Modelling of interactions of proteins and peptides with metal ions Ondrej Gutten - Diploma thesis Keywords: Metalloproteins, metal ion selectivity, in silico prediction Abstract: An approach for in silico prediction and estimation of selectivity properties of metal-binding peptides is suggested. An in-depth analysis is performed to disclose the justifiability and limitations of this approach. The study is divided into three parts. First part investigates the soundness of two quantum chemical methods (MP2 and DFT) for their use in the set-up quest. The testing includes comparison with CCSD(T), effect of basis selection, performance of the two methods in geometry optimizations and effect of implicit solvent model. Second part foreshadows the approach of searching for a metal selective peptide by thoroughly investigating the ability of simple representative systems, derived from their metalloprotein templates, to retain the property of interest. Final part describes the initial step of extensive combinatorial approach towards examination of vast number of simple systems that represent metal-binding sites, and which are to be used for prediction of metal-selectivity through exploitation of the described approach and, ultimately, to the de novo design of metalloproteins with desired properties.

Liver flukes of the family Fasciolidae are parasites of mammals including human. Fascioloides magna and Fasciola hepatica are considered as a veterinary and medically important species occurring also in the Czech Republic. Fascioloides magna and F. hepatica infect wide spectrum of wild and domestic ruminants and in case of F. hepatica human can be also infected. Both flukes are responsible for damage of liver tissue and/or bile-ducts of their definitive hosts causing weight lose, anemia, reduced productivity and in specific cases the death of the host. Effective diagnosis plays the key role in control of F. hepatica and F. magna infections. Current diagnostics is predominantly based on serodiagnostic methods using specific antigens e.g. from excretory-secretory products (ESPs). Due to heterogenity of ESPs, such diagnostic markers can lack the specificity and also the reproducibility of the method is poor. Particular proteins of ESPs are often used in diagnostics of fasciolid flukes. Such approach requires biological material and laboratory procedures associated with identification, purification and antigenicity testing of selected proteins. Recent development of parallel sequencing technologies results in huge amount of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data, which are publicly available. Such...

La porphyrie aiguë intermittente (PAI) est la plus fréquente des porphyries hépatiques aiguës. Elle est décrite comme une maladie autosomique dominante dont le trait génétique est estimé à 1/1675 en France avec une pénétrance faible et variable allant de 10% à 50% dans les familles connues de PAI. La PAI est due à des mutations réduisant le niveau d’activité de l’hydroxyméthylbilane-synthase (HMBS). Son déficit entraîne l’accumulation de précurseurs neurotoxiques responsables de la symptomatologie clinique. Dans le foie, la synthèse d’hème est contrôlée par l’enzyme ALA-Synthétase 1 (ALAS1) dont l’activité est régulée par un rétrocontrôle négatif par le produit final : l’hème. Le traitement consiste à freiner l’induction d’ALAS1 induit par la carence en hème, par l’administration d’hème exogène. Ce traitement de la crise aiguë est très efficace mais génère rapidement une dépendance physique avec apparition de crises récurrentes nécessitant l’administration chronique d’hème exogène. L’objectif principal de ce projet a été d’étudier les mécanismes physiopathologiques et génétiques liés à cette pathologie afin de traiter et conseiller au mieux les patients. Une partie du projet a consisté à explorer les facteurs génétiques modulateurs de la pénétrance de la maladie. Tout d’abord, une prévalence minimale du trait génétique dans la population générale a été estimée à 1/1299 permettant d’en déduire une pénétrance de l’ordre de 1% alors que celle dans les familles PAI suivies par le CFP est estimée à 22,9 %. Ensuite, concernant les facteurs pouvant expliquer cette différence, la présence d’une mutation type non-sens est plus fréquemment associée aux formes sévères et à une pénétrance plus élevée. De plus, les études de corrélation et d’héritabilité suggèrent plutôt une transmission de type oligogénique associée à des facteurs épigénétiques modulateurs de la pénétrance dont le facteur environnemental. Une autre partie a consisté à explorer les effets de l’administration d’hème exogène sur les patients et un modèle murin de PAI créé génétiquement. Chez l’homme, le traitement est associé à une augmentation des formes chroniques (1,7 % avant vs 7,5 % après l’introduction du celui-ci). Dans le modèle murin de PAI, les injections intrapéritonéales répétées induisent une augmentation paradoxale d’ALAS1 (3 fois), une augmentation de l’hème oxygénase 1 qui catabolise l’hème (HMOX1, 9 fois) ainsi que des voies de l’inflammation (analyse transcriptomique et protéomique hépatique) et une surcharge en fer. De plus, cette administration induit une altération des complexes de la chaine respiratoire mitochondriale responsable d’anomalies du métabolisme énergétique au niveau hépatique, cérébral et musculaire pouvant expliquer la symptomatologie neuroviscérale. En conclusion, ce travail a permis d’explorer les caractéristiques génétiques de la maladie (prévalence, pénétrance) en remettant en cause le mode de transmission autosomique dominant jusqu’ici admis, et d’explorer les mécanismes physiopathologiques associées à l’administration d’hème exogène faisant de cette thérapeutique un pharmakon / The biosynthesis of porphyrins is one of the most conserved pathways known. By associating different metals, porphyrins give rise to the "pigments of life". The formation of haem is accomplished by a sequence of eight dedicated enzymes encoded by different genes, some being active in ubiquitous as well as in erythroid isoforms. In humans, the genes for each of the haem synthetic enzymes may become the target of mutations that give rise to an impaired cellular enzyme activity called porphyrias. The acute porphyrias are characterized by attacks of neuropsychiatric symptoms, which may be due to a toxic surplus of the porphyrin precursor 5-aminolevulinic acid, or a consequence of a deficit of vital hemoproteins. Mutations of the gene encoding the third enzyme: hydroxymethylbilane synthase, are associated with the most frequent type of acute hepatic porphyria, acute intermittent porphyria. AIP is thought to display autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance. In the classical form of AIP, HMBS activity is about 50% lower than normal in all tissues. These levels of activity in basal conditions are not sufficiently low to cause symptoms. However, factors increasing hepatic heme demand, resulting in an upregulation of hepatic aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS1, the first enzyme of the heme biosynthesis pathway), precipitate acute attacks. The treatment of the attack of AIP consists to repress ALAS1 and restores metabolic equilibrium. But this treatment leads side effects and dependency. The pathophysiological mechanism of the disease is partially known and difficult to explore because there is not an AIP model or prediction model of porphyrogenicity. We aimed to obtain further insight into the pathophysiological mechanism of AIP and into the genetic (prevalence and penetrance) of AIP, and the contribution of genetic factors to the variable clinical expression of HMBS mutations.We first calculated the penetrance of HMBS mutations in AIP patients seen at the French reference center for porphyria: 22.9%. We then used the Exome Variant Server (EVS) to estimate the prevalence of deleterious HMBS mutations in the general population: 1/1299; and the penetrance of the AIP genetic trait in France: 1%. Finally, we investigated further the genetic factors underlying the penetrance of AIP by analyzing genotype/phenotype correlations, and the pattern of familial correlations for the symptoms of the acute crises of AIP. Intrafamily correlation studies showed correlations to be strong overall and modulated by kinship and the era in which the person was living, demonstrating strong influences of genetic and environmental modifiers on inheritance suggesting that AIP inheritance does not follow the classical autosomal dominant model. Null alleles were associated with a more severe phenotype and a higher penetrance than for other mutant alleles.On the other hand, we explored the effect of heme administration. In human, the introduction of hemin into the pharmacopeia has coincided with a 4.4-fold increase in the prevalence of chronic patients. We show that repeated hemin infusions in mice trigger a high level heme oxygenase 1 response, induce a pro-oxidative iron accumulation, a complex pattern of liver inflammation with macrophage infiltration and an alteration of oxidative phosphorylation

Megasatellites are polymorphic tandem repetitive sequences with repeat-units longer than or equal to 1000 base pairs. The novel algorithm Megasatfinder predicts megasatellites in the human genome. A structured method of analysing the algorithm is developed and conducted. The analysis method consists of six test scenarios. Scripts are created, which execute the algorithm using various parameter settings. Three nucleotide sequences are applied; a real sequence extracted from the human genome and two random sequences, generated using different base probabilities. Usability and accuracy are investigated, providing the user with confidence in the algorithm and its output. The results indicate that Megasatfinder is an excellent tool for the detection of megasatellites and that the generated results are highly reliable. The results of the complete analysis suggest alterations in the default parameter settings, presented as user guidelines, and state that artificially generated sequences are not applicable as models for real DNA in computational simulations.

<p>Megasatellites are polymorphic tandem repetitive sequences with repeat-units longer than or equal to 1000 base pairs. The novel algorithm Megasatfinder predicts megasatellites in the human genome. A structured method of analysing the algorithm is developed and conducted. The analysis method consists of six test scenarios. Scripts are created, which execute the algorithm using various parameter settings. Three nucleotide sequences are applied; a real sequence extracted from the human genome and two random sequences, generated using different base probabilities. Usability and accuracy are investigated, providing the user with confidence in the algorithm and its output. The results indicate that Megasatfinder is an excellent tool for the detection of megasatellites and that the generated results are highly reliable. The results of the complete analysis suggest alterations in the default parameter settings, presented as user guidelines, and state that artificially generated sequences are not applicable as models for real DNA in computational simulations.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:38:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_marco_andre_paldes_da_costa.pdf: 3629797 bytes, checksum: cb9f7519cccc3939652d2f7422468afc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-28 / Cattle (Bos taurus) represent an important phylogenetic resource for understanding of evolutionary aspects and complex traits. On its genome, microsatellites repeats constituted the basis for genotyping in different studies as the genetic mapping. So, this study has by aim to describe the distribution of these sequences along of the taurine bovine genome, ascribing to them structural and functional annotation, besides supply a resource for that such information may assist future investigations on these regions. With a genomic coverage estimated at 0.8%, around 1.3 million loci were identified, of which 90.5% classified as perfect. Monomers occurred in greater number and frequency, followed by tetramers, dimers, trimers, pentamers and hexamers. However dimers and pentamers contributed in density more than tetramers. Regardless of the type of repetition, always the largest proportion of repetitive stretches distributed on IG, Introns and GPG regions. Nevertheless, density and frequency on PR and 5'UTR overcame IG. Through of these descriptors similarities could be observed between IG, Introns and 3'UTR, as too for PR and 5'UTR. Annotation for biological process, molecular function and cellular component were super-represented in genes harboring repetitive sequences. Using mapping references, as gene annotation, STS, SNPs and other repetitive elements already described, the Pampeano Animal Genetic Resources online platform provides an important resource for that the information gathered can to assist the planning of new approaches, in especial to obtaining molecular markers destinated to selection of traits of interest to the genetic improvement of the species. / Bovinos (Bos taurus) representam um importante recurso filogenético para compreensão de aspectos evolutivos e características complexas. Sobre seu genoma, repetições microssatélites constituíram a base para genotipagem em diferentes estudos, como o mapeamento genético. Assim, esse trabalho teve por objetivo descrever a distribuição destas sequências ao longo do genoma bovino taurino, atribuindo a elas anotação estrutural e funcional, além de disponibilizar um recurso para que tal informação possa auxiliar investigações futuras sobre tais regiões. Com uma cobertura genômica estimada em 0,8%, cerca de 1.3 milhões de loci foram identificados, dos quais 90,5% classificados como perfeitos. Monômeros ocorreram em maior número e frequência, seguidos por tetrâmeros, dímeros, trímeros, pentâmeros e hexâmeros. Contudo dímeros e pentâmeros contribuíram em densidade mais que tetrâmeros. Independente do tipo de repetição, sempre a maior proporção dos trechos repetitivos distribuíram-se sobre regiões IG, Introns e GPG. Apesar disso, densidade e frequência em 5 UTR e PR superaram IG. Através desses descritores semelhanças puderam ser evidenciadas entre IG, Introns e 3 UTR, como também para PR e 5 UTR. Anotações para processo biológico, função molecular e componente celular estavam super-representadas em genes abrigando sequências repetitivas. Utilizando referências de mapeamento, como anotação gênica, STS, SNPs e outros elementos repetitivos já descritos, a plataforma on-line Pampeano Animal Genetic Resources fornece um importante recurso para que a informação reunida possa auxiliar o planejamento de novas abordagens, em especial para obtenção de marcadores moleculares destinados a seleção de características de interesse ao melhoramento genético da espécie.