In this thesis, chitosan, a biocompatible polysaccharide that has been approved as a food additive was selected as a platform for the development of safe, efficient non-viral gene delivery systems to mammalian cells. Previously, chitosan-based gene formulations had been generally associated with high molecular weight chitosans, which were poorly characterised in terms of molecular weight distribution and degree of acetylation. Therefore, in order to improve the properties of chitosan-based gene formulations, the research associated with this thesis focused on establishing the structure-property relationships of well-defined, low molecular weight chitosans (chitosan oligomers) as delivery systems for nucleic acids (pDNA and siRNA) in vitro and after lung administration in vivo. pDNA dissociated more easily from chitosan oligomers than from conventional high molecular weight chitosans, resulting in a faster onset and higher levels of in vivo gene expression, comparable to those mediated by polyethyleneimine (PEI), one of the most efficient non-viral delivery systems. Coupling of a trisaccharide branch to the chitosan oligomers so as to target extracellular lectins resulted in a significant improvement in transfection efficiency because of enhanced cellular uptake and colloidal stability. In contrast to pDNA, longer linear chitosan oligomers were required to form physically-stable nanoparticles with siRNA that mediated efficient, sustained gene silencing in vitro. Finally, the use of an optimised catheter device for the nebulisation of small volumes of pDNA formulations resulted in improved dose precision and lung distribution in vivo compared with conventional intratracheal instillation. In conclusion, chitosan oligomers are interesting and viable alternatives to other non-viral gene delivery systems.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to exist as oligomers, but there is much uncertainty over the oligomeric size, the number of interacting G proteins and the stability of that interaction. The present approach to these questions has been threefold. Monomers of the M2 muscarinic receptor were purified from Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells and reconstituted in phospholipid vesicles, where they spontaneously formed tetramers. The size of the reconstituted complex was determined from its electrophoretic mobility after cross-linking and inferred from a quantitative, model-based assessment of cooperative effects in the binding of two muscarinic antagonists: N-methylscopolamine and quinuclidinylbenzilate. Binding of the agonist oxotremorine-M to receptor reconstituted with purified G proteins revealed at least three classes of sites that interconverted from higher to lower affinity upon the addition of guanylylimidotriphosphate (GMP-PNP). The binding properties resemble those of muscarinic receptors in myocardial preparations, thereby implying the existence of tetramers in native tissues. G proteins that copurify with the M2 receptor from cardiac membranes also were found to exist as oligomers, some of which contain both alpha(o) and alpha(i2), and the purified complexes contained receptor and G protein in near-equal amounts. A tetrameric receptor implies a tetramer of G proteins, a conclusion that is supported by the distribution of sites between different states identified in the binding of [35S]GTPgammaS to the purified complex. Covalent adducts of a GPCR fused to a Galpha-subunit provide a model system in which the relationship between receptor and G protein complex is defined with respect to stability and composition. Such a fusion of the M2 receptor and Galpha(i1) underwent a cleavage near the amino terminus of the alpha-subunit, however, flagging the likelihood of similar effects in other such adducts. Truncation of the amino terminus prior to fusion generated a stable product that revealed GMP-PNP-sensitive, biphasic binding of oxotremorine-M and noncompetitive interactions between N-methylscopolamine and quinuclidinylbenzilate. A covalent RG complex therefore exhibits the functional properties of M2 receptors in native systems. These observations are consistent with the notion that signaling through the M2 receptor occurs via cooperative interactions within a stable complex that comprises four receptors and four G proteins.

