L’intestin des mammifères est colonisé par une dense communauté microbienne avec lequel il a établi, au cours d’une longue co-évolution, des relations mutualistes. Ces relations, bien qu’essentiellement basées sur des avantages métaboliques permettent également la maturation complète du système immunitaire, dont le développement est initié in utero par un programme génétique. Chez la souris, seule la SFB a été décrite comme présentant un fort pouvoir immunostimulant permettant la coordination d’un large panel de réponses immunes, notamment IgA et Th17 dont le site d’induction préférentiel serait les plaques de Peyer. La première partie de ma thèse a contribué à la finalisation de travaux consacrés à l’étude des caractéristiques des réponses IgA et Th17 induites par SFB. Nous avons ainsi mis en évidence la capacité de la SFB à stimuler la maturation post-natale de follicules lymphoïdes isolés et de tissus lymphoïdes tertiaires qui se substitueraient aux plaques de Peyer en tant que sites inducteurs des réponses IgA et Th17 stimulées par SFB. Cependant, ce microbiote constitue aussi une source antigénique importante pouvant représenter une menace pour l’intégrité de l’hôte. Notamment, la SFB peut provoquer une inflammation chronique délétère en périphérie de l’intestin, chez des souris prédisposées génétiquement. Cela suggère l’existence de mécanismes capables de réguler la colonisation par la SFB, afin d’éviter tout phénomènes compromettant l’intégrité physiologique de l’hôte. À l’aide de souris immunodéficientes axéniques ou seulement colonisées par SFB, nous avons pu mettre en évidence un rôle de la voie de signalisation des TLR dans le contrôle de la colonisation par SFB. Cependant, ni les peptides anti-microbiens, ni les IgA ne semblent impliqué dans le contrôle de la colonisation par SFB. / The mammalian intestine is heavily colonized by a huge microbial community. During a long coevolution process, the host has evolved mutualistic relationships with its microbiota. Thes relationships, mainly based on metabolstic advantages, also allow the full maturation of the host immune system, which development is initiated in utero by a genetic program. In mice, only SFB has been yet described to display strong immunostimulant properties allowing the coordination of a large panel of immune responses, more specifically IgA and Th17 responses, which preferential induction sites might be the Peyer's patches. The first part of my thesis contributed to complete a work dedicated to the characterization of the IgA et Th17 responses induced by SFB. We have underscored SFB capacity to stimulate the post-natal maturation of isolated lymphoid follicles and also tertiary lymphoid tissues that would substitute to Peyer's patches as inductors sites of both IgA and Th17 responses induced by SFB. However, this microbiote also constitutes a potential antigenic threat for the host integrity. Notably, the SFB could provoke chronic deleterious inflammation in peripheric compartment in genetically predisposed individuals. It suggests the establishment of highly regulated mechanisms regulating SFB colonization, to avoid compromising events for the host homeostasis. In a second part of my thesis, with the help of immunodeficient axenic mice, we have shown a role of TLR signaling pathways in the control of SFB colonization. However, antimicrobial peptides, IgA, IL-17 or IL-22 seem to be involved int eh control of SFB colonization.

