Orientador: Marta Helena Krieger / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T14:03:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Santos_Leandrodos_M.pdf: 960822 bytes, checksum: 9255ee8c26bde6d271eafcb384a31cef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Objetivos: Várias vias inflamatórias têm participação no processo aterosclerótico. Diferentes marcadores do processo inflamatório e da disfunção endotelial têm sido utilizados para predizer o risco de futuro desenvolvimento ou complicação das doenças cardiovasculares. Atualmente, marcadores como o CD40L tem se mostrado importante no prognóstico de risco clínico. Os efeitos antiinflamatórios do nitrosotiol, doador de ¿NO, S-nitroso-N-acetilcisteína (SNAC) foram verificados em camundongos LDLr-/-, com objetivo de testá-lo na prevenção precoce do desenvolvimento da placa aterosclerótica, bem como nas mudanças de pressão arterial e de expressão das ¿NO sintases. Métodos e Resultados: Camundongos LDLr-/- alimentados com dieta enriquecida com 0,5% de ácido cólico e 1,25% de colesterol apresentaram aumento na expressão aórtica de CD40L, tanto nas fases iniciais (HC15d) quanto nas fases mais avançadas da aterosclerose (HC60d) e em uma relação inversa com a expressão de a-actina. Camundongos LDLr-/- alimentados com dieta comercial (CT) apresentaram aumento na expressão de eNOS e nNOS em relação aos camundongos selvagens (C57BL6). Foi também verificado aumento na expressão das 3 isoformas de NOS nos camundongos alimentados com dieta hipercolesterolêmica em relação ao CT. Pressão arterial aumentada foi determinada em camundongos LDLr-/- em relação aos selvagens. A administração de SNAC (0,51 mmol/Kg/dia i.p. por 15 dias) promoveu uma redução de 49% na área de lesão aterosclerótica, associada a uma diminuição na expressão aórtica das NOS e de CD40L, mas sem alteração no aumento pressórico. Conclusão: Concluímos que a deleção gênica do receptor de LDL nos camundongos produziu alteração nos marcadores propostos para inflamação e disfunção endotelial, mostrando-se responsável pela hipertensão, sendo que ambas foram caracterizadas neste modelo animal. O tratamento com SNAC mostrou-se eficaz na prevenção do estabelecimento do ateroma, por meio de processo antiinflamatório. Entretanto, a administração de SNAC não foi capaz de promover alterações no aumento pressórico verificado nos camundongos LDLr-/- / Abstract: Background: Several inflammatory pathways have been shown to participate in the atherosclerotic process. Different markers for inflammation and endothelial dysfunction have been found to predict the future risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Newer markers such as CD40 ligand appear to provide important information regarding clinical risk. In hypercholesterolemic LDLr-/- mice, we addressed anti-inflammatory effects of the nitrosothiol ¿NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC) in the early prevention of plaque development as well as changes in blood pressure and ¿NO synthase expression. Methods and Results: LDLr-/- mice fed with 0.5 % colic acid and 1.25 % cholesterol-enriched diet showed increased aortic expression of CD40L that was related to initial (HC 15d) and advanced (HC 60d) phases and inversely related with a-actin expression. Expression of eNOS and nNOS was higher in the LDLr-/- than Wild Type (C57BL6) mice, as well as, there was a larger expression of three isoforms of NOS in LDLr-/- mice fed with HC diet. Increase in the blood pressure was present in LDLr-/- in relation to Wild Type mice. SNAC administration (0.51 mmol/Kg/day i.p. for 15 days) promoted 49% of reduction in atherosclerotic lesion area associated with the prevention of this increased NOS and CD40L expression but without alterations in the increased blood pressure. Conclusion: We concluded that the genetic deletion of LDL receptor in mice produced alterations on the markers proposed to the inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, and showed to be responsible for hypertension, both characterized in this animal model. The SNAC treatment showed efficacy in the prevention of atheroma establishment by anti-inflammatory process. Nevertheless, the SNAC treatment was not capable to promote alterations in the increased blood pressure, which was verified in these ko mice / Mestrado / Fisiologia / Mestre em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important chemical factor that controls vascular tone in the cardiovascular system. NO is a vasodilatory molecule that plays a role in blood pressure and blood flow regulation as well as vessel formation and tissue cell proliferation. NO influences the flow by which nutrients and other metabolites required for growth are transported to the tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate if NO, through mediation by the NO donors Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) affect growth and oxygen consumption of prenatal broiler chicken. The results indicate that, although the treatments did not have clear significant effects on the embryos or the organs examined, a slight delay in development can be observed in the GSNO treatment embryos. The study could not conclude, however, if this was due to effects of NO donors

