Bordetella pertussis produces many virulent factors including adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) This toxin preferentially invades cells of immune system with integrin receptor CD11b/CD18 and weakens the immune system of the host. CyaA affects invaded cells in two ways. First, CyaA creates a cation-selective pores in the membrane of invaded cell and causes colloidal osmotic lysis. Second, CyaA converts cytosolic ATP into signal molecule cAMP, which causes a loss of physiological function of invaded cell and also leads to cellular death. The aim of my thesis was to test a suitability of a new model system composed from synthetic lipids - diphytanoyls, for a characterization of pore-forming properties of adenylate cyclase toxin. In the past, asolectin model system comprising many different lipid was used for characterization but it was found to be too complex for defining the role of individual lipids in CyaA activity. Further the effect of cholesterol for activity of CyaA was studied in a new model system because it was found recently that translocation of adenylate cyclase domain takes place at lipids rafts with high concentration of cholesterol. The last aim of my thesis was to characterize a newly discovered type of channel with the two conductance levels. Key words: Bordetella pertussis, adenylate...

This work is focused on the RTX (Repeats in ToXin) domains structure of selected RTX toxins and its impact on secretion and protein folding. The structural analysis included RTX domains of ApxI (Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae-RTX-toxin I) from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, HlyA (Alfa-hemolysin) from Escherichia coli and LtxA (Leukotoxin A) from Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and blocs 4 a 5 RTX domain CyaA (adenylate cyclase toxin) from Bordetella pertussis. The structures of LtxA RTX domain and CyaA RTX blocs 4 and 5 were obtained and characterized. Two models of CyaA RTX domain were built based on SAXS (Small Angle X-ray Scattering) model, previously solved RTX structures and RTX structures presented here.

Plasma membrane of T cells is abundant in diverse receptors and other molecules orchestrating immune responses. Numerous studies demonstrate that the localisation of proteins in the cell is non-random and that mislocalisation either in the context of plasma membrane at nanoscale or with respect to the cell interior can lead to the protein malfunction and subsequent aberrant T- cell response. In my first Ph.D. project we focused mainly on the role of the transmembrane domain length and amino acid composition, proximal sequences and the presence or absence of palmitoylation on the localisation of transmembrane adaptor proteins LAT, PAG and NTAL in T cells. We showed that plasma membrane localisation of PAG and NTAL is controlled by the amino acid composition of their TMD and is palmitoylation independent. We propose that NTAL localisation to the plasma membrane is, despite its suboptimal length, facilitated by the electrochemical asymmetry of its TMD. Among transmembrane adaptor proteins, LAT was the most interesting one. Dependency of LAT plasma membrane localisation on palmitoylation in combination with unusual amino acid composition of its TMD led us to investigate it in a separate project. My first author Ph.D. project was thus to elucidate the role of highly conserved helix-breaking amino acids,...

Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmaceutical Technology Author: Zuzana Jarešová Supervisor: PharmDr. Andrej Kováčik, Ph.D. Consultant: PharmDr. Lukáš Opálka, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: STUDY OF FREE SPHINGOID BASES IN SKIN BARRIER The skin barrier, localized in the stratum corneum (SC), consists of corneocytes and an intercellular matrix formed from three types of lipids - ceramides, free fatty acids, and cholesterol, represented in an equimolar ratio. The overall arrangement of lipids is organized and highly specialized. Ceramides are structurally formed from the fatty acid acyl attached to a sphingoid base. In minor but not insignificant amounts, free sphingoid bases can also be found in the skin barrier. Several studies show that there is an increased concentration of free sphingoid bases in skin barrier disorders, such as atopic dermatitis. Although it is assumed that the presence of free sphingoid bases affects the skin barrier, it is not elucidated the way of their participation till today. The lack of studies or their diverse results leads us to the main goal of this thesis - to clarify how free sphingoid bases influence the skin barrier. In this work, the model membranes were prepared by the isolation of human SC ex vivo. Sphingosine (S),...

This work is focused on the study of interaction between hyaluronan and high-biocompatible amphiphilic molecules. Using fluorescent probe method, screening of the interaction of cationic lipid 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DPTAP), mixture of this cationic lipid with zwitterionic lipid, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphochloline (DPPC), with hyaluronan, both native and hydrophobically modified was carried out. Results showed the self-aggregation of DPPC and DPTAP independently on lipids ratio in the mixture and the interaction of DPTAP and DPPC/DPTAP aggregates with hyaluronan at specific ratio of DPTAP and hyaluronan concentration. Physical properties of formed membranes and the influence of cholesterol were also investigated at different DPPC and DPTAP concentration ratio. Last but not least, the non-ionic surfactant-DPPC systems were studied, namely, the size of the formed aggregates, the thermodynamics of solubilisation and the interaction with native hyaluronan.

