Orientadores: Clarice Weis Arns, Fernando Rosado Spilki / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T19:38:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_LucianaHelenaAntoniassida_D.pdf: 3352165 bytes, checksum: 1c8836441214fc41a7890899268f1163 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Os membros da família Paramyxoviridae são vírus que causam infecções em humanos e animais de importância econômica global. Entre os membros desta família incluem patógenos de importância mundial para os humanos, como o vírus respiratório sincicial humano (hRSV), o metapneumovírus humano (hMPV) e vírus de importância em Medicina Veterinária, como o vírus respiratório sincicial bovino (bRSV) e o metapnemovírus aviário (aMPV). Os membros da família Paramyxoviridae, subfamília Pneumovirinae são vírus envelopados, não-segmentados dotados de genoma de RNA de fita simples com sentido negativo. Na primeira parte do estudo, desenvolvemos um adenovírus recombinante expressando a proteína F do aMPV. A expressão da proteína F foi determinada por Western Blot. Os níveis de transcrição do gene F foram avaliados por RT-PCR em tempo real, em células HEK-293 e células HEP-2. Foi realizada a imunização experimental de Ad-aMPV-F e foi analisada a indução de resposta de anticorpos em camundongos BALB/c. Os títulos de anticorpos neutralizantes foram detectados após a imunização com Ad-aMPV-F. Na segunda parte do trabalho o objetivo foi à construção de adenovírus recombinantes expressando a proteína F do bRSV. A proteína F parece ser um antígeno ideal para fins de diagnóstico. Utilizando anticorpo anti-V-5, uma banda de ~90 kDa foi detectada no sobrenadante de cultura de células HEK-293 infectadas com Ad-bRSV-F. Na terceira parte do estudo, o objetivo foi à construção de dois vetores adenovirais expressando as proteínas G do aMPV e bRSV, a expressão destas proteínas em células HEK-293 infectadas foi analisada pela expressão do gene repórter, da proteína verde fluorescente (GFP) / Abstract: The members of the family Paramyxoviridae are viruses that cause infectious in human and animals of importance to global economics. Among the member of this family include pathogens of importance global for humans such as human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV), the human and metapneumovirus (hMPV) and of viruses importance in veterinary medicine, such as bovine respiratory syncytial virus (bRSV) and avian metapnemovírus (aMPV). The members of the Paramyxoviridae are enveloped, non-segmented viruses, with negative-sense single stranded genomes. In the first part of the study, we developed a recombinant adenovirus expressing the F protein of AMPV. The expression of F gene was determined by Western Blot. The levels of transcription were evaluated by RT-PCR in real time in HEK-293 cells and HEP-2 cells. Immunization experiment was carried out Ad-AMPV-F was analyzed and the induction of antibody response in BALB/c mice. The neutralizing antibody titers detected after immunization with Ad-AMPV-F. In the second part, the objective was to construct recombinant adenoviruses expressing the F protein of bRSV. Protein F appears to be an ideal antigen for diagnostic purposes. Using the anti-antibody AdV-5, a single band of ~ 90 kDa was detected in the culture supernatant in 293 cells infected with Ad-bRSV-F. In the third part of the study, the objective was to build two adenoviral vectors expressing the G protein of aMPV and bRSV and the expression of these proteins in infected HEK-293 cells were analyzed for expression of the reporter gene, green fluorescent protein (GFP) / Doutorado / Microbiologia / Doutora em Genética e Biologia Molecular

Virtually all extracellular proteins in humans are glycoproteins and likewise are many biopharmaceuticals. The glycosylation is directly correlated to biological function and stability of these proteins. The ability to isolate glycoproteins is thus of great importance in many applications. The most common isolation method for glycoproteins is affinity chromatography using lectins, a ubiquitous and versatile group of carbohydrate-binding proteins. The lectin Concanavalin A (ConA) has long been used for this purpose but suffers from undesired leakage into the eluate, causing an inquiry of alternative chromatography ligands or optimization of the ConA resin.In this study, a total of 20 different lectins, including ConA, were evaluated and compared