O carcinoma epidermóide de cabeça e pescoço é responsável por 90% das neoplasias malignas, nesta região. Molecularmente, inúmeras vias de sinalização, ainda não muito bem compreendidas, são responsáveis pelo seu crescimento e invasão para tecidos vizinhos, além de metástases para órgãos distantes. Este trabalho destinou-se a avaliar o crosstalk entre as vias de sinalização do Wnt e PI3K, quando células de carcinoma epidermóide (HN6 e HN31) e queratinócitos imortalizados (HaCat), foram estimulados com 50nM Wortmannin (metabólito fúngico que mimetiza a função da PTEN) e 10ng/ml EGF (fator de crescimento epitelial). Para isto, proteínas-chave, pertencentes a estas vias, foram localizadas e quantificadas no interior celular: PTEN, ?-catenina, Akt, pAkt e Ciclina D1. As técnicas de imunofluorescência e western blot foram utilizadas, respectivamente, para observar a localização e os níveis destas proteínas, nos diferentes compartimentos celulares. Os resultados mostraram que a ativação da via do PI3K, pelo EGF, promoveu a proliferação celular, independentemente da via de sinalização do Wnt. Quando as células foram tratadas com wortmannin, houve depleção dos níveis citosólicos e totais de pAkt associada ao acúmulo citoplasmático de ciclina D1. Igualmente, não houve alteração nos níveis da proteína ?-catenina. Ademais, detectou-se a presença de PTEN nuclear em todas as linhagens estudadas. Desta forma, estas células de carcinoma epidermóide de cabeça e pescoço, apresentaram mecanismos de bloqueio e de ativação da proliferação celular, predominantemente, por atividade das proteínas PTEN (atividades citoplasmática e nuclear) e Akt, após o tratamento com wortmannin e EGF. / Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents 90% of all head and neck malignancies. Cancer growth, invasion and metastasis are due to several signaling pathways that, unfortunately, are not completely understood. The aim of this study was the crosstalk evaluation between PI3K and Wnt signaling pathways in two different HNSCC cell lines (HN6 and HN31) and HaCat cell line (immortalized keratinocytes), treated with 50nM wortmannin and 10ng/ml EGF (epidermal growth factor). Western blot and imunofluorescence were performed in order to analyze Wnt, PTEN and PI3K signaling key target proteins: PTEN, Akt, CyclinD1 and ?-catenin. Results showed that ?-cateninindependent cellular proliferation was promoted by PI3K signaling pathway EGF-dependent activation. After wortmannin treatment, correlation between decreased phospho-Akt levels and cytosolic cyclin D1 accumulation was found. Also, all cell lines exhibited nuclear PTEN activity. Taking these results together, we conclude that the Cyclin D1 positive and negative modulations, after EGF and wortmannin treatments, were due to, respectively, Akt and PTEN proteins.

A leucoplasia é a mais comum das lesões potencialmente malignas (LPM) da mucosa bucal acometendo cerca de 2% da população. A via PI3K- AKT-mTOR, tem papel importante na carcinogênese em diversos tumores, incluindo o câncer de cabeça e pescoço e estudos têm apontado os inibidores do mTOR como promissores agentes de avaliação terapêutica. Desta forma, no presente estudo avaliamos a expressão imuno-histoquímica de lesões bucais diagnosticadas clinicamente como leucoplasias, comparando-as com carcinomas espinocelulares (CEC), hiperqueratoses irritativas (HI) e mucosa normal (MN). Foram avaliados 186 casos, divididos em 5 grupos tais como displasia epitelial de alto risco (DAR), displasia epitelial de baixo risco (DBR), CEC, HI e MN. Os casos foram retirados do arquivo do Serviço de Patologia Cirúrgica da Disciplina de Patologia Bucal da Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo. As informações clínicas, relativas ao sexo e idade dos pacientes e localização das lesões foram compiladas. Todas as lesões selecionadas foram observadas ao HE por dois patologistas, ao microscópio de luz para confirmação dos diagnósticos. As proteínas pesquisadas incluiram: pAKT, pmTOR, pS6, e p4EBP1. A marcação dos diversos anticorpos foi quantificada com o auxílio da aquisição de imagens realizada com o uso de um fotomicroscópio. Na imagem capturada (aumento de 400x), foi observada a presença ou ausência de células marcadas, bem como, numa segunda análise, a quantidade percentual das mesmas. Na primeira análise, o padrão