Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The antioxidant action of organic selenium compounds, as well as ebselen and diphenyl diselenide (DPDS), is closely connected to its ability of generating the selenol group. (In) this study it was evaluated the in vitro antioxidant effect of new mono and diselenide compounds, where it was compared whether the formation of p-methyl-selenol from compounds 1-phenyl-3-(p-tolylselanyl)propan-2-amine (C1) and 1,2-dip-tolyldiselenide (C4) and o-methoxy-selenol from compounds 1-(2-methoxyphenylselanyl)-3-phenylpropan-2-amine (C2) and 1,2-bis(2-methoxyphenyl) diselenide (C3) may be involved with their antioxidant effects. The mono and diselenide compounds were tested in their Fe(II) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain and liver homogenates and also in their antioxidant ability in phosphomolybdenum test-reductionand and DPPH radical. Besides, the effects of the compounds in the antioxidant enzymes thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were quantified. The new compounds oxidant effects were investigated through the thiol oxidase assay and the cellular viability of isolated leukocytes. The results demonstrated that the compounds obtained a significant reduce on the lipid peroxidation induced by different pro-oxidants, as well as an antioxidant effect similarly when compared to ascorbic acid equivalents. In the same manner, the compounds did not present thiol oxidase activity. Furthermore, they did not preset any decrease on the cellular viability of leucocytes. The compounds C1 and C2 did not show mimetic activity of GPx enzyme or had a substrate effect on TrxR enzyme, probably due the amino group presence on their chemical structures which must have inhibited the selenol formation. However, DPDS analog-compounds presented a mimetic activity of GPx, as well as they showed an increase in the TrxR activity, presumably due the formation of the selenol groups (p-methyl-selenol and o-methoxy-selenol). / A ação antioxidante dos compostos orgânicos de selênio, como o ebselen e o disseleneto de difenila (DPDS), está intimamente envolvida com a capacidade de formação do grupamento selenol. Neste estudo foi avaliado o perfil antioxidante in vitro de novos compostos mono e disseleneto, onde foi comparado se a formação do p-metil-selenol pelos compostos 1-fenil-3-(p-tolilselenil)propano-2-amina (C1) e o 1,2-dip-tolildisseleneto (C4), assim como a formação do grupamento o-metoxi-selenol pelos compostos 1-(2-metoxifenilselenil)-3-fenilpropano-2-amina (C2) e 1,2-bis(2-metoxifenil)disseleneto (C3) pode estar associados com os efeitos antioxidantes apresentados. Os novos compostos mono e disseleneto foram avaliados quanto a capacidade de redução dos níveis de peroxidação lipídica induzida por Fe(II) e nitroprussiato de sódio em homogenatos de cérebro e fígado de ratos, assim como também foi avaliada a capacidade antioxidante através do ensaio da redução do fosfomolibdênio e do radical DPPH. Além disso, foram quantificados os efeitos dos compostos quanto à atividade das enzimas antioxidantes, tioredoxina redutase (TrxR) e glutationa peroxidase (GPx). O efeito oxidante, dos novos compostos, foi investigado através do ensaio da tiol oxidase e da viabilidade celular de leucócitos isolados. Decorrente dos resultados obtidos foi possível evidenciar que ambos os compostos apresentaram uma redução significativa da peroxidação lipídica quando induzidas por diferentes pro oxidantes assim como, uma capacidade antioxidante total semelhante a equivalentes de acido ascórbico. Da mesma forma, os compostos não apresentaram efeito tiol oxidase, assim como não apresentaram uma diminuição da viabilidade celular de leucócitos. Os compostos C1 e C2 não apresentaram atividade mimética a enzima GPx assim como, também não serviram de substrato para a enzima TrxR, provavelmente devido a presença do grupamento amino nas estruturas químicas destas moléculas o que incapacitou a formação dos respectivos grupamentos selenois. No entanto, os compostos análogos ao DPDS apresentaram atividades miméticas a GPx, assim como também apresentaram uma aumento na atividade da TrxR provavelmente devido a formação dos selenois (p-metil-selenol e o-metoxi-selenol).

