I denna metodstudie jämfördes Thermo Fishers bevarande lösningar RNAlater och RNAlater-ICE med frystorkning som bevaring av skelettmuskulatur från människa. Studien gjordes med syftet att avgöra om RNAlater och/eller RNAlater-ICE kan ersätta frystorkning, i hopp om att underlätta dissekering av muskelvävnad. De molekylärbiologiska analyser som utfördes var proteinbestämning; Western Blot inriktad på proteinerna mTor, S6, S6K1, eEF2, myosin typ II och aktin; samt mätning av glykogen och citratsyntasaktivitet. Därtill påbörjades även en aminosyraanalys. Studien utfördes hos William Apró på Åstrandlaboratoriet på Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan i Stockholm. Resultaten visade att både RNAlater och RNAlater-ICE är olämpliga att använda i studier som innefattar samtliga av de genomförda analyserna. Detta då analysresultaten från de alternativa bevaringsmetoderna och de från frystorkningen inte var likvärdiga. Därmed drogs slutsatsen att varken RNAlater eller RNAlater-ICE kan ersätta frystorkning som bevaringsmetod i Aprós vidare studier. / In this method study Thermo Fisher’s preserving solutions RNAlater and RNAlater-ICE were compared to lyophilization for preservation of human skeletal muscle. The study was conducted with the aim of determining whether RNAlater and / or RNAlater-ICE can replace lyophilization, in the hope of facilitating dissection of muscle tissue. The molecular biological analyzes performed were protein assay; Western Blot focused on the proteins mTor, S6, S6K1, eEF2, myosin type II and actin; alongside of measurments on glycogen and citrate synthase activity. In addition, an amino acid analysis was initiated. The study was executed with William Apró at the Åstrand Laboratory at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Science in Stockholm. The results showed that both RNAlater and RNAlater-ICE are unsuitable for use in studies that include all of the analyzes performed. This is because the analysis results from the alternative preservation methods and those from lyophilization were not equivalent. Thus, it was concluded that neither RNAlater nor RNAlater-ICE can replace lyophilization as a preservation method in Apró’s further studies.

This thesis aims to investigate if the endothelial protein C receptor is expressed in the murine kidney. This was done by performing flow cytometry and Western blot analysis on cultivated murine kidney endothelial cells (mKECs) as well as SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis on murine kidney tissue. Flow cytometry was also performed on cultivated ARPE19 and 4T1 cells for comparison. It was discovered that ≥95,5% of the mKECs, ≥93,6% of the ARPE19 cells and ≥60,9% of the 4T1 cells express the receptor according to the flow cytometry data. A dot blot was performed to validate the primary antibody used for detection of EPCR in Western blot and SDS-PAGE. According to the dot blot, the primary antibody can be visualised in the dilution range from 1:2000 to 1:10. The dot blot also showed that the secondary antibody binds specifically to the primary antibody. Yet, Western blot analysis did not detect the receptor neither in mKECs nor tissue lysate. This was likely due to the fact that the primary antibody used did not bind specifically to the receptor, and may not be applicable for this method. SDS-PAGE did not show any indication that the receptor was present in the kidney tissue. In conclusion, it was discovered that the EPCR was expressed in the murine kidneys endothelial cells through flow cytometry, but the presented methods for Western blot and SDS-PAGE could not confirm the expression of the receptor.