in terms of suitability as ligands in affinity chromatography for glycoprotein isolation. The lectins’ binding to glycoproteins were studied, mainly through microtiter plate binding assays using a monoclonal IgG1 antibody and Conalbumin (Ovotransferrin). Further, sugar-specificities and potential eluting sugars for the lectins were examined through inhibition with eight different carbohydrates. Additionally, the glycoprotein binding and leakage of ConA columns were examined, and a potential leakagereducing treatment of ConA resin evaluated.ConA was found to be superior in binding to the investigated glycoproteins but exhibited a limited binding when immobilized to an agarose resin. This discrepancy is likely a consequence of structurally hidden glycans on the used glycoproteins and requirements of long residence time when used in a chromatographic setting. Binding competition with several sugars were investigated with a similar microtiter plate binding assay. This method displayed potential to predict the behaviour of sugars and their suitability as eluting agents in a chromatography column. The best eluting sugar for ConA was showed to be methylmannoside, ideally in combination with methylglucoside. Lastly, evaluation of ConA columns with a crosslinking glutaraldehyde-treatment showed that the ConA ligand leakage may be significantly reduced, although further studies and optimizations are needed.This study thus presents a repertoire of lectins and their differences in terms of glycoprotein-binding and sugar-specificity, as well as evaluations of ConA columns’ efficiency and potential leakage-prevention.

Biopharmaceuticals are becoming one of the most promising drugs on the market mainly due to their successful treatment of a vast array of serious diseases, such as cancers, immune disorders, and infections. Structurally, biopharmaceuticals are proteins and it is important to mention that more than 60 % of biopharmaceuticals are glycosylated. Glycosylation is one of the most common posttranslational modifications. It is also the most demanding and the most complex posttranslational modification. The research showed that glycosylation can significantly impact on the safety, efficiency, and quality of the therapeutic glycoproteins. In the first part of the introduction of the present thesis, the development of the therapeutic glycoproteins and their classification were reviewed. Glycosylation process and nomenclature were also discussed. The second part of the introduction revealed current issues in the field of the production and the characterization of the therapeutic glycoproteins. In the context of the doctoral thesis, we introduced new approach, namely hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer (HILIC-HR-MS) combined with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and classification through Soft Independent Modelling by Class Analogy (SIMCA) data treatment. Accordingly, N-glycans were first enzymatically released using peptide-N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) and reduced using sodium borohydride. Then those N-glycans were separated by HILIC and detected by HR-MS. PCA and SIMCA simplified interpretation of the MS data collected in the huge tables. PCA was applied to test whether it is possible to visualize N-glycosylation differences between samples and to help identifying within which N-glycans changes occurred. SIMCA, which is a more complex data analysis technique, was applied to build and validate a classification models. SIMCA was also applied to verify whether it is possible to use built models to classify real samples. Described approach enabled us to detect small changes in N-glycosylation of the therapeutic glycoproteins (a change of only 1% in relative glycan abundance). It was applied to assess changes in N-glycosylation of therapeutic glycoproteins. Accordingly, we tested N-glycosylation consistency between batches of infliximab, trastuzumab, and bevacizumab and monitored the N-glycosylation of bevacizumab over storage time in plastic syringes.Furthermore, we worked on the faster sample preparation technique, where online-solid-phase extraction (SPE)-LC was combined to the previously mentioned HILIC-MS-PCA/SIMCA method. Online-SPE-LC allowed us to faster the sample preparation in terms of avoiding time-consuming cleaning steps. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

No description available.