No description available.

In this work, the general problematic of the transport phenomena in the lungs is addressed, with applications to lung diseases, in particular asthma and cystic fibrosis. Regarding these two major diseases, the dynamics of the nitric oxide and the mucus layer in the lungs, respectively, are of particular interest. In asthma, it has been shown that the measurement of the exhaled concentration of nitric oxide can be used as a proxy for monitoring the disease status. In cystic fibrosis, which is a disease of the mucus layer, pieces of evidence show that the water content of the mucus is linked to the severity of the symptoms of the disease. In both conditions, however, these links are far from being obvious. Regarding nitric oxide, its exhaled concentration is not straightforwardly related to its concentration in the lungs. Regarding cystic fibrosis, the link between the disease and the alterations of the mucus content and dynamics is far from being understood. From these observations, several modeling approaches have emerged to complement the clinical measurements. In this work, the dynamics of the nitric oxide and of the mucus layer in the lungs is studied from a modeling approach, following a phenomenological point of view. Regarding the nitric oxide, a new model of its dynamics in the lungs is developed. When compared to previous ones, the model presents multiple new features that allow for a better description of this dynamics, especially in the case of asthma exacerbation, characterized by the presence of mucus obstructions and bronchoconstriction. From this model, the role of nitric oxide as a general marker of the bronchi caliber is suggested, in addition to its role in the asthma monitoring. Furthermore, based on clinical measurements of the exhaled nitric oxide concentration in cystic fibrosis patients and the use of the new model, the role of the measurement of nitric oxide in the understanding and control of other lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, is evaluated. Regarding the dynamics of the mucus layer in the lungs, a new analysis of the control of the mucus balance in the bronchial region of the lungs is presented in this work. Our approach is based on the combination of a balance equation for the mucus in an airway and a computational tool characterizing the evaporation of the mucus in the bronchial region. We show that this approach allows for new insights into the dynamics of the bronchial mucus and, more specifically, on the mechanisms controlling the amount of mucus in an airway. The results are analyzed in order to bring interesting new perspectives for the understanding and the treatment of mucus pulmonary diseases,such as cystic fibrosis. Altogether, this work demonstrates, applied to medical pathologies, the usefulness of modeling approaches in giving a mechanistic view of the encountered problematic. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

No description available.

Abstract Breast cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer among Finnish women, but the ultimate causation of carcinogenesis still remains unclear. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a collective term for several types of reactive oxygen metabolites that are continuously generated in human cells mainly as by-products of aerobic respiration. ROS, including nitric oxide and its derivatives, play highly important roles in cell physiology. If ROS production exceeds the capacity of detoxification systems, principally antioxidant enzymes, oxidative stress is said to occur. This state is known to contribute to all stages of carcinogenesis. To explore the widely unstudied role of ROS and cell redox state modulating enzymes in breast carcinomas, the extent of ROS-derived macromolecule damage and the expression of the vast majority of known antioxidant enzymes were assessed in a large series of breast carcinomas, and the results were compared to the patients' clinicopathological parameters. The results were also compared to angiogenesis, DNA repair enzymes, cell proliferation, NF-κB, p53 expression, and survival. Immunohistochemistry was the main method applied, but western blotting and immunoelectron microscopy were also used. There is extensive oxidative damage in breast carcinomas, which seems to associate with tumor development. Oxidative macromolecule damage is notable even in stage I tumors. Cell redox state regulating enzymes, such as peroxiredoxin V, thioredoxin, thioredoxin reductase, and glutamate-cysteine ligase, associate with more aggressive phenotypes of tumors, including larger primary tumors, growth of metastases, increased cell proliferation, and poor differentiation. This indirectly suggests that cell redox state modulating enzymes may be inductive of tumor promotion in an oxidated environment. The results of this thesis support the importance of ROS in all stages of carcinogenesis. These observations are largely in line with the previous studies on different carcinomas, but there seem to be certain carcinoma type specific differences in the expression of these enzymes. Since the expression of given cell redox state modulating enzymes distinctly associates with clinicopathological parameters, these enzymes may be useful as prognostic indicators and facilitate the choice of appropriate treatment in the future.

