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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

The Cytotoxicity of GST-fused Endostatin to Endothelial and Non-endothelial Cells

kuo, Hsiao-mei 01 July 2002 (has links)
Endostatin, an angiogensis inhibitor, was discovered by Dr. Judah Folkman¡¦s group in 1997. From their series studies, they demonstrated that the angiogenesis inhibition approach, which abolished the formation of new blood vessels and led to starvation of cancer cells, is a safe, effective anticancer method without side effect and drug resistance. Phase clinical trial on endostatin was carried out in 1999 and completed in 2001, heralding the approaching of a new arsenal of cancer therapy drugs. Endostatin is also a proteolytic fragment (~20 kDa) from an extracellular protein, collagen XVIII. It potently inhibits endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis, but has no cytotoxic effects on other cells. Above all, cycled therapy of experimental cancer in rodents with endostatin led to tumor dormancy without drug resistance. However, the exact mechanism on how endostatin inhibited endothelial cells proliferation remains largely unknown. We have cloned mouse endostatin cDNA from mice liver by RT-PCR. After verification by DNA sequencing, endostatin cDNA was subcloned in to E. coli expression vector to express and generate large quantities of recombinant GST-fused endostatin. Unlike His-tagged endostatin, GST-endostatin is soluble and capable of inhibiting endothelial cell lines EA.hy926 with a half-maximal inhibition concentration (IC50) of 20 nM. In present study, we investigated whether GST-endostatin caused alterations in cytoskeleton in endothelial cells. By using a fluorescence dye to visualize the actin filament under confocal microscope, it was found that endostatin induced the corruption of actin network in endothelial cells. Western blot analysis revealed that GST-endostatin treatment caused downregulation of cytoskeleton proteins such as tubulin, vimentin and ECM-related signaling molecules such as focal adhesion kinase (FAK), mitogen activated protein kinse (MAPK), Erk in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, GST-endostatin decreased the levels of cell survival factor such as AKT and NF-£eB. Since GST-endostatin induced sustained calcium rise, the effect of endostatin on protein kinase Cs (PKCs) were studied and revealed that endostatin reduced the levels of PKCK1¡BPKC eta¡BPKC iota and PKC lamda. Other than endothelial cell, the cytotoxicity of GST-endostatin in hepatoma cells were investigated since liver the primary expression site of collagen XVIII, precursor of endostatin. Unexpectedly, endostatin also inhibited the proliferation of hepatoma cells. Flow cytometry and nucleus staining indicated that GST-endostatin also induced apoptosis in hepatoma cells. Moreover, GST-endostatin exhibited differential cytotoxic effect against well-differentiated (such as HepG2, Hep3B) and poor differentiated (such as Mahlavu, Sk-hep-1) hepatoma cells that the IC50 for well differentiated hepatoma cells were 8-10 folds lower than for poor-differentiated cells. Above all, GST-endostatin inhibited the migration of SK-hep-1 and modulated the secretion of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) by Mahlavu and SK-hep-1 cells. In summary, present study explored the role of alterations in cytoskeleon network in the cytotoxic mechanism of GST-endostatin. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of GST-endostatin on proliferation of hepatoma cells were reported for the first time.
2

Molecular Level Interaction of Human Fibroblast Growth Factor-1 (hFGF-1) With Phloridzin

Paripelly, Rammohan 01 December 2013 (has links)
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of growth factors which includes twenty three proteins. FGFs work as modulators for various cellular activities like mitosis, differentiation and survival. Among the FGF family, human fibroblast growth factor-1 (hFGF-1), which is also known as acidic fibroblast growth factor, is a potent angiogenic agent, involved in the formation of new blood vessels in various tissues. hFGF-1 is regarded as a prototype of the FGF family. It serves as one of the potential targets in tumor inhibition and obesity due to its involvement in new blood vessel formation in cancerous regions and adipose tissues. In general, FGFs exert their action by binding to heparin, forming FGF-heparin complex, which can then bind to fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs). Inhibition of FGF dependent signal transduction by heparin mimicking compounds has shown promising results in control and treatment of tumor growth. Naturally occurring glycoside called phloridzin found to have anticancer property. Phloridzin (2-glucoside of phloretin) has structural resemblance to heparin; it is a natural antioxidant, widely known for its antidiabetic activity, besides controlling tumor growth. Phloridzin can mimic heparin and compete with it for FGF binding. This binding can be agonistic or antagonistic in nature on FGF signal transduction. In the present study, we investigated the molecular level interaction between phloridzin and hFGF-1 using various biophysical techniques like steady state fluorescence, limited trypsin digestion and protein-NMR spectroscopy. hFGF-1 needed for the study was expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli cells. The expressed protein was then purified using heparin sepharose affinity chromatography. Both expression and purification were monitored using SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). Conformational stability of purified hFGF-1 was assessed through steady state fluorescence. Purified hFGF-1 is in, its native, properly folded conformation. Interaction studies, such as thermal unfolding and limited trypsin digestion were performed to assess the thermal stability and solvent accessibility of hFGF-1 in the presence of phloridzin respectively. It was found from interaction studies that hFGF-1 in the presence of phloridzin shown increased thermal stability and increased resistance against trypsin digestion. In order to locate the sites of interaction on hFGF-1 surface, a protein-NMR study was performed. Exact sites of interaction of phloridzin on hFGF-1 surface were found. In future, isothermal titration calorimetry will be performed to determine kinetics of the enthalpy change and dissociation constant of phloridzin-hFGF-1 interaction. In vivo studies will also be performed after completion of in vitro studies, which will give an insight about possibility of phloridzin and hFGF-1 interaction under physiological condition
3

