Sand flies (order Diptera) are vectors of Leishmania parasites (Trypanosomatida), which are inoculated into the host skin together with the vector saliva. Sand fly saliva plays the important role in the Leishmania transmission; in naive host it supresses the host immune response assisting Leishmania to establish the infection, while in repeatedly bitten host it elicits a protective immune response. The submitted thesis focuses on the effect of sand fly saliva on macrophages, the key cells in the infection control. In the first part of the thesis we established a laboratory model L. major - P. papatasi - Balb/c to describe the protective effect of saliva immunization on Leishmania infection development. Immunized mice were protected against Leishmania infection which was reflected in the ear lesion size, parasite load in the ear dermis and draining lymph nodes but also in cytokine production. On the contrary, produced lower amount of nitric oxide, while arginase activity was comparable with nonimmunized group. The IgG antibodies against saliva served as a marker of exposure to sandflies while IgG antibodies against Leishmania antigens served as a marker of infection severity. The experiments were aimed on the possibility of cross-protectivity in Balb/c mice against L. major between closely related...

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating human cancers with the lowest survival rate among 24 commonly diagnosed cancers. It is the seventh and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world and Hong Kong respectively. The current pancreatic cancer treatment options, have limited efficacy and undesirable side effects. Because of the high mortality rate and unsatisfactory treatment outcome, it is necessary to develop new strategies for pancreatic cancer therapy. / In human, an abundant arginine reserve is known to be crucial for tumor cell proliferation. Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid because most of the somatic cells can re-synthesize it from other metabolites like citrulline in urea cycle. However, arginine auxotrophy is observed in certain tumors, such as hepatocarcinoma, melanoma and sarcoma, where restriction or depletion of arginine will lead to tumor death. Further studies have found that deficiency in either argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) or ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) expression contributes to arginine auxotrophy in these tumors. These findings implicated the potential of using arginine deprivation as a novel pancreatic cancer treatment strategy. / PEG-BCT-100 is a pegylated recombinant human arginase that metabolizes arginine into urea and ornithine. This study examined the preclinical anti-tumor efficacy of PEG-BCT-100 and the underlying mechanism in pancreatic cancer. Six pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC-1, BxPC-3, CFPAC-1, Capan-2, MIA PaCa-2 and Panc10.05 were used as in vitro cell model. Cell growth was either completely stopped or dramatically reduced in arginine-free medium, suggesting pancreatic cancer cells were arginine auxotrophic. The protein and mRNA expression levels of the ASS1, OTC and argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), which are enzymes involved in arginine, were studied. The results showed that ASL was highly expressed in all cell lines, suggesting it is not an essential regulator in arginine auxotrophy in pancreatic cancer. On the other hand, ASS1 was only detected in BxPC-3 and CFPAC-1, while OTC was undetectable in all cell lines in both mRNA and protein levels. The effect of PEG-BCT-100 was illustrated via cell cycle progression, cell proliferation and viability. Single drug effect combining PEG-BCT-100 with other anti-tumor drugs, such as 5-FU and gemcitabine, was further explored. Synergistic effect of PEG-BCT-100 and gemcitabine under combination of PEG-BCT-100 and gemcitabine was observed in CFPAC-1 and MIA PaCa-2. Overexpression of OTC and ASS1 decreased the sensitivity of towards PEG-BCT-100 significantly. Taken together, OTC deficiency is a potential indicative marker for the sensitivity of arginine depletion treatment in pancreatic cancer. / 胰腺癌是最具毀滅性的人類癌症之一，在二十四種常見的癌症中，它有着最低的存活率。