De récentes études suggèrent que la régulation des phosphatases par le peroxyde d’hydrogène pourrait jouer un rôle important dans la signalisation cellulaire. Dans les cellules cancéreuses qui possèdent un statut redox souvent pro-oxydant, ce mécanisme de régulation pourrait être crucial pour la prolifération tumorale. Les phosphatases CDC25 (A, B et C) sont des régulateurs de la progression du cycle cellulaire. Sohn et Rudolph ont montré que les CDC25B et C peuvent être inactivées par le peroxyde d’hydrogène et réactivées en présence du système thiorédoxine/thiorédoxine réductase (trx/trxR), in vitro. L’existence d’une telle régulation dans des cellules cancéreuses pourrait ouvrir de nouvelles voies thérapeutiques puisqu’une inhibition des trxR ou des trx pourrait induire une inhibition des CDC25 et ainsi prévenir la croissance tumorale. Après avoir vérifié que CDC25A était également sensible au peroxyde d’hydrogène et réactivable in vitro par le système trx/trxR, les effets du peroxyde d’hydrogène et de deux inhibiteurs du système trx/trxR, l’Auranofine et l’Acroléine, ont été testés sur des lignées d’adénocarcinome mammaire humain (MCF7 et MDA-MB 231). Ces deux lignées présentent des niveaux d’expression variables pour la trx1. Dans les deux types de cellules, H2O2 induit un arrêt du cycle cellulaire malgré l’absence d’inhibition totale des CDC25. La conservation de l’état de phosphorylation des CDK lors de ce traitement témoigne donc de l’existence d’un système protecteur efficace pour ces phosphatases. L’inhibition totale des trxR par l’Auranofine engendre des effets cytotoxiques et une production de peroxydes dans les deux lignées. Il en est de même pour les cellules MDA-MB 231 traitées par l’Acroléine alors que les cellules MCF7 sont totalement résistantes à cette molécule. Le traitement des cellules par l’Auranofine induit un stress oxydant modéré car il n’altère pas le taux intracellulaire de glutathion, n’induit pas d’oxydation des trx1 et ne modifie pas la répartition des cellules dans le cycle cellulaire. Toutefois, ce traitement induit des cassures de l’ADN qui peuvent expliquer la cytotoxicité de ce composé. L’acroléine au contraire provoque, dans les cellules MDA-MB 231, une importante déplétion en glutathion associé à une oxydation majeure des trx1 et à un arrêt du cycle cellulaire. Ce dernier ne semble toutefois pas dû à une hyper-phosphorylation des CDK, ce qui suggère qu’une altération complète du système trx/trxR n’induit pas une inhibition totale des CDC25. Afin d’apporter des éléments nouveaux pour la compréhension des mécanismes de régulation redox des CDC25 et du cycle cellulaire dans les cellules de cancer du sein, nous avons ensuite étudié les impacts d’une surexpression de la Mn-SOD dans les cellules MCF7 puisque ces dernières sous-expriment cette protéine par rapport aux cellules MDA-MB 231. Les résultats obtenus révèlent que la répartition des cellules dans le cycle cellulaire et la phosphorylation des CDK ne sont pas sensibles à ce changement d’expression. Dans ce travail nous avons donc pu mettre en évidence que le rôle des CDC25 dans la régulation du cycle cellulaire n’est pas dépendant de l’état de fonctionnalité du système trx/trxR ou du niveau d’expression des Mn-SOD mais qu’il existe un système protecteur puissant qui permet de maintenir au moins en partie l’activité de déphosphorylation des CDC25 en milieu pro-oxydant dans les cellules de cancer du sein / Recent studies suggest that the regulation of phosphatases by hydrogen peroxide may play an important role in cell signaling. In cancer cells, which often possess a pro-oxidative redox state, this regulation could be essential for tumor growth. CDC25 phosphatases (A, B and C) are key regulators of cell cycle progression. Sohn and Rudolph have shown that CDC25B and C are inactivated by hydrogen peroxide and reactivated by the thioredoxin/thioredoxin reductase system (trx/trxR), in vitro. Such regulation in cancer cells could open new therapeutic avenues since the inhibition of trxR or trx could induce a CDC25 inhibition and so prevent tumor cell multiplication. After verifying that CDC25 activity is sensitive to H202 and