No description available.

abstract: Most drugs work by binding to receptors on the cell surface. These receptors can then carry the message into the cell and have a wide array of results. However, studying how fast the binding is can be difficult. Current methods involve extracting the receptor and labeling them, but both these steps have issues. Previous works found that binding on the cell surface is accompanied with a small change in cell size, generally an increase. They have also developed an algorithm that can track these small changes without a label using a simple bright field microscope. Here, this relationship is further explored by comparing edge tracking results to a more widely used method, surface plasmon resonance. The kinetic constants found from the two methods are in agreement. No corrections or manipulations were needed to create agreement. The Bland-Altman plots shows that the error between the two methods is about 0.009 s-1. This is about the same error between cells, making it a non-dominant source of error. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biochemistry 2018

There is great need of robust and high throughput techniques for accurately measuring the concentration of nanoparticles in a solution. Microarray imaging techniques using widely used to quantify the binding of labeled analytes to a functionalized surface. However, most approaches require the combined output of many individual binding events to produce a measurable signal, which limits the sensitivity of such assays at low sample concentrations. Although a number of high-NA optical techniques have demonstrated the capability of imaging individual nanoparticles, these approaches have not been adopted for diagnostics due complex instrumentation and low assay throughput. Alternatively, interferometric imaging techniques based on light scattering have demonstrated the potential for single nanoparticle detection on a robust and inexpensive platform. This dissertation focuses on the development of methods and infrastructure to enable the development of diagnostic assays using the Single Particle Interferometric Imaging Sensor (SP-IRIS). SP-IRIS uses a bright-field reflectance microscope to image microarrays immobilized on a simple reflective substrate, which acts as a common-path homodyne interferometer to enhance the visibility of nanoparticles captured near its surface. This technique can be used to detect natural nanoparticles (such as viruses and exosomes) as well as molecular analytes (proteins and nucleic acid sequences) which have been tagged with metallic nanoparticle in a sandwich assay format. Although previous research efforts have demonstrated the potential for SP-IRIS assays in a variety of applications, these studies have largely been focused on demonstrating theoretical proof of concept in a laboratory setting. In contrast, the effective use of SP-IRIS as a clinical diagnostic platform will require significant functional improvements in automation of assay incubation, instrument control, and image analysis. In this dissertation, we discuss the development of instrumentation and software to support the translation of SP-IRIS from manual laboratory technique into an automated diagnostic platform. We first present a collection of mechanical solutions to enable the real-time, in-solution imaging of nanoparticles in disposable microfluidic cartridges. Next, we present image analysis techniques for the detection of nanoparticle signatures within digital images, and discuss solutions to the unique obstacles presented by the ill-defined focal properties of homodyne interferometry. Finally, we present a particle tracking algorithm for residence time analysis of nanoparticle binding in real-time datasets. Collectively, these improvements represent significant progress towards the use of SP-IRIS as a robust and automated diagnostic platform. / 2019-07-02T00:00:00Z

Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensors have brought a revolutionary change to in vitro study of biological and biochemical processes due to its ability to measure extremely small changes in surface refractive index (RI), binding equilibrium and kinetics. Strategies based on LSPR have been employed to enhance the sensitivity for a variety of applications, such as diagnosis of diseases, environmental analysis, food safety, and chemical threat detection. In LSPR spectroscopy, absorption and scattering of light are greatly enhanced at frequencies that excite the LSPR, resulting in a characteristic extinction spectrum that depends on the RI of the surrounding medium. Compositional and conformational change within the surrounding medium near the sensing surface could therefore be detected as shifts in the extinction spectrum. This dissertation specifically focuses on the development and evaluation of highly sensitive LSPR biosensors for in situ study of biomolecular binding process by incorporating nanotechnology. Compared to traditional methods for biomolecular binding studies, LSPR-based biosensors offer real-time, label free detection. First, we modified the gold sensing surface of LSPR-based biosensors using nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and polymer to enhance surface absorption and sensitivity. The performance of this type of biosensors was evaluated on the application of small heavy metal molecule binding affinity study. This biosensor exhibited ~7 fold sensitivity enhancement and binding kinetics measurement capability comparing to traditional biosensors. Second, a miniaturized cell culture system was integrated into the LSPR-based biosensor system for the purpose of real-time biomarker signaling pathway studies and drug efficacy studies with living cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first LSPR-based sensing platform with the capability of living cell studies. We demonstrated the living cell measurement ability by studying the VEGF signaling pathway in living SKOV-3 cells. Results have shown that the VEGF secretion level from SKOV-3 cells is 0.0137 ± 0.0012 pg per cell. Moreover, we have demonstrated bevacizumab drug regulation to the VEGF signaling pathway using this biosensor. This sensing platform could potentially help studying biomolecular binding kinetics which elucidates the underlying mechanisms of biotransportation and drug delivery.