A number of viral diseases such as Hepatitis B, small pox, measles, rubella and polio have effective vaccines to control or eradicate them. HIV-1 is a lentivirus which infects human immune cells and leads to the disease called AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). Despite much effort since the three decades of its discovery, there is no effective vaccine against HIV-1. The envelope glycoprotein of HIV-1 is the most accessible protein on the virion surface and is essential for HIV-1 infection. Thus, this protein is the primary target for HIV-1 vaccine design. However, HIV-1 has acquired numerous immune evasive mechanisms to escape from the human immune system. Various factors such as high variability of the envelope sequence, presence of immune dominant variable loop regions, extensive glycosylation which masks conserved epitopes on the envelope, weak non-covalent interactions between gp120 and gp41 subunits of the envelope and the metastable nature of the envelope hinder the development of an effective vaccine against HIV-1. Various approaches have been carried out to design immunogens based on the envelope glycoprotein but so far none of these have succeeded in elicitation of a broad neutralizing antibody response. In chapter 1, brief descriptions of the HIV-1 epidemic, structural and genomic organization of HIV-1 along with the difficulties faced and progress in the development of an HIV-1 vaccine are described. HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) is a trimer of gp120-gp41 heterodimers. The gp41 subunit in the native, pre-fusion trimeric Env exists in a metastable conformation and attains a stable post-fusion six helix bundle (6HB) conformation comprised of a trimer of N-heptad repeat (NHR) and C-heptad repeat (CHR) heterodimers, that drives fusion of viral and cellular membranes. The metastable nature of gp41 drives the equilibrium towards the post-fusion conformation which favours shedding of gp120 and formation of the gp41 six helix bundle remnants from the Env trimer. These dissociated products display non-neutralizing epitopes to the immune system to drive non-neutralizing antibody responses. Design and purification of Env glycoprotein in its native trimeric form is challenging due to the instability of the functional HIV-1 native Env trimer. In chapter 2, we describe our attempts to stabilize native Env trimers by incorporation of mutations at the NHR:CHR interface that disrupt the post-fusion 6HB of gp41. The mutations V570D and I573D stabilize native JRFL Env and occlude non-neutralizing epitopes to a greater extent than the previously identified I559P mutation that it is at the interface of the NHR trimers in the 6HB. The mutations prevent sCD4 induced gp120 shedding and 6HB formation. The data suggest that positions 570 and 573 are surface proximal in the native Env. Aspartic acid substitutions at these positions stabilize native trimers through destabilization of the post fusion 6HB conformation. These mutations should enhance the exposure of native Env forms to the immune system and therefore can be used to stabilize Env in a DNA vaccine format. In previous studies, a disulfide bond was engineered between gp120 and gp41 of Env to stabilize the interactions between them (SOS gp140). An I559P mutation was also introduced to stabilize the native gp41 conformation in the context of disulfide engineered Env (SOSIP gp140). The purified, soluble SOSIP gp140 immunogens were trimeric and cleaved properly. However, these immunogens failed to elicit broad neutralizing responses. The SOSIP gp140 immunogens appear to be good conformational mimics of the native trimeric Env. Thus, it is important to understand the details of the conformation and antigenic nature of SOSIP Env to further assist the design of Env immunogens in a native-like conformation. In chapter 3, we expressed JRFL-SOSIP Env on the cell surface and probed with various gp120 and gp41 specific antibodies to investigate whether this Env protein mimics the native like Env conformation. We show that introduction of a disulfide bond between gp120 and gp41 perturbs the native Env conformation, though this effect is partially alleviated by furin expression. The introduction of the V570D mutation instead of the I559P mutation partially restored the native like conformation of disulfide engineered Env. Proper cleavage of the Env to gp120 and gp41 is essential for the formation of native Env conformation. Uncleaved Env attains non-native forms and binds to non-neutralizing antibodies. To overcome inefficient cleavage problems, we co-expressed gp120 and gp41 genes on separate plasmids in mammalian cells and monitored the formation of native like Env complexes on the cell surface. We observed a fraction of native-like Env complexes on the cell surface when gp120 and gp41 with the V570D mutation are co¬expressed. We also describe the expression of Env with a self-cleavable 2A peptide between gp120 and gp41-V570D. We conclude that co-expression of gp120 and gp41 to form native like Env complexes is possible. HIV-1 Env trimeric immunogens are believed to be better immunogens than monomeric gp120. The trimeric Env immunogens designed so far, elicited marginally better neutralizing antibody response than monomeric gp120. However, these immunogens failed to elicit antibodies which could neutralize multiple primary HIV-1 isolates. Thus, it is possible that these immunogens have failed to mimic the native Env conformation. Cryo-EM and crystal structures of Env suggested that three gp120 monomers are held together at the apex of the Env trimer and the V1V2 regions of each gp120 monomer contribute to this trimeric interface. It was also shown that two broadly neutralizing antibodies (PG9 and PG16) bind to quaternary epitopes formed by V1V2 regions. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that insertion of heterologous trimerization domains into V1V2 loops might help in the formation of native like gp120 trimers. In chapter 4, two different trimerization domains (6-helix bundle and foldon trimerization domains) were inserted at the V1 loop of gp120 and C1 and C5 regions of gp120 were deleted to reduce the conformational flexibility of gp120. The resulting constructs were not trimeric and lost binding to trimer specific antibodies, PG9 and PG16. Due to their large distances between N and C-termini, these trimerization domains might have altered the local conformation of V1V2 regions and destabilized gp120 trimer formation. Interestingly, introduction of a trimerization domain (hCMP) at the C-terminus of C1 and C5 deleted gp120 (gp120-hCMP-21), led to the formation of native-like trimers which bound to both PG9 and PG16 antibodies. These results suggest that it may be difficult to trimerize gp120 by insertion of heterologous trimerization domains into the V1V2 loop and that conformational integrity of the V1V2 region is essential for the formation of trimeric gp120 interface. V1V2 regions of gp120 form quaternary epitopes on the Env trimer and are target for several broadly neutralizing antibodies. Moreover, these regions are important for the formation of the gp120 trimeric interface in the Env. In chapter 4, we show that insertion of heterologous trimerization domains at the V1 loop failed to form native like gp120 trimers. To further investigate this issue, in chapter 5, we made cyclic permutants of the gp120 molecule to create new N and C-termini at the V1 or V2 loop regions. This allowed the insertion of heterologous trimerization domains at these loop regions without affecting the folding and stability of gp120. The hCMP trimerization domain was introduced at the N-terminus of cyclically permuted gp120 (V1cyc and V2cyc). The resulting cyclic permutants were trimeric and retained binding to several broadly neutralizing antibodies. These cyclic permutants showed 10-20 fold increased binding to quaternary epitope specific neutralizing antibodies PG9 and PGT 145. CD4 binding site directed broadly neutralizing antibodies b12 and VRC01 also showed increased affinities to these cyclic permutants. Immunization of guinea pigs with cyclic permutants elicited broad neutralizing antibody response to Tier-1 and Tier-2 HIV-1 isolates with substantially higher titers than the corresponding monomeric gp120 immunogens. The data demonstrate that cyclic permutation of gp120 did not affect the structural and functional properties of gp120. It is possible to elicit broadly neutralizing sera against HIV-1 using cyclically permuted gp120 trimers in small animals. Among several proposed cryo-EM tomography structures of trimeric Env, some suggested that the V1V2 loop regions of gp120 are located close to the trimer interface while some other structures suggested that the V1V2 loop regions of gp120 are located far from the trimer axis. The present study supports Env models in which the V1V2 loops are proximal to the trimer interface. This has recently been confirmed in high resolution cryo-EM and crystal structures of HIV-1 gp140 derivatives. HIV-1 Env subunit gp120 has 50% of its molecular mass comprised of glycans which shield Env from immune recognition. Env has approximately 25 glycosylation sites of which ~4 are located in the inner domain, ~7-8 in the V1/V2 and V3 loops and the rest in the outer domain (OD). Earlier reports suggested that the glycans are indispensable for proper folding of Env and a certain level of glycan coverage is essential for maintaining infectivity of the virion. In chapter 6, we investigated the effect of removal of glycans from core gp120 on the infectivity of the HIV-1 and on the recognition of Env by various broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). We mutated the glycosylation sites in core gp120 to the second most frequent amino acids based on multiple sequence alignment. Pseudoviral infectivity assays and mammalian cell surface display experiments show that in the context of gp160, all core gp120 glycans are dispensable for viral infectivity and for recognition of bNAbs. We also show that deglycosylated molecules can serve as a starting point to re-introduce epitopes for specific glycan dependent bNAbs. Several of the constructs will also be useful for epitope mapping and Env structural characterization. Glycosylation of Env is known to inhibit binding to germline precursors of known bNAbs. In this study we show that recognition of VRC01 germline-bNAb increases substantially with the progressive loss of glycans from JRFL pseudoviruses. This work has so far resulted in the following publications (mentioned in next page).

