O presente trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver tecnologia in vitro e associá-la à mutagênese, e avaliar plantas V 5 e V6 quanto aos caracteres agronômicos de produção em área de ocorrência da doença fusariose, visando ao melhoramento genético da pimenta-do-reino para obtenção de plantas tolerantes e/ou resistentes à doença fusariose. A aplicação das técnicas in vitro iniciou-se através da obtenção de plantas doadoras de explantes, a partir de estacas em casa-de-vegetação e, de sementes e embriões zigóticos in vitro. O processo de micropropagação foi desenvolvido a partir de gemas de plantas obtidas in vitro através do estabelecimento de condições adequadas de cultivo em meios de cultura apropriados para multiplicação de gemas, enraizamento e obtenção de "plantlets", e de tipo de substrato para aclimatação e formação de mudas. Após a definição deste processo, gemas de plantas de casa-de-vegetação foram submetidas a diferentes tratamentos de assepsia e as sobreviventes micropropagadas. Seleção in vitro foi estabelecida ao cultivar isolados patogênicos do fungo Fusarium solani f. sp. piperis em meio Czapek-Dox e, através da curva de crescimento foi estabelecido o período de 28 dias de cultivo mais adequado para obtenção de filtrado da cultura do fungo. Diferentes concentrações de filtrado e formas de esterilização foram testadas em meio de cultura de multiplicação de gemas e determinou-se a concentração de 55% do filtrado do fungo (v/v) sob a esterilização por duas autoclavagens, adequada para causar 100% de mortalidade de gemas susceptíveis à doença. Simultaneamente, testes de radiossensitividade foram desenvolvidos através da irradiação gama em gemas in vitro e a dose de 20Gy foi escolhida para indução de mutações. As gemas irradiadas que passaram por vários ciclos de multiplicação e sobreviveram ao agente seletivo, filtrado de cultura do fungo, estão sendo clonadas para serem submetidas à seleção artificial com esporos do fungo em casa-de-vegetação, seleção natural em campo de ocorrência da doença e avaliação agronômica. Testes indicaram, a concentração de 2x10 6 esporos/ml em suspensão e a aplicação no solo do fungo adequada para seleção em casa-de-vegetação. As plantas V5 e V6 avaliadas em campo quanto a mortalidade e caracteres de produção apresentaram performance semelhante às plantas da cultivar original quanto à média de comprimento de espiga (8,4 cm), peso (4,42g) e número de frutos (40 frutos) por espiga, peso de 100 frutos (10,67g) e rendimento de pimenta preta (> 30%). Entretanto, melhores resultados para a média de produção de pimenta verde (3.290g) e sobrevivência em área de ocorrência da fusariose. As análises por componentes principais e variáveis canônicas apresentaram divergência genética entre as plantas originadas por estacas que sofreram irradiação gama e aquelas da cultivar original. / The purposes of the present work were to develop in vitro technology, associating it with mutagenesis, and to evaluate the V5 and V6 plants based on agronomical characters of production in Fusarium incidence areas, aiming at the genetic improvement of black pepper to obtain tolerant and/or resistant plants to the disease. The use of in vitro techniques started with the production of explant donor plants from greenhouse-grown cuttings and from seeds and in vitro zygotic embryos. The micropropagation process was developed using young shoots of in vitro plants by establishment of proper growing conditions in culture media for multiplication, rooting and production of plantlets, and by determining a suitable substrate type for acclimatization and growing of plantlets. After the process was defined, young shoots obtained from greenhouse grown plants underwent different aseptic treatments and the surviving plantlets were micropropagated. In vitro selection was carried out by cultivating pathogenic isolates of Fusarium solani f. sp. piperis in Czapek-Dox medium and, by using a growing curve, the most suitable growing period (28 days) for obtaining the fungus culture filtrate was defined. Different filtrate concentrations and sterilization techniques were tested in culture medium for young shoot multiplication. A concentration of 55% (v/v) of fungus filtrate under sterilization by double autoclavation was considered adequate to cause 100% mortality of fusariosis susceptible young shoots. Simultaneously, radiosensitivity tests were carried out through gamma irradiation of in vitro young shoots and dose of 20Gy was selected for mutation induction. Irradiated young shoots which underwent several multiplication cycles and survived the selective agent, fungus culture filtrate, are being cloned in order to be submitted to artificial selection with the fungus spores in greenhouse, to natural selection in a disease incidence area and to agronomical evaluation. These tests indicated that the concentration of 2x10 6 spores/ml in suspension and the application of the fungus on soil were appropriate for greenhouse selection. The V5 and V6 plants evaluated in field conditions for mortality and production characters showed similar performance to the original cultivar plants regarding average height (8.4 cm), weight (4.42g) and number of fruits (40 fruits) per spike, weight of 100 fruits (10.67g) and black pepper yield (>30%). However, better results were observed for average green pepper production (3,290g) and survival rates in a fusariosis incidence area. Analyses of principal components and canonic variables evidenced genetic divergence between plants grown from gamma-irradiated cuttings and the original cultivar ones.

Submitted by FERNANDA DA SILVA VON PORSTER (fdsvporster@univates.br) on 2015-08-10T18:31:31Z No. of bitstreams: 3 license_text: 21490 bytes, checksum: 7ff346999f7486617a4302c4f2f02bc7 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) 2015EvelineSimonetti.pdf: 2527066 bytes, checksum: ee30959f60e3f2443928f47e6896623c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Lisboa Monteiro (monteiro@univates.br) on 2015-08-17T20:05:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 3 license_text: 21490 bytes, checksum: 7ff346999f7486617a4302c4f2f02bc7 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) 2015EvelineSimonetti.pdf: 2527066 bytes, checksum: ee30959f60e3f2443928f47e6896623c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-17T20:05:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 license_text: 21490 bytes, checksum: 7ff346999f7486617a4302c4f2f02bc7 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) 2015EvelineSimonetti.pdf: 2527066 bytes, checksum: ee30959f60e3f2443928f47e6896623c (MD5) / As doenças transmitidas por alimentos ocorrem por diversos motivos sendo principalmente devido à ingestão de alimentos contaminados por microrganismos patogênicos, dentre eles a Escherichia coli e Listeria monocytogenes. Uma das alternativas que vêm sendo estudada para minimizar a contaminação é o emprego de plantas como antimicrobiano de origem natural em produtos alimentícios. Desta forma o objetivo do presente estudo foi fornecer dados científicos a respeito de duas plantas nativas do RS ainda não estudadas, Eugenia anomala e Psidium salutare, para um potencial emprego como antimicrobiano natural em alimentos. Para tanto, avaliou-se a atividade antimicrobiana de extratos de E. anomala e P. salutare contra E. coli e L. monocytogenes através da determinação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM) pelo método de microdiluição, a capacidade antioxidante dos extratos por meio do método de redução do radical 1,1-difenil-2-picrilidrazil (DPPH) e a citotoxicidade in vitro empregando células CHO-K1. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os extratos de acetato de etila e etanólico de ambas as espécies vegetais possuem ação antioxidante comparável a do padrão. Quanto à atividade antimicrobiana, somente o extrato hexânico de P. salutare apresentou tal ação sendo ela moderada (CIM=312,5 μg/mL) e à citotoxicidade todos os extratos apresentaram ação citotóxica sendo que o extrato clorofórmico de E. anomala e hexânico de P. salutare apresentaram elevada ação e os demais extratos moderada ação citotóxica a uma concentração de 100 μg/mL. Assim, o presente estudo demonstrou que as espécies vegetais estudadas apresentam potencial para emprego em antimicrobiano sendo necessária a otimização do processo de extração. / The foodborne diseases occur for various reasons and mainly due to the ingestion of food contaminated by pathogenic micro-organisms, including Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. One of the alternatives that have been studied to minimize contamination is the use of plants as an antibacterial of natural origin in food products. Therefore, the objective of this study is to provide scientific data on two native plants of RS have not studied, Eugenia anomala and Psidium salutare for a job potential as natural antimicrobial in food. To this end, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of extracts of E. and P. anomala salutare against E. coli and L. monocytogenes by determining the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) by the broth microdilution method, the antioxidant activity of the extracts by means of method of reducing the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and in vitro cytotoxicity using CHO-K1 cells. The results showed that the extracts of ethyl acetate and ethanol of both species have antioxidant activity comparable to the standart. As for antimicrobial activity, only the hexane extract of P. salutare showed such action being her moderate (MIC = 312.5 μg/mL) and cytotoxicity all extracts showed cytotoxic action of which the chloroform extract of E. anomala and hexane P. salutare presented high action and the other moderate cytotoxic action extracts at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Thus, the present study showed that plant species have potential for use in antimicrobial requiring the optimization of the extraction process.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T23:26:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_10243_66-Drielly Stephania Gouvea.pdf: 1399699 bytes, checksum: e6b26f6146f35ffd98e203f6bc0a8018 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-28 / A embriogênese somática é o processo de desenvolvimento de embriões a partir de células somáticas. Objetivou-se com este trabalho analisar a eficiência de reguladores de crescimento nas diferentes fases da embriogênese somática indireta a partir de plantas in vitro do mamoeiro hermafrodita hibrido UENF/Caliman 01. Discos foliares destas brotações foram inoculadas em meio de indução (MI): meio MS (Murashige; Skoog, 1962), com concentração total de sais, e suplementado com auxinas, ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético (2,4-D)(6; 9; 12; 15 e 18 μM) e ácido 4- clorofenoxiacético (4-CPA)(19; 22; 25; 28 e 31 μM). Os tratamentos foram dispostos em delineamento inteiramente casualizados (DIC), com cinco repetições, e cinco explantes por repetição. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância pelo teste F e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Skott-Knott em nível de 5% de significância. Ao transcorrer, 90 dias da indução, visualizou-se a formação de alguns embriões somáticos nos calos friáveis formados. As concentrações da auxina 2,4-D, foram inibitórias, ocorrendo somente a formação de calos de coloração marromclara, os quais tiveram resultados inferior a 20% na formação de embriões somáticos, enquanto a suplementação com 4-CPA resultou em 96% de calos embriogênicos para a concentração de 25 μM. Os calos embriogênicos, foram ix transferidos para o meio de maturação (MM): MS sem regulador de crescimento; ABA ácido abiscísico (0,5 μM); ABA (0,5 μM) + CA carvão ativo (15 g L-1); ABA (0,5 μM) + CA (30 g L-1); ABA (0,5 μM) + PEG polietilenoglicol (60 g L-1) durante 30 dias. Foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os meios de maturação testados, uma reação positiva em relação a quantidade de embriões desenvolvidos e os efeitos de cada tratamento. O meio de maturação constituído de ABA 0,5 μM + CA 30 g L-1 foi o mais eficiente no desenvolvimento de embriõessomáticos cotiledonares. Estes embriões cotiledonares maduros, foram inoculados em meio de germinação (MG): MS sem regulador de crescimento; GA3 (0,5 mg L-1); GA3 (1,0 mg L-1) e GA3 (1,5 mg L-1).

Submitted by Bruno Martinucci null (martinucci.bruno@ibb.unesp.br) on 2017-03-23T12:44:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação.pdf: 4223949 bytes, checksum: 231b0f2acac0e4ee8296d480b95afa5d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-03-23T15:00:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 martinucci_b_me_bot.pdf: 4223949 bytes, checksum: 231b0f2acac0e4ee8296d480b95afa5d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-23T15:00:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 martinucci_b_me_bot.pdf: 4223949 bytes, checksum: 231b0f2acac0e4ee8296d480b95afa5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-06 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / O câncer de próstata (CaP) continua a ser uma das principais causas de morte entre os homens. Mesmo com suas altas taxas de mortalidade e incidência, pouco ainda se sabe sobre os aspectos moleculares desta doença. Entre os diversos fatores envolvidos na carcinogênese prostática, elementos da matriz extracelular (MEC) desempenham papel fundamental. Na próstata, a fibronectina (FN), proteína multimodular que tem sido relacionada ao desenvolvimento de múltiplos tipos de câncer, a migração e invasão celular, tem sua expressão restrita ao compartimento estromal. Contudo, no desenvolvimento tumoral, o padrão de expressão da FN é alterado, com secreção desregulada e falta de organização da matriz. Desta forma, para investigar o impacto da FN no CaP, as células neoplásicas LNCaP foram expostas somente à FN solúvel (25μg/mL) e em combinação com uma membrana basal. Nossos resultados demonstraram que quando a FN é o elemento predominante, as células tumorais desenvolvem um comportamento invasivo e resistência à apoptose. No entanto, na presença de uma membrana basal, a FN diminuiu o potencial maligno e metastático destas células, que neste novo ambiente exibiam perfil de expressão gênica mais semelhante às células RWPE-1, linhagem celular que ilustra as características do epitélio prostático normal. Consequentemente, sabendo que a relação entre as células tumorais e a MEC é regulada em múltiplos níveis, os microRNAs emergiram como importantes moléculas reguladoras. Portanto, também investigamos o impacto da FN na expressão de miRNAs em células LNCaP e PC-3. Nossos resultados mostraram que cinco miRNAs apresentavam expressão diferencial (miR-21, miR-29b, miR-125b, miR-221 e miR-222) após exposição à FN. Para uma análise mais profunda, analisamos a expressão regular de possíveis mRNAs alvos destes miRNAs em dados de RNAseq disponíveis, construímos redes de interação protéica baseadas no banco de dados STRING e realizamos as análises de enriquecimentos de via e de função gênica para avaliarmos de maneira mais abrangente os possíveis efeitos desta proteína. De maneira geral, nosso estudo mostrou que a