Memoria para optar al título de Bioquímico / El metabolismo y la función fisiológica cardíaca se mantienen gracias a la actividad mitocondrial. Estas últimas son estructuras fundamentales en la fisiología de las células eucariontes dado que participan en una amplia gama de procesos, entre los que se incluyen la generación de energía, tamponamiento del ion Ca+2 y la regulación de la apoptosis. La mitocondria sufre procesos regulados de fusión y fisión, siendo cada uno de estos eventos mediados por complejos de proteínas GTPasas como Fis-1 y la proteína de la familia de las dinaminas Drp-1. Fis-1 se encuentra difusamente asociada a la membrana mitocondrial externa (MME) y recluta a Drp-1 dfesde el citosol a focos específicos de la membrana mitocondrial durante el proceso de fisión. La pérdida del balance entre los procesos de fisión y fusión se asocia a alteraciones en la función mitocondrial y ciertas condiciones patológicas. A nivel celular, la fisión mitocondrial se ha relacionado con la muerte celular por apoptosis, la cual depende a su vez del estímulo utilizado. La pérdida de la integridad de la membrana mitocondrial y fragmentación de estos organelos ocurren durante la apoptosis, eventos que tienen lugar en forma concomitante con la activación de proteínas pro-apoptóticas de la familia Bcl-2 y caspasas. Sin embargo, existen algunos modelos donde la fisión de la red mitocondrial no se presenta durante el proceso de muerte. La maquinaria de la fisión mitocondrial no ha sido estudiada en cardiomiocitos bajo condiciones de integridad de la red mitocondrial. El objetivo de este trabajo consistió en evaluar los cambios inducidos en las proteínas Fis-1 y Drp-1 al desencadenar la fragmentación de la red mitocondrial por ceramidas en cultivos primarios de cardiomiocitos de ratas neonatas. Nuestros principales resultados mostraron que Drp-1 y Fis-1 están presentes en cardiomiocitos con características similares a otros modelos celulares. C2-ceramida desencadenó un descenso rápido en el potencial mitocondrial de membrana, fragmentación de la red de estos organelos en forma dependiente del tiempo y concentración de C2-ceramida y modificación del patrón de distribución y expresión de las proteínas Drp-1 y Fis-1 alcanzando un 20% de colocalización entre ambas. La exposición de los cardiomiocitos durante 6 h a C2-ceramida 40 μM gatilló la salida del citocromo C desde la mitocondria al citosol y produjo un 35% de muerte. La disminución de los niveles de mitofusina-2 mediante la sobrexpresión de un adenovirus antisentido contra la proteína de la fusión mitocondrial Mfn-2 (AsMfn-2) cambió por si sola la morfología mitocondrial, el patrón de distribución de Drp-1 y Fis-1 y alteró las cinéticas de la caída del potencial de membrana mitocondrial, pero no la salida del citocromo C desencadenada por C2-ceramida. En conclusión, los resultados indican que los componentes de la maquinaria de la fisión mitocondrial se encuentran presentes en cardiomiocitos y que C2-ceramida gatilla su muerte por medio un proceso apoptótico que involucra la disrupción y fisión de la red mitocondrial / Cardiac metabolism and physiological function are supported by mitochondria activity. They are main players in the physiology of eukaryotes; they provide a myriad of services to the cell, including energy production, Ca+2 buffering and regulation of apoptosis. Mitochondria undergo regulated fusion and fission and each of these events are mediated by GTPase protein complexes such as Fis-1 and the dynamin-related protein Drp-1. Fis-1 is diffusely located throughout the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) and recruit Drp-1 from the cytoplasm to punctuate foci on the OMM during the fission process. The loss of balance between fusion and fission events has been associated with mitochondria loss of function and pathological conditions. At cellular level, mitochondria fission has been associated with apoptotic cell death in a stimulus dependent manner. Loss of mitochondria integrity and activation of fission proteins occurred concomitant with proapoptotic Bcl-2 and caspase cascade activation, even when there are some models where mitochondria fission is not present in the apoptotic process. Mitochondria fission machinery has not been studied in cardiomyocytes under loss of mitochondria network integrity conditions. We evaluated here Fis-1 and Drp- 1 changes when we induce mitochondrial network fragmentation by ceramides treatment in cultures neonatal cardiomyocytes. The main findings of this work was that Drp-1 and Fis-1 are present in cardiomyocytes with similar distribution pattern that other cell types. C2-ceramides promoted a rapid decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondria network fragmentation in a dose and time dependent manner with both Drp-1 and Fis1 modification of expression and distribution pattern reaching a 20% of colocalization between both proteins. We also found that the exposure of cardiac myoctes for 6 h to C2-ceramide 40 μM induced the release of cytocrome C from mitochondria to cytosol and triggered 35% death. The overexpression of AsMfn-2 (mitofusin-2 antisense, a mitochondrial fusion inhibitor) changed mitochondrial cardiomyocyte morphology, the distribution pattern of Drp-1 and Fis-1 and altered the kinetic of the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, but not the release of citochrome C promoted by C2-ceramide. In conclusion, the results indicate that the components of fission mitochondrial machinery are in cardiomyocytes and C2-ceramide triggers their death by an apoptotic process that involves the disruption and fission of the mitochondrial network

