Research was conducted to investigate the effect of phenolic compounds derived from inherently rich antioxidant grape extracts (GE) on α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro and in vivo blood glucose control, oxidative stress, and inflammation associated with obesity-induced type 2 diabetes. Because intestinal α-glucosidase plays a key role in the digestion and absorption of complex carbohydrates, the inhibition of this enzyme is a metabolic target for managing diabetes by improving post-prandial blood glucose control. Initially, red Norton wine grape (Vitis aestivalis) and pomace extracts were evaluated and determined to have notable phenolic content and antioxidant properties. Next, grape skin (GSE) and pomace extract (GPE) were tested and both had in vitro yeast and mammalian α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The GSE was 32-times more potent at inhibiting yeast α-glucosidase than acarbose, a commercial oral hypoglycemic agent. From HPLC and LC-MS analysis, three phenolics from the GSE (resveratrol, ellagic acid, and catechin) were identified as active inhibitory compounds. The acute administration of GPE (400 mg/kg bw) to mice reduced postprandial blood glucose level by 35% following an oral glucose tolerance test compared to the control. The daily supplementation (250 mg/kg bw) of GSE and GPE for 12-weeks to mice affected fasting blood glucose levels, oxidative stress, and inflammatory biomarkers associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. At the end of the study, the GSE group gained significantly (P < 0.05) more weight (24.6 g) than the control, high fat, or GPE groups (11.2, 20.2, 19.6 g, respectively). Both GSE and GPE groups had lower fasting blood glucose levels (119.3 and 134.2 mg/dL, respectively) compared to the high fat group (144.6 mg/dL). The 12-week supplementation of GSE was associated with a higher plasma oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), lower liver lipid peroxidation as measure by TBARS, and lower levels of inflammation as measured by plasma C-reactive protein compared to the high fat group. In conclusion, our collective observations from these studies provide insight into the potential effects of antioxidant rich grape extracts on diabetes-related biomarkers through a dual mechanism of antioxidant protection and specific inhibition of intestinal α-glucosidases. / Ph. D.

Discovered in 1980, HTLV-1 (Human T-cell Leukemia Virus-1), was the first identified human retrovirus and is shown to be associated with a variety of diseases including: adult T-cell leukemia lymphoma (ATLL), tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM), chronic arthropathy, uveitis, infective dermatitis, and polymyositis. The mechanism by which the virus causes disease is still unknown. HTLV- 1 infection has been reported in many regions of the world but is most prevalent in Southern Japan, the Caribbean basin, Central and West Africa, the Southeastern United States, Melanesia, parts of South Africa, the Middle East and India. Approximately 30 million people are infected by HTLV-1 worldwide, although only 3-5% of the infected individuals evolve Adult T-cell Leukemia (ATL) during their life and the prognosis for those infected is still poor. The retroviral proteases (PRs) are essential for viral replication because they process viral Gag and Gag-(Pro)-Pol polyproteins during maturation, much like the PR from Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1). Various antiviral inhibitors are in clinical use and one of the most significant classes is HIV-1 PR inhibitors, which have used for antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of AIDS. HTLV-1 PR and HIV-1 PR are homodimeric aspartic proteases with 125 and 99 residues, respectively. Even though substrate specificities of these two enzymes are different, HTLV-1 PR shares 28% similarity with HIV-1 PR overall and the substrate binding sites have 45% similarity. In addition to the 125-residue full length HTLV-1 PR, constructs with various C- terminal deletions (giving proteases with lengths of 116, 121, or 122 amino acids) were made in order to elucidate the effect of the residues in the C-terminal region. It was suggested that five amino acids in the C-terminal region are not necessary for the enzymatic activity in Hayakawa et al. 1992. In 2004 Herger et al. had suggested that 10 amino acids at the C-terminal region are not necessary for catalytic activity. A recent paper suggested that C-terminal residues are essential; and that catalytic activity lowers upon truncation, with even the last 5 amino acids necessary for full catalytic activity (1). The mutation L40I has been made to prevent autoproteolysis and the W98V mutation was made to make the active site of HTLV-1 PR similar to HIV-1 PR. We have characterized C-terminal amino acids of HTLV-1 PR as not being essential for full catalytic activity. We have discovered potential new inhibitors by in silico screening of 116-HTLV-1 PR. These small molecules were tested kinetically for various constructs including the 116, 121 and 122-amino acid forms of HTLV-1 PR. Inhibitors with the best inhibition constants were used in HTLV-1 infected cells and one of the inhibitors seems to inhibit gag processing.