de marcação foi classificado em positivo e negativo e, na segunda, foi classificado em graus de 0 a 3. As variáveis do estudo foram avaliadas pelos testes Qui-quadrado e o teste F, ANOVA e posteriormente foi realizada uma regressão logística univariada. Entre todos os casos de mucosa oral normal, foi encontrada positividade somente para o anticorpo pS6, em 50%dos casos; nas HI houve marcações positivas para a pS6 (em 54,8% dos casos) e p4EBP1 (em 22,6% dos casos). Nas DBR foi observada a imunorreatividade aos anticorpos pS6 (em 67,4% dos casos), pAKT(em 56,2% dos casos), p4EBP1(em 41,7%dos casos) e pmTOR (em 29,2% dos casos), já nas DAR houve positividade para a pS6 (em 74% dos casos), pAKT (em 68% dos casos), p4EBP1 (em 44% dos casos) e pmTOR (em 28% dos casos). Os CECs expressaram pAKT ( em 83,3% dos casos), pS6 (em 77,4% dos casos), p4EBP1(em 50% dos casos) e pmTOR (em 50%dos casos). Quando se considerou o resultado da marcação positiva ou negativa, houve diferença estatisticamente significante, ente os grupos, em relação ao número de casos que expressaram as proteínas pAKT, pmTOR e p4EBP1, sendo que o grupo dos CECS foi o que apresentou maior frequência de imunorreatividade para todos os anticorpos estudados. Comparando-se apenas as lesões de CEC e DEO, observou-se que mais casos de CEC foram positivos para pAKT e pmTOR e não observou-se diferença na expressão do p4EBP1. Logo, podemos concluir que todas as proteínas estudadas, exceto a pS6, representam bons biomarcadores no que se concerne à diferenciação entre MN, HI, DEO e CEC. Entretanto somente as proteínas pAKT e pmTOR podem ser relacionadas à carcinogênese oral . / Leukoplakia is the most common potentially malignant lesion (PML) of the oral cavity affecting approximately 2% of the population. PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway plays an important role in carcinogenesis in many tumors, including head and neck cancer, and several studies have showed mTOR inhibitors as promising therapeutic agents. In this study we evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of oral lesions diagnosed clinically as leukoplakia and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), comparing them to normal mucosa (NM) and frictional hyperkeratosis (FR). We evaluated 186 cases, divided into 5 groups including high risk dysplasia (HRD), low risk dysplasia (LRD), SCC, NM and FR. The cases were obtained from the archives of the Oral Pathology Laboratory of the School of Dentistry of the University of São Paulo. Clinical information regarding sex, age of the patient and location of the lesions were compiled. The slides (HE staining) were observed by two pathologists and all cases were re-evaluated under light microscope. The proteins investigated were: pAKT, pmTOR, PS6, and p4EBP1. The staining pattern of the antibodies was quantified by acquiring images using a photomicroscope. In the captured image (400x magnification), the total of counted labeled cells, were divided by the total number of cells present in the field captured. The staining pattern was classified into positive and negative and also divided into degrees starting from 0 to 3. The study variables were evaluated by chi-square test, ANOVA F and univariate logistic regression analysis. Among all the cases of MN, positivity was found only for pS6 (50% of cases); in FH cases immunoreactivity was observed in pS6 (54.8% of cases) and 4EBP1 (22.6% of cases). In LRD immunoreactivity was observed in pS6 (67.4% of cases), pAKT (56.2% of cases), p4EBP1 (41.7% of cases) and pmTOR (29.2% of cases), while for HRD cases positivity was found for pS6 (74% of cases), pAKT (68% of cases), p4EBP1 (44% of cases) and pmTOR (28% of cases). In SCCs cases positivity was found for pAKT (83.3% of cases), PS6 (77.4% of cases), p4EBP1 (50% of cases) and pmTOR (50% of cases). Statistically significant differences were observed in all positive study groups for the proteins pAKT, pmTOR and p4EBP. After the evaluation of SCC and the oral dysplasia groups, there were statistically significant differences for the study groups that showed imunorretivity for the proteins pAKT and pmTOR. Therefore, we conclude that all the proteins of the study are good biomarkers to differentiate normal tissue from OD and SCC, but only pAKT and pmTOR proteins could be related to carcinogenesis.

