and thereby possibly could down-regulate the expression of the mutated TTR allele. Conclusions. The carrier frequency in the endemic area is remarkably high, above 2% in the Lycksele and Skellefteå areas. The prevailing haplogroup distributions in the different endemic areas are consistent between the general population and the patient group with the predominant phenotype of that area. Mitochondrial genetic differences may explain maternal anticipation in Portuguese patients, and have an influence in Swedish patients. A polymorphism in the 3'UTR regulatory region of the mutated TTR allele is found in all Swedish patients. This polymorphism may down-regulate TTR V30M expression and thereby contribute to the late onset of the disease noted in the Swedish population.

Background Transthyretin amyloid (ATTR) amyloidosis is a systemic disorder caused by amyloid deposits formed by misfolded transthyretin (TTR) monomers. Two main forms exist – wild-type and hereditary ATTR amyloidosis, the latter associated with TTR gene mutations. Wild-type ATTR amyloidosis has a late onset and primarily cardiac manifestations, whereas hereditary ATTR amyloidosis is a rare autosomal dominant condition with a considerable phenotypic diversity. Both disorders are present all over the world, but endemic areas of the hereditary form are found in Sweden, Portugal, Brazil and Japan. Gastrointestinal (GI) complications are common in hereditary ATTR amyloidosis and play an important role in the patients’ morbidity and mortality. Malfunction of the autonomic and enteric nervous systems has been proposed to contribute to the GI disturbances, but the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. The aims of this thesis were to assess the prevalence of GI disturbances for different subtypes of ATTR amyloidosis, to further explore the mechanisms behind these disturbances, and to evaluate the outcome of the patients’ GI function after liver transplantation, which currently is the standard treatment for hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Methods The Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey (THAOS) is the first global, multicenter, longitudinal, observational survey that collects data on patients with ATTR amyloidosis. THAOS enrollment data were used to assess the prevalence of GI symptoms and to evaluate their impact on nutritional status (mBMI) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D Index Score). Data from routine investigations of heart-rate variability and cardio-vascular response to tilt tests were utilized to evaluate the impact of autonomic neuropathy on the scintigraphically measured gastric emptying half-times in Swedish patients with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Gastric wall autopsy specimens from Japanese patients with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis and Japanese non-amyloidosis controls were analyzed with immunohistochemistry and computerized image analysis to assess the densities of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) and nervous tissue. Data from gastric emptying scintigraphies and validated questionnaires were used to evaluate the outcome of Swedish patients’ GI function after liver transplantation for hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Results Sixty-three percent of the patients with TTR mutations and 15 % of those with wild-type ATTR amyloidosis reported GI symptoms at enrollment into THAOS. Subsequent analyses focused on patients with TTR mutations and, among them, unintentional weight loss was the most frequent symptom (32 %) followed by early satiety (26 %). Early-onset patients (&lt;50 years of age) reported GI symptoms more frequently than late-onset cases (70 % vs. 50 %, p &lt;0.01), and GI symptoms were more common in patients with the V30M mutation than in those with non-V30M mutations (69 % vs. 56 %, p &lt;0.01). Both upper and lower GI symptoms were significant negative predictors of nutritional status and health-related quality of life (p &lt;0.01 for both). Weak but significant correlations were found between gastric emptying half-times and the function of both the sympathetic (rs = -0.4, p &lt;0.01) and parasympathetic (rs = -0.3, p &lt;0.01) nervous systems. The densities of c-Kit-immunoreactive ICC were significantly lower in the circular (median density 0.0 vs. 2.6, p &lt;0.01) and longitudinal (median density 0.0 vs. 1.8, p &lt;0.01) muscle layers of the gastric wall in patients compared to controls. Yet, no significant differences in protein gene product 9.5-immunoreactive nervous cells were found between patients and controls either in the circular (median density 3.0 vs. 6.8, p = 0.17) or longitudinal (median density 1.4 vs. 2.5, p = 0.10) muscle layers. Lastly, the patients’ GI symptoms scores had increased slightly from before liver transplantation to the follow-ups performed in median two and nine years after transplantation (median score 7 vs. 10 vs. 13, p &lt;0.01). However, their gastric emptying half-times (median half-time 137 vs. 132 vs. 125 min, p = 0.52) and nutritional statuses (median mBMI 975 vs. 991 vs. 973, p = 0.75) were maintained at follow-ups in median two and five years after transplantation. Conclusion GI disturbances are common in hereditary ATTR amyloidosis and have a negative impact on the patients’ nutritional status and health-related quality of life. Fortunately, a liver transplantation appears to halt the progressive GI involvement of the disease, although the patients’ GI symptoms tend to increase after transplantation. An autonomic neuropathy and a depletion of gastrointestinal ICC seem to contribute to the GI disturbances, but additional factors must be involved.