Obtaining enantio pure drug molecules is a long standing challenge in asymmetric synthesis implying that the identification of enantiomers and the determination of enantiomeric purity from a racemic mixture are of profound importance. In achieving this target NMR spectroscopy has proven to be an excellent analytical tool. It is well known that normal achiral NMR solvents do not distinguish the spectra of enantiomers. On the other hand, the conversion of substrates to diastereomers using one of the enantiopure chiral auxiliaries, such as, chiral solvating agent, chiral derivatizing agent and chiral lanthanide shift reagent, circumvents this problem. The imposition of diasteomeric interactions circumvents this problem. There is a pool of chiral auxiliaries available in the literature, each of which is specific to molecules of certain functionalities and has its own advantages and limitations. These classical methods have two limitations as they demand the presence of a targeted functional group in the chiral molecule and utilize only chemical shifts to visualize enantiomers. On the other hand in chiral anisotropic medium, due to differential ordering effect, the order-sensitive NMR observables, viz. chemical shift anisotropies (∆σi), dipolar couplings (Dij) and for nuclei with spin >1/2 the quadrupolar couplings (Qi) have enormous power of exhibiting different spectrum for each enantiomer permitting their discrimination. Numerous weakly ordered chiral aligning media have been reported in the literature. Nevertheless there is a scarcity of water compatible medium. Research work presented in this thesis is focused on various aspects, such as, the discovery of new chiral aligning medium for the enantiodiscrimination of water soluble chiral molecules, potential utility of DNA liquid crystal for discrimination of amino acids, on-the-fly monitoring of enzyme kinetics and the preparation of novel composite liquid crystals, hydrogels and thin films. The derived results are discussed in different chapters. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to NMR spectroscopy with special emphasis on the conceptual understanding of the tensorial interaction parameters, such as chemical shifts, scalar and dipolar couplings, quadrupolar couplings, effect of r.f pulses, basic introduction to 2D NMR experiments. Subsequently, a broad overview of the enantiomers, specification of their configurations, chirality without stereogenic carbon, chirality in molecules containing different atoms, are discussed. Following this a brief introduction to liquid crystals and their properties, their classification, their orientation in the magnetic field, order parameter are also discussed. The description on the chiral liquid crystals, the differential ordering effect, employment of the orientation dependent NMR interactions, utility of 2H NMR experiments for the visualization of enantiomers and the measurement of enantiomeric composition has been set out in brief. Chapter 2: As far as the organo soluble chiral molecules is concerned (in solvents such as, chloroform, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran and dimethylformamide), it has been well established that an ideal choice of chiral liquid crystal for enantiodiscrimination is poly-�-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG). Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of weak aligning medium for water soluble chiral molecules. This chapter introduces the chiral liquid crystal derived from the polysaccharide xanthan, which has numerous applications. The detailed discussion on the preparation of polysaccharide xanthan mesophase is given. The appearance of the mesophse is established by detecting the quadrupole split doublet of dissolved water. Subsequently enantiodiscrimination power of this new medium has been investigated on deuterated D/L-Alanine and (R/S)-β-butyrolactone. For such a purpose the selective 2D-SERF (SElective ReFocussing) experiment has been employed. It has been convincingly demonstrated that the medium has wide applicability for the discrimination of enantiomers, enantiotopic directions in prochiral molecules, measurement of enantiomeric excess and the RDCs in medium sized molecules. The new medium is sustainable over a wide range of temperature and concentration of ingredients, the mesophase is reversible, reproducible, easy to prepare besides being cost effective. It is possible to have the controlled tuning of the degree of order for specific application. Chapter 3: In this chapter the real discriminatory potential of DNA liquid crystalline phase has been explored. It is unambiguously established that; i) the fragmented DNA liquid crystal is able to differentiate between enantiomers of structurally different chiral amino acids; ii) the