FN pode estar envolvido na progressão do CaP através da modulação de vias de sinalização, como PI3K/AKT, resposta a drogas e hipóxia. Desta forma, acreditamos que nossos resultados fornecem a base para estudos futuros, abordando o papel da FN no crescimento tumoral, particularmente no contexto de evolução/progressão do câncer de um tumor primário sólido para um estado circulante transitório. / Prostate cancer (PCa) continues to be a leading cause of death among men. Even with its high mortality and incidence rates, little is known about the molecular aspects of this disease. Among the various factors involved in the carcinogenesis of the prostate, components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) play key roles. In the prostate, fibronectin (FN), a multimodular protein that has been linked to the development of multiple cancers and involved with cell migration and invasion, has its expression restricted to the stromal compartment. However, in tumor development, the pattern of expression of FN becomes altered, with deregulated secretion and a lack of matrix organization. Thus, in order to investigate the impact of FN on PCa, the neoplastic cells LNCaP were exposed only to soluble FN (25μg/mL) or in combination with a basement membrane. Our results demonstrated that when FN is the predominant element, tumor cells develop an invasive behavior and become resistant to apoptosis. However, in the presence of a basement membrane, FN decreases the malignant and metastatic potential of these cells, which in this new environment displayed a gene expression profile more similar to the RWPE- 1 cells, a cell line that illustrates the characteristics of the normal prostate epithelium. Consequently, knowing that the relationship between tumor cells and the ECM is regulated at multiple levels, microRNAs have emerged as important regulatory molecules. Therefore, we also investigated the impact of FN on the expression of miRNAs in LNCaP and PC-3 cells. Our results showed that five miRNAs exhibited differential expression (miR-21, miR-29b, miR- 125b, miR-221 and miR-222) after exposure to FN. For a more in-depth analysis, we analyzed the basal expression of mRNAs possibly targeted by these miRNAs in published RNAseq data, constructed protein interactions networks based on the STRING database, and performed pathway enrichment and gene function analyzes to evaluate more comprehensively the possible effects of this protein. Overall, our study showed that FN may be involved in the progression of PCa through the modulation of signaling pathways, such as PI3K/AKT, drug response and hypoxia. Thus, we believe that our results provide the basis for future studies addressing the role of FN in tumor development, particularly in the context of cancer progression from a solid primary tumor to a transient circulating state. / FAPESP: 2014/25702-0

Ce travail porte sur la fonctionnalisation en volume et/ou en surface et la caractérisation multi-échelle de films minces de chitosane utilisés en ingénierie tissulaire. L’ajout des nanoliposomes à base de lécithine naturelle (végétale ou marine) et un traitement plasma sont employés pour réaliser ces deux fonctionnalisations. De nombreuses analyses des caractéristiques physico-chimiques et « structurales » de films minces ont montré que lorsqu’on ajoute 10 % de nanoliposomes dans les films de chitosane, l’hydrophobicité de la surface s’améliore de 18 à 36 %, ce fait est attribué à la présence de composants polaires. La cristallinité est légèrement augmentée ; à 37 °C, le module d’Young diminue de 6 GPa environ jusqu’à près de 4 GPa ; aucune nouvelle liaison ne se crée entre le chitosane et les nanoliposomes ; une diminution de degré de déacétylation est observée, qui pourrait être associée à la conformation des nanoliposomes ajoutés en volume aux films de chitosane. Le traitement plasma a réussi à modifier la structure de surface du chitosane seul et du chitosane mélangé aux nanoliposomes par greffe de groupements actifs (groupes amine, C-O, COOH, -OH). En revanche, dans notre cas, les liaisons hydrogène entre les groupes polaires créés par le traitement plasma peuvent être éliminées partiellement après un temps donné, ce qui limite l’application du traitement. Ensuite, des études préliminaires sur la biocompatibilité in vitro et la biodégradabilité in vitro sont réalisées pour les films de chitosane et du chitosane mélangé aux nanoliposomes. Les cellules souches mésenchymateuses sont utilisées pour l’étude de la première, et une solution de PBS contenant 10 mg/L de lysozyme pour la seconde. Les propriétés physico-chimiques des films de chitosane mélangé aux nanoliposomes marines, leur faible cytotoxicité aux cellules et leur stabilité dans la solution de PBS contenant du lysozyme leur permettent d’être utilisés comme matrice de support dans le domaine de la médecine régénérative / This work focused on functionalized chitosan thin films in the bulk and/or on the surface by nanoliposomes based on natural lecithin (plant and marine) and plasma treatment. Various techniques were used for physicochemical properties analysis of functionalized thin films. The results showed that by adding the nanoliposomes into the chitosan scaffold, the surface wettability of thin films increased from 18 % to 36 %. The crystallinity degree was slightly improved in blend thin films. Any new bond was determined by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which confirmed that there is no chemical interaction between the nanoliposomes and chitosan. The Young’s modulus of blend thin films deceased from 6 GPa to 5 GPa. The morphological, nanomechanical properties and adhesion force of each scaffold system determined by Scanning Probe Microscopy (HarmoniXTM mode) showed that the fish nanoliposomes/chitosan thin film had the most similar properties compared to the pure chitosan thin film. The surface of chitosane films and nanoliposomes/chitosane blend films were modified by the plasma treatment. Functional groups (amine groups, C-O, COOH, -OH) are grafted onto the surface enhancing thus the surface energy of the films. But the hydrogen bonds between the polar groups introduced by the treatment can be destroyed after a given time; the author proposed that the functionalization in the bulk by adding of nanoliposomes provided more stable and greater possibility of new materials producing than the functionalization at the surface by plasma treatment for potential tissue engineering application. Then, in vitro biocompatibility preliminary study was carried using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs); and in vitro biodegradability study was tested in the phosphate buffered saline (PBS) mixed with 10 mg/L lysozyme. The films of chitosan functionalized by salmon nanoliposomes showed more interesting as matrix extracellular for regenerative medicine applications because of their physico-chemical properties, low cytotoxicity and the stability inside the PBS and lysozyme solutions.

