Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-12-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:01:10Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ventura_bc_dr_rcla.pdf: 1747414 bytes, checksum: d6fd71edeabed9a63deeb67289ab785e (MD5) / Os azocorantes são substâncias químicas extremamente utilizadas em indústrias têxteis que podem induzir mudanças no material genético de organismos expostos, mesmo que essas alterações no DNA não se expressem de imediato. Foram avaliadas as citotoxicidade, genotoxicidade e mutagenicidade de diferentes concentrações (1, 10, 100 e 1000 mg/L – na ausência dos microorganismos – e 50 e 200 mg/L – na presença dos microorganismos) do azocorante Black Dye Commercial Product (BDCP), antes e após tratamentos de biodegradação por diversos microrganismos (1. “Pool” de bactérias heterotróficas provenientes de uma estação de tratamento biológico de efluentes, 2. Levedura Candida viswanathii, e 3. Fungo Basidiomiceto Phanerochaete chrysosporium), por meio de diferentes técnicas citogenéticas (coloração convencional, bandamento C, bandamento RON, bandamento por fluorocromos base-específicos CMA/DAPI e hibridação in situ fluorescente – FISH) aplicadas sobre o organismo teste Allium cepa. Pela técnica citogenética de coloração convencional, foi possível verificar que o corante, com e sem ação microbiana, induziu apoptose, necrose, células micronucleadas, aberrações cromossômicas e alterações nucleares. As aberrações cromossômicas e alterações nucleares foram visualizadas em todos os estágios do ciclo celular: na intérfase foram observados brotos nucleares e células poliplóides; na prófase, perdas de material genético; na metáfase, aderências cromossômicas, perdas cromossômicas, C-metáfases e poliploidias; na anáfase e telófase, multipolaridades, pontes e perdas cromossômicas. Os brotos nucleares apareceram com maior freqüência nas células submetidas aos testes do azocorante tratado com microorganismos, sendo que esse tipo de alteração deve estar associado à presença dos metabólitos do corante. As freqüências de micronúcleos... / Azo dyes are chemical substances extremely used by textile industries that may induce changes in the genetic material of exposed organisms, even if these changes in the DNA do not express themselves immediately. Cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity evaluations of the different azo dye (BDCP) concentrations were performed (1, 10, 100 e 1000 mg/L – without microorganisms – and 50 and 200 mg/L – with microorganisms), before and after biodegradation tests, using different microorganisms (1. Heterotrofic bacteria ”pool” proceeding from an effluent biological treatment station, 2. Candida viswanathii - Yeast, and 3. Phanerochaete chrysosporium - Basidiomicet Fungi), by means the different cytogenetical assays (conventional staining, C-banding, RON-banding, CMA/DAPI banding and fluorescent in situ fluorescent hybridization), using Allium cepa as test organism. By the conventional staining cytogenetic assay, it was possible to verify that the azo dye induced apoptosis, necrosis, micronuclei, chromosome aberrations and nuclear alterations. The chromosome aberrations and nuclear alterations were visualized in all phases of the cell cycle: in the interphase were observed nuclear buds and polyploidizated cells; in the prophase were observed genetic material losses; in the metaphase were observed chromosome adherences, chromosome losses, C-metaphases and polyploid cells; and in the anaphase and telophase were observed multipolar cells, chromosome bridges and chromosome losses. The frequencies of nuclear buds were the higher when the cells had been submitted to the azodye treated with microorganisms, suggesting that this kind of alteration must be associated to the presence of the azodye metabolites. The micronuclei and chromosome breaks frequencies... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Escherichia coli patogênica aviária (APEC) é o agente etiológico da colibacilose, doença que acomete galinhas, patos, perus e outras aves, principalmente entre a 2ª e a 12ª semana de vida. Existem diversos estudos sobre genes associados à virulência de APEC, mas eles ainda não são capazes de explicar todos os fenótipos de APEC. Portanto, outros genes associados à virulência – ainda não descritos – devem estar presentes em APEC. Para descobrir novos genes associados à virulência em APEC, uma cepa invasiva foi usada para a construção de uma biblioteca de 1.800 mutantes, através da técnica de mutagênese marcada com assinatura, que insere transposons aleatoriamente no genoma da bactéria. Os mutantes foram selecionados em um ensaio de invasão in vitro a fibroblastos aviários da linhagem CEC-32. A sequência dos transposons inseridos nos mutantes permite a identificação daqueles mutantes que não foram capazes de invadir os fibroblastos. Até agora, 11 de 20 pools de 90 mutantes cada foram analisados, e 48 mutantes parecem ter perdido a capacidade invasiva, ou seja, tiveram sua virulência atenuada. Os demais pools já foram selecionados e terão seu DNA analisado. Todos mutantes que possivelmente perderam sua capacidade invasiva serão testados novamente para confirmar seu fenótipo de virulência atenuada. Depois, a região contendo a sequência do transposon será sequenciada para que se descubra qual gene foi interrompido e é essencial para a virulência in vitro de APEC. Essa biblioteca de mutantes também pode ser testada em modelos de seleção in vivo, de modo que é possível identificar, através da análise dos mutantes ausentes na seleção, genes de virulência essenciais para APEC em diferentes condições. / Avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) is the causative agent of colibacillosis, a disease that affects poultry and other birds, mainly between two and twelve weeks of age. There are many studies about virulence-associated genes in APEC, but they do not fully explain all the APEC phenotypes. Therefore, other virulence-associated genes – not yet described – must be present in APEC strains. In order to find out new virulence genes, we made 1,800 random-transposons mutants of an APEC invasive strain using the signature-tagged mutagenesis method. The mutants were selected using an in vitro invasion assay to fibroblast cells. The sequence of the inserted transposons allows us to identify mutants that have lost the capacity of invade the cells. Until now, we tested eleven out of twenty pools of ninety mutants each, and forty-eight mutants appeared to have lost the invasive capacity. The other nine pools will be analyzed, and all the possible non-invasive mutants will be tested again to confirm the phenotype. Then, they will have the transposon-inserted region sequenced in order to find out which gene has been disrupted and is essential to APEC in vitro invasiveness. The attenuated mutants can also be selected in vivo, so we would identify essential virulence genes to APEC under different conditions.

β-glicosidases da família 1 das glicosídeo hidrolases (GH 1) são um dos mais importantes grupos de enzimas, estando envolvidas em diversos processos biológicos. Neste trabalho o objetivo principal foi o estudo das bases moleculares da especificidade pelo substrato em β-glicosidases GH 1 utilizando como modelo experimental uma β-glicosidase pertencente a larva de Spodoptera frugiperda (Sfβgli50). Na primeira etapa procurou-se analisar através de mutagênese sítio-dirigida e cinética enzimática o papel na modulação da especificidade pelo substrato e na catálise dos resíduos E190, E194, K201 e M453 da Sfβgli50 , os quais correspondem aos encontrados no sítio de ligação do aglicone das β-glicosidases de milho e de sorgo. Os resultados mostraram que E190 favorece a ligação da porção inicial de aglicones do tipo alquil inicial e também da primeira unidade de glicose de aglicones oligossacarídicos. E194 favorece a ligação de radicais alquil, enquanto K201 é mais relevante para a ligação de unidades de glicose em detrimento de radicais alquil. O balanço entre as interações com E194 e K201 determina a preferência entre unidades de glicose versus radicais alquil. M453 favorece a ligação da segunda unidade de glicose de aglicones oligossacarídicos e também da porção inicial de aglicones do tipo alquil. Nenhum destes resíduos interage com a porção terminal de aglicones do tipo alquil. Demonstrou-se que todos estes resíduos contribuem de forma similar e individualmente fraca na estabilização do complexo ES‡ e suas interações