Les premiers iminosucres multivalents rapportés dans la littérature datent de 1999. Depuis, c’est plus d’une centaine de clusters de ce type qui ont été synthétisés et décrits une quarantaine de publications. L’obtention d’un premier effet multivalent fort sur une glycosidase, en 2010, a initié de nouveaux travaux visant à étudier et à comprendre son mécanisme et ses limites. Dans cette optique le présent travail de thèse a exploité plusieurs approches. La première partie décrit la synthèse de dendrons "cliquables" permettant de multiplier par trois ou par neuf la valence initiale des plateformes utilisées. La deuxième est une étude de la synthèse d’espaceurs rigides. La troisième est la préparation de plateformes modulables, des neo-cyclodextrines, pour obtenir un contrôle plus fin de la topologie des clusters. L’association de dendrons "cliquables" et de plateformes cyclopeptoïdes de dimensions contrôlées a abouti à un résultat sans précèdent en termes d’effet multivalent. Ainsi, le cluster 36-valent à ligands DNJ est un inhibiteur 170 000 fois plus fort que l’analogue monovalent correspondant sur l’alpha-mannosidase des pois sabre blanc (Jack Bean). / The first multivalent iminosugars were published in 1999. From this date, it’s more than a hundred of clusters that were synthesized and presented in about forty publications. In 2010, the first strong multivalent effect in glycosidase inhibition was obtained and prompted further studies of its mechanism and its limits. To reach these goals, this PhD work has developed different strategies. The first was to synthesize "clickable" dendrons which can lead to a multiplication of the initial valency of our scaffolds by three or by nine. The second approach was a study to obtain rigid linkers. The third one was the preparation of modular scaffolds, neo-cyclodextrins, in order to finely tune the topology of the resulting clusters. The combination of our "clickable" dendrons with cyclopeptoid scaffolds gave an unprecedented multivalent effect on glycosidase inhibition. The 36-valent DNJ-based cluster is indeed a 170 000-fold more potent inhibitor than the corresponding monovalent control for Jack Bean alpha-mannosidase.

L'objectif principal de ces travaux est l'exploration des propriétés émergentes qui accompagnent les processus d'auto-assemblages, à partir d'entités moléculaires ou macromoléculaires multivalentes. La fonctionnalisation appropriée des nano-objets auto-assemblés constitue un réel challenge compte tenu des nombreuses applications auxquelles ces systèmes peuvent répondre. Dans cette thèse nous nous sommes intéressés aux apports des différentes interactions dynamiques et réversibles dans la construction « bottom-up » de systèmes et membranes adaptatifs. Dans un premier temps, nous avons voulu explorer l'effet de la multivalence sur les interactions de faible énergie de type Lectine-Carbohydrates. Une autre partie des travaux consiste à incorporer des synthons dynamiques dans une matrice polymère de type polyetherimines, afin d'explorer leurs influences en transport de gaz. Enfin, nous avons mis à profit l'auto-organisation à l'échelle mésoscopique de copolymères triblocs ABA, dans l'élaboration de membranes avec des tailles de pores modulables en fonction des forces des interactions mises en jeu dans la construction du matériau membranaire. Ces interactions, qui varient en fonction des différents stimuli : Pression, pH et UV, sont explorées dans la perspective d'une application en ultrafiltration « adaptative ». / The main objective of this work is the exploration of emergent properties that accompany the self-assembly process from multivalent molecular or macromolecular entities. The appropriate functionalization of self-assembled nano-objects is a real challenge given the numerous applications for which these systems can respond. Thus, research was performed in order to emphasize the different contributions of dynamic and reversible interactions, in the "bottom-up" construction of adaptive systems and membranes. At first, we explored the effect of multivalency on the low energy biomolecular interaction between a lectin and its ligand. Then, the incorporation of dynamic building blocks in a polyetherimines polymer matrix was performed in order to explore their influence on the transport of gases, namely CO2. Finally, we have taken advantage of the self-organization at the mesoscopic scale of ABA type triblock copolymers, in the development of membranes with adjustable pore size. Based on the strength of interactions involved in the construction of the material (supramolecular and/or covalent), it has been shown that the properties of the membranes vary as a function of different stimuli: pressure, pH and UV, leading to an "adaptive" ultrafiltration membrane.

In nature, proteins with weak binding affinity often use a multivalency approach to enhance protein affinity via an avidity effect. Interested in this multivalency approach, we have isolated a carbohydrate binding module (CBM) that recognises sialic acid (known as a CBM40 domain) from both Vibrio cholerae (Vc) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) NanA sialidases, and generated multivalent polypeptides from them using molecular biology. Multivalent CBM40 constructs were designed either using a tandem repeat approach to produce trimeric or tetrameric forms that we call Vc3CBM and Vc4CBM, respectively, or through the addition of a trimerization domain derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa pseudaminidase to produce three trimeric forms of proteins known as Vc-CBMTD (WT), Vc-CBMTD (Mutant) and Sp-CBMTD). Due to the position and flexibility of the linker between the trimerization domain and the CBM40 domain, site directed mutagenesis was employed to introduce a disulphide bond between the monomers at positions S164C and T83C of the CBM40 domain in order to promote a stable orientation of the binding site for easier access of sialic acids. Data from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) reveals that interaction of multivalent CBM40 proteins with α(2,3)-sialyllactose was mainly enthalpy driven with entropy contributing unfavorably to the interaction suggesting that these proteins establish a strong binding affinity to their ligand minimizing dissociation to produce stable multivalent molecules. However, using surface plasmon resonance (SPR), a mixed balance of entropy and enthalpy contributions was found with all constructs as determined by Van't Hoff plots. This proved that binding does not occur through a simple protein-ligand interaction but through disruption of hydrophobic and/or ionic hydration that provide the driving force to the process. Interestingly, the valency of multiple-linked polypeptides also plays an important part in the protein stabilization. However, little is known about their detailed structure when in multivalent form, as attempts to crystallize the whole protein molecule of Vc-CBMTD (WT) failed due to linker and domain flexibility. Only the trimerization domain (TD) part from Pseudomonas aeruginosa pseudaminidase was successfully crystallized and structure was determined to 3.0 Å without its CBM40 domain attached. In this thesis, we have also reported on the potential anti-influenza and anti- parainfluenza properties of these proteins, which were found to block attachment and inhibit infection of several influenza A and parainfluenza virus strains in vitro. As widely mentioned in literature, terminal sialic acids on the cell surface of mammalian host tissue provide a target for various pathogenic organisms to bind. Levels of viral inhibition were greatest against A/Udorn/72 H3N2 virus for Vc4CBM and Vc3CBM constructs with the lowest EC50 of 0.59 µM and 0.94 µM respectively, however most of the multivalent proteins tested were also effective against A/WSN/33 H1N1 and A/PR8/34 H1N1 subtypes. For parainfluenza virus, all constructs containing V. cholerae sialidase CBM40 domain showed great effect in inhibiting virus infection during cell protection assay. The best EC50 values were 0.2 µM from Vc-CBMTD (WT) followed by 1.17 µM from Vc4CBM and 1.78 µM from Vc-CBMTD (Mutant) which was against hPIV2, hPIV3 and hPIV5 infections respectively. Only a construct from S. pneumoniae sialidase known as Sp-CBMTD showed negligible effect on cell protection. All constructs were further tested for cytotoxicity in mammalian cell culture as well as undergoing an inhibition study on viral replication proteins. For the in vivo study, we also demonstrated the effectiveness of Vc4CBM to protect cotton rats and mice from hPIV3 and Streptococcus pneumoniae infections, when given intranasally in advance or on the day of infection. Therefore, these novel multivalent proteins could be promising candidates as broad-spectrum inhibitors or as a prophylactic treatment for both influenza and parainfluenza associated diseases.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene (CF transmembrane conductance regulator). These mutations result in absent or defective CFTR chloride channel function. The susceptibility to bacterial respiratory infections due to the accumulation of thickened mucus and altered glycosylation in lungs is typical for this disease. Bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is a major cause of these infections. Among other virulent factors, the pathogenicity of these bacteria is caused by fucose-specific PA-IIL lectin which plays a role as an adhesin. The effect of anti-PA-IIL egg yolk antibodies and multivalent fucose-based PA-IIL inhibitors on PA adherence to lung epithelial cells was studied in this work. Chicken antibodies were isolated from egg yolks before and after immunization with antigen PA-IIL. Specific anti-PA-IIL antibodies were obtained by affinity chromatography using a column with an immobilized PA-IIL. Reactivity of IgY was verified by ELISA. The presence of PA-IIL in the bacterial culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAK, ST 1763) and the ability of antibodies to recognize this bacterial lectin were verified by Western blotting followed by immunodetection. Appropriate culture conditions have also been found for the expression of this lectin. The...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a worldwide problem representing one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases in the world. Despite the commonness of the disea- se, its pathogenesis has not been fully described. Immune cells ranging from antigen- presenting cells to T, B and NK cells playing various roles participate in the rheumatic process. In this work we concentrated on NK cells expressing a repertoire of activating and inhibitory receptors which influence their function in health and disease. We focused on the analysis of NK cell function and described its possible modulation by rheumatic autoantigens and multivalent glycodendrimers bearing 4 (GN4C) or 8 (GN8P) N-acetyl glucosamine moieties. The effect on NK cells and the glycosylation pathways was further studied in vitro. Finally, an in vivo study was performed on an animal model of RA - col- lagen-induced arthritis (CIA) to assess the effect of the compounds on clinical develop- ment of the disease and selected immune parameters. Comparison of NK cell cytotoxicity in patients suffering from RA, other inflam- matory diseases and healthy donors showed its impairment particularly in RA patients. Peripheral blood NK cells reacted to GN8P glycoconjugate by inhibition of their effector function in CD161 high-expressing samples. The MGAT5...

A scourge of Type I and Type II diabetes impacts the health of hundreds of millions worldwide. The number and prevalence of diabetics are expected to rise dramatically in the next two decades. Diabetes is defined by chronic hyperglycemia which can result in a number of detrimental and costly metabolic, renal, cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Identification of at risk individuals and effective blood glucose management are critical to improving diabetic outcomes and preventing hyperglycemic complications. Diabetes prevention and treatment is limited by the understanding of islet function and mass in the diabetogenic and diabetic state. The islets of Langerhans are dispersed throughout the pancreas and comprise <2% of the pancreatic mass. The reclusive nature of islet cells presents unique challenges understanding disease development. No agent capable of exclusively targeting pancreatic β-cells within the islet has been discovered and the lack of targeting agent specificity impedes efforts to: quantify β-cell mass and develop novel therapeutics. We propose β-cell targeting can be improved by targeting unique combinations of receptors simultaneously with multivalent ligands. A synthetic multivalent agent composed of two β-cell specific diabetic therapeutics, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glibenclamide (Glb), targeted against the GLP-1R and the sulfonylurea-1 receptor (SUR1) is a lead compound for the development of specific bi-functional islet cell targeting agents for use in the in vivo detection and treatment of β -cells. Herein, we describe the synthesis and initial characterization of a heterobivalent ligand composed of GLP-1 coupled to Glb. The heterobivalent ligand binds to an unaltered β-cell line with increased specificity relative to a human pancreatic exocrine cell line. Additionally, receptor cross-linking modifies β-cell signaling. Exposure of β-cells to the heterobivalent ligand results in antagonism of SUR1-Ca²⁺ signaling and equipotent agonism of GLP-1R-cAMP signaling, in comparison to the cognate monomeric ligands (Glb and GLP-1). Perturbations in intracellular signaling modifies β-cell insulin secretion resulting in decreased basal insulin secretion and with maintained yet reduced ability to potentiate β-cell glucose stimulated insulin secretion. GLP-1/Glb β-cell specificity and functional modulation suggests combinatorial receptor targeting is an effective strategy for the development of bi-functional cell-specific targeting agents, warranting further investigation and optimization.

Multivalent interactions are common in nature, such as influenza virus infecting epithelial cells, clearance of pathogens by antibody-mediated attachment to macrophages, etc. To mimic nature, we utilized a bottom-up approach to develop various multivalent self-assembling systems based on leucine-zipper peptides. We tethered several pairs of leucine-zipper peptides to PAMAM dendrimers to form leucine-zipper dendrimers (LZDs). We conjugated Fos/Jun to the dendrimer to make D0Fos4 and D0Jun4, and studied the interactions between these LZDs and their cognate peptide target, either Jun or Fos. Our experiments showed that the D0Fos4 can non-covalently assemble four copies of Jun, and this approach can be further used for the rapid non-covalently assembling of multimeric ligands. We also pursued the multivalent target of GPCRs with a Fos/Jun assembly, and found the complex can potentially be used as a molecular switch to target GPCRs with controlled ligand activity. In a related project for bio-material design based on self-assembly of LZDs, we synthesized a different pair of LZDs, D-Ez4 and D-Kz4, and established that they can assemble at neutral pH to form helical fibrils which display higher order self-organized structures, providing a new methodology for bio-material design. In another effort for studying multivalent interactions, we conjugated three copies of the F23, mini-protein that binds the HIV-1 capsid protein, to a trimesic acid and obtained a trivalent inhibitor, Tri-F23. Tri-F23 showed enhanced binding in ELISA against gp120, but was not significantly more effective preventing HIV entry. This methodology provides a new strategy for developing multivalent inhibitors for preventing HIV-1 infection at the entry level. In a related area, we are developing imaging agents based on quantum dots that can detect GPCRs on whole cells and at the single molecule level. To this end, a new method was developed for biocompatible amphphilic polymers to coat quantum dots. This amphiphilic polymer facilitates rapid quantum dot conjugation to any ligand with a free thiol or engineered cysteine. Several GPCR targeted peptides have been utilized for imaging receptors on whole cells and as single molecules. These efforts will guide the rational design of multivalent ligands for targeting GPCRs and other cell surface proteins.

<p>Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are thermally responsive polymers composed of the pentapeptide repeat Valine-Proline-Glycine-X-Glycine where X is any amino acid except proline. ELP diblocks have been engineered by creating two ELP blocks with hydrophilic and hydrophobic guest residues. The hydrophobic block desolvates at a lower temperature and forms the core of a micelle while the still hydrated hydrophilic block forms the corona. ELP micelles are promising drug delivery vehicles for cancer therapeutics. ELP diblocks offer a unique method to display targeting proteins multivalently on micelles to improve tumor cell uptake. As ELPs are genetically encoded, proteins can be seamlessly fused at the genetic level to the ELP diblock. The protein ELP diblock fusions can be synthesized as one polypeptide chain that is of precise molecular weight and highly monodisperse, and no post-synthesis modification is necessary. Self-assembly behavior of ELP diblocks is known to tolerate fusion to small peptides (< 10 amino acids) but their self-assembly behavior has not be examined when fused to proteins that are 100-200 amino acids. Here, we hypothesize that molecular weight of the protein and the surface properties of the protein will be factors in determining its effect on ELP diblock self-assembly. In addition, the ELP block lengths and composition are hypothesized to be factors in the self-assembly behavior of protein ELP diblock fusions. This hypothesis is tested by fusing four proteins with different properties to various ELP diblocks and characterizing their self-assembly behavior. The proteins were found to dominate the self-assembly behavior. Proteins that disrupted self-assembly did so for all ELP diblock lengths and compositions. Protein that did not disrupt self-assembly behavior affected the thermal behavior of the hydrophilic block. Hydrophilic proteins increased the micelle-to-aggregate transition temperature while hydrophobic proteins decreased it. We also sought to understand the self-assembly of ELP diblocks on a theoretical basis. A previously developed model for the self-assembly of synthetic polymers was applied to our polypeptide system. Two parameters, solvent quality of the corona and surface tension of the hydrophobic block, were experimentally measured and used to fit the model. Predictions of micelle radius and aggregation numbers were in good agreement with experimental data. However, the corona was found to be unstretched compared to its Gaussian size by this model. Therefore, a new model was developed describing what is termed as weak micelles in which the corona is not stretched but rather close to Gaussian size. The weak micelle model prediction were also in good agreement with experimental data suggesting that ELP micelles are in the crossover regime between the previous model and the new model.</p> / Dissertation

Notre étude aborde deux points importants sur les interactions supramoléculaires dans les polymères : tout d'abord comment des polymères peuvent s'assembler sur des surfaces planes au moyen de d'interactions de type hôte/invité, puis sur les interactions entre polymères à l'échelle de la molécule unique. En particulier nous verrons comment ces interactions à courte portée influent sur l'adhésion des chaînes sur des surfaces chimiquement contrôlées. Notre choix s'est porté sur un polymère d'origine naturelle le chitosane fonctionnalisé respectivement par des B-cyclodextrines (hôte) et des adamantanes (invité) et dont les assemblages forment des gels. Dans une première partie nous montrerons la possibilité de créer des multicouches de polymère par la méthode Layer-by-Layer (LbL) à l'aide des interactions de type hôte/invité, assemblage toutefois limité par les interactions électrostatiques au sein de la structure. Dans une seconde partie nous étudions les interactions multivalentes hôte/invité entre les couches de polymères en mesurant la force d'interaction par AFM. Nous avons pu mettre en évidence les différentes contributions à la force d'interaction et montrer que les interactions hôte//invités dominent les interactions non spécifiques d'un ordre de grandeur / In this study we focused on two important points concerning supramolecular interactions in polymeric systems. First; how polymers self-assemble on planar surfaces through side-chain host-guest interactions. Second; how those polymers interact each other at the level of single chain and how the adhesion properties of polymers on the modified surfaces can be controlled with those short ranged specific interactions. For that purpose a natural polysaccharide, chitosan, was chosen as the polymeric backbone and was specifically modified with host (B-cyclodextrin) and guest (adamanatane) molecules. It is known that those modified polysaccharides interact each other through host-guest units and their supramolecular assemblies exhibiting a gel-like behavior in solution state. In the first part of the study we investigated the feasibility to use supramolecular interactions to construct functional polymer multilayers by using the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) self assembly approach. The driving force with the proposed system is host-guest interactions thus short ranged and sterically demanding as the structural fitting is necessary. Our results show that multiple host-guest interactions along the chitosan chain allow the self assembles of the modified chitosans on guest-attached surfaces. The number of layers is limited and possibly affected by the electrostatic charge of the chitosan backbone. In the second part of the study we used atomic force microscope (AFM) to probe the multivalent host-guest interactions between modified polymer layers by direct force measurement. By this technique, the main contributions to the interaction between modified chitosan layers could be identified. Adhesion properties of the modified chitosans have also been investigated. The work of adhesion is about an order of magnitude larger for those chitosan derivatives that can form host-guest complexes than for those where this is not possible.

Livestock across the world contract several infectious diseases of both bacterial and viral origin. Swine brucellosis caused by Brucella suis and swine influenza caused by Influenza A virus affect both domestic and feral swine populations. Both the diseases have zoonotic potential to cause disease in humans with serious complications apart from inflicting huge economic losses. Infected feral swine can also act as a source of spread and outbreak where the disease is not endemic. At present, there is no vaccine available for swine brucellosis. The currently used swine influenza vaccine may not be effective against influenza strains like the recent H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic. To develop an effective bivalent vaccine for swine against these two diseases, a leucine auxotroph of the USDA approved vaccine B. abortus strain RB51 was constructed along with leuB gene complementing plasmid pNS4 to over-express antigens from Brucella and influenza. This antibiotic resistance free system over-expressed Brucella derived antigens SOD, L7/L12 and WboA in three different constructs. Against a virulent challenge of B. suis, the candidate vaccine strain over-expressing both SOD and WboA protected mice more significantly than the control group and was also found to be better protective than other candidate vaccine strains over-expressing either SOD and L7/L12 together or SOD alone. Immunoassays (ELISA) suggested that the protection afforded is Th1 type mediated immune response, as cytokine IFN-γ and IgG2a antibody sub-isotype was observed in the splenocyte culture supernatant and serum samples respectively. The strain RB51leuB platform was not expressing influenza derived antigens Hemagglutinin (HA) and Nucleoprotein (NP) when screened for expression by immunoblot. Influenza antigens, HA, NP and ectodomain of matrix protein M2e, were not found to be expressing even after optimizing their codon usage to suit Brucella tRNA preference. However, RT-PCR showed that the influenza genes mRNA were produced. In conclusion, this dissertation describes the construction of an environmentally safe antigen over-expression platform and successful employment of the system as a candidate vaccine in protecting mice against B. suis challenge. This new platform is a potential candidate for developing vaccines against other infectious diseases of livestock. This document also discusses alternate strategies for expressing influenza antigens in a Brucella platform. / Ph. D.