Os canais seletivos a ânions dependente de voltagem (VDACs) são um grupo de proteínas, primeiramente identificadas na membrana mitocondrial externa, capazes de formar estruturas de poros hidrofílicos em membranas. As VDACs são conhecidas pela sua função essencial no metabolismo celular e nos estágios recentes de apoptose. Em mamíferos, foram identificadas três isoformas de VDACs (VDAC1, 2 e 3). Uma pesquisa proteômica, consistindo de eletroforese bi-dimensional seguida por western blotting com anticorpos anti-VDAC 1, anti-VDAC 2 e anti-VDAC 3 e espectrometria de massas com fonte de ionização/desorção à laser assistido por matriz e tempo de vôo foi utilizada para estudar a expressão das isoformas de VDAC em mitocôndrias cerebrais de aves, ratos e bois. Foi estudada a possibilidade que diferenças na expressão relativa das isoformas de VDAC possam ser um fator determinante da proporção espécie-dependente dos sítios de ligação da hexoquinase tipo A: tipo B nas mitocôndrias cerebrais. Os spots foram caracterizados, e a intensidade de sinal foi comparada entre os spots. VDAC1 e VDAC2 foram divididas dentro de múltiplos spots. A VDAC1 foi dividida em dois spots nos géis bi-dimensionais realizados com amostras de cérebros de ratos e bois, e três spots para cérebros de aves. A VDAC2 foi separada em três, cinco e dois spots para cérebros de ratos, bois e aves, respectivamente. Os resultados reportam uma heterogeneidade de carga das VDACs 1 e 2 nos cérebros analisados. A VDAC1 foi a mais expressa das três isoformas. Além disso, a expressão da VDAC1 mais VDAC2 foi muito maior em cérebros de aves e bois do que em cérebros de ratos. Mitocôndrias de cérebro de aves mostraram uma maior expressão de VDAC1 e menor de VDAC2. As mitocôndrias de cérebro bovino apresentaram os níveis mais altos de VDAC2. A VDAC3 não foi detectada nos cérebros das espécies estudadas. / The voltage dependent anion selective channels (VDACs) are a group of proteins first identified in the mitochondrial outer membrane that are able to form hydrophilic pore structures in membranes. VDAC are known to play an essential role in cellular metabolism and in the early stages of apoptosis. In mammals, three VDACs isoforms (VDAC1, 2, 3) have been identified. A proteomic approach, consisting of two dimensional electrophoresis, followed by western blotting with anti-VDAC 1, anti-VDAC 2 and anti-VDAC 3 and by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry was used to study the expression of VDAC isoforms in rat, bovine and avian brain mitochondria. We were studying the possibility that differences in the relative expression of VDAC isoforms may be a factor in determining the species-dependent ratio of type A: type B hexokinase binding sites on brain mitochondria. The spots were characterized, and the signal intensities among spots were compared. VDAC1 and VDAC2 were divided into multiple spots. VDAC1 was divided in two spots in two dimensional gels of rat and bovine brains and three spots in avian brains. VDAC2 was separated into three, five and two spots in rat, bovine and avian brains, respectively. The results report charge heterogeneity of VDACs 1 and 2 in the analyzed brains. VDAC1 was the most abundantly expressed of the three isoforms. Moreover the expression of VDAC1 plus VDAC2 was much higher in avian and bovine brains than in rat brains. Avian brain mitochondria showed the highest expression of VDAC1 and the lowest of VDAC2. Bovine brain mitochondria had the highest levels of VDAC2. No VDAC 3 was detected in studied species brains.

O metabolismo celular é substancialmente alterado durante a oncogênese, progressão tumoral e outros processos patológicos. Tem sido frequentemente analisado para compreensão dos processos que permitem o crescimento dos tecidos, reprodução, manutenção da homeostase e resposta a sinais extracelulares. Dentre os vários métodos para caracterização de alterações metabólicas, a espectrometria de massas tem contribuído significativamente para a identificação e quantificação de proteínas envolvidas no metabolismo, e também para a caracterização do metaboloma. A análise proteômica baseada em espectrometria de massas permite estudos qualitativos em grande escala, adequados para a busca e descoberta de analitos relevantes. A análise proteômica dirigida complementa esse caráter com qualidade quantitativa para proteínas alvo pré-selecionadas. Neste trabalho foram desenvolvidos métodos de proteômica dirigida para o monitoramento de alterações quantitativas nos níveis de proteínas envolvidas na via glicolítica do metabolismo da glicólise. Para tal peptídeos proteotípicos para cada proteína foram identificados e padronizados utilizando a estratégia de monitoramento de reações múltiplas. O painel foi aplicado para obter resultados das alterações que ocorrem em um modelo de progressão tumoral. Com esta estratégia empregada, foi possível selecionar e utilizar vários peptídeos representativos das enzimas da via glicolítica e também de algumas proteínas relevantes ao câncer. A utilização de peptídeos sintéticos facilitou substancialmente o processo de desenvolvimento do método. Por fim, com a metodologia desenvolvida, foi demonstrado para células MCF7, que o fator EGF alterou a expressão das proteínas da via glicolítica, aumento no fluxo para via das pentoses e capacidade aumentada da respiração celular. Este estudo, portanto, sugere uma nova disposição do metabolismo celular dado o conhecimento estabelecido em relação aos efeitos na respiração, como o efeito Warburg. / Cellular metabolism is altered during ontogenesis, cancer progression and several other pathological events. Because of that, the metabolism is constantly analyzed in order to provide further comprehension of processes that allow tissue growth, reproduction, homeostasis maintenance, and response to extracellular signals. Among the methods great diversity of methods used to characterize metabolic alterations, mass spectrometry has been contributing significantly to identify and quantify proteins involved in a diversity of metabolic pathways, but also to monitor the changes in metabolome. Proteomics based on mass spectrometry allows highthroughput in-depth qualitative resources for discovery phases stages, providing the new relevant candidates for further biochemical characterization. In a complementary way, targeted proteomics allows precise quantitative analyses of such selected protein targets. Here, it was developed a targeted proteomics method for multiplex monitoring glycolytic pathway enzymes and relevant cancer-related proteins. For that, proteotypic peptides representing proteins of interest were selected and studied in detail to be incorporated in a multiple reaction monitoring assay. The developed method was applied to monitor the alterations in the glycolytic pathway in a cancer progression model. Using targeted proteomics strategies, we selected and applied for quantification several proteotypic peptides representing glycolitic enzymes and cancerrelated proteins. The use of synthetic peptides allowed faster method development and more sensitive methods. The application of such methods, demonstrated alterations in glycolytic pathways and cancer-related proteins promoted in MCF7 cells treated with EGF. Also, an activation of pentose-phosphate pathway was suggested and increase in cellular oxygen consumption. This study, therefore, suggests changes in the cellular metabolism that differs from the classic Warburg effect observed during cancer development.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite, that is able to infect any nucleated cell. An important global pathogen, T. gondii can cycle between primary and secondary hosts, thus enabling widespread penetrance. Within its intracellular niche – a membrane-bound parasitophorous vacuole – T. gondii is nevertheless able to subvert a variety of host cell processes to allow its continued survival and replication. This includes modulation of host signalling processes as well as the scavenging of nutrient macromolecules. In recent years, microRNAs have emerged as important regulators of cellular processes including inflammation, tumorigenesis and metabolism, as well as development. It has become increasingly clear that this species of non-coding RNA is of great importance in ‘fine tuning’ many cellular responses. I hypothesise in this work that host cell miRNAs may be yet another means by which T. gondii manipulates its host upon infection. Using high-throughput-sequencing, I examine host cell transcriptional responses to infection both at the mRNA and microRNA level, using two strains of T. gondii at a variety of Multiplicities of Infection over a time course of 43 hours. Through these transcriptional analyses I identify a number of dysregulated pathways common in tumorigenesis, and contemplate the hypothesis that T. gondii may be behaving as an ‘intracellular tumour’, subverting host cell metabolic processes to mimic a long-known feature of cancer metabolism – that of aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) – in order to satisfy its own energetic and metabolic needs.

During an immune response, T cell activation is mirrored by a dramatic metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. The upregulation of glycolysis allows the cell to generate the molecules needed to rapidly proliferate and to synthesize effector molecules. The resolution of the T cell response is characterized by equally fast death of most effector T cells. The remaining T cells shift back to oxidative phosphorylation, allowing the cell to survive as a memory T cell. The upregulation of glycolysis and proliferation during the effector phase is paralleled by an increased sensitivity to T cell receptor restimulation-induced cell death (RICD). Whereas cellular metabolism and cell death are important in the proper function and response of T cells, it is not clear how metabolism regulates susceptibility to cell death, nor whether T cell proliferation and contraction are directly connected. The work presented in this dissertation provides a mechanistic link between T cell proliferation and contraction by demonstrating the regulation of caspase-3 activity by the metabolic state of T cells. In effector T cells, the cytokine interleukin (IL)-2 mediates the upregulation of glycolysis, while IL-15 induces oxidative phosphorylation and a memory-like state. IL-2 is known to sensitize T cells to RICD, while IL-15 reduces RICD and increases survival. This results from the ability of IL-2 and glycolysis to increase caspase-3 activity, whereas IL-15 induces the opposite phenotype. Activation of caspase-3 during glycolysis is mediated through clustering in lipid rafts in the plasma membrane. IL-15 is shown to inactivate caspase-3 through the posttranslational modification of protein glutathionylation, which is mediated by ROS generation in the mitochondria as a by-product of oxidative phosphorylation. We further observe that glycolysis parallels the reduced activity of the electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation, further increasing caspase-3 activity. This is mediated by the decreased expression of electron transport chain complexes and an increase in expression of the negative regulator of complex I, methylation-controlled J protein (MCJ). IL-15 promotes reduced expression of MCJ by its methylation. Similar to IL-15-cultured T cells, MCJ-deficient T cells manifest reduced glycolysis, caspase-3 activity, and RICD. Collectively, these findings demonstrate an adaptation that links metabolism to both cell proliferation and cell death to safeguard that proliferating cells do not escape regulation that could result in autoimmune disease or lymphomas.

The Langendorff perfused murine heart has become an increasingly important research model in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology. However, the model remains relatively poorly characterised when compared with the widely employed rat preparation. The purpose of the research within this thesis was initially two-fold: 1) to characterise the functional and substrate-dependent properties of the murine model; and 2) to characterise the relationships between glycolysis, ischaemic tolerance and adenosine-mediated cardioprotection in the mouse. Initial studies, confirmed by simultaneous/subsequent work in other laboratories, revealed the frequent occurrence of regular cyclic oscillations in contractile function and coronary flow in glucose-perfused isovolumically contracting hearts. This phenomenon (labelled 'cycling') was unaltered by inhibition of ?-adrenergic receptors, prostaglandins, and nitric oxide synthase. However, A1/A2 adenosine receptor agonism did abolish the oscillations in flow and reduced contractile oscillations by 50%. Importantly, cycling was eliminated by addition of 50 IU/l insulin to perfusion fluid, or provision of 5 mM pyruvate as a co-substrate with glucose. These data suggest that functional 'cycling' in glucose-perfused murine hearts likely occurs as a result of a mismatch between substrate metabolism (energy supply) and myocardial energy demand. It may be that glycolysis with exogenous glucose is insufficient to ensure appropriate matching of myocardial energy supply and demand. For this reason, it is advisable to employ a co-substrate such as pyruvate in studies of murine hearts. Further studies performed within this thesis generally employ this co-substrate addition. Addition of pyruvate as co-substrate removes 'cycling' but is also known to inhibit/modify glycolysis, which may affect ischaemic tolerance and/or cardioprotection mediated by adenosine. Experiments throughout this thesis demonstrated that pyruvate-perfusion improved tolerance to both ischaemia (delayed time to onset of ischaemic contracture; TOC) and reperfusion (reduced diastolic dysfunction and cell death). The delay in TOC as a result of pyruvate-perfusion also suggests that contracture is not solely influenced by anaerobic glycolysis (as outlined in current paradigms). To test the relevance of glycolysis to ischaemic injury hearts were subjected to various forms of glycolytic inhibition. Glycolysis was inhibited by use of 10 mM pyruvate, (iodoacetic acid) IAA treatment, and glycogen depletion by pre-ischaemic substrate-free perfusion (all groups employing pyruvate as sole-substrate). Each form of glycolytic modification resulted in significant delays in TOC, in complete contrast to findings from other models and species. Glycogen depletion also reduced the peak level of contracture. These findings indicate that the mouse is either unique in terms of substrate metabolism and mechanisms of contracture (an unlikely possibility), or raise serious questions regarding current models of contracture development during ischaemia (theorised to be delayed by prolonging anaerobic glycolysis). Modification of glycolysis also altered post-ischaemic outcome, with pyruvate perfusion and glycogen depletion both enhancing functional recoveries. However, IAA treated hearts, despite near-identical ischaemic tolerance (ie contracture development) to pyruvate-perfused hearts, displayed very poor functional recovery, which was below that for all other groups. These data clearly reveal that blocking glycolysis improves tolerance to ischaemia (as evidenced by reduced contracture), provide evidence of dissociation of ischaemic injury or contracture from post-ischaemic recovery, and confirm the key importance of glycolysis in enhancing recovery from ischaemia. Since tolerance to ischaemia/reperfusion was shown to be glycolysis dependent, and since it has been theorised that adenosine protects hearts through modulating glycolysis, the relationships between glycolytic inhibition and adenosine-mediated cardioprotection was tested. In a number of studies, exogenously applied adenosine was shown to protect both glucose- and pyruvate-perfused hearts (supporting no dependence of adenosinergic protection on glycolysis). However, to more equivocally test the role of glycolysis effects of IAA were studied and were shown to markedly limit protection with adenosine. The effects of adenosine during ischaemia were abolished by IAA treatment, and effects on post-ischaemic recovery were reduced (but not eliminated). Similar results were acquired for protection with endogenous adenosine (using iodotubercidin to block adenosine phosphorylation). Collectively, these data reveal that adenosinergic protection during ischaemia depends entirely upon glycolysis while protection during reperfusion likely involves glycolysis dependent and independent processes. However, glycolysis is required for full recovery of function during reperfusion. Further studies assessed the involvement of glycolysis in cardioprotection afforded by transgenic A1 adenosine receptor (A1AR) overexpression. It was found that pyruvate-perfusion provided the same protection as A1AR overexpression, and the two responses (to pyruvate and A1AR overexpression) were not additive. Thus, it is probable that common mechanisms are targeted in both responses (likely glycolysis). Finally, the effects of adenosine and pyruvate on oxidant injury were studied, testing whether interactions between adenosine and pyruvate observed in prior work within this thesis could be explained by alterations in anti-oxidant responses. It was found that adenosine has quite profound anti-oxidant responses in glucose-perfused hearts, with very selective effects on markers of damage. Pyruvate also had some anti-oxidant effects but interestingly it reduced the anti-oxidant effects of adenosine. In conclusion, the work entailed within this thesis demonstrates that the isolated mouse heart model may possess unique properties and should be further characterised by potential users in order to improve its utility, and the reliability of experimental findings (chiefly when studying ischaemia-reperfusion). Other work within thesis demonstrates that modification of glycolysis is important in dictating recovery from ischaemia-reperfusion, and also impacts on adenosine-mediated protection (principally but not exclusively during ischaemia itself). The manner in which glycolysis is modified and contributes to protection remains unclear.

Graduation date: 1995

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-98).

To assess the changes in glycolysis of skeletal muscles within metabolic stress and to test whether metabolic stress-induced oxidative stress and malnutrition were associated with these changes, slow- (soleus) and fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were studied in zymosan-induced critically ill, pair-fed and control rats for 7 days. Thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) concentrations were increased in both stressed and pair-fed rats. In slow-twitch muscle, the fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (F-1,6-P2)/fructose-6-phosphate (F-6-P) ratio was decreased in stressed rats and was not altered with increased food intake. F-1,6-P2/F-6-P ratio in soleus was correlated with both TBARS and muscle dry weight. In EDL, the F-1,6-P2/F-6-P was unaffected and neither oxidative stress nor muscle weight correlated with the ratio. In conclusion, metabolic stress-induced oxidative stress and malnutrition influenced glycolytic slowdown only in slow-twitch muscle.

Das Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) ist der am häufigsten vorkommende maligne Hirntumor mit äußerst ungünstiger Prognose für die betroffenen Patienten. Typisch für die Tumore ist eine hohe Aktivität der Glykolyse zur Generierung von ATP und zur Bereitstellung von Makromolekülen für die Zellproliferation, während die oxidative Phosphorylierung auch in Gegenwart von Sauerstoff praktisch keine Bedeutung für die Generation von ATP hat, was auch als Warburg Effekt bekannt ist. Das natürlich vorkommende Carnosin (β-Alanyl-LHistidin) wirkt sich antiproliferativ auf Tumorzellen aus, was mit einer Inhibition der glykolytischen ATP Produktion einhergeht. Der Mechanismus der Inhibition ist weitgehend unverstanden und ist Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit. Im Rahmen der durchgeführten Arbeit wurde der Einfluss von Carnosin auf die mRNA Expressionen von für die Glykolyse relevanten Genen untersucht, wobei eine starke Induktion der Pyruvatdehydrogenase Kinase (PDK) 4 in drei GBM Zelllinien beobachtet wurde. Weiterhin konnte gezeigt werden, dass L-Histidin den gleichen Effekt wie Carnosin zeigt, nicht jedoch β-Alanin, L-Alanin oder L-Alanyl-L-Histidin. Da Tumorzellen die intrazelluläre Gewebscarnosinase aber kaum die extrazelluläre Serumcarnosinase exprimieren, liegt die Vermutung nahe, dass die antineoplastische Wirkung des Carnosins auf die enzymatische Spaltung von Carnosin und die daraus resultierende Freisetzung von L-Histidin zurückzuführen ist. In weiteren Untersuchungen wurden Hinweise erbracht, dass Carnosin durch eine Beeinflussung von Histon-Deacetylasen, die endogene PDK4 mRNA Expression steigern könnte. Zusätzlich wurden die Proteinexpressionen der PDK1 und 4 unter dem Einfluss von Carnosin untersucht.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Vita. "August 2007" Includes bibliographical references.