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-12-18T10:55:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Juliana Camila Lopes Cavaion - 2012.pdf: 2928983 bytes, checksum: 908363ad8b87e3a821dd54fe80dcb4ce (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-12-18T14:24:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Juliana Camila Lopes Cavaion - 2012.pdf: 2928983 bytes, checksum: 908363ad8b87e3a821dd54fe80dcb4ce (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-18T14:24:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Juliana Camila Lopes Cavaion - 2012.pdf: 2928983 bytes, checksum: 908363ad8b87e3a821dd54fe80dcb4ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-04 / Filamentous fungi have cytochrome P450 enzyme system similar to mammals whose application allows catalyze phase I oxidative reactions of metabolism. Obtaining functionalized derivatives by these microorganisms was the main purpose of this dissertation. Studies in silico to predict metabolism in the programs MetaPrint2D and SMARTCyp indicated S-oxidation, aromatic hydroxylation and dealkylation reactions, as the most likely S-oxidation in thiomorpholine ring of 2-[4-(1,4-thiazinan-4-ylsulfonyl)phenylcarbamoyl]benzoic acid (LASSBio-596). The filamentous fungi Absidia blakesleana ATCC 26617, Aspergillus candidus ATCC 1009, Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159, Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9244, Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9245, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 36112, Fusarium roseum ATCC 14717 and Streptomyces vendulae ATCC 8664 were used for biotransformation of LASSBio-596. In the reaction conditions applied, substrate dissolved in methanol with concentration of 0.25 mg/mL added to liquid culture medium PDSM and incubated at 27 °C with 200 rpm for 96 hours, the fungus Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159 performed S-oxidation in the thiomorpholine ring resulting in sulfone derivative of LASSBio-596, called LaBioCon 214, yield of 5.84 %, and it was found the hydrolysis of amide reaction obtaining the compound 4-(thiomorpholinosulfonyl)aniline, LaBioCon 202, yield of 13.8 %. It was noted the solvent used affects the biotransformation process. The monitoring of the reactions and purification of the derivatives obtained were performed by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector at 267 nm and preparative chromatography with column Microsorb 100-5 C18 (250 x 10 mm, 5 μm). Subsequently, sulfone derivative was obtained, called LaBioCon 223, by synthesis. Structural characterization was made by classical methods such as 1H NMR and mass spectrometry. / Os fungos filamentosos possuem o sistema enzimático citocromo P450 semelhante ao de mamíferos, cuja aplicação permite catalisar reações oxidativas de fase I do metabolismo. A obtenção de derivados funcionalizados por estes microrganismos foi o objetivo principal deste trabalho. Estudos in silico de previsão do metabolismo nos programas MetaPrint2D e SMARTCyp indicaram reações de S-oxidação, hidroxilação aromática e desalquilação, sendo mais provável a S-oxidação no anel tiomorfolina do ácido 2-[4-(1,4-tiazinan-4-ilsulfonil)fenilcarbamoil]benzóico (LASSBio-596). Os fungos filamentosos Absidia blakesleana ATCC 26617, Aspergillus candidus ATCC 1009, Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159, Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9244, Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9245, Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 36112, Fusarium roseum ATCC 14717 e Streptomyces vendulae ATCC 8664 foram empregados para biotransformação do LASSBio-596. Nas condições reacionais aplicadas, substrato solubilizado em metanol com concentração de 0,25 mg/mL adicionado ao meio de cultura líquido PDSM e incubado a 27 °C com 200 rpm por 96 horas, a Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159 promoveu a S-oxidação no anel tiomorfolina resultando no derivado sulfona do LASSBio-596, denominado LaBioCon 214, com rendimento de 5,84 %, e constatou-se a reação de hidrólise da amida obtendo o composto 4-(tiomorfolina-sulfonil)anilina, LaBioCon 202, com rendimento de 13,8 %. Verificou-se que o solvente utilizado interfere no processo de biotransformação. O monitoramento das reações e a purificação dos derivados obtidos foram realizados por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detector ultravioleta em 267 nm e cromatografia preparativa com coluna Microsorb 100-5 C18 (250 x 10 mm, 5 μm). Posteriormente, foi obtido o derivado sulfona, LaBioCon 223, por via sintética. A caracterização estrutural foi realizada por métodos clássicos como a espectroscopia de ressonância magnética nuclear de hidrogênio e espectrometria de massas.

The main objectives of the present project were to increase the understanding of small intestinal precipitation of poorly soluble pharmaceutical drugs, investigate occurrence of crystalline small intestinal precipitation and effects of precipitation on absorption. The aim was to create and evaluate methods of predicting crystalline small intestinal drug precipitation using in vivo, in vitro and in silico models. In vivo small intestinal precipitation from highly supersaturated solutions of two weakly basic model drugs, AZD0865 and mebendazole, was investigated in humans and canine models. Potential precipitation of AZD0865 was investigated by examining dose dependent increases in human maximum plasma concentration and total exposure, which turned out to be dose linear over the range investigated, indicating no significant in vivo precipitation. The small intestinal precipitation of mebendazole was investigated from drug concentrations and amount of solid drug present in dog jejunum as well as through the bioavailability after direct duodenal administration in dogs. It was concluded that mebendazole small intestinal precipitation was limited, and that intestinal supersaturation was measurable for up to 90 minutes. In vitro precipitation methods utilizing simulated or real fasted gastric and intestinal fluids were developed in order to simulate the in vivo precipitation rate. The methods overpredicted in vivo precipitation when absorption of drug was not simulated. An in vitro-in silico approach was therefore developed, where the in vitro method was used for determining the interfacial tension (γ), necessary for describing crystallization in Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT). CNT was evaluated using a third model drug, bicalutamide, and could successfully describe different parts of the crystallization process of the drug. CNT was then integrated into an in silico absorption model. The in vivo precipitation results of AZD0865 and mebendazole were well predicted by the model, but only by allowing the fundamental constant γ to vary with concentration. Thus, the in vitro-in silico approach could be used for small intestinal precipitation prediction if the in vitro concentration closely matched in vivo small intestinal concentrations.

This diploma thesis includes an experimental and a bioinformatic part. The two parts are linked together through the subject of transcription factors of 'forkhead box O' (FOXO) family. FOXO transcription factors have a key role in many cellular processes including cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and metabolism. For a long time, they have been considered strictly as the tumor-suppressors yet a growing number of evidence is pointing out to their pro-tumorigenic role. In consequence FOXO transcription factors are studied intensively as potential therapeutic targets in cancer. In the past decade, in silico prediction of protein-protein interactions has become popular in basic research as well as in drug development. Nonetheless, the predicted structures are still far from fitting to the expected behavior of the respective biomolecules. In the experimental part of this thesis, I verified the interaction of four in silico predicted protein binders based on naturally occurring PDZ domain with FOXO4 using microscale thermophoresis. Non-invasive bladder tumors represent a heterogeneous disease where reliable prediction of tumor aggressiveness is still lacking despite an intensive research. In the bioinformatic part of this thesis, I described the cellular composition of the tumor microenvironment and demonstrated...