Submitted by Sandro Camargo (sandro.camargo@unipampa.edu.br) on 2015-03-08T18:55:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 117110032.pdf: 700015 bytes, checksum: 794f9c0fa96f18e2200227f043531c61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-08T18:55:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 117110032.pdf: 700015 bytes, checksum: 794f9c0fa96f18e2200227f043531c61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-02 / A maturação in vitro (MIV) é um dos pontos críticos da produção in vitro de embriões bovinos, sendo que vários fatores podem interferir na MIV, como a tensão de oxigênio e a densidade de oócitos por volume de meio. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da tensão de oxigênio associada a diferentes densidades de oócitos durante a MIV. Para tanto, três experimentos foram conduzidos com oócitos bovinos obtidos de ovários de abatedouro. O experimento I consistiu na avaliação da maturação citoplasmática e nuclear, o experimento II na avaliação da produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio (ROS) e atividade antioxidante, e o experimento III na avaliação das taxas de fecundação in vitro. Após a seleção, os oócitos foram submetidos a MIV distribuídos aleatoriamente em 4 tratamentos: Tratamento 1:10/5%: 1 oócito em 10μl de meio de MIV em 5% de O 2 ; Tratamento 1:10/20%: 1 oócito em 10μl de meio em 20% de O 2 ; Tratamento 1:20/5%: 1 oócito em 20μl em 5% de O 2 e Tratamento 1:20/20%: 1 oócito em 20μl de meio em 20% de O 2 . A MIV foi conduzida em grupos de 15 oócitos em meio TCM 199 modificado, acrescido de FSH, LH, EGF, soro de égua em estro (SEE) e piruvato por 24h. Decorrido o período de MIV foi conduzida a fecundação in vitro em gotas de 300μl de meio Fert-TALP, sendo realizada pelo co-cultivo de oócitos e espermatozóides (2x10 6 sptz/mL) selecionados por gradientes de mini-Percoll por 18h. No experimento I, as taxas de maturação nuclear (69,66%) e maturação citoplasmática (71,55%) foram similares entre os tratamentos (P>0,05). No experimento II, a produção de ROS foi avaliada nos oócitos e no meio de MIV, assim como a atividade antioxidante foi avaliada após 24 h de MIV. A produção de ROS pelos oócitos foi superior nos tratamentos com baixa tensão de oxigênio (5%; 13,3UF) em relação a alta tensão de oxigênio (20%; 7,0UF) independentemente da densidade de oócitos (P<0,05). Os níveis de ROS detectados no meio de MIV foram superiores nos tratamentos com alta densidade de oócitos (1:10) independentemente da tensão de oxigênio (P<0,05). A atividade da SOD (21,3UI) e os níveis de GSH (6,95 nmol GSH/ml) mensurados nos oócitos foram similares entre os tratamentos (P>0,05). As taxas de fecundação e penetração foram superiores nos tratamentos com 20% de O 2 e com alta densidade de oócitos (1:10; 48,8%) em relação aos tratamentos 1:10/5% (29,5%) e 1:20/20% (29,1%; P<0,05). Adicionalmente a taxa de polispermia foi maior no tratamento com alta tensão de oxigênio e baixa densidade de oócitos. (1:20/20%; 27.8%) em relação ao tratamento 1:10/20% (13,41%; P<0,05). Os resultados deste estudo mostram interação entre a tensão de oxigênio e a densidade de oócitos aumentando a produção de ROS em determinadas associações e influenciando posteriormente as taxas de fecundação in vitro de oócitos bovinos. / The in vitro maturation is one of the critical points on in vitro production of bovine embryos so many factors can do an interference on IVM, like oxygen tension and oocyte density by volume of medium. The aim of this study was evaluate the effects of association of oxygen tension with different oocyte density during IVM Three experiments were performed with bovine oocytes obtained from abattoir ovaries, on experiment I was performed the nuclear and cytoplasmic evaluation, on the experiment III the biochemical assay of ROS production and antioxidant activity and on experiment III was realized the evaluation of in vitro fertilization. After selection, the oocytes were randomly distributed in 4 treatments: Treatment 1:10/5%: 1:10µl in 5% of O2; Treatment 1:10/20%: 1:10µl in 20% of O2; Treatment 1:20/5%: 1:20µl in 5% of O2; Treatment 1:20/20%: 1:20µl in 20% of O2. The IVM was performed in droplets (150µl or 300µl) of TCM 199 plus FSH, LH, EGF, EMS and pyruvate. The IVF were performed in droplets (300µl) of Fert-TALP. Was realized IVF with oocytes and spermatozoa (2x106 sptz/mL) selected by Percoll density gradients for 18h. On experiment I, the nuclear maturation rates (69.66%) and reorganization mitochondrial (71.55%) rates were similar among treatments (P>0.05). In Experiment II, the ROS production in oocytes, IVM medium and antioxidant activity were evaluated after 24 h of IVM. ROS production in oocytes was higher on treatments with low tension (5%; 13.3 UF) than 20% oxygen tension (7.0 UF) independently of oocyte density (P<0.05). ROS levels on IVM medium was higher on treatments with high oocyte density (1:10) independently of oxygen tension (P<0.05). The GSH levels (6.95 nmol GSH/ml) and SOD activity (21.3UI) were similar among treatments (P>0.05). The rates of normal fertilization and normal penetration were higher in treatments with 20% of O2 with high oocyte density (1:10;48.8%) than treatments 1:10/5% (29.5%) and 1:20/20% (29.1%; P<0.05). In addiction the polysperm rates were higher on treatment with high oxygen tension and low oocyte density (1:20/20%; 27.8%) than treatment 1:10/20% (13.4%; P<0.05). The results of this study show an interaction between oxygen tension and oocyte density, that increase ROS production on certain associations and subsequently affects the IVF rates. / The viruses are significant important pathogenic agents of several animal species, including cattle. In Brazil, several viral agents causing infections have been described in cattle and they produce significant economic losses. The identification of animals infected by a virus can be performed in different ways; however, definitive confirmation requires demonstration of the agent or immune response. For this purpose, various methods with the capacity to detect the viral particle, biological activity, genome, viral antigens, or specific immune response have been developed. Immunoassays are widely used in laboratory routine for detection of viral antigens in clinical or research. These assays exhibit good sensitivity, specificity and easy for implantation. The immunoassay methodologies are based on the employment of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies specific to the viral antigens. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce polyclonal antibodies for some bovine virus, and evaluate their reactivity in immunofluorescence, immunoperoxidase and slot blot tests. For this purpose, strains and/or isolates of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1), bovine herpesvirus type 2 (BoHV-2), bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5), bovine herpesvirus type 5 gE deleted (BoHV-5 gEΔ), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bluetongue virus (BTV), and vaccinia virus (VACV) were amplified in cell culture and the supernatant were used to immunize rabbits. The animals were immunized five times by the subcutaneous route, and five days after the last boost the blood was collected. The serum was obtained by centrifugation. The serum was diluted (1:100 a 1:204.800) and used as primary antibodies in the immunofluorescence, immunoperoxidase and slot blot assays. The working dilution was selected among those produced specific reaction with infected cells and absent or weak background in control cells. The antiserum showed higher reactivity in immunoperoxidase technique than the immunofluorescence and slot blot. The antiserum of the BoHV-1, BoHV-5, BVDV and BRSV presented the reactivity when tested with heterologous isolates in immunofluorescence, immunoperoxidase assays. In summary, that the polyclonal antibodies raised in rabbits have high concentrations of specific antibodies, which were demonstrated by the reactivity in immunofluorescence, immunoperoxidase and slot blot assays. Additionally, these reagents can be considered an important tool for the detection and characterization of various bovine viruses in diagnostic and research routine.