For the past few decades, the popularity of graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterials (NMs) has increased exceedingly due to their biomedical applications in drug delivery of anti-cancer drugs. Their unique physicochemical properties such as high surface area and good surface chemistry with unbound surface functional groups (e.g. hydroxyl - OH, carboxyl /ketone C=O, epoxy/alkoxy C-O, aromatic group C=C, etc) which enable covalent bonding with organic molecules (e.g. RNA, DNA) make GO NMs as excellent candidates in drug delivery nanocarriers. Despite the overwhelming biomedical applications, there are concerns about their genotoxicity on human DNA. Published genotoxicity studies on GO NMs were performed using non-commercial GO with 2-3 layers of GO sheets, synthesized in various laboratories with the potential for inter-laboratory variabilities. However, what has not been studied before is the effects of the commercial GO (15-20 sheets; 4-10% edge-oxidized; 1 mg/mL) in vitro on DNA damage in human whole blood and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from real-life patients diagnosed with chronic pulmonary diseases [asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer], and genotoxic endpoints compared with those from healthy control individuals to determine whether there are any differences in GO sensitivity. Thus, in the present study, we had characterized GO NMs using Zetasizer Nano for Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and zeta potential (ZP) in the aqueous solution, and electron microscopy using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) in the dry state, respectively. Cytotoxicity studies were conducted on human PBL from healthy individuals and patients (asthma, COPD, and lung cancer) using the Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) assays, respectively. The genotoxicity (DNA damage) and cytogenetic effects (chromosome aberration parameters) induced by GO NMs on human whole blood from healthy individuals and patients were studied using the Alkaline Comet Assay and Cytokinesis-blocked Micronucleus (CBMN) assay, respectively. Our results showed concentration-dependent increases in cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and chromosome aberrations, with blood samples from COPD and lung cancer patients being more sensitive to DNA damage insults compared with asthma patients and healthy control individuals. Furthermore, the relative gene and protein expressions of TP53, CDKN1A/p21, and BCL-2 relative to GAPDH on human PBL were studied using the Reverse Transcription Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western Blot techniques, respectively. Our results have shown altered gene and protein expression levels. Specifically, GO-induced cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and micronuclei aberrations were associated with TP53 upregulation - a biomarker of DNA damage - in both patients and healthy individuals. These effects show that GO NMs have promising roles in drug delivery applications when formulated to deliver drug payload to COPD and cancer cells. However, the fact that cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, chromosome instability, and gene/protein expressions - biomarkers of cancer risk - were observed in healthy individuals are of concern to public health, especially in occupational exposures at micro levels at the workplace.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most widespread and fourth most fatal malignancy disease. The CRC from a primary site can spread to other tissues, forming secondary tumours. CRC can metastasise to the liver through the effect of K-Ras and Pten mutation (Mt.) (Abbas et al. 2020). This study aimed to assess the hypothesis that the Ran inhibitor mebendazole MBZ reduces cell invasion and metastasis of CRC. I have investigated MBZ effect on the CRC isogenic human cell lines with specific mutations (HCT-116 K-Ras, DLD-1 K-Ras and Pten deletion and wild type HCT-116 and DKO-3. I used qRT-PCR and western blotting to identify expression levels of various genes and signalling molecules after treatment with 0.5 mM MBZ. In addition, several assays were performed to investigate MBZ effect on biological properties of the cells such as proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation. MBZ downregulated Ran and induced apoptosis through inhibition of Bcl-2 expression as well as inducing caspase -3, -7, -9 and PARP cleavage. Moreover, MBZ showed an effect on immune response by down regulating C5a, IL-1ß and IL-1α analysed at mRNA level. When treated with MBZ, the migration, invasion and colony formation abilities of HCT-116 K-Ras Mt., DLD-1 K-Ras Mt. and HCT-116 Pten-/- were significantly reduced compared to a control treated cell line. This was also the case with wild type cell lines such as HCT-116 and DKO-3. Furthermore, signalling molecules such as p- Erk 1/2 and p- Akt were upregulated after MBZ treatment and exert inhibition on Akt 1/2/3 and VEGFR1/2 mRNA levels. In conclusion; MBZ which is a Ran inhibitor, has significantly reduced proliferation, colony formation, and migration in colorectal cell lines with K-Ras and Pten gene deletion compared to wild type cells in a dose-dependent manner. This work paves the way to clinical validation of MBZ as a combination therapy for reducing the invasion of CRC cells.

In dieser Arbeit wurde eine neue Markierungsstrategie von Antikörpern mit dem Markierungsreagenz MeCAT (Metal Coded Tag) unter physiologischen Reaktionsbedingungen, sowie deren Anwendung in einem 8-fach Multiplex-Immunoassay von in Formalin-fixierten und in Paraffin-eingebetteten Gewebeschnitten entwickelt. Für eine aussagekräftige LA-ICP-MS Detektion von MeCAT-modifizierten Antikörpern, wurde eine Standardisierung für biologische Proben auf NC-Membranen, basierend auf einer homogenen Aufbringung eines internen Standards und Kalibrierstandards durch einen kommerziell verfügbaren Tintenstrahldrucker entwickelt und mit der ICP-MS Analyse von Lösungen evaluiert. Die LA-ICP-MS wurde in zwei 8-fach Multiplex-Immunoassays von Tissue Micro Arrays vom Prostatakarzinom und in Maushirngewebeschnitten zur Einschätzung von neurogenerative Erkrankungen erfolgreich eingesetzt werden. Es konnte hierbei gezeigt werden, dass das Nachweisvermögen, der hier entwickelten Methode bereits ausreicht, um die gängigen klinischen Biomarker mit guter Ortsauflösung nachzuweisen. / In this work a new tagging strategy of antibodies with the tagging reagent MeCAT (Metal Coded Tag) was developed under physiological reaction conditions. Their application was proved in an 8-fold multiplex immunoassay of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue sections. For a significant LA-ICP-MS detection of MeCAT tagged antibodies standardization for biological samples owere developed. The standardization based on a homogeneous deposition onto the NC membrane via conventional CD-ink-jet printer was validated in addition with the ICP-MS analysis of solutions. The internal standardization of LA-ICP-MS was successfully applied in two 8-fold multiplex immunoassays for Tissue Micro Arrays (TMA) of prostate cancer and for detection of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases in mouse brain tissue sections. In both examples it could be shown that the detection capability of the new tagging strategy in combination with the printing standardization allows the detection of the clinical biomarker with good spatial resolutions.

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