Devant l’incidence de la suractivation de la voie PI3K/Akt/mTOR sur les cancers, nous avons choisi d’inhiber cette voie de signalisation. Etant donné la forte analogie structurale qui existe entre les enzymes PI3K et mTOR, nous avons conçu des inhibiteurs doubles ciblant deux kinases majeures de la voie. Ces inhibiteurs possèdent un noyau original pyrido[3,2-d]pyrimidinique. Afin d’apporter de la diversité fonctionnelle et d’engendrer un effet thérapeutique, les sommets C-4, C-2 et C-7 furent fonctionnalisé séquentiellement selon l’ordre suivant. Tout d’abord, la position C-4 fut fonctionnalisée par des hétérocycles par substitution nucléophile aromatique. Puis divers cycles hétéroaromatiques furent introduits en position C-2 par couplage de type Suzuki-Miyaura. Enfin, des groupements variés furent insérés en position C-7 par différentes réactions. Dans l’étude de l’influence du squelette, l’isomère de position pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine fut également synthétisé et fonctionnalisé. Afin de tester ces inhibiteurs originaux, une plateforme de tests d’activités in vitro a été mise en place où cinq kits enzymatiques ont été optimisés sur la kinase PI3K, et un test sur mTOR. Ces tests exploitant la méthode de TR-FRET et de bioluminescence ont été validés avec des inhibiteurs de référence basés sur 4 facteurs : la corrélation entre IC50(littérature) et IC50(mesurée), Z’, R², et S/B.Au final, plus de soixante produits finaux ont été évalués in vitro sur PI3K et mTOR. La moitié présentent une IC50 inférieure à 100 nM et 5 ont des IC50 inférieures à 10 nM. Dans le cadre des échanges du Cancéropôle Grand Ouest, les produits ont été testés sur 6 lignées de cellules cancéreuses. / Considering the impact of overactivation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in cancer, we chose to inhibit this signaling pathway. Given the high structural similarity between the PI3K and mTOR enzymes, we designed dual inhibitors targeting two of the three major kinases of the pathway. These inhibitors posses an original pyrido[3,2-d] pyrimidine scaffold. In order to provide a functional diversity and generate a therapeutic effect, the peaks C-4, C-2 and C-7 were functionalized sequentially in the following order. Position C-4 was first functionalized with aliphatic heterocycles by nucleophilic aromatic substitution. Then, various heteroaromatic rings were introduced at the C-2 position by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. Finally, different functions were inserted at the C-7 peak by different reactions. In order to study the influence of the scaffold, the pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine isomer was also synthesized and functionalized. To test these original inhibitors a platform testing in vitro activities was set up in which five assay kits were optimized for the kinase PI3K, and one kit for mTOR. These tests exploit the TR-FRET and bioluminescence methods and were validated with commercially available inhibitors based on four factors: the correlation between IC50(literature) and IC50(measured), Z’, R², and S/B. In the end, more than sixty final products were evaluated in vitro on PI3K and mTOR. Half present an IC50 below 100 nM and 5 of them show an IC50 under 10 nM. As part of collaboration within the Cancéropôle Grand Ouest, the products were also tested on six cancer cell lines.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The cognitive function decline is closely related with brain changes generated by age. The ability of caffeine and exercise to prevent memory impairment has been reported in animal models and humans. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether swimming exercise and caffeine administration enhance memory in middle-aged Wistar rats. Male Wistar Rats (18 months) received caffeine at a dose of 30 mg/kg, 5 days per week by a period of 4 weeks. Animals were subjected to swimming training with a workload (3% of body weight, 20 min per day for 4 weeks). After 4 weeks, the object recognition test (ORT) and the object location test (OLT) were performed. After behavioral tests, all animals were killed by decapitation, brains were removed and hippocampi were separated for analysis. The results of this study demonstrated that caffeine suppressed exercise-enhanced long-term (ORT) and spatial (OLT) memory in middle-aged and this effect may be related to a decrease in phosphorylated cAMP-response element-binding protein (p-CREB) hippocampal signaling. This study also provided evidence that the effects of this protocol on memory were not accompanied by alterations in the levels of phosphorylated serine/threonine protein kinase (p-Akt). The [3H] glutamate uptake was reduced in hippocampus of rats administered with caffeine and submitted to swimming protocol. In conclusion, caffeine suppressed the effect of exercise in improving long-term memory, spatial memory, the active and phosphorylated levels of Akt and CREB. / O declínio da função cognitiva está intimamente relacionado com mudanças cerebrais geradas