T1 (2H) values for L/D (alanine) is nearly equal indicating the similar dynamics for both the enantiomers, thus permitting the measurement of ee from the integral areas of the peaks of the contours of 2D spectrum; iii) the enantiotopic discrimination in prochiral compounds has also been successfully explored. Furthermore the analyses of NMR results yielded fruitful information on the analytical potential of DNA chiral liquid crystal, such as, (a) the chiral discrimination is effective on a large range of amino acids with spectral differences ΔΔʋQ‘s and ΔʋQ‘s varying from 80 to 338 Hz, and 50 to 900 Hz respectively; (b) the discrimination phenomenon remain active irrespective of the structure and the electronic nature (polarity) of the fourth substituent around the stereogenic center; (c) compared to an alkyl moiety, the presence of a terminal –OH or –SH group seems to slightly increase both the degree of alignment of the solute and the enantiodiscrimination efficiency compared to alanine; (d) The enantiodiscrimination can be detected easily not only on CD3 and CD groups, but also on CD2 sites exhibiting inequivalent diastereotopic directions; (e) discriminations with rather large differential ordering effect were obtained even for the sites that are situated far away from the asymmetric center; (f) The relative position of quadrupolar doublets from one 2H site to another can be reversed with regard to the absolute configuration (L/D). Chapter 4: Racemases recognize a chiral substrate such as (L-Alanine) and convert it into its enantiomer, i.e., (D-Alanine) and vice versa. Alanine racemase plays a vital role for certain bacteria, providing D-Alanine for peptidoglycan cell-wall biosynthesis. Elucidating the mechanism of enzymatic racemization is crucial for designing new inhibitors that may be useful as a novel class of antibiotics. This requires techniques to discriminate L-and D-Alanine and follow their concentrations as a function of time, so that one can determine the kinetic parameters and study the effect of inhibitors. In this chapter the utility of DNA liquid crystal media for in situ and real-time monitoring of the interconversion of L-and D-alanine-d3 by alanine racemase from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been demonstrated. The enantiomeric excess has been measured at different time intervals to monitor the enzymatic racemization at different time intervals in pseudo 2D NMR. The study unambiguously ascertains the reliability and robustness of utility of NMR in chiral anisotropic phase for monitoring the enzymatic racemization. The method thus provides new mechanistic insight and a better understanding of enzymatic reactions, in particular for alanine racemase. Chapter 5: In continuation with the development of weakly ordered liquid crystals, this chapter reports the spontaneous formation of composite graphene oxide (GO)/double stranded DNA (dsDNA) liquid crystals at higher concentrations of ingredients, and hydrogels at lower concentrations of ingredients, the process of which involves simple mixing in an aqueous phase has been demonstrated. The liquid crystalline phases and hydrogels have been characterized using optical polarized microscopy (OPM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and 2H NMR spectroscopy. The observation of strong birefringence in the optical polarized microscope gives evidence for the formation of GO/dsDNA liquid crystals. The strong interaction between the dsDNA and GO was confirmed using Raman spectroscopic analysis. Furthermore, GO/dsDNA thin films have also been prepared and characterized using SEM and OPM. The GO/dsDNA thin film was prepared and its liquid crystal nature was established using OPM and 2H NMR. Importantly, the GO/dsDNA hydrogels were formed without any heat treatment to unwind dsDNA molecules and the porosity of hydrogels can be controlled by changing concentration of the dsDNA. This novel multifunctional composite liquid crystals and hydrogels of GO/dsDNA thus opens up new avenues for many applications like security papers, optical devices such as circular polarizers, reflective displays and drug delivery as well as tissue engineering using GO composite hydrogels.