Abstract Reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been linked with the pathogenesis of lung malignancies and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In vitro studies indicated that mesothelioma and lung carcinoma cell lines synthesize nitric oxide synthases (NOS) mRNA. The Comet-assay indicated that asbestos fibers caused DNA single -strand breaks in mesothelial cells, and this effect was enhanced by glutathione depletion. The use of FPG in the Comet assay indicated that the asbestos induced DNA strand breaks were oxidant mediated. In vivo non-neoplastic pleura was mostly negative for inducible NOS (iNOS), while inflamed pleura was positive. The immunohistochemical expression of iNOS was detected in 74% and 96% of malignant mesotheliomas and metastatic pleural adenocarcinomas, respectively. Epithelial and mixed mesotheliomas expressed more often intense iNOS immunoreactivity compared to the sarcomatoid subtype. Normal mesothelial cells showed occasional positivity for endothelial NOS (eNOS), but reactive mesothelial cells were strongly stained. eNOS was found in 89% of mesotheliomas. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was identified in 47%, a VEGF receptor FLK1 in 69% and the VEGF receptor, FLT1, in 71% of mesotheliomas. FLK1 or FLT1 immunoreactivities were more often seen in epithelioid and biphasic mesotheliomas than in sarcomatoid mesotheliomas. In lung samples of non-smokers, smokers and COPD patients, the levels of nitrotyrosine were higher in alveolar macrophages of smokers and COPD patients than in the non-smokers and in the alveolar epithelium of smokers and COPD patients than in the non-smokers. The iNOS expression was weak in the bronchial and alveolar epithelium in all groups but eNOS was most prominently expressed in alveolar macrophages while neuronal NOS (nNOS) was negative in all of the major cell types of the lung. Bronchial metaplasia-dysplasia-sequence was clearly positive for iNOS, nNOS and nitrotyrosine. Thus, smoking can cause protein nitration also in normal lung. Prominent iNOS and nNOS immunoreactivity in metaplasia-dysplasia-lesions suggests a divergent role of NOSs in carcinogenesis and destruction of alveolar epithelium in emphysematous lung. In lung cancer samples, iNOS was detected in 40% cases, while 89% and 81% cases were positive for eNOS and nNOS, respectively. Intense eNOS staining was seen more often in adenocarcinomas than in squamous cells carcinomas, and iNOS immunoreactivity was seen more often in grade I-II tumors than in grade III tumors. The patients with tumors showing high expression of iNOS, eNOS and nNOS, exhibited better survival, but this was not an independent prognostic factor.