pela idade. Estudos têm demonstrado que tanto a cafeína quanto o exercício físico previnem o dano na memória em modelos animais e em seres humanos. O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar se o exercício de natação e a administração de cafeína melhoram a memória em ratos Wistar de meia-idade. Ratos Wistar machos (18 meses) receberam cafeína numa dose de 30 mg/kg, 5 dias por semana, por um período de 4 semanas. Os animais foram submetidos ao exercício de natação com uma sobrecarga de 3 % de peso corporal, 20 minutos por dia, durante 4 semanas. Após o treinamento, foram realizados o teste de reconhecimento do objeto (ORT) e o teste de localização do objeto (OLT). Após os testes comportamentais, os animais foram mortos por decapitação, os cérebros foram removidos e os hipocampos separados para as análises. Os resultados deste estudo demonstraram que a cafeína suprimiu o efeito do exercício na melhora da memória de longo prazo (ORT) e na memória espacial (OLT) nos animais de meia-idade, e esse efeito parece estar relacionado a uma diminuição na sinalização hipocampal da proteína de ligação ao elemento de resposta ao AMPc fosforilada (CREB). Este estudo também forneceu evidências de que os efeitos deste protocolo na memória não foram acompanhados por alterações nos níveis de proteina quinase serina/treonina (p-Akt) fosforilada . A captação de glutamato [3H] foi reduzida no hipocampo dos ratos de meia-idade que receberam cafeína e foram submetidos ao protocolo de natação. Em conclusão, a cafeína suprimiu o efeito do exercício na melhora da memória de longa duração, memória espacial, nos níveis fosforilados e ativos de CREB e Akt.

Ce travail de thèse PhD concerne l'application d'une approche intégrée pour obtenir une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes d'action de Akt et CXCR4, surexprimées dans différents cancers humains. Efforts récents dans le développement et l'évaluation biologique (activité antiproliférative) de petites entités moléculaires inhibitrices d’Akt, une sérine/thréonine protéine-kinase, ont conduit à l'identification de nouveaux inhibiteurs pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline, conçus et préparés via une stratégie multi-étapes. Certains des composés synthétisés ont montré une activité contre les lignées cellulaires leucémiques testées (Jurkat, U266, K562, U937 et HL60) supérieure à celle de composé de référence A6730. En outre, des résultats préliminaires menés sur Akt puis sur le domaine de PH isolé d’Akt, ont montré que ils peuvent être considérés comme des inhibiteurs allostériques potentiels. La seconde partie des travaux concerne la conception et la synthèse de deux nouvelles séquences peptidiques contenant quelques acides aminés "disorder promoting" et une unité CPC. Les études CD, RMN et MD ont fait ressortir leur flexibilité et ont démontré leurs capacités à assumer des ensembles de conformations stabilisées par un réseau de liaisons hydrogène. Ensuite, nous avons étudié l'effet de la chaîne alkyle reliée sur la conformation des peptides. Des études de fluorescence et DLS ont été réalisées pour évaluer les CMC et la dimension des agrégats supramoléculaires. Les tests biologiques ont souligné que ces édifices moléculaires (peptides amphiphiles nommés, PAs) montrent ainsi des activités prometteuses, voire plus que la molécule de référence (AMD3100). / This PhD thesis work has been covered in the application of an integrated approach to get a better understanding about the mechanism of action of two systems: Akt and CXCR4, proteins overexpressed in different human cancers. On the basis of previous results obtained on the antiproliferative activities of small molecule inhibitors of Akt, a serine/threonine protein kinase, a novel series of pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline derivatives have been designed and synthesized via multistep heterocyclization process. Some compounds showed promising activities against all leukemia cell lines tested (Jurkat, U266, K562, U937 and HL60), even better than the reference compound (A6730) one. In addition, docking results, conducted on the isolated PH domain, showed that these new compounds could be considered as allosteric inhibitors. The second workpackage reports on the design and the synthesis of two new peptidic sequences containing a few amino acids “disorder promoting” and a CPC unit, the CXCL12 binding motif towards CXCR4. The peptide structural preferences were analysed by CD, NMR and MD techniques that highlighted their flexibility and demonstrated the ability of these peptides to assume conformational ensembles stabilized by a network of transient and dynamic H-bonds. Afterwards we studied the alkyl chain effect on the conformation of the peptide portion. Solution fluorescence and DLS studies have been performed to evaluate CMC and the dimension of supramolecular aggregates (named peptide amphiphiles, PAs). Biological tests pointed out that these molecular buildings show promising activities, even higher than the reference molecule (AMD3100) one.