The work presented in this thesis has contributed with knowledge to several aspects of protein-protein interaction involving PDZ domains. A substantial amount of our proteome contains regions that are intrinsically disordered but fold upon ligand interaction. The mechanism by which disordered regions bind to their ligands is one important piece of the puzzle to understand why disorder is beneficial. A region in the PDZ domain of nNOS undergoes such a disorder-to-order transition to form a b-sheet in the binding pocket of its partner. By studying the kinetics of interaction, in combination with mutations that modulate the stability of the aforementioned region, we demonstrate that the binding mechanism consists of multiple steps in which the native binding interactions of the b-sheet are formed cooperatively after the rate-limiting transition state. These mechanistic aspects may be general for the binding reactions of intrinsically disordered protein regions, at least upon formation of β-sheets.               The second part of this thesis deals with the engineering of proteins for increasing affinity in protein-protein interaction. Infection by high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) can lead to cancer, and the viral E6 protein is an attractive drug target. E6 from hrHPV natively interacts with the well-characterized PDZ2 domain in SAP97, which we used as a scaffold to develop a high affinity bivalent binder of hrHPV E6. We initially increased PDZ2's affinity for E6 6-fold, but at the cost of decreased specificity. Attaching a helix that binds E6 at a distant site, increasing the affinity another14-fold, completed the design.             The final work of this thesis investigates if binding studies conducted with isolated PDZ domains is representative of the full-length proteins they belong to. It has been suggested that ligand binding in PDZ domains can be influenced by factors such as adjacent domains and interactions outside of the binding pocket. We studied these aspects for the three PDZ domains of PSD-95 and found that they on the whole function in an independent manner with short peptides as ligands, but that interactions outside of the PDZ binding-pocket may be present. The representative length of the PDZ interaction partner should therefore be considered.

The interaction mediated by integrin alphaLbeta2 and its ligand plays major role in many immune responses by regulating leukocyte adhesion. This study investigated the conformational regulation of alphaLbeta2 and the effects of conformational change on the ligand binding of alphaLbeta2. Micropipette adhesion frequency assay was used to measure the two-dimensional binding affinity and kinetics of alphaLbeta2 on K562 cells and neutrophils. The conformations of alphaLbeta2 were regulated by mutations, antibodies, small molecule antagonists, as well as divalent cations. Our results indicated that the change in binding affinity and off-rate was mostly due to the alphaL I domain conformational change. Without affecting the I domain conformation, the extension of alphaLbeta2 only increases the on-rate for several fold by providing a better orientation and accessibility of the molecule on cell surface. The binding characteristics of divalent cations to I domain MIDAS and other metal ion binding sites in alphaLbeta2 are determined by the nature of divalent cations, Mn2+ has higher binding affinity to the metal ion binding sites than Mg2+. The conformation of I domain also affected the binding of divalent cations. Open and intermediate I domains have higher binding affinity for Mn2+ and Mg2+ than WT and closed I domains. Divalent cations dissociate from I domain MIDAS very slowly but from those metal ion binding sites that important for conformational change of alphaLbeta2 rapidly. One of the most important biological processes mediated by alphaLbeta2 and other beta2 integrins is the recruitment and migration of neutrophils during inflammation. The activation of beta2 integrins by E-selectin binding to neutrophils in this process was also investigated. The binding of E-selectin, but not P- or L-selectin, activates beta2 integrins in a timescale of ~ 5 seconds and the activation may require the crosslink of E-selectin ligands. These results provide insights into the relationship between the conformational change and the function of alphaLbeta2 and most importantly would contribute to the understanding of integrin regulation mechanisms.