Publicación a texto completo no autorizada por el autor / Evalúa los tres tiempos de co-incubación entre gametos bovinos durante la fecundación In vitro, para luego determinar las tazas de división y desarrollo embrionario al día 7 post fecundación. Ovocitos bovinos fueron obtenidos mediante aspiración folicular, fueron madurados In vitro y luego se inseminaron con una concentración de 1,5x106 esp/ml en medio TL-STOCK a 38,5º C, 5% de CO2 y atmósfera saturada de humedad. Luego de 6 horas (T1=245), 12 horas (T2=278) y 18 horas (T3=287) de co-incubación, los Complejos Cumulus-Ovocito (CCOs) con los espermatozoides adheridos al cumulus, se retiraron de las gotas de fecundación y fueron lavados y transferidos a gotas con medio de incubación. Los presuntos cigotos se cultivaron In vitro, en un primer cultivo en medio KSOM y posteriormente en medio de cultivo SOF hasta el término de la evaluación del desarrollo embrionario. La evaluación del efecto tiempos de cocultivo sobre las tasa de división y de blastocistos se realizó mediante la prueba paramétrica de análisis de varianza A las 72 horas de fecundación se obtuvieron tasas de división, ≥ 2 células de: 38.3%, 63.3% y 73.4% para los grupos T1, T2 y T3 respectivamente. Al comparar las tasas de división, sólo se encontró diferencia estadística significativa entre los grupos T1 y T2 y T1 y T3, (p<0.05). Al día 7 de cultivo, la tasa de desarrollo de blastocistos fue de 24.4%; 21.6% y 24.6% para los grupos T1, T2 y T3 respectivamente, no encontrándose diferencia estadística significativa entre los grupos. Los resultados obtenidos en el presente estudio muestran que no existe diferencia estadística entre los tres grupos evaluados respecto al desarrollo embrionario al estadio de blastocisto, lo cual sugiere que al co-incubar gametos bovinos por 6,12 ó 18 horas se pueden obtener embriones de las mismas características que los obtenidos con los protocolos tradicionales. / Tesis

Tese de mestrado. Estatística Aplicada e Modelação. 2005. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar

The aim of this thesis was to develop an in vitro model (IVR) of the rat lung for the purpose of investigating the deposition of drug particles in the rat airways. The model attempted to account for the affect of drug product characteristics and physiological parameters on deposition in the lungs. In addition, the model outputs were compared with in vivo lung deposition results from live rats and in silico predictions using published computer model of lung deposition in pre-clinical species. Initial work focussed on developing an aerosol exposure system capable of dosing small rodent to a range of airborne test materials. The system consists of two main parts; a fluidised bed aerosol generator and connection of the generator output to a nose only exposure chamber capable of accommodating 12 small animals in a single layer. In addition, an aerodynamic particle spectrometer (APS) was installed for continuously measuring the size distribution and airborne concentration of aerosol particles generated in the exposure chamber. System validation showed acceptable degree of variation of the test material tested, Fluorescent Microspheres (FMS) throughout the exposure chamber (CV < 15.0%). Particle size (MMAD ± GSD) using the APS was shown to be stable throughout the exposure periods. The IVR model developed in this project was based on a number of euthanased (n=7), female Sprague-Dawley rats (weight: 372 ± 56 g), which underwent high-resolution micro-CT scans. The physical model consisted of five sub sections; Extra-Thoracic region containing the snout and nasophyarynx, trachea-bronchial region containing the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. All sections of the model were attached to one another in numerical order and housed within a containment unit. At the rear end of the cast, a flexible diaphragm was attached in order to collect the fraction of inhaled particles exiting the TB section and possibly reaching the lung, referred to as the Post-TB section. A study was conducted to assess the influence of inhalation parameters such as the breathing frequency and tidal volume on total and regional dose distribution using FMS as test material. The major finding of this study was the demonstration of the model sensitivity to changes in breathing parameters especially respiratory frequency, where the data showed increased deposition in the peripheral regions of the model with decreased respiratory frequency. Other studies assessed the effect of particle characteristics on deposition on the IVR model, such as particle size, dose increase and formulation changes. The results assessing particle size effect showed a slightly higher deposition levels for the 4µm sized particles versus 2µm sized particles in the head region; 90.8 ± 3.6% and 88.2 ± 6.6%. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance (P> 0.05) probably due to the polydispersity of aerosolised FMS particles. In addition, the regional deposition analysis showed an increased lung peripheral deposition with the smaller particles. In addition, the model was shown to be sensitive to changes in formulation composition mediated by inclusion of MgSt. The next stage of work was to validate the model in terms of comparison with lung deposition for in vivo rats. For lung deposition comparison, the absolute amount deposited in the IVR lung model (expressed as µg/kg) was shown to have a reasonably strong correlation with in vivo lung concentration measures (µg/kg); R2= 0.66, P < 0.05. Compounds were predicted well and within 2-folds of the measured lung deposition values. However, knowing the variability in biological systems and the multiple components required to estimate lung doses, predictions within 2-fold of the measured values would seem reasonable In terms of comparison with in silico model predictions using MPPD, similar deposition levels were noted between the two models, particularly when the data was expressed as percentage of total particles inhaled. The data showed the highest deposition levels were noted in the head region (> 80%) and less than 5.0% deposition for the peripheral lung fractions. With regards to using the IVR model to assess the relationship between dose, particle size and efficacy, an in vivo study using FP with different particle sizes (2.0 and 4.0 µm) but same doses ( 100 and 1000 µg/kg). This study demonstrated that exposure of rat to FP powder resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of neutrophils in BAL fluids. However, a clear difference in neutrophils suppression was demonstrated for equivalent doses but different particle sizes of FP, where the smaller FP particles (2.0 µm) induced a greater level of neutrophils suppression in comparison with larger FP particles (4.0 µm). In addition, a reasonably good correlation for the relationship between lung deposition in the IVR model and a neutrophils suppression level was demonstrated. Furthermore this data support the hypothesis that regional deposition is an important determinant in efficacy. Therefore, this suggests that the IVR model may be a useful as a tool to describe in vivo efficacy with in vitro data. However, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the validity of this model and relationship. The IVR model has a number of important limitations. First, the model is based on scans up to generation four of the rat respiratory tract as this represented the limits of the micro-CT scanning technology at the time of this study. Therefore deposition in the deeper region of the lung may not be reflected precisely in the IVR model. Second, the regional deposition data generated using the model tended to show an overestimation of deposition in head region and an underestimation of deposition in the peripheral regions of the lung, in comparison with in vivo lung deposition data. Third, the current model does not take into account lung clearance. However, the amount of the drug present in the in vivo lungs is dependent on numerous physiological processes such as dissolution, passive or active absorption into the systemic circulation, binding to lung tissue and mucociliary clearance. Consequently, the results generated using this IVR model for drug molecules with high lung clearance rate should be treated with some caution. Future work extending this research could go in a number of directions. In this research, a representative model of the rat respiratory tract was constructed from analysis of imaging data from a number of euthanised Sprague-Dawley rats. This model represented the “average respiratory tract” in terms of dimensions of Sprague-Dawley rats. However, there is considerable variability in the airway dimensions between rats. This variability encompasses a number of factors such as the strains of rats, sex and age, and disease state. Thus, it may be possible to produce a small number of airway models to represent small and large rats and scaled to represent the extrathoracic and peripheral regions based on literature reports of their dimensions in different rat populations. This approach will then enable the effect of intersubject airway dimensions for different rat populations on aerosol deposition to be thoroughly examined. In addition, due to the limitation of the micro-CT technology used to construct the physical IVR model, detailed morphology only up to generation 4 were captured. However, recent advances in MRI technology, such as the use of in situ-MRI based scanning technology have enabled rat airway morphometry to be extended to 16 airway generation. This coupled with improvements in the resolutions of rapid-prototyping process means it may be possible to construct a rat model that reflects the in vivo lung morphology more accurately, and thus enable greater understanding of the link between aerosol deposition and airway geometry. In conclusion, a model cast of the rat lung was developed and validated to allow the deposition of inhaled particles in the rat lung to be investigated. The model may be used to estimate the lung concentration in vivo rats in preference to exposure concentration measurements based on filter samples which have been shown to be a poor indicator of the lung concentration immediately after exposure. In addition, the model has the potential to be used along with live rats in an inhalation rig in pulmonary pharmaceutics research and may facilitate in development of inhaled formulations to target specific regions within the lung as well as screening of inhaled drugs in preclinical setting. / Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, ein in vitro Modell (IVR) der Rattenlunge für die Untersuchung der Deposition von Wirkstoffpartikeln in den Atemwegen der Ratte zu entwickeln. Das Modell sollte dabei den Einfluss der Arzneistoffeigenschaften und physiologischer Parameter auf die pulmonale Deposition berücksichtigen. Darüber hinaus wurden die Modellergebnisse mit in vivo Daten aus Versuchen mit Ratten und in silico Vorhersagen eines etablierten Computermodells der Partikeldeposition in präklinischen Spezies verglichen. Erste Arbeiten konzentrierten sich auf die Entwicklung eines Aerosol-Expositionssystems, das in der Lage war, kleine Nagetiere einer Reihe von inhalativ verabreichten Testmaterialien auszusetzen. Das System bestand aus zwei Hauptteilen, einem Wirbelbett-Aerosolgenerator und einer Verabreichungskammer, die eine nasale Partikelexposition und –inhalation („Nose only Inhalation“) bei 12 Kleintieren auf einer Etage ermöglichte. Darüber hinaus wurde ein aerodynamisches Partikelspektrometer (APS) zur kontinuierlichen Messung der Größenverteilung und Konzentration der erzeugten Aerosolpartikel eingebaut. Die Systemvalidierung zeigte einen akzeptablen Grad der Variabilität des Testmaterials, Fluoreszenz-Mikrosphären (FMS), in der gesamten Expositionskammer (VK < 15,0%). Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die aerodynamische Partikelgröße (MMAD ± GSD) der APS über die Expositionszeiten konstant blieb. Das IVR-Modell, das in diesem Projekt entwickelt wurde, basierte auf einer Anzahl euthanasierter, weiblicher Sprague-Dawley-Ratten (Gewicht: 372 ± 56 g), die hochauf¬lösenden Mikro-CT-Scans unterzogen wurden. Das physikalische Modell gliederte sich in fünf Teilabschnitte, dem extrathorakalen Bereich bestehend aus der Schnauze und dem Nasopharynx, und dem tracheo-bronchialen Bereich (TB), der die Luftröhre, Bronchien und Bronchiolen umfasste. Alle Abschnitte des Modells wurden miteinander in numerische Reihenfolge gebracht und innerhalb einer Behältereinheit untergebracht. Am hinteren Ende des Gusses wurde eine flexible Membran angebracht, um den Anteil der inhalierten Partikel, der den TB-Abschnitt verlässt und möglicherweise die Lunge erreicht, zu sammeln. Dieses wurde als Post-TB-Anteil bezeichnet. Eine Untersuchung sollte zeigen, welchen Einfluss Inhalationsparameter wie die Atem¬frequenz und –volumen auf die gesamte und regionale Dosisverteilung der FMS als Test¬material hatten. Das wichtigste Ergebnis dieser Studie war der Nachweis, dass das Modell empfindlich gegenüber Änderungen in der Respirationsparameter, vor allem der Atem¬frequenz, war. Die Daten zeigten, dass es unter verminderter Atemfrequenz zu einer verstärkten Partikeldeposition in den peripheren Modellbereichen kam. In weiteren Versuchsansätzen wurden die Wirkung von Partikeleigenschaften, wie Partikelgröße, Dosiserhöhung und Formulierungsänderungen auf die Deposition in dem IVR-Modell ermittelt. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung des Partikelgrößeneffektes zeigten eine etwas höhere Deposition der 4 µm großen Partikel, verglichen mit den 2 µm Partikeln, im Kopfbereich, 90,8 ± 3,6% bzw. 88,2 ± 6,6%. Allerdings war dieser Unterschied statistisch nicht signifikant (P > 0,05), wahrscheinlich aufgrund der Polydispersität der FMS-Aerosolpartikel. Darüber hinaus zeigte die Analyse der regionalen Verteilung eine erhöhte periphere Lungendeposition bei kleineren Partikeln. Zudem war das Modell empfindlich gegenüber Veränderungen in der Formulierungszusammensetzung durch Zugabe von Magnesium¬stearat. In nächsten Schritt sollte das Modell in Bezug auf den Vergleich mit der Lungendeposition bei Ratten in vivo validiert werden. Es zeigte sich, dass die absolut im IVR-Lungenmodell deponierte Menge (ausgedrückt in µg/kg) eine annehmbar starke Korrelation mit in vivo Daten (µg/kg) aufwies; R2 = 0,66, p < 0,05. Substanzen konnten gut innerhalb des 2-fachen Bereiches der gemessenen Lungendepositionsrate vorhergesagt werden. Angesichts der bekannt hohen Variabilität in biologischen Systemen und der Komplexität der Schätzung der Lungendeposition erscheinen Schwankungen der Vorhersagen innerhalb des 2-fachen Bereiches der tatsächlichen Werte akzeptabel. Der Vergleich der in silico Vorhersagen mit den IVR-Resultaten zeigte ähnliche Depositions¬raten in beiden Modellen, insbesondere dann, wenn die Daten als Prozentsatz der insgesamt inhalierten Partikel ausgedrückt wurden. Die höchste Deposition fand im Kopfbereich (> 80%) statt und weniger als 5,0 % der Partikel erreichte den peripheren Lungenbereich. Das IVR-Modell wurde nachfolgend auch in einer in vivo Studie mit Fluticasonpropionat (FP) eingesetzt, um die Beziehung zwischen der Dosis, Partikelgröße und Wirksamkeit unterschiedlicher Teilchengrößen (2,0 und 4,0 µm) bei gleichen Dosen (100 und 1000 µg/kg) zu beurteilen. Diese Studie zeigte eine dosisabhängige Hemmung der Neutrophilen in der bronchoalveolären Lavage. Es wurde jedoch ein deutlicher Unterschied in der Neutrophilensuppression unter äquivalenten Dosen unterschiedlicher Partikelgrößen beobachtet. Kleinere Partikel (2,0 µm) von FP hemmten die Neutrophilen stärker als die größeren FP-Partikel (4,0 µm). Darüber hinaus konnte eine recht gute Korrelation zwischen der Lungendepositionsrate im IVR-Modell und der Neutrophilensuppression gezeigt werden. Diese Daten unterstützen die Hypothese, dass die regionale Deposition eine wichtige Determinante der Wirksamkeit ist. Die Ergebnisse legen die mögliche Eignung des IVR-Modells als Hilfsmittel zur Beschreibung der in vivo Effektivität, ausgehend von in vitro Daten, nahe. Allerdings sollten weitere Studien durchgeführt werden, um die Valididtät dieses Modells und der gefundenen Beziehung zu bestätigen. Das IVR-Modell hat eine Reihe von wichtigen Einschränkungen. Erstens basiert das Modell auf Scans lediglich bis zu vierten Generation der Atemwege, was zum Zeitpunkt dieser Studie die Grenze der Mikro-CT-Scan-Technik darstellte. Daher wird in dem IVR-Modell eine Deposition in tieferen Bereichen der Lunge nicht präzise beschrieben. Zweitens zeigten die regionalen Depositionsdaten, die unter Verwendung des Modells ermittelt wurden, im Vergleich zu in vivo Ergebnissen eine Überschätzung der Deposition im Kopfbereich und eine Unterschätzung der Deposition in den peripheren Regionen der Lunge. Drittens berücksichtigt das Modell nicht die Clearance des Arzneistoffes. Die Arzneistoffkonzentration in der Lunge hängt in vivo von zahlreichen physiologischen Prozessen ab, wie Auflösung, aktive und passive Absorption in den systemischen Kreislauf, die Bindung an das Lungengewebe und mukoziliäre Clearance. Daher sollten die Ergebnisse, die unter Verwendung dieses IVR-Modells gewonnen werden, für Wirkstoff¬moleküle mit hoher Clearance-Rate mit einer gewissen Vorsicht behandelt werden. Zukünftige weiterführende Arbeiten könnten in eine Reihe von Richtungen gehen. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wurde ein repräsentatives Modell des Rattenrespirationstraktes aus der Analyse der Bilddaten mehrerer anästhesierter Sprague-Dawley-Ratten erstellt. Dieses Modell repräsentiert die "durchschnittlichen Atemwege " in Bezug auf Abmessungen der Sprague-Dawley-Ratten. Es gibt jedoch eine beträchtliche Variabilität basierend auf einer Reihe von Faktoren wie den Rattenstamm, Geschlecht, Alter und Krankheitszustand. Es wäre möglich, mehrere verschiedene Atemwegsmodelle zu erstellen, um kleine und große Ratten zu repräsentieren. Es könnten, basierend auf Literaturangaben, die extra¬thorakalen und peripheren Regionen in ihren Abmessungen skaliert werden, um verschiedenen Rattenpopulationen zu repräsentieren. Dieser Ansatz würde dann die detaillierte Untersuchung des Einflusses interindividueller Unterschiede der Atemwegs¬dimensionen verschiedener Rattenpopulationen auf die Aerosoldeposition ermöglichen. Aufgrund der Beschränkung der Mikro-CT-Technologie, die eingesetzt wurde, um das IVR-Modell zu erstellen, konnte eine detaillierte Morphologie nur bis zur vierten Atemwegs¬generation abgebildet werden. Jüngste Fortschritte in der MRI-Technologie, wie die in situ MRI-Scan-Technologie, ermöglichen die Erfassung der Atemwegsmorphometrie bis zu 16 Atemwegsgenerationen. Dieser Ansatz, in Verbindung mit Verbesserungen in den räumlichen Auflösungen der „Rapid-Prototyping“-Verfahren, könnte die Konstruktion eines Rattenmodells ermöglichen, das die in vivo Lungenmorphologie genauer widerspiegelt, und so zu einem besseren Verständnis für den Zusammenhang zwischen Aerosoldeposition und Atemwegsgeometrie führen. Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein Modellguss der Rattenlunge entwickelt und validiert wurde, um die Untersuchung der Deposition von inhalierten Partikel in der Rattenlunge zu ermöglichen. Das Modell kann verwendet werden, um die in vivo Lungenkonzentrationen von Arzneistoffen in Ratten abzuschätzen. Es bietet Vorteile gegenüber der Expositionsabschätzung auf der Basis von Filterproben, die ein schlechter Indikator der Lungenkonzentrationen unmittelbar nach der Exposition sind. Darüber hinaus hat das Modell das Potenzial, zusammen mit lebenden Ratten in einer Inhalationskammer in der Forschung verwendet zu werden und könnte in der Entwicklung von inhalativen Formulierungen erleichtern, die in bestimmten Regionen innerhalb der Lunge deponiert werden sollen. Darüber hinaus ermöglicht das Modell ein Screening inhalativ verabreichter Arzneistoffe in der präklinischen Phase.

The adoption of directives and regulations by the EU requires the development of alternative testing strategies as opposed to animal testing for risk assessment of xenobiotics. Additionally, high attrition rates of drugs late in the discovery phase demand improvement of current test batteries applied in the preclinical phase within the pharmaceutical area. These issues were taken up by the EU founded 7th Framework Program “Predict-IV”; with the overall goal to improve the predictability of safety of an investigational product, after repeated exposure, by integration of “omics” technologies applied on well established in vitro approaches. Three major target organs for drug-induced toxicity were in focus: liver, kidney and central nervous system. To relate obtained dynamic data with the in vivo situation, kinetics of the test compounds have to be evaluated and extrapolated by physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling. This thesis assessed in vitro kinetics of the selected test compounds (cyclosporine A, adefovir dipivoxil and cisplatinum) regarding their reliability and relevance to respective in vivo pharmacokinetics. Cells were exposed daily or every other day to the test compounds at two concentration levels (toxic and non-toxic) for up to 14 days. Concentrations of the test compounds or their major biotransformation products were determined by LC-MS/MS or ICP-MS in vehicle, media, cells and plastic adsorption samples generated at five different time-points on the first and the last treatment day. Cyclosporine A bioaccumulation was evident in primary rat hepatocytes (PRH) at the high concentration, while efficient biotransformation mediated by CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 was determined in primary human hepatocytes (PHH) and HepaRG cells. The lower biotransformation in PRH is in accordance with observation made in vivo with the rat being a poor model for CYP3A biotransformation. Further, inter-assay variability was noticed in PHH caused by biological variability in CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activity in human donors. The inter-assay variability observed for PRH and HepaRG cells was a result of differences between vehicles regarding their cyclosporine A content. Cyclosporine A biotransformation was more prominent in HepaRG cells due to stable and high CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activity. In addition, in vitro clearances were calculated and scaled to in vivo. All scaled in vitro clearances were overestimated (PRH: 10-fold, PHH: 2-fold, HepaRG cells: 2-fold). These results should be proven by physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling and additional experiments, in order to verify that these overestimations are constant for each system and subsequently can be diminished by implementation of further scaling factors. Brain cell cultures, primary neuronal culture of mouse cortex cells and primary aggregating rat brain cells, revealed fast achieved steady state levels of cyclosporine A. This indicates a chemical distribution of cyclosporine A between the aqueous and organic phases and only minor involvement of biological processes such as active transport and biotransformation. Hence, cyclosporine A uptake into cells is presumably transport mediated, supported by findings of transporter experiments performed on a parallel artificial membrane and Caco-2 cells. Plastic adsorption of cyclosporine A was significant, but different for each model, and should be considered by physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling. Kinetics of adefovir dipivoxil highlights the limits of in vitro approaches. Active transporters are required for adefovir uptake, but were not functional in RPTECT/TERT1. Therefore, adefovir uptake was limited to passive diffusion of adefovir dipivoxil, which itself degrades time-dependently under culture conditions. Cisplatinum kinetics, studied in RPTEC/TERT1 cells, indicated intracellular enrichment of platinum, while significant bioaccumulation was not noted. This could be due to cisplatinum not reaching steady state levels within 14 days repeated exposure. As shown in vivo, active transport occurred from the basolateral to apical side, but with lower velocity. Hence, obtained data need to be modeled to estimate cellular processes, which can be scaled and compared to in vivo. Repeated daily exposure to two different drug concentrations makes it possible to account for bioaccumulation at toxic concentrations or biotransformation/extrusion at non-toxic concentrations. Potential errors leading to misinterpretation of data were reduced by analyses of the vehicles as the applied drug concentrations do not necessarily correspond to the nominal concentrations. Finally, analyses of separate compartments (medium, cells, plastic) give insights into a compound’s distribution, reduce misprediction of cellular processes, e.g. biotransformation, and help to interpret kinetic data. On the other hand, the limits of in vitro approaches have also been pointed out. For correct extrapolation to in vivo, it is essential that the studied in vitro system exhibits the functionality of proteins, which play a key role in the specific drug induced toxicity. Considering the benefits and limitations, it is worth to validate this long-term treatment experimental set-up and expand it on co-culture systems and on organs-on-chips with regard to alternative toxicity testing strategies for repeated dose toxicity studies. / Die Erlassung von Richtlinien und Verordnungen durch die EU führte zu der Entwicklung von alternativen Testmethoden als Ersatz von Tierversuchen zur Risikobewertung von Xenobiotika. Des Weiteren weisen hohe Ausfallraten von Arzneimitteln in der späten Entwicklungsphase auf die Notwendigkeit hin, die bisher verwendeten Testmethoden der präklinischen Phase zu verbessern. Diese Punkte wurden in dem im siebten Rahmenprogramm der EU finanzierten Projekt „Predict-IV“ aufgegriffen. Ziel des Projektes war es, die Vorhersage der Arzneimittelsicherheit durch integrierte „omics“-Technologien, angewendet an etablierten in vitro Ansätzen, zu verbessern. Dabei standen drei Zielorgane bzgl. Arzneimittel-induzierter Organtoxizität im Mittelpunkt: Leber, Niere und zentrales Nervensystem, die jeweils durch Zelllinien oder primäre Zellen vertreten waren. Um die in vitro generierten Dynamik-Daten mit der in vivo Situation in Korrelation zu bringen, muss die Kinetik der Testsubstanz berücksichtigt und die Ergebnisse mit Hilfe von physiologisch-basierter pharmakokinetischer Modellierung extrapoliert werden. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, Kinetik-Daten der gewählten Testsubstanzen (Cyclosporin A, Adefovir dipivoxil und Cisplatin) in vitro zu erheben und bzgl. ihrer Zuverlässigkeit sowie ihrer Relevanz verglichen mit in vivo Daten zu beurteilen. Hierfür wurden kultivierte Zellen täglich bzw. jeden zweiten Tag für zwei Wochen mit zwei verschiedenen Konzentrationen (toxisch und nicht toxisch) des Arzneimittels behandelt. Der Gehalt des applizierten Arzneimittels oder die Hauptmetaboliten wurden mittels LC MS/MS oder ICP-MS in Vehikel, Medium und Zellen sowie die vom Plastik adsorbierte Menge in Proben bestimmt, die am ersten und letzten Behandlungstag zu fünf unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten gewonnen wurden. Eine eindeutige Bioakkumulation von Cyclosporin A wurde in primären Rattenhepatozyten nach Behandlung mit der hohen Konzentration festgestellt. Eine effiziente CYP3A4- und CYP3A5-vermittelte Biotransformation von Cyclosporin A wurde für primäre humane Hepatozyten sowie HepaRG Zellen beobachtet. Diese Ergebnisse stimmten mit der in vivo Situation überein. Ratten sind aufgrund ihrer geringen CYP3A Aktivität schlechte Tiermodelle für CYP3A-Biotransformationsstudien. Des Weiteren wurden Interassay-Schwankungen bei primären human Hepatozyten bemerkt, die auf die biologische Variabilität der CYP3A4- sowie CYP3A5-Aktivität zwischen den menschlichen Spendern zurückzuführen sind. Rattenhepatozyten und HepaRG Zellen hingegen wiesen Interassay-Schwankungen auf, die durch unterschiedliche Cyclosporin A Behandlungskonzentrationen zwischen den Replikaten verursacht wurden. Die Cyclosporin A Biotransformation war in HepaRG Zellen am stärksten ausgeprägt, was durch stabile und wesentlich höhere CYP3A4- und CYP3A5-Aktivität in HepaRG Zellen zu erklären ist. Zusätzlich wurden die in vitro Clearance-Werte bestimmt und auf in vivo Clearance-Werte extrapoliert. Alle extrapolierten Werte waren zu hoch geschätzt (primäre Rattenhepatozyten: 10fach, primäre human Hepatpzyten: 2fach, HepaRG Zellen: 2fach). Diese Ergebnisse sollten mittels physiologisch-basierter pharmakokinetischer Modellierung sowie durch weitere Experimente überprüft werden, um zu ermitteln, ob diese hohen Schätzungen für jedes System konstant sind und somit durch die Einführung von weiteren Skalierungsfaktoren verringert werden können. Kultivierte Gehirnzellen, primäre Nervenzellkulturen der Kortex von Mäusen und primäre Hirnzellaggregate der Ratte, zeigten schnell erreichte Cyclosporin A Gleichgewichtskonzentrationen. Diese Ergebnisse deuteten auf eine Verteilung von Cyclosporin A zwischen der wässrigen und organischen Phase hin, wobei biologische Prozesse nur eine untergeordnete Rolle spielen. Daher scheint die intrazelluläre Cyclosporin A Aufnahme Transporter-vermittelt zu sein. Ergebnisse der Transporter Experimente, die an einer künstlichen Membran und Caco-2 Zellen durchgeführt wurden, unterstützten diese Hypothese. Messungen der Plastikbindung von Cyclosporin A zeigten signifikante, aber für jedes Zellsystem unterschiedliche, Adsorptionsraten, die mittels physiologisch-basierter pharmakokinetischer Modellierung berücksichtigt werden sollten. Die Kinetik von Adefovir dipivoxil machte auf die Nachteile von in vitro Versuchen aufmerksam. Für die intrazelluläre Aufnahme von Adefovir sind aktive Transportproteine nötig, die jedoch in der Nierenzelllinie RPTEC/TERT1 nicht funktionell vorhanden sind. Daher war die Aufnahme von Adefovir auf die passive Diffusion von Adefovir dipivoxil beschränkt, das aber auch zeitabhängig unter den experimentellen Konditionen zerfiel. Die an RPTEC/TERT1 Zellen untersuchte Kinetik von Cisplatin deutete auf eine intrazelluläre Platin-Anreicherung hin, die jedoch nicht in einer signifikanten Bioakkumulation resultierte. Möglicherweise sind innerhalb von 14 Tagen die Gleichgewichtskonzentrationen von Cisplatin noch nicht erreicht. Die Kinetikprofile von Cisplatin in Medium ließen einen aktiven, von der basolateralen zur apikalen Seite gerichteten Cisplatin Transport erkennen, wie schon in vivo beschrieben, wobei die Geschwindigkeit dieser Transportprozesse in vitro langsamer zu sein scheint als in der intakte Niere. Daher müssen die generierten Daten zur Schätzung von zellulären Prozessen modelliert werden, um durch anschließende Extrapolation mit in vivo Daten verglichen werden zu können. Abschließend bleibt zu sagen, dass das experimentelle Design vorteilhaft war. Wiederholte tägliche Administration von zwei unterschiedlichen Konzentrationen eines Medikaments ermöglichte die Erfassung von Bioakkumulation bei toxischen Konzentrationen sowie Biotransformation/Export bei nicht-toxischen Konzentrationen. Potenzielle Fehler, die zu einer Fehlinterpretation führen könnten, wurden durch die exakte Bestimmung der tatsächlich applizierten Arzneimittelmenge reduziert, da nicht immer die applizierte Konzentration mit der Nominalkonzentration übereinstimmt. Darüber hinaus erwies es sich als Vorteil, die Arzneimittelkonzentrationen in den einzelnen Kompartimenten (Medium, Zellen und Plastik) zu bestimmen. Somit konnten zum einen Erkenntnisse über die Verteilung der Substanz gewonnen werden und zum anderen Fehleinschätzungen von zellulären Prozessen, z.B. Biotransformation, verhindert werden, was letzten Endes bei die Interpretation von Kinetik-Daten behilflich ist. Jedoch, wurden auch die Grenzen von in vitro Ansätzen deutlich. Für eine korrekte Extrapolation ist es unverzichtbar, dass die untersuchten in vitro Systeme funktionierende Proteine aufweisen, die bei der untersuchten Arzneimittel-induzierten Toxizität eine Schlüsselrolle übernehmen. Abschließend kann festgehalten werden, dass es, unter Berücksichtigung der Vor- und Nachteile, von Nutzen sein kann diesen Versuchsansatz der Langzeitbehandlung zu validieren und darüber hinaus auf Co Kultursysteme sowie Organ-Chips anzuwenden hinsichtlich der Entwicklung von Alternativmethoden für Toxizitätsstudien bei wiederholter Gabe.