Xylella fastidiosa é uma bactéria gram-negativa, não flagelada, agente causal de doenças de importância econômica como a doença de Pierce nas videiras e a clorose variegada dos citros (CVC) nas laranjeiras. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi realizar análises in silico das sequências promotoras dos genes deste fitopatógeno em uma tentativa de arrecadar novas evidências para o melhor entendimento da dinâmica de regulação transcricional de seus genes, incluindo aqueles envolvidos em mecanismos de patogenicidade e virulência. Para tanto, duas estratégias foram utilizadas para predição de elementos cis-regulatórios em regiões promotoras do genoma da cepa referência 9a5c, comprovadamente associada à CVC. A primeira, conhecida como phylogenetic footprinting, foi empregada para identificação de elementos regulatórios conservados em promotores de unidades transcricionais ortólogas, levando em consideração o conjunto de genes de X. fastidiosa e 7 espécies comparativas. O critério para identificação de unidades transcricionais ortólogas, isto é, unidades trancricionais oriundas de espécies distintas e cujos promotores compartilham elementos cis-regulatórios, foi paralelamente estudado utilizando-se informações regulatórias das bactérias modelos: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis e Escherichia coli. Os resultados obtidos com análise de phylogenetic footprinting nos permitiu acessar a rede regulatória transcricional da espécie de forma compreensiva (global). Foram estabelecidas 2990 interações regulatórias, compreendendo 80 motivos distribuídos nos promotores de 56.8% das unidades transcricionais do genoma de X. fastidiosa. Na segunda estratégia recuperamos informações regulatórias experimentalmente validadas em E. coli e complementamos o conhecimento de dez regulons de X. fastidiosa, através de uma metodologia de scanning (varredura), dos quais algumas interações regulatórias já haviam sido previamente descritas por outros trabalhos. Destacamos os regulons de Fur e CRP, reguladores transcricionais globais, que se mostraram responsáveis pela modulação de genes relacionados a mecanismos de invasão e colonização do hospedeiro vegetal entre outros. Por fim, análises comparativas em regiões regulatórias correspondentes entre cepas foram realizadas e diferenças possivelmente associadas a particularidades fenotípicas foram identificadas entre 9a5c e J1a12, um isolado de citros não virulento, e 9a5c e Temecula1, um isolado de videira causador da doença de Pierce. / Xylella fastidiosa is a gram-negative, non-flagellated bacterium responsible for causing economically important diseases such as Pierce\'s disease in grapevines and Citrus Variegated Clorosis (CVC) in sweet orange trees. In the present work we performed in silico analysis on promoter sequences of protein-coding genes from this phytopathogen, including those involved in virulence and pathogenic mechanisms, in an attempt to better understand the underlying transcriptional regulatory dynamics. Two strategies for cis-regulatory elements prediction were applied on promoter sequences from 9a5c strain genome, a proven causal agent of CVC. The first one, known as phylogenetic footprinting, involved the prediction of regulatory motifs conserved on promoter sequences of orthologous transcription units from X. fastidiosa and a set of 7 comparatives species. The criteria to identify orthologous transcription units, i. e., those from different species and whose promoter sequences share at least one common regulatory motif, was studied based on regulatory information available for model organisms: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. The results obtained with the phylogenetic footprinting analysis permitted us to access the underlying transcriptional regulatory network from the species in a comprehensive manner (genome-wide), with a total of 2990 regulatory interactions corresponding to 80 predicted motifs distributed on promoter sequences of 56.8% of all transcription units. In the second strategy regulatory information from E. coli was recovered and used to expand the knowledge of ten regulons in X. fastidiosa, through a scanning process, of which some regulatory interactions were previously described by independent studies. We emphasize some genes related to host invasion and colonization present in the Fur and CRP regulons, two global transcription regulators. Lastly, comparative analysis on corresponding regulatory regions among strains were performed and differences possibly associated to phenotypic variation were identified between 9a5c and J1a12, a non-virulent strain isolated from orange trees, and between 9a5c and Temecula1, a strain associated to Pierce\'s disease on grapevines.