The canonical Wnt pathway is a vitally important signalling pathway that plays an important role in cell proliferation, differentiation and fate decisions in embryonic development and in the maintenance of adult tissues. The twelve Armadillo (ARM) repeat-containing protein beta-catenin acts as the signal transducer in this pathway and is continuously degraded in the cytosol by the beta-catenin destruction complex (BDC). Upon receiving the Wnt signal the BDC is inactivated, allowing beta-catenin to accumulate in the cytosol and be transported to the nucleus where it binds to the TCF/LEF family of transcription factors, inducing the expression of cell cycle promotor genes. In this Thesis I describe investigations into the roles of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) and the transcription factor TCF7L2 within this signalling pathway. LRRK2 is a large multi-domain protein with strong links to Parkinson’s disease and suggested to play a role in inactivating the BDC in response to the Wnt signal. A recent paper proposed that the previously uncharacterised regions of LRRK2 contain a series of tandem repeat sub-domains. I began an investigation into these sub-domains but I was unable to produce soluble protein constructs despite the use of a range of common techniques, and so I was forced to conclude this project early. The main body of this thesis focuses on the interaction between the intrinsically disordered TCF7L2 and the repeat protein beta-catenin, a very long interface of approximately 4800 Å2 that spans from the third to the eleventh ARM repeat of beta-catenin and residues 12 to 50 of TCF7L2, as determined by X-ray crystal structures. First, a fluorescence reporter system for the binding interaction was developed and used to determine the kinetic rate constants for the association and dissociation of the wild-type construct using stopped-flow fluorescence spectroscopy and time-dependent fluorescence spectroscopy. It was found that association of TCF7L2 and beta-catenin was rapid (7.3 ± 0.1 x107 M-1s-1) with only a single phase was observed, whereas dissociation was biphasic and slow (5.7 ± 0.4 x10-4 s-1, 15.2 ± 2.8 x10-4 s-1). Using either of these two dissociation rate constants the calculated Kd value obtained is much lower than the values previously reported in the literature (8 ± 1 / 20 ± 2 pM compared with 16 nM). This reporter system was then used to investigate the striking variability between three crystal structures previously obtained for the TCF7L2-beta-catenin complex, in which different regions of TCF7L2 show different elements of secondary structure. Mutational analysis revealed that the interface residues on TCF7L2 identified in these structures make little or no contribution to the overall binding affinity, pointing to a transient nature of these contact in solution and suggesting that the observed differences between the structures are due to differences in crystal packing. Further experiments into the effect of osmolarity on the binding equilibrium and kinetics supported this conclusion and suggest a change in the association/dissociation mechanism as a function of ionic strength. Lastly, further mutational analysis of TCF7L2 revealed two regions that contribute particularly strongly to the binding kinetics, suggesting that TCF7L2-beta-catenin assembly proceeds via a two-site avidity mechanism. Some of the most destabilising variants display two additional dissociation phases, indicating the presence of an alternative dissociation pathway that is inaccessible to the wild-type. In summary, the results presented here provide insights into the kinetics of molecular recognition of a long intrinsically disordered region with an extended repeat protein surface, a process shown to involve multiple routes with multiple steps in each.

La neuroglobine humaine (Ngb) est une globine découverte en 2000 dont la fonction principale demeure encore inconnue. Par comparaison avec l’hémoglobine (Hb) et la myoglobine (Mb), les globines les plus étudiées, la Ngb possède une séquence en acides aminés particulière. Il en résulte des caractéristiques structurales propres à la Ngb. L’hème, qui constitue le site actif de la Ngb, est hexacoordiné par l’histidine distale 64 et existe sous deux formes isomères A et B. La Ngb comprend également un pont disulfure Cys46-Cys55 intramoléculaire.La relation entre ces spécificités et d’éventuelles fonctions de la Ngb demeure cependant assez mal explorée. Notre objectif durant la thèse, était de mettre en évidence in vitro l’influence de différents éléments structuraux sur les propriétés et la réactivité de la Ngb. Pour ce faire, les mutations H64V, F106L, A90P et C46G ont été réalisées. Des études expérimentales à l’aide de spectrophotométrie UV-visible, de dichroisme circulaire et de RMN, ont été effectuées pour caractériser les mutants synthétisés, tester leur stabilité en fonction du pH et évaluer leur réactivité vis-à-vis de la fixation du ligand CN.Nous avons ainsi montré que la structure de la Ngb était influencée par la présence de l’histidine distale, du pont disulfure et de l’environnement de l’hème. L’étude, pour la première fois, des coefficients d’extinction molaire des protéines mutées a permis de souligner l’impact des acides aminés au voisinage de l’hème mais aussi du pont disulfure sur l’environnement électronique de l’hème. Nous avons aussi mis en évidence que le pont disulfure et les acides aminés mutés influaient sur la capacité de la forme isomère A de la Ngb à fixer le cyanure. La forme isomère B est en revanche peu impactée par ces deux paramètres. Cela soulève la question de l’existence et de la fonction des deux formes isomères de l’hème in vivo. / The physiological function of Human Neuroglobin (Ngb), discovered in 2000, is still unknown. Compared to other classical globins Haemoglobin and Myoglobin, Ngb has some structural specificities. Its haem, which is its reactive centre, is hexacoordinated by distal histidine 64 and exists under two isomer forms A and B. Moreover, Ngb possesses an intramolecular disulfide bridge between two cysteines 46 and 55.The relationship between its structural characteristics and its functions in vivo does not remain well-understood. The goal of this thesis was to underline the impact of some structural features on the Ngb properties and reactivity in vitro. Thus Ngb variants H64V, F106L, A90P and C46G were produced. Experimental studies were performed by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, circular dichroism and NMR. Variants were characterized : their stability as a function of pH were tested and their reactivity trough the CN binding reaction were evaluated.We have shown that the Ngb structure was strongly dependant on the presence of the distal histidine, the disulfide bridge and the haem environment. The first and unique determination of variants’ molar absorption coefficients underlined the influence of the haem vicinity and disulfide bridge on the electronic haem environment. We have brought some evidence that the disulfide bridge and the mutated amino acids have an impact on the isomer A Ngb ability to bind the cyanide whereas isomer B is poorly affected by those two parameters. This phenomenon raises the issue of the existence and function of the two isomer forms in vivo.

No description available.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(農学) / 乙第13146号 / 論農博第2852号 / 新制||農||1056(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H30||N5093(農学部図書室) / (主査)教授 植田 和光, 教授 加納 健司, 教授 三芳 秀人 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM