The recent emergence of the field of proteomics has been driven by advances in mass spectrometry methods and instrumentation. Due to the large amount of data generated, success at peptide and protein identification is contingent on reliable software algorithms. The software programs in use at the time the work in this dissertation was carried out were well suited to the task of identifying unmodified peptides and proteins in complex mixtures. However, the existing programs were not able to reliably identify protein modifications, especially unpredicted modifications. This dissertation describes the development of two novel software algorithms that can be used to screen LC-MS-MS data files, and identify MS-MS spectra that correspond to peptides with either predicted or unpredicted modifications. The first program, SALSA, is highly flexible and uses user defined search criteria to screen data files for spectra the exhibit fragmentation patterns diagnostic of specific modifications or peptide sequences. SALSA facilitates exhaustive searches, but requires user expertise to both generate search criteria and to validate matched spectra. The second program, P-Mod, provides automated searches for spectra corresponding to peptides in a search list. P-Mod is able to identify spectra derived from either modified or unmodified peptides. All sequence-to-spectrum matches reported in the P-Mod output are assigned statistical confidence levels derived using extreme value statistics.

With a few exceptions, all organisms are restricted to the 20 canonical amino acids for ribosomal protein biosynthesis. Addition of new amino acids to the genetic code can introduce novel functionalities to proteins, broadening the diversity of biochemical as well as chemical reactions and providing new tools to study protein structure, reactivity, dynamics and protein-protein-interactions. The site directed in vivo incorporation developed by P. G. SCHULTZ and coworkers, using an archeal orthogonal tRNA/aaRS (aminoacyl-tRNA synthase) pair, allows site-specifically insertion of a synthetic unnatural amino acid (UAA) by reprogramming the amber TAG stop codon. A variety of over 80 different UAAs can be introduced by this technique. However by now a very limited number can form kinetically stable bonds to late transition metals. This thesis aims to develop new catalytically active unnatural amino acids or strategies for a posttranslational modification of site-specific amino acids in order to achieve highly enantioselective metallorganic enzyme hybrids (MOEH). As a requirement a stable protein host has to be established, surviving the conditions for incorporation, posttranslational modification and the final catalytic reactions. mTFP* a fluorescent protein was genetically modified by excluding any exposed Cys, His and Met forming a variant mTFP*, which fulfills the required specifications. Posttranslational chemical modification of mTFP* allow the introduction of single site metal chelating moieties. For modification on exposed cysteines different maleiimid containing ligand structures were synthesized. In order to perform copper catalyzed click reactions, suitable unnatural amino acids (para-azido-(L)-phenylalanine, para-ethynyl-(L)-phenylalanine) were synthesized and a non-cytotoxic protocol was established. The triazole ring formed during this reaction may contribute as a moderate σ-donor/π-acceptor ligand to the metal binding site. Since the cell limits the incorporation of boronic acids, an aqueous protocol for Miyaura borylation using a highly active palladacycle catalyst was established and can be transferred to a selective borylation of proteins. It allows subsequent Suzuki cross coupling and therefore broadens the possibilities for chemical modifications and the establishment of new metalloenzymes. Different metal chelating amino acids were investigated, such as Hydrochinolin-Alanine, Bipyridyl-Alanine, Dipyridine-Lysines and phosphorous containing amino acids.

Thermal treatments of dairy products favor oxidations, Maillard reactions, and the formation of sugar or lipid oxidation products. Additives including flavorings might enhance these reactions or even induce further reactions. Here we aimed to characterize protein modifications in four flavored milk drinks using samples along the production chain—raw milk, pasteurization, mixing with flavorings, heat treatment, and the commercial product. Therefore, milk samples were analyzed using a bottom up proteomics approach and a combination of data-independent (MSE) and data-dependent acquisition methods (DDA). Twenty-one small carbonylated lipids were identified by shotgun lipidomics triggering 13 protein modifications. Additionally, two Amadori products, 12 advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and 12 oxidation-related modifications were targeted at the protein level. The most common modifications were lactosylation, formylation, and carboxymethylation. The numbers and distribution of modification sites present in raw milk remained stable after pasteurization and mixing with flavorings, while the final heat treatment significantly increased lactosylation and hexosylation in qualitative and quantitative terms. The processing steps did not significantly affect the numbers of AGE-modified, oxidized/carbonylated, and lipid-carbonylated sites in proteins.

Signaling pathways function as molecular instruments mediating cellular response to intrinsic and extrinsic inputs, which can consequently lead to cell division or differentiation on one side and cell death on the other. Molecular network of different pathways enables the intercellular communication and hence the whole organism can exist and function coordinately. The Wnt signaling pathway belongs among evolutionarily old and conserved molecular pathways and acts in many different processes during development. Moreover, it is necessary for maintenance of adult tissues as it participates in regeneration. Diverse malignancies, where repressive components of the Wnt pathway are non-functional, represent seamy side of the scope. This thesis is based on 4 publications covering Wnt signaling on very multifarious levels. Firstly, I focus on processing of Wnt protein which stands at the beginning of the cascade as extracellular morphogen. Secondly, survival effect of Wnt producing fibroblasts on leukemia cells after induction of apoptosis by ligand TRAIL is discussed. The third issue shows novel components of the Wnt signaling pathway and introduces us into nucleus - "bottom" level of the pathway. 1. Fatty acid modification of Wnt1 and Wnt3a at serine is prerequisite for lipidation at cysteine and is...

The envelope glycoprotein (Env) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) has developed several immune-evasion mechanisms to avoid the induction of neutralising antibodies, including immunodominant non-neutralising epitopes, conformational flexibility of conserved epitopes, and spontaneous subunit dissociation, thus impeding vaccine development. Here, chemical modification of Env-based vaccine antigens is explored to overcome these obstacles. Firstly, covalent fixation of Env by chemical cross-linking was used to stabilise the conformationally flexible structure and prevent subunit dissociation. Cross-linked Env constructs showed reduced binding of many non-neutralising antibodies whilst largely maintaining antibody recognition by broadly neutralising antibodies. Compared to unmodified material, immunisation with some of these cross-linked proteins led to the induction of significantly increased antibody titres targeting the conserved CD4 binding site of Env despite similar overall antibody titres. These refocused antibody responses resulted in increased serum neutralising titres compared to animals receiving unmodified protein. Secondly, an epitope masking strategy was developed to reduce or eliminate the immunogenicity of neutralisation-irrelevant surfaces. This was achieved using site-selective addition of theoretically immunosilent glycoconjugates to lysine residues. Masking of model protein hen egg lysozyme (HEL) led to site-selective loss of antibody binding to the modification sites in vitro, which translated into refocusing of antibody responses from masked to unmasked epitopes in vivo. Mutant HIV-1 and influenza virus surface glycoproteins were designed that had lysine residues removed from close proximity to the respective broadly neutralising epitopes, but added throughout the remaining surface. Masking of these mutant proteins with second-generation glycoconjugates led to predictable perturbations of antibody binding in vitro. However, administration of these modified glycoproteins revealed unexpectedly that the masking glycans were highly immunogenic in vivo. Thus, this strategy may well prove useful if truly non-immunogenic glycoconjugates can be identified. Taken together, these chemical modifications of vaccine antigens may allow focused targeting of specific antigenic regions for increased B cell recognition, and may thus be a valuable tool for vaccine antigen design.

La ligation chimique implique la liaison des molécules de manière covalente pour former un nouveau complexe ayant les propriétés combinées de ses composants individuels. Ainsi, les composés naturels ou synthétiques avec leurs activités individuelles peuvent être conjuguer pour créer des substances possédant des caractéristiques uniques. Un domaine d' intérêt particulier à ces procédures est le marquage de protéines. Afin de simplifier et d'accélérer la découverte de nouvelles réactions de ligation bioselectives, nous avons conçu un système de screening rapide pour attribuer de la sélectivité et de la réactivité d'un groupement fonctionnel vers une série de dérivés d'acides aminés traçable. Une fonction chimique à propriétés prometteuse – 3-arylpropiolonitrile (APN) – a été identifiée. Les études comparatives ont démontré que cette technique offrait une meilleure sélectivité et stabilité par rapport à la technologie classique basée sur l’utilisation du groupement maléimide. L’utilisation de l’APN permet d’obtenir des bioconjugués propres et résistants à la décomposition, ce qui est d’une importance cruciale pour les applications médicales. Étude structure-réactivité nous a permis d'optimiser ses propriétés et de préparer une série de sondes fonctionnelles, dont un a été utilisé pour tester la sélectivité d'APN sur les mélanges modèles de peptides. De plus, les APN ont été trouvés à posséder une sélectivité élevée vers sélénocystéine: un acide aminé rare mais très important présent dans de nombreux enzymes actives. Une série des APN a été testée pour son activité inhibitrice envers une enzyme contenant sélénocystéine – thiorédoxine réductase – et s'est révélé posséder des activités élevées Enfin, une approche combinatoire de type split and mix a été développée visant à identifier des séquences peptidiques possédant la réactivité élevée avec les réactifs biosélectifs déjà connus. / Chemical ligation involves the linking of molecules in covalent manner to form a novel complex having the combined properties of its individual components. Thus, natural or synthetic compounds with their individual activities can be chemically combined to create unique substances possessing carefully engineered characteristics. A field of especial interest in such ligation procedures is protein labeling.To accelerate the discovery of new bioselective ligation reactions, we designed a screening system for fast assigning of the selectivity and reactivity of a given functional group owards series of UVGtraceable amino acid derivatives. As a result of our screening a promising cysteineGselective scaffold–3Garylpropiolonitrile (APN)–was identified. Its remarkable selectivity, high reactivity and of both starting and addition products in aqueous and organic media represents an important advantage compared to methodologies classically used for cysteine tagging. StructureGreactivity study allowed us to optimise its properties and toprepare a series of funcional probes, one of which was used for!an accurate test of APN selectivity on model mixtures of peptides. Furthermore, APN were found to possess an elevated selectivity towards selenocysteine:ararebut very important amino!acid found in many active enzymes.A series of APN was tested for their inhibitory activity towards one of such selenocysteineGcontaining enzyme–thioredoxine reductase–and was found to possess promising activities, which however still must be!optimised.Lastly, a screening system devoted to the discovery of reagents reactivity towards a sequence of amino acid residue was elaborated and allowed us to determine presumable discrepancy in reactivity of APN depending on the amino acid residue neighbouring the cysteine moiety. Such difference in reactivity may represent an important advantage for bioconjugation, and is currently under further investigation.