儘管不在發病率最高的十種癌症中，胰腺癌仍舊是世界第七大致死癌症，以及香港第六大致死癌症。手術治療，放射治療，以及化學藥物治療是現今常用的胰腺癌治療手段，但是這些療法不是限制繁多，就是收效甚微，並常常伴有強烈的副作用。由於胰腺癌具有很高的致死率以及缺乏有效的治療方法，所以新的治療策略亟待開發。 / 於人類而言，精氨酸是一種半必需氨基酸，因爲它可以通過尿素循環中的其他代謝產物，如鳥氨酸以及瓜氨酸，重新合成。然而，精氨酸缺陷出現在多種腫瘤中，像肝癌，黑色素瘤，以及血癌。限制或者減少精氨酸的供應會導致這些腫瘤死亡。除此之外，腫瘤細胞的快速生長也依賴於充足的精氨酸。進一步的研究表明，在這些腫瘤中，精氨琥珀酸合成酶1（ASS1）或者鳥氨酸氨甲醯基轉移酶（OTC）的任意一個缺乏都會導致精氨酸缺陷。本文將探討將剝奪精氨酸作爲一種新策略來治療胰腺癌的可行性。 / PEG-BCT-100又名金氨素，是一種聚乙二醇化重組人精氨酸酶，它可以催化精氨酸分解爲尿素和鳥氨酸。我們研究了PEG-BCT-100在胰腺癌細胞中的抗癌效果以及探討了與其相關的作用機理。在我們的研究中，AsPC-1, BxPC-3, CFPAC-1, Capan-2, MIA PaCa-2以及Panc10.05這六個細胞株用作體外的細胞模型。爲了評估PEG-BCT-100治療胰腺癌的可行性，我們首先調查了精氨酸對胰腺癌細胞的重要性。通過將這些胰腺癌細胞培養在有精氨酸供應和沒有精氨酸供應的完全培養基中，我們發現剝奪精氨酸能完全停止或者極大地減少了胰腺癌細胞的生長。這說明了這些胰腺癌細胞也都是精氨酸營養缺陷型的細胞。通過蛋白印跡和實時定量聚合酶鏈式反應實驗，我們進一步研究了精氨酸代謝相關基因在這些胰腺癌細胞中的表達水平。結果表明，精氨琥珀酸裂解酶（ASL）在全部的六條細胞系中都有被檢測到。ASS1只出現在BxPC-3和CFPAC-1中。然而在全部的細胞中，無論是蛋白質水平還是mRNA水平，OTC都沒有被檢測到。緊接着，我們研究了PEG-BCT-100在胰腺癌細胞活力，細胞增殖，細胞週期以及細胞凋亡等方面的影響。結果表明，PEG-BCT-100可以從多個方面抑制胰腺癌細胞。我們還嘗試探索了PEG-BCT-100與其他胰腺癌治療藥物在胰腺癌細胞中的聯合使用效果。然後發現PEG-BCT-100與吉西他滨（gemcitabine）聯合使用具有協同效果。最後，我們構建了四種不同表達類型的MIA PaCa-2細胞模型：（ASS1-/OTC-）, (ASS1-/OTC+), (ASS1+/OTC-)以及(ASS1+/OTC+)。接着我們測試了PEG-BCT-100在這些細胞模型中的效果。結果表明，同時在MIA PaCa-2細胞中表達ASS1和OTC可以明顯地提高其對PEG-BCT-100的抗性，單表達其中一個基因對PEG-BCT-100的抗性也有些許提高，但效果不如雙表達明顯。 / 總而言之，對於胰腺癌細胞而言，精氨酸是必不可少的。PEG-BCT-100有很明顯的胰腺癌效果。在胰腺癌中，OTC的表達情況可以作爲預估PEG-BCT-100治療效果的重要生物標誌。 / Deng, Haohao. / Thesis M.Phil. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-117). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 14, October, 2016). / Deng, Haohao. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

Background: Azithromycin polarizes macrophages into an alternative phenotype and promotes a regulated immunity. Arginase is an important effector of these macrophages believed to play an essential role in decreasing injury and promoting repair. Hypothesis: Decreases in inflammation in response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) pneumonia achieved by polarizing macrophages to an alternative phenotype is dependent upon the production of arginase. Methods: Requirement of arginase was examined by pharmacological inhibition using S-(2-boronoethyl)- l-cysteine (BEC) or l-norvaline and by infecting arginase-1 conditional knock-out mice (Arg1flox/flox;Lyz2-cre (Arg1Δm)) with PA intratracheally. Arg1ΔM and control Arg1flox/flox mice were then dosed with azithromycin daily via oral gavage beginning four days prior to infection. Analysis of weight loss in addition to characterization of inflammatory cells and cytokine production via flow cytometry was performed. Macrophages were then stimulated with LPS and polarized with IL4/13, IFNγ, or azithromycin plus IFNγ. Western blot for signaling mediators, p65 translocation assay, and immunofluorescence were performed. Results: Myeloid arginase-1 deletion resulted in greater morbidity along with more severe inflammatory response compared to the Arg1flox/flox mice. Arg1Δm mice had greater numbers of neutrophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes in their airways and lymph nodes compared to the Arg1flox/flox mice. Conversely, global arginase inhibition resulted in greater weight loss along with greater neutrophil and macrophage infiltration compared to Arg1Δm mice. BEC and l-norvaline treated mice had higher numbers of lymphocytes in their lymph nodes with variable effects on airway lymphocyte counts. Azithromycin treatment comparably reduced the acute inflammatory responses in both Arg1Δm and Arg1flox/flox mice. To evaluate this mechanism, we show in vitro that azithromycin decreases NF-κB activation by preventing p65 nuclear translocation and by decreasing STAT1 activation in a concentration-dependent manner. These effects were reversed with IKKβ inhibition. Conclusions: Myeloid arginase is essential for control of inflammatory responses in PA pneumonia with potentially different effects of other cellular sources demonstrated with global arginase inhibition. Azithromycin reduces excessive inflammation even in the absence of arginase, potentially through a cross-inhibitory mechanism involving STAT1 and NF-κB pathways through IKKβ.