Tikslas. Ištirti įvairaus oligomerizacijos laipsnio Aβ1-40 ir Aβ1-42 peptidų agregatų poveikį smegenėlių ląstelėms ir išaiškinti toksinio veikimo mechanizmus. Uždaviniai: 1.Įvertinti Aβ1-40 ir Aβ1-42 monomerų, oligomerų ir fibrilių poveikį neuronų-glijos ląstelių kultūros gyvybingumui. 2.Nustatyti ryšį tarp Aβ1-42 oligomerų toksiškumo ir dydžio. 3.Ištirti Aβ1-42 oligomerų poveikį neuronų ir mikroglijos ląstelių plazminės membranos įtampos pokyčiams ir įvertinti, kokią reikšmę Aβ1-42 oligomerų sukeltoje neuronų žūtyje turi išorinio kalcio koncentracija, NMDA receptorių ir endocitozės aktyvumas. 4.Nustatyti Aβ1-42 oligomerų poveikį smegenėlių kultūrai, papildytai J774 makrofagais 5.Nustatyti Aβ1-42 oligomerų poveikį mitochondrijų oksidacinio fosforilinimo sistemai. Mokslinis naujumas Šiame darbe nustatytas ryšys tarp Aβ1-42 oligomerų dydžio ir toksiškumo neuronams. Pirmą kartą parodyta, kad maži (toksiški) Aβ1-42 oligomerai (1–2 nm), koncentracijose, kurios gali susidaryti smegenyse patologinėmis sąlygomis, yra toksiški ląstelių kultūroje esantiems neuronams, tačiau nekeičia kitų, ląstelių kultūroje esančių, ląstelių gyvybingumo (mikroglijos ir astrocitų). Pirmieji išsiaiškinome, kad maži ir dideli Aβ1-42 oligomerai gali sukelti neuronų žūtį skirtingais mechanizmais: maži tiesiogiai veikdami neuronus, o dideli veikdami per glijos ląsteles. Mūsų tyrimai atskleidė iki šiol neaprašytą reiškinį, kad maži Aβ1-42 oligomerai gali sąlygoti ne tik neuroninių ląstelių žūtį, bet ir jų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Objective and tasks. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 peptide aggregates at various degrees of oligomerization on cultivated neurons of brain cells and their toxic mechanisms. 1.To investigate the effect of various Aβ1–40 and Aβ1-42 aggregates on the viability of neuronal-glial cell cultures. 2.To determine the relationship between the toxicity of Aβ1-42 oli-gomers and their size. 3.To analyze the effect of Aβ1-42 oligomers on membrane potential of neuronal and glial cells. To assess the effect of extracellular Ca2+ concentration, NMDA receptors and activity of endocytosis on neu¬ronal death caused by Aβ1-42 oligomers. 4.To determine the effect of Aβ1-42 oligomers (4–6 nm in size) on neurons in CGC cultures with added macrophages J774 cells. 5.To determine the effect of Aβ1-42oligomers on respiration of isolated brain mitochondria. Scientific novelty This study determined the relationship between size of amyloid and its toxicity to neurons. For the first time it was shown that small Aβ1-42 oligomers of the size 1–3 nm were toxic to neurons in cell cultures at the concentrations which occur in brain under pathological conditions. However, they did not affect the viability of other cells (microglia and astrocytes) present in the cell cultures. For the first time it has been shown that small and large Aβ1-42 oligo-mers can cause neuronal death by different mechanisms: small oligomers by affecting neurons directly, and large oligomers... [to full text]

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to exist as oligomers, but there is much uncertainty over the oligomeric size, the number of interacting G proteins and the stability of that interaction. The present approach to these questions has been threefold. Monomers of the M2 muscarinic receptor were purified from Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells and reconstituted in phospholipid vesicles, where they spontaneously formed tetramers. The size of the reconstituted complex was determined from its electrophoretic mobility after cross-linking and inferred from a quantitative, model-based assessment of cooperative effects in the binding of two muscarinic antagonists: N-methylscopolamine and quinuclidinylbenzilate. Binding of the agonist oxotremorine-M to receptor reconstituted with purified G proteins revealed at least three classes of sites that interconverted from higher to lower affinity upon the addition of guanylylimidotriphosphate (GMP-PNP). The binding properties resemble those of muscarinic receptors in myocardial preparations, thereby implying the existence of tetramers in native tissues. G proteins that copurify with the M2 receptor from cardiac membranes also were found to exist as oligomers, some of which contain both alpha(o) and alpha(i2), and the purified complexes contained receptor and G protein in near-equal amounts. A tetrameric receptor implies a tetramer of G proteins, a conclusion that is supported by the distribution of sites between different states identified in the binding of [35S]GTPgammaS to the purified complex. Covalent adducts of a GPCR fused to a Galpha-subunit provide a model system in which the relationship between receptor and G protein complex is defined with respect to stability and composition. Such a fusion of the M2 receptor and Galpha(i1) underwent a cleavage near the amino terminus of the alpha-subunit, however, flagging the likelihood of similar effects in other such adducts. Truncation of the amino terminus prior to fusion generated a stable product that revealed GMP-PNP-sensitive, biphasic binding of oxotremorine-M and noncompetitive interactions between N-methylscopolamine and quinuclidinylbenzilate. A covalent RG complex therefore exhibits the functional properties of M2 receptors in native systems. These observations are consistent with the notion that signaling through the M2 receptor occurs via cooperative interactions within a stable complex that comprises four receptors and four G proteins.

Diffusion of linear and cyclic poly(oxyethylene) (POE) oligomers in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix was investigated in situ using attenuated total reflectance (ATR) infrared (IR) spectroscopy technique. The temperatures of studies were 60 oC, 85 oC and 110 oC. A film of PMMA was solution-cast onto an ATR zinc selenide crystal and POE was added to the surface. The IR peak at 1109 cm-1 characteristic to ether bond present in POE was used for quantitative analysis. Deconvolution of this peak from IR spectra allowed us to determine the absorbance of diffusing component as a function of interdiffusion time. The data were fit using appropriate mathematical models from where the interdiffusion constants were extracted and used in diffusion interpretation. By looking at different molecular weight of cyclic and linear POE oligomers diffusing into high molecular weight PMMA matrix, it was possible to analyze how penetrant topology and its molecular weight are influencing the diffusion process. The results indicated that cyclic POE moves faster than linear analogous one and an increase in penetrant molecular weight slows down the interdiffusion. The knowledge gained from this study gives us a deeper understanding of transport behavior of low-molecular-weight additives, such as oligomers into polymer matrices and, in particular the influence of topology on diffusion.

Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy are disorders featuring accumulation of Lewy bodies in brain. The main component of these large insoluble intracellular inclusions is the presynaptic protein alpha-synuclein (α-synuclein). It is generally believed that α-synuclein monomers adopt an abnormal conformation that favors the formation of soluble oligomers or protofibrils and, eventually, insoluble fibrils depositing as Lewy bodies. Notably, the intermediately sized oligomers/protofibrils seem to have particular neurotoxic effects. Several factors may influence the formation of α-synuclein oligomers/protofibrils, e.g. the reactive aldehydes 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) and 4-oxo-2-nonenal (ONE) formed during oxidative stress. The overall aims of this thesis were to investigate biophysical and biochemical properties of in vitro generated α-synuclein oligomers, characterize their functional effects on cell and animal disease models as well as to explore whether their formation could be prevented in a cell culture model for oligomerization.  Here, it was found that α-synuclein rapidly formed oligomers after incubation with both ONE and HNE. The resulting oligomers were stable and did not continue to form insoluble fibrils. By comparing HNE- and ONE induced α-synuclein oligomers biochemically they were both found to exhibit extensive β-beta sheet structure and had a molecular size of ~2000 kDa. However, they differed in morphology; the ONE induced α-synuclein oligomers described round amorphous species whereas the HNE induced α-synuclein oligomers appeared as elongated protofibril-like structures. Both these oligomers were cell internalized to varying degrees and induced toxicity in neuroblastoma cells. In addition, the ONE induced α-synuclein oligomers seemed to initiate aggregation of monomeric α-synuclein in vitro, but failed to do so in vivo. Finally, treatment of α-synuclein overexpressing cells with monoclonal antibodies specific for α-synuclein significantly reduced aggregation and lowered levels of the protein, suggesting increased turnover in these cells.  To conclude, this thesis has characterized different oligomeric α-synuclein species, which may have properties similar to soluble species central to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and other disorders with α-synuclein pathology. For therapeutic strategies it is important to selectively target such harmful protein species and avoid interaction with other forms of α-synuclein, which may have vital physiological cellular functions.