TARGETED DELIVERY OF BONE ANABOLICS TO BONE FRACTURES FOR ACCELERATED HEALING

Jeffery J H Nielsen (8787002) 21 June 2022 (has links)
<div>Delayed fracture healing is a major health issue involved with aging. Therefore, strategies to improve the pace of repair and prevent non-union are needed in order to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs. In order to accelerate bone fracture healing noninvasively, we sought to develop a drug delivery system that could safely and effectively be used to deliver therapeutics to the site of a bone fracture. We elected to pursue the promising strategy of using small-molecule drug conjugates that deliver therapeutics to bone in an attempt to increase the efficacy and safety of drugs for treating bone-related diseases.</div><div>This strategy also opened the door for new methods of administering drugs. Traditionally, administering bone anabolic agents to treat bone fractures has relied entirely on local surgical application. However, because it is so invasive, this method’s use and development has been limited. By conjugating bone anabolic agents to bone-homing molecules, bone fracture treatment can be performed through minimally invasive subcutaneous administration. The exposure of raw hydroxyapatite that occurs with a bone fracture allows these high-affinity molecules to chelate the calcium component of hydroxyapatite and localize primarily to the fracture site.</div><div>Many bone-homing molecules (such as bisphosphonates and tetracycline targeting) have been developed to treat osteoporosis. However, many of these molecules have toxicity associated with them. We have found that short oligopeptides of acidic amino acids can localize to bone fractures with high selectivity and with very low toxicity compared to bisphosphonates and tetracyclines.</div><div>We have also demonstrated that these molecules can be used to target peptides of all chemical classes: hydrophobic, neutral, cationic, anionic, short, and long. This ability is particularly useful because many bone anabolics are peptidic in nature. We have found that acidic oligopeptides have better persistence at the site of the fracture than bisphosphonate-targeted therapeutics. This method allows for a systemic administration of bone anabolics to treat bone fractures, which it achieves by accumulating the bone anabolic at the fracture site. It also opens the door for a new way of treating the prevalent afflictions of broken bones and the deaths associated with them.</div><div>We further developed this technology by using it to deliver anabolic peptides derived from growth factors, angiogenic agents, neuropeptides, and extracellular matrix fragments. We found several promising therapeutics that accelerated the healing of bone fractures by improving the mineralization of the callus and improving the overall strength. We optimized the performance of these molecules by improving their stability, targeting ligands, linkers, dose, and dosing frequency.</div><div>We also found that these therapeutics could be used to accelerate bone fracture repair even in the presence of severe comorbidities (such as diabetes and osteoporosis) that typically slow the repair process. We found that, unlike the currently approved therapeutic for fracture healing (BMP2), our therapeutics improved functionality and reduced pain in addition to strengthening the bone. These optimized targeted bone anabolics were not only effective at healing bone fractures but they also demonstrated that they could be used to speed up spinal fusion. Additionally, we demonstrated that acidic oligopeptides have potential to be used to treat other bone diseases with damaged bone.</div><div>With these targeted therapeutics, we no longer have to limit bone fracture healing to casts or invasive surgeries. Rather, we can apply these promising therapeutics that can be administered non-invasively to augment existing orthopedic practices. As these therapeutics move into clinical development, we anticipate that they will be able to reduce the immobilization time that is the source of so many of the deadly complications associated with bone fracture healing, particularly in the elderly.</div>

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