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The polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (neutrophils) are gaining renewed interest regarding their involvement in chronic inflammatory disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Besides phagocytic and destructive capabilities, neutrophils have regulatory roles, e.g. by influencing responses from dendritic cells and lymphocytes. Several animal models have revealed that neutrophils are crucial for the initiation and maintenance of chronic inflammatory diseases. Neutrophil function is highly dependent on their ability to produce superoxide, an oxygen radical which can be further metabolized to other free radicals. Whether or not neutrophils are capable of producing the oxygen radical nitric oxide (NO˙) has been a matter of debate. In this thesis it was shown that freshly isolated neutrophils from the joint cavity of patients with RA, but not from other arthritis patients, had ongoing intracellular production of superoxide, indicating the processing of ingested material. The finding that joint neutrophils, but seemingly not circulating cells, expressed the NO-inducing enzyme iNOS, led to a series of experiments aimed to elucidate where in the exudative process this enzyme could first be detected. We could finally, for the first time, present evidence that human neutrophils actually express iNOS constitutively. Our data also suggest that neutrophil iNOS may be membrane associated, thus differing from the cytosolic location in other cell types. Since NOS activity was not demonstrated in isolated cells, the notion that neutrophil iNOS is regulated primarily at the transcriptional level must be questioned. NO production from iNOS requires the presence of its substrate, L-arginine. To test the hypothesis that neutrophil arginase prevents neutrophil NO-production, we investigated whether arginase inhibition affects neutrophil NO-dependent oxidative function. Initial data revealed a difference in the effect of arginase inhibition comparing neutrophil stimulus with a soluble formylated tri-peptide (fMLF) and integrin-mediated stimulation with particle-bound collagen type-1. This led to the hypothesis that integrin-ligation on neutrophils induces extracellular liberation of arginase, which was confirmed both by measuring arginase and its enzyme activity. The findings in this thesis may be important not only regarding the role of neutrophils in chronic joint inflammation, but also as a link in the accelerated atherosclerosis observed in chronic inflammatory disorders, e.g. RA. / Vid reumatiska ledinflammationer ansamlas mycket stora mängder polymorfkärniga neutrofila granulocyter (neutrofiler) inne i den vätskefyllda ledhålan. Neutrofiler har kraftfull destruktiv potential och anses kunna bidra till uppkomst av skada i leden. Då flera djurmodeller av ledinflammation har visat sig omöjliga att initiera i frånvaro av neutrofiler, har intresset för denna celltyp åter ökat efter att de under lång tid har stått i skuggan av andra typer av vita blodkroppar. En viktig del i avdödning av mikroorganismer och cellsignalering är förmågan att bilda fria syreradikaler, t.ex. superoxid (˙O2-) och kväveoxid (NO˙). Denna avhandling belyser aspekter kring produktionen av dessa reaktiva syreprodukter och mekanismer av potentiell betydelse vid ledinflammation. I det första arbetet visas att neutrofiler isolerade ur ledvätska från patienter med ledgångsreumatism (RA) har ett unikt beteende avseende superoxidproduktion jämfört med motsvarande celler från patienter med andra reumatiska sjukdomar. RA-neutrofiler från ledvätska (men inte från blod) producerar superoxid intracellulärt redan i vila och stimulering via vidhäftningsmolekyler ger en snabb ytterligare ökning av denna aktivitet. Fyndet antyder att cellerna är engagerade med hantering av endocyterade partiklar och/eller immunkomplex/immunaggregat. I de båda nästkommande arbetena undersöktes förekomst av det NO˙-producerande enzymet iNOS i neutrofiler. En rad tidigare publikationer har rapporterat motsägelsefulla resultat i denna fråga. Efter en serie experiment kunde vi konstatera att humana neutrofiler uttrycker iNOS konstitutivt, men att både dess cellulära lokalisation och reglering skiljer sig från andra celler. Neutrofiler har nyligen även visats innehålla arginas, ett enzym som konkurrerar med iNOS om bindningen till L-arginin och som därmed kan hämma NO˙-produktion. I det fjärde arbetet undersökte vi därför om hämning av arginas