A pele está em contínua auto-renovação graças a vários nichos de células-tronco presentes neste tecido. Células progenitoras epidérmicas surgem durante o desenvolvimento embrionário e contribuem para a reposição celular da epiderme durante todo o período de vida dos mamíferos. Neste trabalho, buscou-se analisar o papel da depleção de glutationa durante a estratificação da epiderme embrionária e na manutenção da homeostase no tecido adulto. Encontramos evidências de que este tiol tem um importante papel durante a proliferação da epiderme e formação do folículo capilar. As alterações observadas na ausência de GSH foram relacionados com um padrão diferencial de fosforilação dos fatores de transcrição forkhead-homeobox- tipo-O (FOXO). Em resumo, foi estabelecida uma correlação entre o estado de GSH, a fosforilação de FOXO e o desenvolvimento da epiderme. Para melhor estudar a importância do balanço de GSH, na pele do adulto, e seu papel na manutenção deste tecido, camundongos foram tratados com um inibidor da síntese de GSH e, com N-aceti-lcisteína. Foi observado um aumento da fosforilação de Akt, padrões alterados de fosforilação FOXO e aumento da expressão de genes de genes relacionados à diferenciação. Estes resultados mostram que a via Akt/FOXO desempenha um papel importante na manutenção e diferenciação de células-tronco epidermais. O envelhecimento cronológico leva a alterações morfológicas/funcionais que conduzem à diminuição da auto-renovação, o que ocorre concomitantemente com uma diminuição dos níveis de GSH na pele. Utilizamos, também, animais idosos e avaliamos quais mecanismos eram compartilhados pelo envelhecimento e a depleção deste tiol. Observou-se que uma resposta hiperproliferativa ligada à exaustão de células-tronco pode ser o elo entre a depleção de GSH e o envelhecimento. A influência desse processo também foi investigada no compartimento dérmico, através da análise do impacto da depleção de glutationa sobre a osteogênese de células-tronco mesenquimais murinas. Quando induzidas a se diferenciarem em osso (Alizarin-Red+/Von-Kossa-stain +, aumento dos níveis de mRNA para fosfatase alcalina/osteopontina/osterix), o balanço GSH/GSSG e seu sistema antioxidante correlato é diferencialmente regulado em células-tronco mesenquimais derivadas da derme. Sendo regulado de uma forma redox-dependente através da via de MAPKs. A depleção de GSH leva à diminuição nos níveis de osteogênese em favor da adipogênese, levando ao processo comumente associado ao envelhecimento denominado \"adipogenic switc\". Em conclusão, os dados obtidos permitem propor um papel central para a glutationa na manutenção/comprometimento de células-tronco na pele. / The skin is continuously self-renewing thanks to several stem cell niches. Epidermal progenitor cells arise during embryonic development and contribute to the replenishment of the epidermis during the lifetime of mammals. We set out to analyze the glutathione (GSH) antioxidant system during embryonic epidermis stratification and follicle development and the effect of glutathione withdrawal in this process. We found that glutathione plays an important role during epidermis proliferation and hairshaft formation. The changes observed in the absence of GSH were related to a differential phosphorylation pattern of the forkhead-homeobox-type-O (FOXO) transcription factors. In brief, a correlation between GSH status, FOXO phosphorylation and skin development was established. To further study the importance of GSH in adult skin maintenance and understand the effects of ROS in the Akt/FOXO pathway, we treated cells and mice with an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, and with N-acetyl-cysteine. Increased Akt phosphorylation, altered FOXO phosphorylation patterns and increased gene expression of differentiation-related genes were observed. Our results show that the Akt/FOXO pathway plays an important role in maintenance/differentiation of epidermal stem cells. Chronological ageing leads to morphological/functional changes causing a decline in self-renewal, as well as decreased levels of GSH. We also observed that a cell cycle hyperproliferative response was the link between stem cell exaustion in GSH-depletion and ageing. Dermal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are capable of adipo-chondro- and osteogenesis. Little is known about the impact of ROS in MSC differentiation. We induced murine skin MSCs to differentiate into bone (Alizarin-Red/Von-Kossastain+, increased levels of mRNA for alkalinephosphatase/ osteopontin/osterix). In brief, the balance of GSH/GSSG and related antioxidant system is differentially regulated during this process, found to be regulated in a redox-dependent fashion through the MAPK pathway. When depleted, GSH leads to an adipogenic switch in MSC differentiation. In conclusion, our data leads us to propose a central role for glutathione in the maintenance/commitment of stem cells in skin.