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Spore photoproduct lyase (SPL) is a radical SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) enzyme that is responsible for the repair of the DNA UV damage product 5-thyminyl-5,6-dihydrothymine (also called spore photoproduct, SP) in the early germination phase of bacterial endospores. SPL initiates the SP repair process using 5'-dA• (5'-deoxyadenosyl radical) generated by SAM cleavage to abstract the H6proR atom which results in a thymine allylic radical. These studies provide strong evidence that the TpT radical likely receives an H atom from an intrinsic H atom donor, C141 in B. subtilis SPL. I have shown that C141 can be alkylated in native SPL by iodoacetamide treatment indicating that it is accessible to the TpT radical. Activity studies demonstrate a 3-fold slower repair rate of SP by C141A which produces TpTSO2 - and TpT simultaneously with no lag phase observed for TpTSO2- formation. Additionally, formation of both products shows a Dvmax kinetic isotope effect (KIE) of 1.7 ± 0.2 which is smaller than the DVmax KIE of 2.8 ± 0.3 for the WT SPL reaction. Removal of the intrinsic H atom donor by this single mutation disrupts the rate-limiting process in the enzyme catalysis. Moreover, C141A exhibits ~0.4 turnover compared to the > 5 turnovers in the WT SPL reaction. In Y97 and Y99 studies, structural and biochemical data suggest that these two tyrosine residues are also crucial in enzyme catalysis. It is suggested that Y99 in B. subtilis SPL uses a novel hydrogen atom transfer pathway utilizing a pair of cysteinetyrosine residues to regenerate SAM. The second tyrosine, Y97, structurally assists in SAM binding and may also contribute to SAM regeneration by interacting with radical intermediates to lower the energy barrier for the second H-abstraction step.

Zinc is an essential cofactor of several proteins. The roles of zinc in these proteins are classified as catalytic, structural or regulatory. Zinc present in structural sites is considered to be a chemically inert, static structural element. On the contrary, previous studies on a C2H2 type zinc finger model compound and the C3H type HIV-1 NCp7 C-terminal zinc knuckle have shown that zinc at these sites can undergo coordination sphere expansion under the influence of a Pt based electrophile. The pentacoordination observed around zinc in these experiments raises an important question: are the structural zinc motifs found in the proteins susceptible to coordination sphere expansion? Through DFT modeling, the existence and nature of the five coordinate zinc species was investigated. mPW1PW91 was chosen as the DFT method by benchmarking against the experimental parameters of a molecule that closely resembles those to be modeled. The results suggest that the observed coordination sphere expansion is due to the flexible nature of thiolate and chloride ligands that are part of the structure. However, if certain conditions are not met, the same flexibility can lead to the destabilization of these rather fragile structures. Unlike the stable three or four coordinate catalytic and structural zinc sites, at regulatory sites, zinc is typically bound to one or two protein ligands. Zinc inhibition of caspases which are central to the process of apoptosis is one such scenario. Several of the caspases are inhibited by zinc at low micromolar range. Regulation of caspases is a strategy for drug development toward apoptosis related diseases; thus it is important to know the molecular details of zinc inhibition of caspases. Currently, it is speculated that zinc binds to the active site His and Cys residues of caspases thus competing with the substrate. However our studies on caspase-3, using enzyme kinetics and biophysical methods, imply more than one zinc binding sites. Contrary to current beliefs, more than 50% of the inhibition is achieved by zinc without affecting substrate binding. Using DFT models, an alternative inhibitory zinc binding site, which better fits our experimental observations, is predicted.

Membrane proteins of the rhomboid-family are evolutionarily widely conserved and include rhomboid intramembrane serine proteases and rhomboid-like proteins. The latter have lost their catalytic activity in evolution but retained the ability to bind transmembrane helices. Rhomboid-family proteins play important roles in intercellular signalling, membrane protein quality control and trafficking, mitochondrial dynamics, parasite invasion and wound healing. Their medical potential is steeply increasing, but in contrast to that, their mechanistic and structural understanding lags behind. Rhomboid protease GlpG from E.coli has become the main model rhomboid-family protein and the main model intramembrane protease - it was the first one whose X-ray structure was solved. GlpG cleaves single-pass transmembrane proteins in their transmembrane helix, but how substrates bind to GlpG and how is substrate specificity achieved is still poorly understood. This thesis investigates the importance of the transmembrane helix of the substrate in its recognition by GlpG using mainly enzyme kinetics and site-directed mutagenesis. We find that the transmembrane helix of the substrate contributes significantly to the binding affinity to the enzyme, hence to cleavage efficiency, but it also plays a role in cleavage site...