påverkade neutrofilernas funktion och produktion av superoxid. Vi fann att effekterna av arginashämning var större hos celler som stimulerats genom vidhäftning av kollagenklädda partiklar jämfört med en löslig formylerad tri-peptid (fMLF). Vidare, kunde vi visa att vidhäftning av kollagenklädda partiklar medför större extracellulär frisättning av arginas. Med stöd av dessa fynd kunde vi i påföljande försök bekräfta hypotesen att extracellulär frisättning av arginas är större efter vidhäftning av kollagen-partiklar än med fMLF-stimulering. Fysiologiskt är fyndet logiskt då det skulle medföra ökade vidhäftningsmöjligheter för neutrofilen inne i blodbanan genom att begränsa blodkärlets egen NO˙ produktion. Fyndet är också förenligt med den ökade frekvensen hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar vid RA, då en intensiv kontinuerlig utvandring av neutrofiler skulle medföra ökad arginas frisättning, sänkta argininnivåer och endotelial dysfunktion.

Orientadora: Prof. Dra. Fernanda Dias da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnociência, 2016. / A microplusina e um peptideo antimicrobiano, quelante de Cu2+ e Fe2+, isolado do carrapato Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Estudos com macrofagos murinos, derivados de camundongos C57BL/6, demonstraram que a microplusina induziu a producao de TNF- ¿¿ e IL-6, independente da adicao de mediadores do sistema imune como o LPS e IFN-¿Á e potencializou a atividade dos macrofagos estimulados com IFN-¿Á, aumentando a sintese de NO e TNF-¿¿, o que sugere uma possivel atividade pro-inflamatoria da microplusina. Porem, estudos adicionais eram necessarios a fim de se elucidar sua atividade imunomoduladora. Sendo assim, este projeto teve como objetivo investigar a capacidade da microplusina induzir respostas anti-inflamatorias, atraves da sintese da enzima arginase I, ou pro-inflamatorias, atraves da sintese de oxido nitrico (NO), em macrofagos J774, derivados de camundongos BALB/c. Os resultados mostraram que a microplusina recombinante (25¿Êg/mL) induziu a producao de arginase I, com 6 horas de estimulo, com igual eficacia ao controle positivo estimulado pelo extrato de Bordetella parapertussis (30¿Êg/mL), porem nao foi capaz de induzir a sintese de NO, independente da dose do peptideo (5, 25 e 50 ¿Êg/mL), do tempo de estimulo da cultura (24h ou 72h) ou mesmo da adicao de IFN-¿Á (500 pg/mL), o que indica um efeito anti-inflamatorio da microplusina sobre essas celulas. Essa divergencia de resultado entre as duas linhagens pode ser devido a um perfil de respostas imune distinto entre as mesmas. Macrofagos derivados de camundongos BALB/c sao menos sensiveis ao estimulo com IFN-¿Á do que macrofagos derivados de C57BL/6, consequentemente produzindo menos NO. Por outro lado, a linhagem J774 tambem tende a produzir respostas anti-inflamatorias, como por exemplo, a arginase I, em resposta ao LPS. Os dados obtidos mostram que o efeito imunomodulador da microplusina pode variar de uma linhagem celular para outra, sendo necessarios mais estudos a fim de elucidar melhor seu potencial imunomodulador, para que futuramente possa ser estudada em modelos de infeccao. / The microplusin is an antimicrobial peptide, chelating of Cu2+ and Fe2+, isolated from the wood tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Studies with murine macrophages, extracted from C57BL/6 mouse, demonstrated that the microplusin induced the production of TNF-á and IL-6 by these cells, regardless of the addition of mediators of the immune system such as the LPS and IFN-ã, and it also enhanced the macrophages activity stimulated by IFN-ã, increasing the synthesis of NO and TNF-á, suggesting a potential post inflammatory microplusin activity. However, further studies were necessary to elucidate its immunomodulatory effect. Therefore, this project aimed to investigate the ability of microplusin to induce anti-inflammatory responses through the production of the arginase I enzyme, or proinflammatories, through the production of nitric oxide (NO) in the J774 macrophages lineage, derived from BALB/c mouse strain. The results show that recombinant microplusin (25ìg/ml) induced the production of arginase I, within 6 hours of stimulation, having equal efficacy as the positive control stimulated by the extract Bordetella parapertussis (30ìg/ml), but it was not able to induce the production of NO, independently of the peptide dosage (5, 25 e 50 ìg/mL), culture stimulus time (24h or 72h), or even adding IFN-ã (500 