Many tumours contain regions of hypoxia which are difficult to treat by conventional radiotherapy. There is much interest in the ability of nitric oxide (^•NO) to radiosensitize hypoxic mammalian cells as a possible adjunct to radiotherapy but mechanisms for its action are unclear. It has been proposed that ^•NO may radiosensitize cells by ‘fixing’ radiation-induced DNA free radicals, and elevated radiation response by ^•NO in cells has been partly attributed to increased formation of DNA double strand breaks. In the work carried out for this thesis it is shown that reaction of ^•NO with radiation-induced nucleobase radicals produces some novel products. New pathways for the reactions of radiation-induced hydroxyl radicals with purine radicals are proposed. In addition, the effects of ^•NO on the yields of radiation-induced single strand breaks in anoxic plasmid DNA, and on anoxic mammalian cell radiosensitivity are investigated. Kinetics of formation and repair of radiation-induced double strand breaks indicate different effects of ^•NO on radiation-induced clustered and non-clustered DNA damage involving replication-induced DNA breaks. As ^•NO is an inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase, some of the radiosensitizing properties of ^•NO may be due to reduction in the availability of 2-deoxyribonucleotides. Through studying reactions of ^•NO with tyrosine radicals, essential components of ribonucleotide reductase, this work has enhanced understanding into how ^•NO may inhibit the enzyme, which may offer new insights into the development of ^•NO-releasing anti-cancer agents. The potential for delivery of ^•NO to hypoxic tissue for radiotherapy has also been investigated in this work, through the development of bioreductively-activated pro-drugs. These novel agents are stable until reduced by one-electron reductants, when a ^•NO-releasing pro-drug is rapidly evolved, only in those regions which are sufficiently hypoxic. By increasing our understanding into the mechanisms involved in the ability of ^•NO to radiosensitize hypoxic cells, especially the reactivity of ^•NO with DNA radicals, knowledge has been gained into the identification, development and repair of radiation-induced DNA damage in cells, including clustered damage, in the presence of ^•NO. These studies contribute to further development of novel anti-cancer therapies based upon the release of ^•NO in hypoxic cells.

No description available.

High levels of the amino acid arginine and low levels of the product citrulline in the cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer's patients could mean that there is a decrease in the enzymes that metabolize this amino acid. One such enzyme is neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). In this study, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), sourced from bovine brain was extracted and concentrated using two methods of precipitation: poly (ethylene glycol) 20 000 (PEG) and ammonium sulphate [(NH₄)₂S0₄). These two techniques gave no increase in yield nor fold purification and hence were abandoned in favour of ion exchange chromatography by DEAE-Sepharose. The enzyme was then successfully purified by anion-exchange and after dialysis produced a 38% yield and three fold purification and yielded the highest specific activity of 2.27 U/mg. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) was a heterodimeric protein with a total molecular mass of ± 225 kDa (95 and 130 kDa monomers). The temperature and pH optima of the enzyme were 40⁰C and 6.5, respectively. The kinetic parameters (KM and Vmax) of nNOS were 70 μM and 0.332 μmol.min⁻¹, respectively. Moreover neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) was relatively stable at 40⁰C (t½ = 3 h). It was also confirmed that β-amyloid peptides inhibited nNOS when bound to the enzyme and that nNOS behaved as a catalyst in fibril formation through association-dissociation between enzyme and β-amyloid peptide. It was further shown that Aβ₁₇₋₂₈ inhibited nNOS the most with a Ki of 1.92 μM and also had the highest Stern-Volmer value (Ksv) of 0.11 μM⁻¹ indicating tight binding affinity to nNOS and easier accessibility to fluor molecules during binding. Congo red, turbidity, thioflavin-T assays and transmission electron microscopy were successfully used to detect and visualize the presence of fibrils by studying the process of fibrillogenesis. Computerized molecular modeling successfully studied protein dynamics and conformational changes of nNOS. These results correlated with resonance energy transfer (FRET) results which revealed the distance of tryptophan residues from the arginine bound at enzyme active site. Both the aforementioned techniques revealed that in the natural state of the enzyme with arginine bound at the active site, the tryptophan residues (TRP₆₂₅ and TRP₇₂₁) were positioned at the surface of the enzyme 28 Å away from the active site. When the amyloid peptide (Aβ₁₇₋₂₈) was bound to the active site, these same two amino acids moved 14 Å closer to the active site. A five residue hydrophobic fragment Aβ₁₇₋₂₁ [Leu₁₇ - Val₁₈ - Phe₁₉ - Phe₂₀ - Ala₁] within Aβ₁₇₋₂₈ was shown by computer modeling to be critical to the binding of the peptide to the active site of nNOS.