Serine racemase (SR) is a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme responsible for biosynthesis of D-serine, a recognized neurotransmitter acting as a co-activator of N-methyl- D-aspartate (NMDA) type of glutamate receptors in the mammalian central nervous system. The hyperfunction of the mentioned receptors have been shown to be implicated in many neuropathological conditions including Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy. To alleviate the symptoms of these diseases, several artificial blockers of NMDA receptors have been introduced into the clinical practice. However, many of these compounds cause undesirable side effects and it is thus necessary to search for either less harmful blockers or regulators of other targets of pharmaceutical intervention that are involved in NMDA receptor activation. In this context, specific inhibition of serine racemase seems to be a promising strategy for regulation of NMDA receptor overstimulation. Mouse serine racemase shares 89% identity with its human ortholog and it was also shown that both enzymes possess similar kinetic parameters and inhibitor specificity. Therefore, the mouse models can be used to search for a potent human serine racemase inhibitor. Although many different compounds for their inhibitory potency towards serine...

O diguanilato cíclico (c-di-GMP) é uma molécula de sinalização intracelular que atua na regulação de importantes processos bacterianos como motilidade, formação de biofilme e virulência. As diguanilato ciclases (DGCs), contendo um domínio GGDEF ativo, catalisam a formação de c-di-GMP a partir de duas moléculas de GTP. A bactéria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri; Xac) é o agente causal do cancro cítrico, uma doença que ataca todas as variedades e espécies de citros. O genoma de Xac codifica 31 proteínas contendo domínios GGDEF. Treze destas proteínas possuem também domínios PAS e/ou GAF, que são ubíquos domínios sensores e de sinalização. Para tentar entender melhor o papel na sinalização por c-di-GMP das interações entre domínios GGDEF e domínios PAS e/ou GAF, estudos bioquímicos e funcionais foram realizados com as proteínas XAC0610 e XAC2446. XAC0610 contém um domínio GAF, quatro domínios PAS e um domínio GGDEF conservado. Análises fenotípicas com a linhagem nocaute Xac&#916;0610 mostraram que XAC0610 atua na regulação da motilidade e sobrevivência de Xac ao tratamento com H2O2. Ensaios de atividade enzimática demonstraram que XAC0610 é uma DGC cataliticamente ativa, e que a mutação sítio-dirigida de um resíduo conservado de lisina (Lys759) provoca uma grande redução na atividade de DGC. Os domínios GAF e PAS de XAC0610 aparentemente não atuam como domínios sensores, entretanto são importantes para a dimerização da proteína, necessária para a obtenção de altos níveis de atividade de DGC. Além disso, várias observações sugerem que XAC0610 não é submetida à inibição alostérica pelo produto, um mecanismo regulatório comumente utilizado para o controle da atividade de DGC. Por outro lado, os dados de cinética enzimática de XAC0610HIS-35-880 revelaram um efeito de cooperatividade positiva para a ligação dos substratos, com uma constante de dissociação para a ligação da primeira molécula de GTP (K1) cerca de 3-5 vezes maior que a constante de dissociação para a ligação da segunda molécula de GTP (K2). A partir deste estudo, nós apresentamos um esquema cinético geral mais apropriado para as análises dos dados cinéticos de enzimas DGCs e propomos que a ligação cooperativa do substrato talvez possa desempenhar um importante papel na regulação in vivo da atividade de algumas DGCs, aumentando sua sensibilidade a pequenas variações nos níveis celulares de GTP. Outra proteína caracterizada neste trabalho, XAC2446 possui um domínio GAF e um domínio GGDEF que, ao contrário do domínio GGDEF de XAC0610, não deve apresentar atividade de DGC. Mesmo assim, análises funcionais mostraram que XAC2446 regula negativamente a formação de biofilme e positivamente a motilidade de Xac. Ensaios de duplo híbrido em leveduras identificaram que XAC2446 interage com XAC2897, contendo um domínio GGDEF potencialmente ativo, e XAC1185, contendo um domínio HD fosfohidrolase de (p)ppGpp. Alguns estudos indicam que altos níveis celulares de c-di-GMP e baixos níveis de (p)ppGpp podem ser necessários durante a formação de biofilme. XAC2446 talvez possa atuar como um inibidor da atividade enzimática de XAC2897 e XAC1185 e influenciar, indiretamente e antagonicamente, tanto os níveis celulares de c-di-GMP quanto de (p)ppGpp. / Cyclic di-GMP is a bacterial second messenger that regulates a range of functions, including cellular motility, biofilm formation and virulence. This molecule is produced from two GTP substrates by the activity of diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) containing a GGDEF domain. The phytopathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri; Xac) causes citrus canker in a wide variety of citrus species. The Xac genome codes for 31 proteins with GGDEF domains. Thirteen of the 31 Xac GGDEF domain-containing proteins also possess PAS (Per-Arnt-Sim) or GAF (cGMP-specific phosphodiesterases, adenylyl cyclases and FhlA) domains that are ubiquitous signaling and sensory domains. In order to better understand the relationship between these commonly associated domains, biochemical and functional studies were carried out with the XAC0610 and XAC2446 proteins. XAC0610 is a large multi-domain protein containing one GAF domain, four PAS domains and one GGDEF domain. This protein has a demonstrable in vivo and in vitro diguanylate cyclase (DGC) activity. Analysis of a Xac&#916;0610 knockout strain revealed that XAC0610 plays a role in the regulation of Xac motility and resistance to H2O2. Site-directed mutagenesis of a conserved DGC lysine residue (Lys759 in XAC0610) resulted in a severe reduction in XAC0610 DGC activity. XAC0610 DGC activity was also impaired by removal of the N-terminal GAF and PAS domains, which are probably needed for proper protein dimerization. Furthermore, experimental and in silico analysis suggest that XAC0610 is not subject to allosteric product inhibition, a common regulatory mechanism for DGC activity control. Instead, steady-state kinetics of XAC0610 DGC activity revealed a positive cooperative effect of the GTP substrate with a dissociation constant for the binding of the first GTP molecule (K1) approximately three to five times greater than the dissociation constant for the binding of the second GTP molecule (K2). We present a general kinetics scheme that should be used when analyzing DGC kinetics data and propose that cooperative GTP binding could be a common, though up to now overlooked, feature of these enzymes that may in some cases offer a physiologically relevant mechanism for regulation of DGC activity in vivo. The other characterized protein, XAC2446, has a GAF domain and a degenerated GGDEF domain. Unlike XAC0610, XAC2446 should not present DGC activity. Nevertheless, functional analysis of XAC2446 demonstrated that it plays a role in the regulation of Xac motility and biofilm formation. A yeast two-hybrid screen identifies XAC2897 (a potentially active GGDEF domain-containing protein) and XAC1185 (a (p)ppGpp hydrolase) as specific binding partners of the XAC2446 protein. As indicated by studies in other bacteria, high cellular levels of c-di-GMP and low levels of (p)ppGpp may be both required for biofilm formation. It is possible that XAC2446 might have a role in the antagonistic regulation of c-di-GMP and (p)ppGpp cellular levels by acting as an inhibitor of both XAC2897 and XAC1185 enzymatic activities.