pg/mL), indicating a microplusin anti-inflammatory effect on these cells. This divergence of results between these two lineages might be due a distinct immune response profile among themselves. Macrophages derived from BALB/c mouse strain are less sensitive to IFN-ã stimulation than macrophages derived from C57BL/6 mouse strain, thus producing less NO. Moreover, the J774 strain also tends to produce anti-inflammatory responses, such as arginase I in response to LPS. The data show that the immunomodulating effect of microplusin may vary from one cell line to another, requiring further studies to better elucidate immunomodulating potential, so that hereafter, it can be studied in infection models.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Stefan Bossmann / Numerous Proteases are implicated in cancer initiation, survival, and progression. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the levels of protease expression by tumors and surrounding tissues, which are reflected in blood and tissue samples. Nanoplatforms for Cathepsin(CTS) B and L, matrix metalloproteinases(MMP) 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 13 and urokinase plasminogen activator(uPA) detection have been synthesized. Nanoplatforms feature a central dopamine-coated core/shell Fe/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle. Cyanine 5.5 is permanently tethered to the dopamine ligands via amide bonds. Tetrakis(4-carboxy-phenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) is co-tethered to Fe/Fe₃O₄/dopamine by means of protease consensus sequences. In the presence of a relevant protease sequence, it is cleaved, releasing TCPP from the nanoplatform. In contrast, Cy 5.5 will remain permanently tethered to the nanoparticle. Therefore, an extensive increase of emission intensity of the fluorescence signal from TCPP is observed. This permits the detection of the activity of proteases at femtomolar levels in biospecimens by fluorescence spectroscopy. 46 breast cancer and 20 healthy human blood serum samples were analyzed. Based on the expression pattern of analyzed enzymes, human breast cancer can be detected at stage I. By monitoring CTS B and L stage 0 detection may be achieved. This study demonstrates the feasibility of minimally invasive successful early cancer diagnosis. Immunosuppression is one of the hallmarks of aggressive cancers. Arginase is overexpressed in cancer patients, resulting in systemic immunosuppression. Two nanoplatforms for arginase detection have been synthesized. Both feature a central dopamine-coated core/shell Fe/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle to which cyanine 7.0 or cyanine 7.5 is tethered via amide bonds. In both nanoplatforms, cyanine 5.5 is linked to the N-terminal of the peptide sequence GRRRRRRRG. Arginine (R) reacts to ornithine (O) in the presence of arginase. According to our results obtained from fluorescence spectroscopy, the oligopeptides GRRRRRRRG and GOOOOOOOG differ in their chain dynamics. In the presence of arginase, and dependent on arginase activity, fluorescence increase of both nanoplatforms is observed, which is an indication that proton-transfer quenching decreases when arginine gets converted to ornithine. The novel assays permit the detection of active arginase within an hour. Additionally, Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is observed in nanoplatforms featuring cy 5.5/7.0 pairs, resulting in picomolar detection limits. This is the first example of a “post-translational” enzyme sensor, in which the tether is subjected to chemical transformations of the aminoacid side chains and not cleaved by an enzyme, resulting in the modified mobility of the tether. The nanoplatforms do not show a fluorescence increase when incubated with NO-reductase, an enzyme indicative of immunoactivation, which also uses arginase as substrate. Copper dependent inhibitory activity of 10000 compound library has been studied against of Staphylococcus aureus. 53 copper- dependent hit molecules were recognized featuring extended thiourea core structure with NNSN motif. NMR titrations, UV/Vis studies have been performed for characterization of metal complexation and structure modeling. Chemoinformatic meta-analysis of the ChEMBL chemical database confirmed the NNSNs as an unrecognized staphylococcal inhibitor, in spite of other compound groups in chemical screening libraries. This will lead to the development of novel class of antibacterial agents against Staphylococcus aureus.