Orientador: Saulo Santesso Garrido / Resumo: Os peptídeos antimicrobianos (PAMs) são uma alternativa interessante como bioconservantes de alimentos devido a sua eficiência e, principalmente, à baixa toxicidade quando comparados aos conservantes químicos tradicionais. As bacteriocinas, uma classe de PAMs, têm atividade antimicrobiana em espécies responsáveis pela degradação de alimentos e, portanto, atualmente são exploradas como bioconservadores. A Leucocina C-TA33a (LeuC), um tipo de bacteriocina produzida pela cepa bacteriana Leuconostoc mesenteroides TA33a, é conhecida por ter um amplo espectro antimicrobiano. Estudos de alinhamento da estrutura primária de diferentes bacteriocinas revelaram que LeuC conserva em sua estrutura regiões homólogas também compartilhadas por outras bacteriocinas, como Sacacina P, Bavaricina A e Enterocina A, possivelmente revelando uma importante relação entre essas sequências de aminoácidos e suas atividades antimicrobianas. Este estudo tem como objetivo sintetizar diferentes peptídeos baseados na estrutura primária da Leucocina CTA33a, a fim de identificar as principais regiões responsáveis pela atividade antimicrobiana. Os peptídeos LeuC-Nt, LeuC-0Cys, LeuC-Ala9, LeuC-Ala14 e LeuC-Cys9,14 foram sintetizados por metodologia de fase sólida, purificados e analisados por HPLC e caracterizados por ESI-MS. Ensaios em meio líquido foram realizados para a determinação do percentual de inibição de crescimento microbianos dos peptídeos sobre espécies patogênicas. Os micro-organismos testados fora... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (PAMs) are an interesting alternative, because biopreservatives present high efficiency and low toxicity when compared to classic preservatives. Bacteriocins, a class of PAMs, have antimicrobial activity in species responsible for food degradation and are currently being exploited as biopreservatives. The Leucocin C-TA33a (LeuC), a type of bacteriocin, is produced by the Leuconostoc mesenteroides TA33a strain and is known for a broad antimicrobial spectrum. Studies of alignment of the primary structure of different bacteriocins revealed that LeuC retains in its structure homologous regions also shared by other bacteriocins, such as Sacacin P, Bavaricin A and Enterocin A, possibly revealing an important relationship between these amino acid sequences and their antimicrobial activities. This study aims to synthesize different peptides based on the primary structure of Leucocin C-TA33a, with the objective of identifying the main regions responsible for antimicrobial activity. The peptides LeuC-Nt, LeuC-0Cys, LeuC-Ala9, LeuC-Ala14 and LeuC-Cys9,14 were synthesized by solid phase methodology, purified by HPLC and characterized by ESI-MS. Liquid assays were performed to determine the percentage of inhibition of microorganisms of the peptides on pathogenic species. The microorganisms tested were Salmonella serotype Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. Studies were also conducted through circular dichroism, molecular ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

L’organisation mondiale de la santé estime que le choléra entraîne 100, 000 décès par an pour environ 4 millions de cas recensés, plaçant ainsi cette maladie comme un enjeu de santé publique majeur. Cette infection est causée par Vibrio cholerae, une bactérie à Gram négatif vivant en milieu aquatique. Face à cette agression, l’épithélium intestinal et les bactéries du microbiote agissent comme une barrière, en exprimant notamment des peptides antimicrobiens (PAM). V. cholerae, comme de nombreux pathogènes, montre une résistance accrue aux PAM. Malgré une avancée constante sur la compréhension des mécanismes de résistances bactériens aux PAM, de nombreuses inconnues demeurent, principalement en raison des techniques de mutagénèse aléatoire utilisées pour leur identification. L’objectif de cette étude est d’identifier de nouveaux mécanismes de résistance impliqués dans la résistance de V. cholerae aux PAM. Grâce à des expériences de séquençage par spectrométrie masse suivi d’études bio-informatiques, nous avons identifié les protéines OmpV et Lap comme des candidates intéressantes pour être impliquées dans la résistance de V. cholerae. Alors que la souche V. cholerae A1552 délétée du gène ompV (DompV) ne semble pas présenter de défaut de croissance ou de perméabilité, nos résultats ont montré une diminution des concentrations minimales inhibitrices en différents PAM tels que LL-37. Les tests fonctionnels semblent suggérer l’implication des vésicules de sécrétion dans le mécanisme de d’OmpV face à LL-37 chez V. cholerae. / According to the World Health Organization, cholera remains a significant health problem, causing 100,000 death per 4 millions infections per year. V. cholerae, the etiologic agent of cholera and a Gram-negative bacterium, is generally transmitted via contaminated food or water. During infection, the microbiota and intestinal epithelium acts as a barrier by producing antimicrobial peptides (AMP). Resistance to AMP has emerged as a virulence factor in pathogens and specifically in V. cholerae. As AMP are considered as novel molecular therapeutic agents, it is truly important to better understand strategies of resistance of V. cholerae. The aim of this study is to identify unknown mechanisms involved in V. cholerae resistance to AMP. For this purpose, after protein sequencing by mass spectrometry (MS-MS) and bioinformatics, we identified the OmpV porin, member of the outer membrane protein family and the Lap protease as new protein candidates for strategies of resistance. We characterized the V. cholerae A1552 strain deleted for ompV (DompV). We confirmed OmpV implication in AMP resistance by minimum inhibitory concentration and did not observed any differences in growth or permeability in the presence of AMP between the wild-type (wt) and the (DompV) strains. The work presented here suggest an implication of outer membrane vesicules in V. cholerae resistance mechanisms to some AMP as LL-37.