Allergic asthma is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and a cellular infiltrate dominated by eosinophils. Numerous epidemiological studies have related the exacerbation of allergic asthma with an increase in ambient inhalable particulate matter from air pollutants. This is because inhalable particles efficiently deliver airborne allergens deep into the airways, where they can aggravate allergic asthma symptoms. However, the cellular mechanisms by which inhalable particulate allergens (pAgs) potentiate asthmatic symptoms remain unknown, in part because most in vivo and in vitro studies exploring the pathogenesis of allergic asthma use soluble allergens (sAgs). Using a mouse model of allergic asthma, we found that, compared with their sAg counterparts, pAgs triggered markedly heightened airway hyperresponsiveness and pulmonary eosinophilia in allergen-sensitized mice. Mast cells (MCs) were implicated in this divergent response, as the differences in airway inflammatory responses provoked by the physical nature of the allergens were attenuated in MC-deficient mice. The pAgs were found to mediate MC-dependent responses by enhancing retention of pAg/IgE/FcεRI complexes within lipid raft–enriched, CD63(+) endocytic compartments, which prolonged IgE/FcεRI-initiated signaling and resulted in heightened cytokine responses. These results reveal how the physical attributes of allergens can co-opt MC endocytic circuitry and signaling responses to aggravate pathological responses of allergic asthma in mice. / Dissertation

The envelope glycoprotein (Env) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) has developed several immune-evasion mechanisms to avoid the induction of neutralising antibodies, including immunodominant non-neutralising epitopes, conformational flexibility of conserved epitopes, and spontaneous subunit dissociation, thus impeding vaccine development. Here, chemical modification of Env-based vaccine antigens is explored to overcome these obstacles. Firstly, covalent fixation of Env by chemical cross-linking was used to stabilise the conformationally flexible structure and prevent subunit dissociation. Cross-linked Env constructs showed reduced binding of many non-neutralising antibodies whilst largely maintaining antibody recognition by broadly neutralising antibodies. Compared to unmodified material, immunisation with some of these cross-linked proteins led to the induction of significantly increased antibody titres targeting the conserved CD4 binding site of Env despite similar overall antibody titres. These refocused antibody responses resulted in increased serum neutralising titres compared to animals receiving unmodified protein. Secondly, an epitope masking strategy was developed to reduce or eliminate the immunogenicity of neutralisation-irrelevant surfaces. This was achieved using site-selective addition of theoretically immunosilent glycoconjugates to lysine residues. Masking of model protein hen egg lysozyme (HEL) led to site-selective loss of antibody binding to the modification sites in vitro, which translated into refocusing of antibody responses from masked to unmasked epitopes in vivo. Mutant HIV-1 and influenza virus surface glycoproteins were designed that had lysine residues removed from close proximity to the respective broadly neutralising epitopes, but added throughout the remaining surface. Masking of these mutant proteins with second-generation glycoconjugates led to predictable perturbations of antibody binding in vitro. However, administration of these modified glycoproteins revealed unexpectedly that the masking glycans were highly immunogenic in vivo. Thus, this strategy may well prove useful if truly non-immunogenic glycoconjugates can be identified. Taken together, these chemical modifications of vaccine antigens may allow focused targeting of specific antigenic regions for increased B cell recognition, and may thus be a valuable tool for vaccine antigen design.