De nos jours, les agents anti-microtubules (MTA) sont administrés dans de nombreuses pathologiques cancéreuses reflétant ainsi leur grande efficacité anti-tumorale. Cependant, leur utilisation se voit limitée pour deux raisons : (i) l’apparition d’effets indésirables et, (ii) l’émergence de cellules tumorales résistantes. Pour palier ces problèmes, les MTA font l’objet de nombreux travaux de recherche faisant ainsi de ces composés des médicaments toujours dans l’ère du temps. L’objectif principal des travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit repose sur l’étude du mécanisme d’action des MTA afin d’optimiser, par la suite, leur administration. Dans une première partie s’inscrivant dans le domaine de la recherche fondamentale, nous avons caractérisé les mécanismes moléculaires à l’origine de l’efficacité anticancéreuse de ces agents. En effet, nous avons mis en lumière l’existence d’un pont signalétique entre les mitochondries et les microtubules avec un rôle crucial de la voie de signalisation Akt/GSK3β plaçant ainsi, de façon inattendue, la kinase Akt au cœur de l’efficacité des MTA. Ces résultats fournissant un rationnel mécanistique aux stratégies thérapeutiques associant les MTA aux thérapies ciblées anti-Akt, nous avons alors mené une étude oncopharmacologique démontrant que l’association MTA/anti-Akt est fortement synergique in vitro et in vivo.Mieux comprendre le mécanisme d’action des MTA, afin de proposer de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques aux cliniciens était l’objectif principal de cette thèse. Les résultats obtenus ici ouvrent ainsi la voie de l’association de ces agents avec les thérapies ciblées anti-Akt nouvelle génération. / Microtubule-Targeting Agents (MTA) are a broad group of anticancer drugs that are currently administered in a lot of cancers. Nevertheless, they can cause undesired side effects and can lose their effectiveness as a result of resistance development. The main objective of my PhD work was to characterize the MTA’s mechanism of action in order to optimize their administration in the future. In the first part, we demonstrated the important role of the kinase Akt in MTA effects. In the second part, we evaluated the interest to combine MTA with anti-Akt drugs. We observed that MTA efficacy is highly important with Akt targeting drugs, particularly in lung adenocarcinoma. These promising results will need further explorations in order to develop more convenient cancer therapy strategies.

Le collagène XIX est un collagène mineur retrouvé dans la zone de certaines membranes basales spécialisées. Notre laboratoire a montré que son domaine NC1(XIX) est une matrikine présentant des propriétés anti-tumorales et anti-angiogéniques. L'objectif de ce travail est d'étudier les mécanismes aboutissant à cette activité anti-tumorale.Lors de l'invasion tumorale, les cellules cancéreuses dégradent la membrane basale permettant la production de matrikines anti-tumorales. Dans un premier temps, nous avons démontré que la plasmine, qui est une des enzymes clé de l'invasion tumorale, clivait l'extrémité C-terminale du collagène XIX, in vitro et ex vivo, et libérait un peptide présentant une séquence proche du peptide NC1(XIX). Une analyse en modélisation moléculaire a retrouvé que ce peptide adoptait localement la même conformation en coude β de type I que le peptide NC1(XIX). Nous avons ensuite montré que ce peptide inhibait la migration des cellules tumorales in vitro et la croissance tumorale in vivo. Ce travail démontre que le collagène XIX est un nouveau substrat de la plasmine. Ce mécanisme pourrait constituer un moyen de défense de l'organisme contre l'invasion tumorale.Les principaux récepteurs des matrikines appartiennent à la famille des intégrines. Dans un modèle de mélanome humain (cellules SK-MEL-28), nous avons caractérisé l'intégrine αvβ3, comme récepteur du peptide NC1(XIX). Nous avons également démontré que la fixation du peptide NC1(XIX) sur l'intégrine αvβ3 induisait une diminution des phosphorylations de FAK sur le résidu de tyrosine 861, de la sous unité p85 de la PI3K sur le résidu de tyrosine 458, de PDK1 sur le résidu de sérine 241, d'Akt sur les résidus de thréonine 308 et de sérine 473, de mTOR sur les résidus de sérine 2448 et 2481, et de GSK3β sur le résidu de sérine 9. L'inhibition de cette voie FAK / PI3K / Akt / mTOR, largement impliquée dans la transduction du signal dans le mélanome peut, en partie, expliquer les effets anti-tumoraux du peptide NC1(XIX).Parallèlement, ce travail nous a permis de mettre au point différentes techniques de PCR, de Western blot et d'ELISA pour quantifier l'expression du collagène XIX et de son peptide NC1(XIX). Cette étape constitue un préalable essentiel pour une application éventuelle en biologie clinique. / Type XIX collagen is a minor collagen localized in specialized basement membranes. Our laboratory demonstrated that its NC1(XIX) domain is a matrikine which presents anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic properties. The aim of this work was to study the mechanisms leading to this anti-tumor activity.During tumor invasion, cancer cells degrade basement membrane components leading to anti-tumor matrikine release. First, we demonstrated that plasmin, a key enzyme in tumor invasion, cleaved the C-terminal domain of type XIX collagen, in vitro and ex vivo, and released a peptide with a sequence in close vicinity to the NC1(XIX) peptide. Molecular modeling studies showed that NC1(XIX) peptide and the released fragment adopted locally the same type I β-turn conformation. Then, we showed that this peptide inhibited migration of tumor cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. This study demonstrated that collagen XIX is a novel proteolytic substrate for plasmin. Such release may constitute a defense of the organism against tumor invasion.The main matrikine receptors belong to the integrin family. In a model of human melanoma cells (SK-MEL-28), we characterized αvβ3 integrin as NC1(XIX) peptide receptor. We also demonstrated that the binding of NC1(XIX) peptide on αvβ3 integrin induced a decrease in phosphorylation of FAK tyrosine 861 residue, PI3K p85 tyrosine 458, PDK1 serine 241,Akt threonine 308 and serine 473, mTOR serine 2448 and 2481, and GSK3β serine 9. The decreased activity of this FAK / PI3K / Akt / mTOR pathway, heavily involved in melanoma signal transduction, could explain, at least in part, the antitumor effects of NC1(XIX) peptide.Meanwhile, this work allowed us to develop PCR, Western blot and ELISA to quantify the expression of collagen XIX and its NC1(XIX) peptide. These steps were required for clinical applications.