Excessive tissue fibrosis in various lung diseases contributes to decline in lung function and subsequent morbidity and mortality. Mechanisms involve complex networks of molecules such as cytokines that are not clearly worked out in conditions such as Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Furthermore, pulmonary virus infection has been linked to exacerbations of IPF. Previous studies have demonstrated that transient pulmonary over-expression of Oncostatin M (OSM) leads to increased extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation, Th2-skewed cytokines and Arg1+ M2-like macrophage accumulation in mouse models. OSM can also robustly induce interleukin-33 (IL-33), an IL1 family cytokine or alarmin, both in vivo and in vitro mouse lung systems. Since others have shown that soluble IL-33 exacerbates bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mouse models and is associated with Th2-type lung diseases, IL-33 may mediate OSM effects on ECM and Arg1+ macrophage-like cell accumulation. The main hypothesis in this thesis is that OSM can induce IL-33 expression and Arg1+ cells, that OSM can potentiate IL-33 release from virally-infected epithelial cells, and that OSM can prime lungs to subsequent influenza infection and exacerbate pathology. Results demonstrated that OSM induced robust up-regulation of pulmonary IL-33 and Arg1 mRNA and protein expression in vivo, in comparison to another gp130 cytokine, IL-6. However, IL-6 was required for OSM-induced arginase-1 expression in vivo, but not IL-33 expression in vivo. OSM-induced Arg1 expression was also dependent upon IL-33 presence as demonstrated in IL-33-/- animals. This finding implicates a role for both IL-33 and IL-6 in mediating OSM-induced Arg1+ macrophage-like cell accumulation within the lung. Additionally, results showed that a respiratory Influenza A virus infection in vivo alone induced a time-dependent increase in OSM and IL-33 (Day 4), however reduced IL-33 by 7-days post-infection. Influenza infection in AdOSM-primed mice and led to decreased IL-33 expression and eosinophilic infiltration within the lung 5-days post-influenza infection. Collectively, these results demonstrate that OSM can drive Th2-associated pathology correlated to increased IL-33 and Arg1 expression. Contrary to expectations, influenza A virus infection led to a reduction in OSM-induced Th2-phenotype in vivo. Further exploration into the OSM-IL-33 pathway will provide insight into innate immune mechanisms of lung inflammation, virus infection and control of ECM accumulation. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Macrophages can be activated by a variety of extracellular signals to polarize to either the M1 (inflammatory and antimicrobial) or to the M2 (wound repair and inflammation resolution) phenotype. Expression of arginase 1 in macrophages is a key marker of the M2 phenotype. Arginase 1 expression is induced by interleukin 4 (IL-4), a cytokine secreted by Th2 helper cells. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a product of metabolism of dietary retinol (vitamin A). In a manner analogous to hormones, ATRA binds to nuclear receptors in cells and influences gene expression and cell physiology. ATRA is important in the resolution of inflammation systemically and on the cellular level, however it has not been linked to M2 activation or arginase 1 expression. Testing the hypothesis that ATRA can induce arginase 1 in macrophages either directly or indirectly, it was found that ATRA alone cannot cause murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) to activate in the M2 phenotype (as indicated by arginase 1 expression), however it can dramatically potentiate induction of arginase 1 expression and activity by IL-4. This is the first observation positively linking ATRA to arginase 1. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), is a conserved structural component of the outer membrane of Gram negative bacteria, and a potent pyrogen. In metabolic endotoxemia, LPS concentration in the blood is slightly elevated, and over the long term this contributes to diverse inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, obesity, and diabetes. LPS promotes the M1 phenotype and suppresses the M2 phenotype, but its contribution at low doses such as those found in metabolic endotoxemia are not well studied. In order to investigate mechanisms of LPS suppression at low doses, mice deficient in IRAK1 and tollip, key mediators or proinflammatory LPS signaling, were used to study IL-4, ATRA, and LPS crosstalk. LPS suppression of arginase 1 was found to be dependent on IRAK1 and tollip, but only at low doses of LPS. / Ph. D.