Les accidents vasculaires cérébraux (AVC) sont la seconde cause d'invalidité à long terme et de mortalité dans le monde entier qui résulte d'une perte de sang au cerveau. Il y a actuellement peu de médicaments pour traiter les accidents vasculaires cérébraux. Pourtant, il y a un intérêt pour trouver un traitement, ciblant spécifiquement la cascade post-inflammatoire. Il y a une attention particulière pour inhiber les protéines peroxyrédoxines humaines (hPrx) qui sont des initiateurs clés de l'inflammation. Les protéines hPrx sont des enzymes qui dégradent les peroxydes et aussi protègent les cellules du stress oxydatif. Cette thèse est centrée sur l'étude de ligands potentiels des hPrx, dérivés du catéchol, susceptibles de devenir des agents thérapeutiques potentiels pour traiter les AVC. Premièrement, différents ligands potentiels ont été criblés par RMN et modélisation moléculaire pour savoir s'ils pouvaient se lier à différents isoformes des peroxirédoxines. Ces études ont révélé que ces dérivés du catéchol pouvaient se lier à plusieurs hPrx. Deuxièmement, la capacité des dérivés du catéchol à inhiber l'activité des hPrx a été examinée au travers de tests enzymatiques in vitro. Il a été montré que tous les dérivés du catéchol étudiés étaient capables de les inhiber. En utilisant des simulations de dynamique moléculaire, nous avons pu expliquer le mécanisme d'action moléculaire d'inhibition. En général, cette recherche fournit un aperçu des ligands qui pourrait être développés pour devenir un médicament pour aider dans le processus de rétablissement de patients atteints d'attaque cérébrale / Strokes are the second leading cause of long-term disability and death worldwide that result from a sudden loss of blood to the brain. Currently, there are limited drugs to treat patients when having a stroke. However, there is now interest focused on treatment after a stroke, specifically the post-inflammation cascade. In particular, there is attention to inhibit human peroxiredoxin proteins, which are key initiators of inflammation. Human peroxiredoxins are enzymes that degrade peroxides and also, protect the cells against oxidative stress. This thesis focuses on studying ligands, catechol derivatives, to bind and inhibit human peroxiredoxin proteins to become potential therapeutic agents for strokes. First, the ligands were screened to identify if they could bind to various human peroxiredoxin isoforms with NMR and computational modeling techniques. This study revealed the catechol derivatives could indeed bind to several human peroxiredoxins. Second, the ability for the catechol derivatives to inhibit human peroxiredoxin peroxidase activity was examined through an in vitro enzymatic assay. All the catechol derivatives were determined to inhibit several human peroxiredoxins. In utilizing molecular dynamic simulations, it assisted in explaining the in vitro inhibition molecular mechanism of action. Overall, this research provides insight of molecules that could be further developed to become possibly a drug to aid in stroke patients recovery process

O diguanilato cíclico (c-di-GMP) é uma molécula de sinalização intracelular que atua na regulação de importantes processos bacterianos como motilidade, formação de biofilme e virulência. As diguanilato ciclases (DGCs), contendo um domínio GGDEF ativo, catalisam a formação de c-di-GMP a partir de duas moléculas de GTP. A bactéria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri; Xac) é o agente causal do cancro cítrico, uma doença que ataca todas as variedades e espécies de citros. O genoma de Xac codifica 31 proteínas contendo domínios GGDEF. Treze destas proteínas possuem também domínios PAS e/ou GAF, que são ubíquos domínios sensores e de sinalização. Para tentar entender melhor o papel na sinalização por c-di-GMP das interações entre domínios GGDEF e domínios PAS e/ou GAF, estudos bioquímicos e funcionais foram realizados com as proteínas XAC0610 e XAC2446. XAC0610 contém um domínio GAF, quatro domínios PAS e um domínio GGDEF conservado. Análises fenotípicas com a linhagem nocaute Xac&#916;0610 mostraram que XAC0610 atua na regulação da motilidade e sobrevivência de Xac ao tratamento com H2O2. Ensaios de atividade enzimática demonstraram que XAC0610 é uma DGC cataliticamente ativa, e que a mutação sítio-dirigida de um resíduo conservado de lisina (Lys759) provoca uma grande redução na atividade de DGC. Os domínios GAF e PAS de XAC0610 aparentemente não atuam como domínios sensores, entretanto são importantes para a dimerização da proteína, necessária para a obtenção de altos níveis de atividade de DGC. Além disso, várias observações sugerem que XAC0610 não é submetida à inibição alostérica pelo produto, um