REDD1 contribue au dialogue entre le métabolisme énergétique et la masse musculaire.REDD1 est une protéine ubiquitaire et conservée qui est exprimée en réponse à de nombreux stress et pathologies associés à une atrophie du muscle squelettique, un paramètre corrélé à la mortalité des patients. REDD1 est connue pour inhiber la voie Akt/mTORC1 qui contrôle la synthèse des protéines (composants majoritaires du muscle), mais également d'autres macromolécules tels les ribosomes, les nucléotides ou le glycogène. Nos travaux montrent, grâce à un modèle murin, que REDD1 est capable d'une part d'inhiber la synthèse protéique ce qui conduit à l'atrophie du muscle, et d'autre part de réduire le stockage du glycogène musculaire. Cependant, sa délétion est responsable d'une augmentation du métabolisme basal, d'une réduction de la capacité d'exercice et d'une aggravation de l'atrophie musculaire en situation d'hypoxie. Ces altérations du métabolisme ne sont pas liées à un dysfonctionnement mitochondrial, mais associées à une moindre inhibition de la signalisation d'Akt et/ou mTORC1, tous deux responsables de l'activation de processus anaboliques couteux en énergie. Pris ensembles, ces résultats suggèrent que REDD1 agit comme modérateur de la dépense en ATP dans des situations de stress énergétique. / REDD1 contributes to the crosstalk between energetic metabolism and skeletal muscle mass. REDD1 is a ubiquitous and conserved protein, which is expressed in response to numerous stresses and pathologies responsible of muscle atrophy, a parameter correlated with patient mortality. REDD1 is known to inhibit Akt/mTORC1 pathway which controls synthesis of proteins (the major component of muscle) and other macromolecules such as ribosome, nucleotide or glycogen. Our work shows on a mice model that REDD1 inhibits protein synthesis, leading to skeletal muscle atrophy, and reduces muscle glycogen storage. However, REDD1 deletion is responsible of an increase in basal metabolism, a reduction of exercise capacity and an exacerbation of hypoxia-induced skeletal muscle atrophy. These metabolic alterations are not associated with a mitochondrial dysfunction but rather with an hyper activation of the Akt/mTORC1 pathway which is responsible for the stimulation of energy demanding processes. Altogether, these results strongly suggest that REDD1 acts for moderating ATP demand in energetic stress conditions

Orientadores: José Andrés Yunes, Nilson Ivo Tonin Zanchin / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T06:00:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silveira_AndreBortolini_D.pdf: 16883235 bytes, checksum: e0759c48520d471791a5272349e1a837 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: A via PI3K está frequentemente hiperativada em células primárias de leucemia linfoide aguda T (LLA-T) pediátrica, característica previamente associada à resistência a glucocorticoides. Pacientes cujas células leucêmicas apresentam mutações em PTEN, o principal regulador negativo de PI3K, podem apresentar maior risco de falha na terapia de indução e recaída. Neste estudo, uma assinatura baseada em expressão gênica foi utilizada para acessar o nível de ativação da via PI3K em amostras diagnósticas de LLA-T. Nós identificamos Myc como um importante integrador da atividade de sinalização por PI3K e observamos que maior atividade da via está associada à resistência a glucocorticoides e pior prognóstico. O inibidor de PI3K AS605240 mostrou atividade antileucêmica e forte sinergismo com glucocorticoides tanto in vitro como em um modelo xenográfico de LLA-T em camundongos NOD/SCID. Em contraste, a inibição de PI3K resultou em antagonismo com metotrexato e daunorrubicina, drogas que atuam preferencialmente em células em divisão. Esta interação antagonística, no entanto, pôde ser revertida pelo uso de um esquema temporal específico de administração das drogas. Nossos dados indicam os potenciais benefícios e limitações para a incorporação de inibidores de PI3K na terapia da LLA-T / Abstract: The PI3K pathway is frequently hyperactivated in primary T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. Activation of the PI3K pathway has been suggested as one mechanism of glucocorticoid resistance in T-ALL, and patients harboring mutations in the PI3K negative regulator PTEN may be at increased risk of induction failure and relapse. In this study, a PI3K gene expression signature was used as readout of PI3K activity in diagnostic T-ALL samples. We identified Myc as an important downstream integrator of PI3K pathway activity in T-ALL and found that higher PI3K activity is associated with glucocorticoid resistance and worse clinical outcome. The PI3K inhibitor AS605240 showed anti-leukemic activity and strong synergism with glucocorticoids both in vitro and in a NOD/SCID xenograft model of T-ALL. In contrast, PI3K inhibition showed antagonism with methotrexate and daunorubicin, drugs that preferentially target dividing cells. This antagonistic interaction, however, could be circumvented by the use of correct drug scheduling schemes. Our data indicate the potential benefits and difficulties for the incorporation of PI3K inhibitors in T-ALL therapy. OBSERVAÇÃOArquivo pdf com capa, página de rosto, folha de assinatura da banca examinadora, resumo e abstract foi editado segundo informação CCPG/002/2013 / Doutorado / Genetica Animal e Evolução / Doutor em Genetica e Biologia Molecular