La polyneuropathie amyloïde familiale à transthyrétine (FAP-TTR) est une maladie rare héréditaire à transmission autosomique dominante liée à la production de formes mutantes de la transthyrétine (TTR). Ces mutations sont à l’origine d’un changement de conformation de la protéine qui, in vivo, se présente sous forme de tétramère. Celui-ci est alors déstabilisé et évolue vers la formation de fibrilles amyloïdes qui s'accumulent au niveau du système nerveux autonome, des nerfs périphériques et des organes. Ces dépôts sont responsables de la pathologie. Dans le but d’évaluer l’efficacité des thérapies pouvant être mises en œuvre, nous avons développé des stratégies analytiques visant à concevoir un système « point of care » à usage hospitalier permettant de quantifier les formes mutante et native circulantes de la TTR. La méthodologie développée consiste à réaliser la séparation électrocinétique de fragments ciblés de la TTR, obtenus par digestion enzymatique de la protéine. Cette approche analytique a été développée en se focalisant sur une mutation fréquente en France : la TTR Thr49Ala où une thréonine est remplacée par une alanine en position 49. Au cours de cette thèse, deux types de microréacteurs enzymatiques ont été étudiés, i.e. (i) un lit fluidisé contenant des particules magnétiques fonctionnalisées par des molécules de trypsine et (ii) une puce monolithique à base de thiol-ène fonctionnalisée également par la trypsine. Le pouvoir catalytique de ces microsystèmes a été comparé en mesurant l’efficacité de digestion du BApNA (substrat modèle) et de la TTR à l’aide de méthodes analytiques telles que la spectrophotométrie d’absorption UV-Visible, l’électrophorèse capillaire couplée à une détection UV (EC-UV) et la chromatographie liquide couplée à la détection par spectrométrie de masse (UHPLC-SM). Les résultats obtenus ont montré que le microréacteur enzymatique monolithique à base de thiol-ène était le plus performant pour digérer la TTR. Par ailleurs, nous avons réalisé, au cours de cette étude, l’optimisation d’une méthode EC-UV, adaptée à l’analyse des digestats recueillis en sortie de microréacteur. Elle a permis de séparer et de quantifier les peptides d’intérêt pour déterminer le rapport de TTR mutante (Thr49Ala) sur TTR native. / Transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP) is a hereditary rare disease with an autosomal dominant transmission, related to the production of mutant forms of transthyretin (TTR). These mutations lead to a conformational change of the protein whose in vivo form is a tetramer. As a consequence, this tetramer is destabilized and evolves towards the formation of amyloid fibrils that aggregate on the autonomic nervous system, peripheral nerves, and organs. These deposits are responsible for the pathology. In order to evaluate the efficiency of possible therapies, we developed analytical strategies aiming at designing a “point of care” system for hospital use, which would enable the quantification of circulating mutant and native forms of TTR. The methodology that we developed consists in undertaking the electrokinetic separation of targeted TTR fragments obtained through the enzymatic digestion of the protein. This analytical approach has been developed while focusing on a frequent mutation in France: the TTR Thr49Ala mutation in which a threonine is substituted by an alanine in position 49. In this thesis, two types of enzymatic microreactors have been studied, i.e. (i) a fluidized bed containing magnetic particles functionalized by trypsin molecules and (ii) a thiol-ene-based monolithic chip also functionalized by trypsin. The catalytic power of these microsystems has been compared by measuring the digestion efficiency of BApNA (model substrate) and TTR through analytical methods such as UV-visible absorption spectrophotometry, capillary electrophoresis with UV detection (CE-UV), and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection (UHPLC-MS). The results showed that the thiol-ene-based monolithic enzymatic microreactor was the most efficient system to digest TTR. Besides, during this study, we undertook the optimization of a CE-UV method which is adapted to the analysis of digested sample collected directly out of the microreactor. This allowed us to isolate and quantify the peptides of interest to measure the ratio of mutant TTR (Thr49Ala) versus the wild one.

No description available.

Proteins are the center of all biochemical reactions in living organisms. Proteins need to be present at the right time, in the right place, with the correct concentration and have the right shape to carry their designated function. Protein homeostasis is when all proteins in the proteome are in functional balance, and such balance is maintained by synthesis, folding, and degradation machinery. When protein homeostasis is lost, organisms start to age and develop diseases. To truly unveil disease mechanisms and provide more efficient means for treatment and prevention, we need a holistic understanding of the mechanism of protein homeostasis. Currently, most biomarker studies focus on the quantity aspect of the proteome. The quality aspect has been neglected because of the difficulties in measuring quality in vivo with cellular context retained. This work first proposes a kinetic model of protein homeostasis, which can provide a holistic view, including both quantity and quality aspects, as well as monitor the complex protein interactions. Using mass spectrometry, the model quantifies the quality of proteome by linking the concentration of protein, mRNA, and the rate protein synthesis, folding, unfolding, misfolding, refolding, degradation of the correctly folded protein, and degradation of protein aggregation. We then applied the ideas within the kinetic model of protein homeostasis to study several proteins in human blood serum. We reviewed the current known mechanism of transthyretin mediated amyloidosis and proposed a study approach that can measure the quality difference between different transthyretin's mutation stages, as well as monitor if the transthyretin amyloidosis has been developed at the early stage. We also used mass-spectrometry to quantify the surface accessibility differences in human serum albumin (HSA) between patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We found certain residues are less reactive in the RA group, indicating a structural change in HSA. Such structural changes, possibly caused by ligand binding, stabilized HSA and explained the heat denature curve shift we observed. In the end, we introduced a novel assay, Iodination Protein Stability Assay (IPSA). IPSA is used to quantify protein quality by measuring protein folding stability. We applied IPSA to human serum, and it is the first in situ study, to our best knowledge, that measure the protein folding stability of proteins from human serum. We confirmed that IPSA is sensitive to measuring the differences in protein folding stability between transferrin's different iron-binding states. Together, this dissertation conveys the importance of adding quality aspects to current quantity-focused research in curing diseases and improving the quality of human life.