Introdução: O câncer de próstata (CP) é a neoplasia mais comum do homem e o seu rastreamento e métodos de detecção têm sido motivo de grande discussão. Devido a sua alta prevalência, busca-se a identificação de tumores clinicamente significantes, evitando-se o supertratamento e seus consequentes efeitos colaterais. Atualmente a ressonância magnética multiparamétrica e outros marcadores moleculares têm sido utilizados, mas falham em acurácia. A busca de novos marcadores diagnósticos e de caracterização da agressividade do CP é urgente. Objetivos: Identificação do perfil de expressão dos genes ERG, SPOP, PTEN, AMACR, GOLM1, EN2 e NKX3.1 e dos miRNAs 21, 221, 100 e 141 no tecido proveniente de biópsias de próstata por agulha e avaliação de sua acurácia no diagnóstico e determinação do prognóstico do CP. Análise de proteínas glicosiladas na urina através da proteômica e espectometria de massa para o diagnóstico do CP. Materiais e Métodos: Estudo prospectivo, exploratório para identificação de biomarcadores diagnósticos e prognósticos de CP. Cento e trinta e dois pacientes com indicação de biópsia de próstata (PSA > 4,0 ng/ml e/ou alterações no toque retal) foram submetidos a biópsia prostática em sextantes no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP e no Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo (ICESP). Uma amostra aleatória de biópsia foi submetida a qRT-PCR para análise da expressão dos genes e miRNAs. A urina foi coletada após a biópsia e mantida a -20oC. Doze amostras de urina sendo seis de pacientes com diagnóstico de CP e seis com hiperplasia próstatica benigna foram submetidas a análise proteômica com espectrometria de massa. Os perfis de expressão de miRNAs, genes e proteínas foram comparados entre pacientes com e sem diagnóstico de CP. Avaliamos também o perfil de expressão de genes e miRNAs e sua relação com a graduação histológica de Gleason. Resultados: Os níveis aumentados de expressão tissular de NKX3, SPOP, AMACR, EN2, GOLM1 e ERG foram significativamente maiores no grupo CP quando comparados ao grupo controle p=0.03, p=0.004, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p=0,002 respectivamente. A avaliação da curva ROC revelou AUC de 0,744; 0,726; 0,692; 0,659; 0,646; 0,609 e 0,469 respectivamente para AMACR, GOLM1, EN2, ERG, SPOP, NKX3 e PTEN no diagnóstico do CP. Com base na análise de regressão linear foi proposto um modelo de análise conjunta dessas variáveis e criado um nomograma com GOLM1 e AMACR integrados com idade e níveis de PSA. A acurácia do nomograma proposto foi de 78,2% no diagnóstico do CP. Na avaliação prognóstica comparando dois grupos de Gleason 6 vs 7 a 10, os genes EN2, GOLM1 e AMACR foram significativamente mais expressos nos tumores mais agressivos (p=0,027, p=0,002, p=0,013 respectivamente). A curva ROC revelou AUC de 0,675, 0,727 e 0,684 respectivamente para EN2, GOLM1 e AMACR. Seguindo o mesmo tratamento estatístico do modelo diagnóstico proposto nesse estudo, foi elaborado um nomograma prognóstico com integração do PSA, idade e expressão de GOLM1 que mostrou uma acurácia de 79%. Na avaliação prognóstica entre os grupos Gleason 6 e 7 vs 8, 9 e 10 apenas os marcadores NKX3 e SPOP foram diferencialmente expressos, p=0,036 e p=0,044 respetivamente. A avaliação da curva ROC revelou AUC 0,704 e 0,696 para NKX3 e SPOP respectivamente. O nomograma proposto, a partir dessas informações e tratamento estatístico das variáveis, integrando PSA, idade e expressão de SPOP mostra uma acurácia de 89% na identificação de tumores de alto grau. Os miRNAs não apresentaram expressão significativamente diferente entre os grupos tanto para o diagnóstico quanto para o prognóstico. A análise proteômica revelou um painel de 56 N-glicopeptídeos capaz de discriminar completamente os grupos de pacientes com e sem CP. A avaliação da curva ROC para o painel formado mostrou uma AUC=1. Conclusões: A análise da expressão de genes em fragmento de biópsia de próstata por agulha, aleatoriamente retirado foi capaz de identificar a presença ou não do CP e caracterizar a sua agressividade. O nomograma desenhado a partir da expressão de GOLM1 e AMACR associados a idade e aos níveis de PSA mostrou acurácia de 78,2% no diagnóstico da doença. Os níveis de expressão tecidual de GOLM1 associados ao PSA demonstraram uma acurácia de 79,1% para a identificação de carcinomas com graduação >=7 e os níveis de expressão tecidual de SPOP associados ao PSA demonstraram uma acurácia de 