Membrane rafts (also referred as nanodomains) are membrane structures responsible for many cell processes. Their characterization is challenging because of the transparency, dynamics and small size of those structures. Moreover, high variability of cells makes their study even more complicated. In order to simplify the studies of membrane processes including the formation of those rafts often model membranes like Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) and Supported Phospholipid Bilayers (SPBs) are used. In this Thesis new fluorescent tools for studying such membrane processed were developed, tested, or improved. Specifically, the phasor plot an approach applicable to the analysis of the fluorescence lifetime data, was theoretically and experimentally tested and afterwards applied to the characterization of the membrane nanodomains in GUVs. First, we introduced the phasor plots to the excitation state processes like solvent relaxation and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in lipid vesicles. We also employed the phasor plots in protein-ligand interaction, protein folding and denaturation studies. Finally, the phasor plot analysis of FRET data in combination with Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) was used in characterization of membrane nanodomains in terms of the size, mobility and...

Biological membranes are actively involved in a multitude of processes in living cells; therefore, a detailed characterization of their structure, dynamics, and function is essential for an understanding of living organisms at the molecular level. In this work, we made use of the high spatial and temporal resolution offered by computer simulations to investigate the behavior of several molecular species which associate with cellular membranes. Using a combination of classical molecular dynamics simulations and ab initio electronic structure calculations, we were able to characterize nonlinear optical properties of membrane- embedded fluorescent probes and thus contribute to establishing two-photon polarization microscopy as a tool of structural biology. Moreover, our molecular dynamics simulations provided an atomistic picture of the reversible membrane binding of recoverin, a neuronal calcium-sensing protein involved in vision adaptation, and they also yielded an important insight into the mechanism of its calcium-induced myristoyl switch. In addition, we examined the biological role of cholesterol oxidation and compared two methods of representing transmembrane voltage in molecular dynamics simulations.

The implementation of polymer membranes in gas separation applications has been investigated to a great extent. Nevertheless, only a few types of polymers are used in commercial applications, disclosing the need for new materials with superior membrane performance to make membrane processes a more competitive technology over the conventional ones. Based on this context, this work focuses on the development of new polymeric membranes. Polyaniline (PANI), a multifaceted polymer that can change its structural properties upon various modification procedures, was chosen as membrane material. PANI membranes possess attractive O2/N2 selectivities, wherefore it is an interesting candidate for the use in gas separation applications, such as generation of oxygen-enriched air or inert gas generation. However, membranes made from neat PANI are suffering from brittleness and thus create leak paths through the membrane. Therefore PANI was blended with polybenzimidazole (PBI), a temperature stable polymer with good film-forming properties facilitating the preparation of thin, stable polymer films. Furthermore, several techniques were investigated including acid-doping, thermal treatment, and addition of titanate nanotubes (TiNTs) to enhance the separation properties. The materials that have been prepared are: 1)...

Supported lipid bilayers have been used as an artificial model of biological membranes and their interaction with 5 selected antimicrobial peptides was studied by several experimental techniques, mainly ellipsometry, laser scanning microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The thesis explains basic principles of the applied techniques focusing on their aspects relevant to characterization of lipid bilayers. The biological significance of antimicrobial peptides, their modes of interaction with membranes and the basic characteristics of the selected peptides are briefly discussed. The following text describes the main types of experimental studies performed and the interpretation of their results. Peptide-induced changes in lipid bilayer morphology were characterized by ellipsometry and laser scanning microscopy. Most interesting effects were observed in the case of melittin, which induced formation of long lipid tubules protruding from the bilayer. Lipid lateral diffusion measured by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy can provide information on bilayer organization on length-scales below resolution of optical microscopy.

The doctoral thesis deals with investigation of the catalysts and ionexchanege membranes for fuel cells H2-O2. The work contains the basic principles of chemical reactions, thermodynamic aspects and kinetic properties in PEM fuel cells.Ion-exchagers based on fluorinated polymer sulfonic acids known as NAFION are used in most cases. These compounds are very expensive. Also a strong corrosive attribute requires platinum as a catalysator. These facts make the membrane fuel cells fully non-competetive with e.g. internal combustion engine in spite of all ecological advantages of this electrical power source. The subject of doctoral thesis is research and development of compounds for the composite electrode materials base on NiOx, Ni-Pd and Raney Ni suitable as catalysts a nd alkaline or bipolar ionexchange membranes for electrochemical fuel cells.