com o aglicone não influenciam na ligação do glicone. Na segunda etapa, procurou-se identificar resíduos ou regiões da Sfβgli50 que participem do processo de modulação da especificidade pelo substrato e que ainda não tivessem sido descritos na literatura. Assim, selecionou-se 14 Sfβgli50 mutantes a partir de uma \"biblioteca\" de mutantes geradas por mutagênese aleatória in vivo. As análises de \"contatos\" e de ligações de hidrogênio envolvendo estes resíduos mutados possibilitaram a identificação de outros resíduos e, consequentemente, a construção de mais 32 Sfβgli50 mutantes. Estas 46 Sfβgli50 mutantes foram produzidas em sistema heterólogo de expressão em bactéria, purificadas e caracterizadas cineticamente. A análise dos resultados obtidos sugere que alguns resíduos mutados devem participar da modulação da especificidade pelo substrato formando \"vias de conexão\", de tal forma que mutações em resíduos que compõem uma \"via\" podem ter efeitos propagados através de suas conexões e, assim, atingirem outras porções da Sfβgli50, como o sítio ativo. Esta propagação pode se dar através de alterações no posicionamento espacial e no conjunto das interações não-covalentes entre os resíduos envolvidos. Finalmente um ponto em comum aos efeitos mutacionais analisados parece ser uma alteração na plataforma basal do glicone, W444, o que causaria modificações na preferência relativa pelos substratos fucosídeos e glucosídeos. / The β-glycosidases of family 1 of the glycoside hydrolases (GH 1) are one of the most important groups of enzymes. These enzymes are involved in a high diversity of physiological functions. The main objective of this study was the analysis of the molecular bases of the specificity for substrate of a β-glycosidase from the larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sfβgli50). Initially the role of residues E190, E194, K201 and M453 of Sfβgli50 in modulation of the specificity for the substrate was investigated through site-directed mutagenesis experiments and enzyme kinetic analysis. These residues corresponds to the those found in the aglycone binding site of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor β-glycosidases. The results showed that E190 favors the binding of the initial portion of alkyl-type aglycones (up to the sixth methylene group) and also the first glucose unit of oligosaccharidic aglycones, whereas a balance between interactions with E194 and K201 determines the preference for glucose units versus alkyl moieties. E194 favors the binding of alkyl moieties, while K201 is more relevant for the binding of glucose units, in detriment of its favorable interaction with alkyl moieties. In addition, M453 favors the binding of the second glucose unit of oligosaccharidic aglycones and also of the initial portion of alkyl-type aglycones. None of these residues interact with the terminal portion of alkyl-type aglycones. It was also demonstrated that E190, E194, K201 and M453 similarly contribute to stabilize ES‡. Their interactions with aglycone are individually weaker than those formed by residues interacting with glycone, but their joint catalytic effects are similar. Finally, these interactions with aglycone do not influence glycone binding. In the second part of this study, new Sfβgli50 residues or portions that participated in the modulation of the substrate specificity were identified. In order to reach this objective, 14 Sfβgli50 mutants were seleted from a \"library\" generated by random mutagenesis in vivo. Based on the \"contacts\" or hydrogen bounds involving these 14 mutated residues 32 additional mutant Sfβgli50 were constructed. These 46 Sfβgli50 mutant were produced in bacteria, purificated and characterized. The results suggest that these residues ways be grouped in \"connective pathways\", a set of residues that contact each other. Mutations in residues that compose a \"pathways\" may be propagated through its connections reaching the Sfβgli50 active site. This propagation may be mediated by alterations in the spatial positioning and the set of non covalent interactions of these residues. Finally, several of these \"connective pathways\" contact a common point in the active site, the basal platform of the glycone subsite, W444.

O Papilomavírus bovino (BPV) gera prejuízos à pecuária. O trabalho buscou isolar vírions de BPV de papilomas cutâneos previamente diagnosticados e avaliar o potencial clastogênico do vírus através do ensaio cometa (EC). O DNA tecidual foi extraído e submetido a PCR. As bandas foram purificadas e sequenciadas. As sequências foram analisadas através de bioinformática. A tipagem mostrou a prevalência de BPV-2. A análise histopatológica revelou acantose, coilocitose e hiperqueratose. Foi possível detectar a presença de fibroblastos transformados, sugerindo uma via de infecção através do sangue. A imuno-detecção das proteínas L1 e E7 no estroma sugere atividade transformadora do BPV em fibroblastos. O EC mostrou a ação clastogênica estatisticamente igual entre os tipos virais BPV-2, 5 e 9. O isolamento viral foi realizado através de ultracentrifugação em densidade única de cloreto de césio, empregando uma nova metodologia, que se mostrou menos laboriosa do que as já descritas, permitindo o isolamento de vírions de BPV-2, iniciando o banco de vírus proposto. / The Bovine papillomavirus (BPV) generates losses to livestock. The study sought to isolate BPV virions from cutaneous papillomas previously diagnosed and evaluate the clastogenic potential of the virus through the comet assay (EC). The tissue DNA was extracted and subjected to PCR. The bands were purified and sequenced. Sequences were analyzed using bioinformatics. The typing showed the prevalence of BPV-2. Histopathology showed acanthosis, hyperkeratosis and koilocytosis. It was possible to detect the presence of transformed fibroblasts, suggesting a route of infection through the blood. Immunohistochemical detection of L1 and E7 proteins in the stroma suggests transforming activity of BPV in fibroblasts. The EC clastogenic action showed statistically equal among the virus types BPV-2, 5 and 9. Viral isolation was performed by ultracentrifugation in a single cesium chloride density, using a new method that was less laborious than those already described, allowing the isolation of BPV-2 virions, starting the proposed stock virus.

Flavonoids are secondary metabolites that are important in plant defense, protection, and human health. Most naturally-occurring flavonoids are found in glucosylated forms. Glucosyltransferases catalyze the transfer of glucose from high-energy sugar donors to an acceptor molecule. The grapefruit flavonol-specific 3-O-glucosyltransferase (F3-O-GT) is highly substrate and regio-specific. The goal of this research is to unravel the amino acid residues responsible for the grapefruit enzyme’s rigid specificity, while attempting to alter the regiospecific glucosylation pattern through site-directed mutagenesis and homology modeling. This research tested the hypothesis that substitution of potential key amino acid residues within the grapefruit Cp-F3-O-GT with position equivalent residues within F7-O-GTs would alter the 3-O-glucosylation of the enzyme. Results reveal that specific single point mutations of residues are capable of abolishing enzymatic activity. Recombinant mutant G392E retained activity and showed an increased affinity for kaempferol relative to the wild-type; however, the rigid regiospecific glucosylation pattern of the enzyme was retained.

Flavonoids are an important group of secondary metabolites found in plants and have a wide variety of properties. Some play a role in fl ower pigmentation, while others have antimicrobial properties. Glucosylation is an important modifi cation of fl avonoids and is mediated by glucosyltransferases. In this process, the enzyme transfers glucose from UDP-glucose to a specifi c position on the fl avonoid. Previous study from the lab characterized a glucosyltransferase from C. paradisi that is fl avonol specifi c. In this study an attempt has been made to study the structure and function of this fl avonol specifi c glucosyltransferase using site directed mutagenesis. The glutamine residue at position 87 of the Cp-3-O-GT enzyme was changed to isoleucine, the analogous residue in the 3-O-glucosyltransferase of Clitoria ternatea. Similarly, the histidine at position 154 was changed to tyrosine. We hypothesize that these mutations will change substrate specifi city. The glutamate at position 88 was changed to an aspartic acid. We hypothesize that this will change the regiospecifi city of the enzyme, as aspartic acid is the analogous residue found in some 7-O-glucosyltransferases. Finally, we introduced a double mutation with glutamine 87 becoming isoleucine and glutamate 88 becoming aspartic acid, with the hypothesis that both regiospecifi city and substrate specifi city will be changed.

Citrus paradisi 3-O-glucosyltransferase (Cp3GT, Genbank Protein ID: ACS15351) and Citrus sinensis 3-O-glucosyltransferase (Cs3GT, Genbank Protein ID: AAS00612.2) share 95% amino acid sequence identity. Cp3GT was previously established as a flavonol-specific 3-O-glucosyltransferase by direct enzymatic analysis. Cs3GT is annotated as a flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase and predicted to use anthocyanidins as substrates based on gene expression analysis correlated with the accumulation of anthocyanins in C. sinensis cv. Tarocco, a blood orange variety. Mutant enzymes in which amino acids found in Cs3GT were substituted for position equivalent residues in Cp3GT were generated, heterologously expressed in yeast, and characterized for substrate specificity. Structure–function relationships were investigated for wild type and mutant glucosyltransferases by homology modelling using a crystallized Vitis viniferaanthocyanidin/flavonol 3-O-GT (PDB: 2C9Z) as template and subsequent substrate docking. All enzymes showed similar patterns for optimal temperature, pH, and UDP/metal ion inhibition with differences observed in kinetic parameters. Although changes in the activity of the mutant proteins as compared to wild type were observed, cyanidin was never efficiently accepted as a substrate.

Fasciola cause considerable monetary loss in the agriculture industry, while parasitism of humans is an emerging disease. Fasciola cathepsin L-like proteases are believed to aid parasite invasion and survival through a range of functions including feeding, immune evasion and modulation, tissue migration, egg production and excystment. As such these proteases are considered good targets for chemotherapies and vaccine development. Fasciola cathepsins are evolutionarily divided into clades that reflect function and life stage of expression. Analysis of F. gigantica genomic DNA and mRNA identified novel cathepsin L-like sequences which are incorporated into a phylogenetic analysis of the complete Fasciola cathepsin L-like protease family. Analysis of mRNA transcripts isolated in this study also points to trans-splicing occurring amongst cathepsin transcripts, the first time this has been identified in Fasciola species. S2 subsite specificity is important in determining substrate interactions with cathepsin L-like proteases. Previous work has shown that amino acid substitutions at this site can dramatically influence substrate specificity. A number of substitutions, specifically those that have been observed, or predicted to occur during the evolution of Fasciola cathepsins L-like proteases, were introduced into the S2 subsite of FhCatL5 at aa69 to determine their influence. The introduction of L69C and L69S substitutions resulted in low overall activity indicating their expression provides no functional advantage, thus explaining the absence of such variants amongst fluke. The L69F variant showed an increase in the ability to cleave substrates with P2 proline, indicating F69 variants expressed by fluke are also likely to have this ability, similar to that shown with L69Y and FhCatL2. The introduction of a L69W substitution leads to increased cleavage of substrates with P2 proline, along with a decrease in cleavage of substrates with P2 phenylalanine. FgCatL1G transcripts were isolated from F. gigantica metacercariae. This contrasts with FhCatL5 and FhCatL2 which have been isolated in adult F. hepatica. These cathepsins differ at aa69, possessing tryptophan, leucine and tyrosine respectively. The processing and substrate specificities of each recombinant enzyme was analysed and compared. While FhCatL5 and FhCatL2 process in vitro in a manner similar to that reported for FhCatL1, FgCatL1G requires different processing conditions, including neutral pH. Combined with FgCatL1G possessing increased stability at acidic pH, this reflects the different environment into which FgCatL1G is expressed by immature compared to the adult flukes. The substrate specificity of FgCatL1G also differed from previously reported cathepsins, with a preference for P2 proline and low activity against substrates with P2 phenylalanine. This is the first time recombinant expression and purification of a cathepsin L-like protease specific to the immature life stages of Fasciola has been undertaken and had enzyme specificity analysed. This work has expanded knowledge of the repertoire of cathepsin proteases expressed at various life-stages of the liver fluke. Vaccination and/or drug inhibition studies may in the future be targeted towards cathepsins that are expressed in either the adult or immature stage, or perhaps both in a multi-targeted approach. The knowledge gained in this study may allow such targets to be chosen.

<p>Malignant primary brain tumors, gliomas, often overexpress both platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) ligands and receptors providing an autocrine and/or paracrine boost to tumor growth. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent glioma. Its aggressive and infiltrative growth renders it extremely difficult to treat. Median survival after diagnosis is currently only 14 months. </p><p>The present thesis describes the use of retroviral tagging to identify candidate cancer-causing genes that cooperate with PDGF in brain tumor formation. Newborn mice were injected intracerebrally with a Moloney murine leukemia retrovirus carrying the <i>sis</i>/PDGF-B oncogene and a replication competent helper virus. Brain tumors with many characteristics of human glioblastomas developed after 13-42 weeks. </p><p>Analysis of proviral integrations in the brain tumors identified almost 70 common insertion sites (CISs). These CISs were named brain tumor loci and harbored known but also putative novel cancer-causing genes.</p><p>An array with over 15000 unique cDNAs was used to screen for differentially expressed genes in the mouse brain tumors compared to normal brain. Known tumor genes and markers of immature cells were upregulated in the tumors. Short latency tumors were further distinguished as fast growing and GBM-like. Long latency tumors resembled slow-growing oligodendrogliomas and contained significantly less integrations as compared to short latency tumors.</p><p>The gene <i>Prkg2</i>, encoding the cGMP-dependent protein kinase II, was targeted by insertions in two brain tumors. Overexpression of <i>Prkg2</i> in human glioma cell lines led to a reduction in colony formation, cell proliferation and migration. A glioma cell line expressing markers of immature stem cells showed loss of cell adhesion, G1 cell cycle arrest and decreased activation of the survival signaling protein Akt upon stimulation with a cGMP analog that activates the <i>Prkg2</i> protein. The present thesis shows that proviral tagging may be a useful tool in the search for candidate glioma genes.</p>

The members of the mammalian neuropeptide Y family, i.e. the peptides neuropeptide Y (NPY), peptide YY (PYY) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP), are all involved in regulation of food intake. In human and most other mammals they act via receptors Y1, Y2, Y4 and Y5. NPY is released in the hypothalamus and is one of the strongest appetite-stimulating neurotransmitters whereas PP and PYY are secreted from gut endocrine cells after meals and function as appetite-reducing hormones. This thesis describes studies of the NPY system at both the molecular and the physiological level. The first part describes two investigations of receptor-ligand interactions with the human Y1 and Y2 receptors. The results clarify the importance of several amino-acid residues of the human Y1 receptor. Three amino acids previously suggested by others to form a binding pocket for the carboxy-terminus of the peptide were confirmed to be crucial for interaction with peptide ligands. However, they were found to be too distantly located from each other to be able to form a binding pocket. Further investigation of the three corresponding positions in the human Y2 receptor showed that only one of the positions was important for interaction with full-length peptides. The results indicate overlapping but, surprisingly, non-identical binding of the different peptides to human Y1 and Y2 receptors, despite the fact that the two receptors share a common ancestor. The second part of the thesis describes an investigation of the effect of PP on food intake in six beagle dogs and a test for personality characteristics in dogs (TFPC). Treatment with physiological doses of PP decreased both the appetitive and the consummatory drive but had no effect on the amount food consumed. The TFPC protocol was used to map individual behavioral differences in a population of sixteen beagle dogs. The test, which included several situations that may appear in an experimental study, revealed considerable inter-individual differences in behavioral responses despite the fact that the dogs were born and housed in the same animal facility in constant controlled conditions. These results demonstrate that PP can influence food intake in distantly related mammals and emphasize the importance of considering differences in personality in experimental animals.