could be restored by trx/trxR system in vitro, the effects of hydrogen peroxide and that of two trx/trxR inhibitors (Auranofin and Acrolein) was tested on human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF7 and MDA-MB 231). These two cell lines exhibit differential expression level for trx1. In both cell lines, H202 could induce a cell cycle arrest in spite of the lack of a full CDC25 inhibition. The maintenance of the CDK phosphorylation state suggests that an efficient protective system exists for these phosphatases. The total inhibition of trxR by Auranofin led to cytotoxic effects and peroxide production in both cell lines. Similar results were obtained for MDA-MB 231 cells treated with Acrolein while MCF7 cells were found to be resistant to this compound. Auranofin could trigger a moderate oxidative stress in treated cells without affecting intracellular GSH content, trx1 oxidation and cell cycle distribution. However, this treatment could trigger double-strand DNA breaks, which could explain the cytotoxicity of Auranofin. Conversely, Acrolein could provoke a strong GSH depletion associated with a full oxidation of trx1 and a cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB 231 cells. Nevertheless, this cell cycle disruption was not due to CDK hyper-phosphorylation, suggesting that a total inhibition of the trx/trxR system does not trigger a full CDC25 inhibition. Furthermore, in order to bring additional knowledge about CDC25 and cell cycle oxidative regulation in breast cancer cells, we have studied the effects of the Mn-SOD over-expression in MCF7 cells. In this cell line, Mn-SOD expression level was found to be lower than in MDA-MB 231 cells. Our results showed that the cell cycle distribution and CDK phosphorylation are not affected by Mn-SOD over-expression. In conclusion, we have shown in this work that the CDC25 function in cell cycle regulation is independent of both a functional trx/trxR system and Mn-SOD expression level but that, under pro-oxidative conditions, a potent protective system maintains at least partially CDC25 dephosphorylation activity in breast cancer cells

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The Role of TvTrxR in Drug Resistance and Characterization of TvRad51 in Homologous Recombination in Trichomonas vaginalis Abstract By Melissa Hopper University of the Pacific 2016 In recent years, prevalence of metronidazole-resistant cases of Trichomonas vaginalis has been on the rise. With nearly 10% of strains resistant to metronidazole, new treatments to combat this parasite have become a necessity. FDA-approved drug screens have identified the compound, auranofin, as an effective agent against similar protozoans. The mechanism of inhibition by auranofin has been found to proceed through inhibition of the thioredoxin-based anti-oxidant pathway, targeting the enzyme thioredoxin reductase (TrxR). In this study, auranofin was found to be an effective inhibitor of T. vaginalis TrxR activity. Auranofin was also found to be an effective inhibitor of several trichomonad strains in culture, exhibiting IC50 values comparable to metronidazole. These studies indicate that auranofin is a promising agent for treatment of trichomoniasis. Another aspect of T. vaginalis biology addressed in this study is the ability of T. vaginalis to carry out homologous recombination (HR), a process used to repair double-stranded breaks in DNA. The protein radiation sensitive protein 51 (Rad51) plays a crucial role in the process of HR in mitotic and meiotic recombination. In this study, experiments were carried out to elucidate the role of T. vaginalis Rad51 in homologous recombination. TvRad51 was found to exhibit nuclear localization and was capable of carrying out ATP hydrolysis. Rad51 was shown to be up-regulated at the protein level in T. vaginalis in response to treatment with DNA-damaging agents. In addition, TvRad51 was capable of binding the BRC repeat region of TvBRCA2. These results indicate that T. vaginalis upregulates expression of Rad51 protein in response to certain forms of DNA damage and TvRad51 may be capable of carrying out HR mediated by different binding partners.