Leishmanioses são doenças causadas por protozoários do gênero Leishmania e se apresentam sob forma tegumentar ou visceral. No Brasil, a leishmaniose tegumentar americana (LTA) é causada, na sua maioria, por Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis e conhecem-se principalmente as formas cutânea (LC), mucosa (LM) e disseminada (LD) da doença. Na LTA as formas clínicas tem sido atribuídas a diferenças na resposta imune do hospedeiro, mas recentemente vinculam-se também à variabilidade intraespecífica da L. (V.) braziliensis. Neste estudo avaliamos se haveria variabilidade biológica nos isolados de L. (V.) braziliensis, provenientes de pacientes com LC, LM e LD, principalmente em resposta a fator de crescimento insulina-símile-I (IGF-I). Os fatores de crescimento do hospedeiro tem sido alvo de estudos no desenvolvimento das leishmanioses, sendo IGF-I um deles. Havíamos demonstrado em estudos anteriores, utilizando Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, que IGF-I induz proliferação, aumentando a atividade da arginase, com geração de poliaminas e diminuindo a síntese de óxido nítrico. No presente estudo analisamos o efeito de IGF-I em L.(V.) braziliensis, espécie prevalente no Brasil. Avaliamos inicialmente as características dos diferentes isolados enquanto promastigota e no prosseguimento enquanto amastigota em células de linhagem monocítica humana THP-1, com e sem estímulo de IGF-I. Nossos dados sugerem que há diferenças na atividade da arginase basal entre os isolados de L. (V.) braziliensis, sendo maior naqueles provenientes de pacientes com LM. IGF-I aumentou a atividade da arginase nos isolados de LC e LD, mas não de LM. Nos isolados em forma amastigota nas células de linhagem monocítica humana THP-1, o efeito de IGF-I foi de aumento do parasitismo nos isolados de LC e LM e de diminuição com os de LD. Nos isolados de LD a atividade da arginase basal foi menor que nos de LC. Por outro lado, a produção de óxido nítrico tendeu a ser maior em isolados de LD quando sob estímulo de IGF-I. Os dados sugerem que diferenças nas características biológicas dos parasitos podem contribuir na apresentação clínica dos casos da LTA. / Leishmaniasis are diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania that may manifest as cutaneous or visceral disease. In Brazil, American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is caused mostly by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and cutaneous (CL), mucosal (ML) and disseminated (DL) forms of the disease are known.The diversity of clinical manifestations has been attributed to differences in the host immune response, but recently it has also been related to intraspecific variability of L. (V.) braziliensis. In the present study we evaluated whether there were biological variability in different isolates of L. (V.) braziliensis from patients with CL, ML, and DL, mainly in response to insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Growth factors of the host have been investigated in the development of leishmaniasis including IGF-I. In previous studies using Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis IGF-I was shown to induce proliferation, to increase the activity of arginase, generating polyamines and to decrease the synthesis of nitric oxide. In this study we analyzed the effect of IGF-I in L. (V.) braziliensis, a species prevalent in Brazil. Initially we evaluated the characteristics of individual isolates as promastigote and further as amastigote within human macrophage cell line THP-1 with and without IGF-I stimulation. Our data suggest that there are differences in the basal arginase activity amongst isolates of L. (V.) braziliensis, being higher in those from patients with ML. IGF-I increased the activity of arginase in the isolates of CL and DL, but not of ML. In isolates in the form of amastigotes within THP-1 cells, IGF-I induced the increase of parasitism of isolates from CL and ML, and decrease of those from DL. In isolates of DL the basal arginase activity was lower than in those of CL. Moreover, the production of nitric oxide tended to be higher with isolates of DL upon IGF-I stimulation. The data suggest that differences in the biological characteristics of parasites may contribute to the diversity of clinical presentation of ATL.