89,0% para a identificação de carcinomas com graduação >=8. Os níveis de expressão de 56 N-glicopeptídeos intactos na urina mostraram uma ROC: AUC de 1 para o diagnóstico do câncer de próstata / Introduction: Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common cancer among men and screening and detection methods have been a matter of great discussion. Due to its high prevalence, there is an urgent need to search for new biomarkers able to distinguish the clinically significant PC, trying to avoid or postpone the side effects related to the curative treatment. Recently, multiparametric magnetic resonance and some molecular markers have been used but fail in accuracy. The search for new markers to diagnose and classify the aggressiveness of PC is urgent. Objective: Evaluate the expression of ERG, SPOP, PTEN, AMACR, GOLM1, EN2 and NKX 3.1 and miRNAs 21, 221, 100 and 141 in prostate tissue obtained by needle biopsy relating the results with the accuracy in the diagnosis and characterization of the aggressiveness of PC. Analysis of glycosylated proteins in the urine by proteomics and mass spectrometry to be applied in the diagnosis of PC. Materials and methods: Exploratory prospective study to identify diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PC. One hundred and thirty-two patients underwent prostate biopsy (PSA > 4.0 ng/ml and/or abnormalities in the digital rectal examination) at the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP and the Cancer Institute of the State of São Paulo (ICESP). A random core was submitted to qRT-PCR for evaluation of gene and miRNA expression. The urine was collected after the biopsy and maintained at -20oC. Twelve samples of urine (six patients with PC and six with benign prostatic hyperplasia) were subjected to proteomic analysis with mass spectrometry. The expression profiles of miRNAs, genes and proteins were compared between patients with and without PC. In addition, the same analysis was performed considering the Gleason and ISUP grading. Results: NKX3, SPOP, AMACR, EN2, GOLM1 and ERG had significantly higher expression in the PC group (p=0.03, p=0.004, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p=0.002, respectively). Evaluation of ROC curve revealed an AUC of 0.744, 0.726, 0.692, 0.659, 0.646, 0.609 and 0.469 respectively for AMACR, GOLM1, EN2, ERG, SPOP, NKX3 and PTEN. Based on the linear regression analysis, a model of joint analysis of these variables was proposed and a nomogram was created with GOLM1 and AMACR associated with age and PSA levels. The accuracy of this nomogram in diagnosing PC was 78.2%. Considering the prognosis, comparing Gleason 6 vs 7 to 10, EN2, GOLM1 and AMACR were significantly more expressed in more aggressive tumors (p=0.027, p=0.002, p=0.013 respectively). ROC curve evaluation revealed an AUC of 0.675, 0.727 and 0.684 respectively for EN2, GOLM1 and AMACR. Following the same statistical treatment used for diagnosis, a nomogram was created with PSA, age and GOLM1 expression showing an accuracy of 79%. Another prognostic evaluation compared Gleason 6 and 7 vs 8,9 and 10. Only the NKX3 and SPOP were differentially expressed (p=0.036 and p=0.044, respectively) and the ROC curve revealed an AUC 0.704 and 0.696 for NKX3 and SPOP, respectively. A nomogram was designed including age, PSA and SPOP expression. The accuracy for this model in identifying high grade tumors was 89%. MiRNAs expression was not different between the groups considering diagnosis and prognosis. Proteomics analysis revealed a panel of 56 N-glycopeptides able to completely discriminate the groups with and without PC with an (ROC: AUC=1). Conclusion: Evaluating the expression of genes in a random core of prostate biopsy we were able to identify the presence of PC and to characterize its aggressiveness. A nomogram using GOLM1 and AMACR associated with PSA serum levels and age showed and accuracy of 78.2% in diagnose PC. The levels of GOLM1and PSA showed an accuracy of 79.1% in the identification of PC Gleason >=7. SPOP and PSA showed and accuracy of 89% in the identification of PC Gleason >=8. The expression levels of 56 N-glycoproteins perfectly discriminated PC and BPH (ROC: AUC=1)