mecanismo regulatório comumente utilizado para o controle da atividade de DGC. Por outro lado, os dados de cinética enzimática de XAC0610HIS-35-880 revelaram um efeito de cooperatividade positiva para a ligação dos substratos, com uma constante de dissociação para a ligação da primeira molécula de GTP (K1) cerca de 3-5 vezes maior que a constante de dissociação para a ligação da segunda molécula de GTP (K2). A partir deste estudo, nós apresentamos um esquema cinético geral mais apropriado para as análises dos dados cinéticos de enzimas DGCs e propomos que a ligação cooperativa do substrato talvez possa desempenhar um importante papel na regulação in vivo da atividade de algumas DGCs, aumentando sua sensibilidade a pequenas variações nos níveis celulares de GTP. Outra proteína caracterizada neste trabalho, XAC2446 possui um domínio GAF e um domínio GGDEF que, ao contrário do domínio GGDEF de XAC0610, não deve apresentar atividade de DGC. Mesmo assim, análises funcionais mostraram que XAC2446 regula negativamente a formação de biofilme e positivamente a motilidade de Xac. Ensaios de duplo híbrido em leveduras identificaram que XAC2446 interage com XAC2897, contendo um domínio GGDEF potencialmente ativo, e XAC1185, contendo um domínio HD fosfohidrolase de (p)ppGpp. Alguns estudos indicam que altos níveis celulares de c-di-GMP e baixos níveis de (p)ppGpp podem ser necessários durante a formação de biofilme. XAC2446 talvez possa atuar como um inibidor da atividade enzimática de XAC2897 e XAC1185 e influenciar, indiretamente e antagonicamente, tanto os níveis celulares de c-di-GMP quanto de (p)ppGpp. / Cyclic di-GMP is a bacterial second messenger that regulates a range of functions, including cellular motility, biofilm formation and virulence. This molecule is produced from two GTP substrates by the activity of diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) containing a GGDEF domain. The phytopathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri; Xac) causes citrus canker in a wide variety of citrus species. The Xac genome codes for 31 proteins with GGDEF domains. Thirteen of the 31 Xac GGDEF domain-containing proteins also possess PAS (Per-Arnt-Sim) or GAF (cGMP-specific phosphodiesterases, adenylyl cyclases and FhlA) domains that are ubiquitous signaling and sensory domains. In order to better understand the relationship between these commonly associated domains, biochemical and functional studies were carried out with the XAC0610 and XAC2446 proteins. XAC0610 is a large multi-domain protein containing one GAF domain, four PAS domains and one GGDEF domain. This protein has a demonstrable in vivo and in vitro diguanylate cyclase (DGC) activity. Analysis of a Xac&#916;0610 knockout strain revealed that XAC0610 plays a role in the regulation of Xac motility and resistance to H2O2. Site-directed mutagenesis of a conserved DGC lysine residue (Lys759 in XAC0610) resulted in a severe reduction in XAC0610 DGC activity. XAC0610 DGC activity was also impaired by removal of the N-terminal GAF and PAS domains, which are probably needed for proper protein dimerization. Furthermore, experimental and in silico analysis suggest that XAC0610 is not subject to allosteric product inhibition, a common regulatory mechanism for DGC activity control. Instead, steady-state kinetics of XAC0610 DGC activity revealed a positive cooperative effect of the GTP substrate with a dissociation constant for the binding of the first GTP molecule (K1) approximately three to five times greater than the dissociation constant for the binding of the second GTP molecule (K2). We present a general kinetics scheme that should be used when analyzing DGC kinetics data and propose that cooperative GTP binding could be a common, though up to now overlooked, feature of these enzymes that may in some cases offer a physiologically relevant mechanism for regulation of DGC activity in vivo. The other characterized protein, XAC2446, has a GAF domain and a degenerated GGDEF domain. Unlike XAC0610, XAC2446 should not present DGC activity. Nevertheless, functional analysis of XAC2446 demonstrated that it plays a role in the regulation of Xac motility and biofilm formation. A yeast two-hybrid screen identifies XAC2897 (a potentially active GGDEF domain-containing protein) and XAC1185 (a (p)ppGpp hydrolase) as specific binding partners of the XAC2446 protein. As indicated by studies in other bacteria, high cellular levels of c-di-GMP and low levels of (p)ppGpp may be both required for biofilm formation. It is possible that XAC2446 might have a role in the antagonistic regulation of c-di-GMP and (p)ppGpp cellular levels by acting as an inhibitor of both XAC2897 and XAC1185 enzymatic activities.