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Many genes are activated to influence the self-destruction programme of the cell. This programme entails synchronised instigation and implementation of numerous subprograms. The arrival of gene targeting aided in the determining of the functions of novel genes. Such genes may have been sequenced, but not functionally characterised. The fulfillment of this requirement through gene targeting technology has swiftly developed. The mode by which DWNN operate in organisms in which it is thought to be covalently linked to some other proteins, which have a definite role in apoptosis, is not yet unraveled. This study attempted the functional characterisation of DWNN in light to the hypothesis that it may be involved in Cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing and apoptosis. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The process of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) killing involves the recognition and destruction of foreign antigens by cytotoxic T cells and is of crucial importance to the defence of the organism against viral infections. Defects in this process can lead to various autoimmune diseases and cancer. The aim of this study was to identify more genes involved in the cell death pathway and to link CTL killing, apoptosis and cancer. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The Apocynaceae family is well known for its potential anticancer activity. Pleiocarpamine isolated from the Apocynaceae family and a constituent of Pleiocarpa pycnantha has been reported for anti-cancer activity. Prompted by a general growing interest in the pharmacology of Apocynaceae species, most importantly their anticancer potential together with the fact that there is scanty literature on the pharmacology of P. pycnantha, we explored the anticancer potential of the ethanolic extract of P. pycnantha leaves and constituents. Three known triterpenoids, ursolic acid C1, 27-E and 27-Z p-coumaric esters of ursolic acid C2, C3 together with a new triterpene 2,3-seco-taraxer-14-en-2,3-lactone (pycanocarpine C5) were isolated from an ethanolic extract of P. pycnantha leaves. The structure of C5 was unambiguously assigned using NMR, HREIMS and X-ray crystallography. The cytotoxic activities of the compounds were evaluated against HeLa, MCF-7, KMST-6 and HT-29 cells using the WST-1 assay. Ursolic acid C1 displayed potent cytotoxic activity against HeLa, HT-29 and MCF-7 cells with IC50 values of 5.06, 5.12 and 9.51 μg/ml respectively. The new compound C5 and its hydrolysed open-chain derivative C6 were selectively cytotoxic to the breast cancer cell line, MCF-7 with IC50 values 10.99 and 5.46 μg/ml respectively. We further investigated the mechanism of action of the isolated compounds using specific markers of apoptosis. Exposure of C1-C6 (12.5 μg/ml) to HeLa cells showed a significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production with the exception of C5. On HT-29, C1, C4, C5 and C6 at 25 μg/ml increased ROS production while on MCF-7 using the same dose, only C5 and C6 caused a significant increase in ROS production compared with a control at P< 0.05. The result on caspase 3/7 activation showed that C1 and C2 (50 μg/ml) caused a marked increase in caspase 3/7 activity between 6-24 h on HeLa cells while only C1 (50 μg/ml) showed a significant increased caspase 3/7 activity on both HT-29 and MCF-7 cell lines when compared with the control, P< 0.05. Some selected compounds were further investigated for their dose-response on caspase 3/7 activity on HeLa and MCF-7 cells. Compounds C2 and C3 activated caspase 3/7 at 12.5 and 25 μg/ml respectively, while on MCF-7only C6 significantly increased caspase 3/7 activity within 24 h of treatment when compared with an untreated control. The result of time -dependent caspase 9 activity showed that C1, C2 and C3 caused an increased activity on HeLa cells between 6-12 h, while only C1 activated caspase 9 on HT-29 cells (3-24 h) and MCF-7 (6-24 h). The dose-response caspase 9 activity showed a significant increase in activation for C6 (12 and 25 μg/ml) on HeLa and C5 (25 μg/ml) on HT-29 cells. All isolated compounds inhibited Topoisomerase I when compared with Camptothecin. Compounds C1-C6 could induce apoptosis on cancer cell lines through an intrinsic pathway and topoisomerase 1 inhibition. This is the first report on the isolation of a 2,3-seco-taraxerene derivative from Apocynaceae family and the anticancer activity of Pleiocarpa pycnantha constituents.