This thesis reports progress in three major aspects of σ-bonded organometallic porphyrins that are described in the published papers found in chapters 4, 5 and 6. meso-Iodoporphyrins, which were prepared in a rapid, selective and high yielding methodology from the respective 1-palladioporphyrins or bromoporphyrins, are important starting materials for further functionalisations of porphyrins. Their utility was confirmed in a palladium-catalysed coupling reaction and this novel synthetic strategy could potentially be applied for iodine/bromine exchange on other organic substrates.. A 1-palladioporphyrin was also utilised to optimise the reaction conditions leading to the formation of porphyrinylphosphine oxides. This synthetic strategy simplified the challenging optimisation of the palladium-catalysed reaction and has great potential to be applied in other catalytic processes. Subsequently a suite of porphyrinylphosphine oxides was prepared under the optimised catalytic conditions. These macrocycles, which represent a new class of porphyrins, were isolated cleanly in very high yields. Detailed spectroscopic investigations as well as X-ray single crystal analysis demonstrated their structures unambiguously and established their potential as ligands for supramolecular chemistry. The coordinating properties of phosphine oxides in general and porphyrinylphosphine oxides in particular, towards Mg(II) centred porphyrins were examined in further experiments. Triphenylphosphine oxide showed a strong affinity towards Mg(II) porphyrins and the calculated displacement constant of 5.3 × 105 M-1 was two orders of magnitude larger than any other Mg(II) porphyrin-ligand binding constant reported thus far. Di- and triporphyrin arrays consisting of Mg(II) porphyrin coordinated to free base and Ni(II) porphyrinyl mono- and bis-phosphine oxides were also prepared in high yields. Spectroscopic studies indicated that these porphyrin oligomers exhibit strong inter-porphyrin electronic interaction. A Mg(II) porphyrinylphosphine oxide dimer was also isolated in a satisfactory yield. The large self-association constant of 5.5 × 108 M-1 confirmed the strong affinity of porphyrinylphosphine oxides towards Mg(II) porphyrins and established these complexes as the first strongly bound synthetic Mg(II) porphyrin analogues of the "special pair" of the photosynthetic reaction centre.

Conducting polymers display properties such as high conductivity, light weight and redox activity giving them great potential for use in many applications. Polythiophenes have proved to be particularly useful because they are readily functionalised and have good chemical stability. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents on the synthesis and properties of polythiophenes. Initial work entailed the synthesis of a series of styryl-substituted terthiophenes. Polymerisation of these materials using both chemical and electrochemical methods was found to produce predominantly short chain oligomers (n < 4) and insoluble material that could not be further processed. An analogous series of styryl-substituted terthienylenevinylene materials were electrochemically oxidised for comparison to the terthiophene series. These materials were also found to produce predominantly dimer and short oligomers, but with the expected higher conjugation length than the corresponding terthiophene oligomers. To enhance polymerisation and increase the solubility of the resulting materials, the polymerisation of styryl-terthiophenes with alkyl and alkoxy functionalities was investigated. The properties of the resulting polymeric materials were determined using electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy and microscopy. The alkoxy substituted polymer was found to have a longer average polymer length than the corresponding alkyl derivative (~n = 11 compared to ~n = 6), but was less soluble (78% compared to 100%). It was found, however, that by increasing the alkoxy chain length from 6 carbons to 10 carbons, the solubility of the polymer could be increased to 97% without affecting the average polymer length. The alkoxy-substituted polymers were observed to be very stable in the oxidised, conducting state compared to the alkyl-substituted polymer, which appeared to be more stable in the neutral, non-conducting state. It was found that these soluble materials could be separated into fractions of different length polymers by using sequential soxhlet extractions in different solvents. Preliminary investigations were made into the suitability of these soluble oligomeric and polymeric materials for use in photovoltaic, actuator and organic battery applications and promising results were achieved for actuator and battery functions. In addition, the solubility of these materials allowed nano- and micro-structured fibre and fibril surfaces to be prepared for use in high surface area electrodes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wyoming, 2005. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on March 10, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005. / Morhan Srinivasarao, Committee Member ; CP Wong, Committee Member ; David M. Collard, Committee Chair ; Marcus Weck, Committee Member ; Laren Tolbert, Committee Member.