O Vírus Respiratório Sincicial Humano (HRSV) é considerado o principal causador de doenças agudas do trato respiratório inferior durante a infância, sendo o principal responsável por um elevado índice de hospitalização de crianças com até cinco anos de idade. Possui distribuição mundial, podendo acometer todas as faixas etárias, entretanto as crianças de 6 semanas a 9 meses são as que desenvolvem problemas mais sérios, como pneumonia e bronquiolite. A epidemia de HRSV apresenta uma sazonalidade bem clara, ocorrendo anualmente no período de outono tardio, inverno ou início da primavera, mas não durante o verão. No presente estudo foi realizada a análise da região G2 da glicoproteína G do HRSV. Um total de 44 amostras positivas para o HRSV do Hospital Universitário (HU) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), nos anos de 2007-2008, foram seqüenciadas e posteriormente analisadas, sendo então comparadas com seqüências obtidas do NCBI/GeneBank. A análise filogenética mostrou que os genótipos GA2 e GA5, do grupo A, foram os predominantes nos anos de 2007 e 2008, alternando o padrão verificado nos anos anteriores, onde os genótipos do grupo B foram altamente predominantes. A comparação das mutações sinônimas e não sinônimas mostrou uma grande evidência de seleção positiva nos genótipos GA2 e GA5 do grupo A. / Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (HRSV) is considered the most common cause of lower respiratory tract disease in infants and young children and are the main guilty for the elevated children hospitalizations rate under 5 years of age. The HRSV has a world-wide distribution, being able to attack all the ages however the 6 weeks to 9 months children of are the ones that develop more serious problems as pneumonia and bronquiolite. The HRSV outbreak presents a well defined season, occurring annually in the delayed falls period, winter or springs beginning, but not during the summer. In the present study, we performed a phylogenetic analysis from G2 region of HRSV G glycoprotein. Forty four samples positive for HRSV from University Hospital (UH) of University of Sao Paulo (USP) in 2007-2008, were submitted to sequencing by PCR and compared with GenBank sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that HRSV group A genotypes GA2 and GA5 was the predominant in 2007-2008, alternating the standard verified in the previous years, where the group B genotypes had been highly predominant. Comparison of the synonymous/nonsynonymous mutation ratios showed greater evidence for positive selection pressure for group A genotypes GA2 and GA5.

Deficiência na enzima lisossomal glucocerebrosidase (GCR) resulta na doença de Gaucher. O tratamento atual consiste na administração da enzima exógena, produzida em células CHO. Porém, o medicamento disponível no mercado é extremamente custoso. Neste trabalho, propusemos a clonagem e a expressão da GCR humana em células CHO, visando a obtenção de um clone celular produtor para viabilizar a produção futura da enzima, a um custo menor, no Instituto Butantan. A expressão estável da GCR recombinante foi obtida a partir da transfecção de células CHO-dhfr- com o plasmídeo pED de expressão em células de mamíferos contendo o cDNA da GCR, seguido de amplificação gênica por MTX. A GCR foi detectada no extrato celular (~ 64 kDa) e secretada para o sobrenadante (63-69 kDa) em ensaios de western blotting, usando o anticorpo policlonal anti-GCR gerado neste trabalho. A enzima secretada hidrolisou o substrato 4-MUG e a sua produtividade foi estimada em 5,14 pg/célula/dia para o melhor subclone produtor, selecionado para a produção futura da GCR em larga escala. / Deficiency of the lysosomal glucocerebrosidase (GCR) enzyme results in Gaucher\'s disease. Current treatment consists on enzyme replacement therapy by the administration of recombinant GCR produced in CHO cells. However, the medicine available in the market is extremely expensive. In this work, we proposed the cloning and expression of human GCR in CHO cells, in order to obtain a productive cellular clone for future production of GCR enzyme at a lower cost at the Butantan Institute. The stable expression of recombinant GCR was obtained after transfection of CHO-dhfr- cells with pED mammalian expression vector containing the GCR cDNA, followed by gene amplification with MTX. The GCR was detected by western blotting analysis, either as cell-associated (~ 64 kDa) or as secreted forms (63-69 kDa), using the anti-GCR polyclonal antibody produced in this work. The secreted enzyme was active on 4-MUG and was produced at a level of about 5,14 pg/cell/day for the best producer subclone, selected for subsequent steps of GCR production on large scale in next future.