The upregulation of apoptosis is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders including ischemic stroke. In neurons, as in other cell types, Bax and tBid are critical regulators of the intrinsic pathway upstream of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) and caspase activation. The characterization of the molecular events that occur during the early stages is therefore extremely important from a therapeutic standpoint. Here I show that two independent genetic pilot screens looking for novel regulators of Bax activation identified a common hit in the E3 ubiquitin ligase Trim17. Knockdown of Trim17 was found to protect against tBid-induced death in primary cortical neurons and allowed for the maintenance of mitochondrial function and oxidative phosphorylation under this apoptotic stress. The RING-domain of Trim17 was found to interact with Opa1 in mouse brain extracts. Furthermore, Opa1 co-immunoprecipitated with exogenously expressed full-length Trim17 from HEK293 cells. Knockdown of Trim17 in neurons increased Opa1 protein levels under steady-state conditions. These results suggest that Trim17 regulates Bax-dependent apoptosis in neurons via the modulation of Opa1 levels.

As resveratrol derivatives, resveratrol aliphatic acids were synthesized in our laboratory. Previously, we reported the improved pharmaceutical properties of the compounds compared to resveratrol, including better solubility in water and much tighter binding with human serum albumin. Here, we investigate the role of resveratrol aliphatic acids in Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-mediated apoptosis. We showed that resveratrol aliphatic acid (R6A) significantly inhibits the expression of TLR2. In addition, overexpression of TLR2 in HEK293 cells caused a significant decrease in apoptosis after R6A treatment. Moreover, inhibition of TLR2 by R6A decreases serum deprivation-reduced the levels of phosphorylated Akt and phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β). Our study thus demonstrates that the resveratrol aliphatic acid inhibits cell apoptosis through TLR2 by the involvement of Akt/GSK3β pathway.

The present study was designed to explore the protective effects of melatonin and its analogs, 6-hydroxymelatonin and 8-methoxy-2-propionamidotetralin, on the survival of doxorubicin-treated mice and on doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction, ultrastructural alterations, and apoptosis in mouse hearts. Whereas 60% of the mice treated with doxorubicin (25 mg/kg ip) died in 5 days, almost all the doxorubicin-treated mice survived when melatonin or 6-hydroxymelatonin (10 mg/l) was administered in their drinking water. Perfusion of mouse hearts with 5 μM doxorubicin for 60 min led to a 50% suppression of heart rate × left ventricular developed pressure and a 50% reduction of coronary flow. Exposure of hearts to 1 μM melatonin or 6-hydroxymelatonin reversed doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction. 8-Methoxy-2-propionamidotetralin had no protective effects on animal survival and on in vitro cardiac function. Infusion of melatonin or 6-hydroxymelatonin (2.5 μg/h) significantly attenuated doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction, ultrastructural alterations, and apoptosis in mouse hearts. Neither melatonin nor 6-hydroxymelatonin compromised the antitumor activity of doxorubicin in cultured PC-3 cells. These results suggest that melatonin protect against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity without interfering with its antitumor effect.

Embryos from the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus have a unique and unequalled ability among vertebrates to withstand extended periods of anoxia (maximum lethal time to 50% mortality of 65 days at 25°C). In addition, tolerance of anoxia is gained and subsequently lost during the normal development of this species. Thus, anoxia tolerant and anoxia sensitive individuals can be compared within the same species, making A. limnaeus an excellent model for studying the molecular changes associated with survival of oxygen deprivation in vertebrates. The aim of this project is to analyze the molecular changes associated with anoxia tolerance in the embryos of A. limnaeus. Understanding how the cells of these embryos become tolerant to anoxia will aid in identifying novel therapeutic targets to reduce cell death following periods of ischemia in heart, brain or other tissues. Three major analyses were used to investigate the molecular changes associated with anoxia tolerance in this species. The first was a cell cycle and cell cycle arrest analysis using flow cytometry along with an immunoblot analysis of both positive and negative regulators of cell cycle progression. The second was a cell death analysis utilizing caspase-3/7 activity as well as TUNEL staining. The third was an immunoblot analysis of three different post-translational modifers (ubiquitin, SUMO-1 and SUMO-2/3). The overall findings from this study indicate that the embryos of A. limnaeus do indeed experience some degree of cellular stress (i.e. increase in ubiquitinated proteins, increase in p53 expression, evidence of DNA damage from TUNEL staining and increases in caspase activity) in response to anoxic treatment, even in their most protective state of diapause II. However, despite these observations, the whole organisms are still able to recover from anoxia and do not succumb to death. The overall low levels of TUNEL-positive cells and caspase activity relative to the positive controls indicates that the damage accrued in response to anoxic treatment is minimal. It appears that embryos are able to either "sacrifice" a certain portion of cells or they are able to repair the damage required for resumed development following anoxia.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(生命科学) / 甲第20530号 / 生博第372号 / 新制||生||49(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院生命科学研究科高次生命科学専攻 / (主査)教授 松田 道行, 教授 井垣 達吏, 教授 HEJNA,James / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy in Life Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第21446号 / 医博第4413号 / 新制||医||1032(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 松田 道行, 教授 萩原 正敏, 教授 髙折 晃史 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM