alpha-tocopherol is the most abundant form of vitamin E in human plasma and tissues. Inter-individual differences in plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration or its response to dietary alpha-tocopherol may be due, in part, to polymorphisms in vitamin E metabolism genes (alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (alpha-TTP), tocopherol associated protein (TAP) and CYP4F2). The thesis objectives were to determine whether common polymorphisms in the alpha-TTP (rs6994076 A>T), TAP (rs2072157 C>T and Arg11Lys) and CYP4F2 (Val433Met) genes influence plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration or modify the association between dietary and plasma alpha-tocopherol. Subjects (n=1248), 20 to 29 years from the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health study completed a food frequency questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were used for genotyping and to measure plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration. The alpha-TTP and TAP Arg11Lys polymorphisms significantly altered plasma alpha-tocopherol. The alpha-TTP polymorphism only influenced plasma alpha-tocopherol in individuals not using supplements. None of the polymorphisms examined modified the plasma alpha-tocopherol response to dietary alpha-tocopherol.

alpha-tocopherol is the most abundant form of vitamin E in human plasma and tissues. Inter-individual differences in plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration or its response to dietary alpha-tocopherol may be due, in part, to polymorphisms in vitamin E metabolism genes (alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (alpha-TTP), tocopherol associated protein (TAP) and CYP4F2). The thesis objectives were to determine whether common polymorphisms in the alpha-TTP (rs6994076 A>T), TAP (rs2072157 C>T and Arg11Lys) and CYP4F2 (Val433Met) genes influence plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration or modify the association between dietary and plasma alpha-tocopherol. Subjects (n=1248), 20 to 29 years from the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health study completed a food frequency questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were used for genotyping and to measure plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration. The alpha-TTP and TAP Arg11Lys polymorphisms significantly altered plasma alpha-tocopherol. The alpha-TTP polymorphism only influenced plasma alpha-tocopherol in individuals not using supplements. None of the polymorphisms examined modified the plasma alpha-tocopherol response to dietary alpha-tocopherol.

DNA is the code for all life. Via intermediary RNA the information encoded by the genome is relayed to proteins executing the various functions in a cell. Together, this repertoire of inherently linked biological macromolecules determines all characteristics and features of a cell. Technological advancements during the last decades have enabled the pursuit of novel types of studies and the investigation of the cell and its constituents at a progressively higher level of detail. This has shed light on numerous cellular processes and on the underpinnings of several diseases. For the majority of studies focusing on nucleic acids, an amplification step has to be implemented before an analysis, scoring or interrogation method translates the amplified material into relevant biological information. This information can, for instance, be the genotype of particular SNPs or STRs, or the abundance level of a set of interesting transcripts. As such, amplification plays a significant role in nucleic acid assays. Over the years, a number of techniques – most notably PCR – has been devised to meet this amplification need, specifically or randomly multiplying desired regions. However, many of the approaches do not scale up easily rendering comprehensive studies cumbersome, time-consuming and necessitating large quantities of material.Trinucleotide threading (TnT) – forming the red thread throughout this thesis – is a multiplex amplification method, enabling simultaneous targeted amplification of several nucleic acid regions in a specific manner. TnT begins with a controlled linear DNA thread formation, each type of thread corresponding to a segment of interest, by a gap-fill reaction using a restricted trinucleotide set. The whole collection of created threads is subsequently subjected to an exponential PCR amplification employing a single primer pair. The generated material can thereafter be analyzed with a multitude of readout and detection platforms depending on the issue or characteristic under consideration.TnT offers a high level of specificity by harnessing the inherent specificities of a polymerase and a ligase acting on a nucleotide set encompassing three out of the four nucleotide types. Accordingly, several erroneous events have to occur in order to produce artifacts. This necessitates override of a number of control points.The studies constituting this thesis demonstrate integration of the TnT amplification strategy in assays for analysis of various aspects of DNA and RNA. TnT was adapted for expression profiling of intermediately-sized gene sets using both conventional DNA microarrays and massively parallel second generation 454 sequencing for readout. TnT, in conjunction with 454 sequencing, was also employed for allelotyping, defined as determination of allele frequencies in a cohort. In this study, 147 SNPs were simultaneously assayed in a pool comprising genomic DNA of 462 individuals. Finally, TnT was recruited for parallel amplification of STR loci with detection relying on capillary gel electrophoresis. In all investigations, the material generated with TnT was of sufficient quality and quantity to produce reliable and accurate biological information.Taken together, TnT represents a viable multiplex amplification technique permitting parallel amplification of genomic segments, for instance harboring polymorphisms, or of expressed genes. In addition to these, this versatile amplification module can be implemented in assays targeting a range of other features of genomes and transcriptomes. / QC 20100819

Height is a complex physical trait that displays strong heritability. Adult height is related to length of the long bones, which is determined by growth at the epiphyseal growth plate. Longitudinal bone growth occurs via the process of endochondral ossification, where bone forms over the differentiating cartilage template at the growth plate. Estrogen plays a major role in regulating longitudinal bone growth and is responsible for inducing the pubertal growth spurt and fusion of the epiphyseal growth plate. However, the mechanism by which estrogen promotes epiphyseal fusion is poorly understood. It has been hypothesised that estrogen functions to regulate growth plate fusion by stimulating chondrocyte apoptosis, angiogenesis and bone cell invasion in the growth plate. Another theory has suggested that estrogen exposure exhausts the proliferative capacity of growth plate chondrocytes, which accelerates the process of chondrocyte senescence, leading to growth plate fusion. The overall objective of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind estrogen-mediated growth and height attainment by examining gene regulation in chondrocytes and the role of some of these genes in normal height inheritance. With the heritability of height so well established, the initial hypothesis was that genetic variation in candidate genes associated with longitudinal bone growth would be involved in normal adult height variation. The height-related genes FGFR3, CBFA1, ER and CBFA1 were screened for novel polymorphisms using denaturing HPLC and RFLP analysis. In total, 24 polymorphisms were identified. Two SNPs in ER (rs3757323 C>T and rs1801132 G>C) were strongly associated with adult male height and displayed an 8 cm and 9 cm height difference between homozygous genotypes, respectively. The TC haplotype of these SNPs was associated with a 6 cm decrease in height and remarkably, no homozygous carriers of the TC haplotype were identified in tall subjects. No significant associations with height were found for polymorphisms in the FGFR3, CBFA1 or VDR genes. In the epiphyseal growth plate, chondrocyte proliferation, matrix synthesis and chondrocyte hypertrophy are all major contributors to long bone growth. As estrogen plays such a significant role in both growth and final height attainment, another hypothesis of this study was that estrogen exerted its effects in the growth plate by influencing chondrocyte proliferation and mediating the expression of chondrocyte marker genes. The examination of genes regulated by estrogen in chondrocyte-like cells aimed to identify potential regulators of growth plate fusion, which may further elucidate mechanisms involved in the cessation of linear growth. While estrogen did not dramatically alter the proliferation of the SW1353 cell line, gene expression experiments identified several estrogen regulated genes. Sixteen chondrocyte marker genes were examined in response to estrogen concentrations ranging from 10-12 M to 10-8 M over varying time points. Of the genes analysed, IHH, FGFR3, collagen II and collagen X were not readily detectable and PTHrP, GHR, ER, BMP6, SOX9 and TGF1 mRNAs showed no significant response to estrogen treatments. However, the expression of MMP13, CBFA1, BCL-2 and BAX genes were significantly decreased. Interestingly, the majority of estrogen regulated genes in SW1353 cells are expressed in the hypertrophic zone of the growth plate. Estrogen is also known to regulate systemic GH secretion and local GH action. At the molecular level, estrogen functions to inhibit GH action by negatively regulating GH signalling. GH treated SW1353 cells displayed increases in MMP9 mRNA expression (4.4-fold) and MMP13 mRNA expression (64-fold) in SW1353 cells. Increases were also detected in their respective proteins. Treatment with AG490, an established JAK2 inhibitor, blocked the GH mediated stimulation of both MMP9 and MMP13 mRNA expression. The application of estrogen and GH to SW1353 cells attenuated GH-stimulated MMP13 levels, but did not affect MMP9 levels. Investigation of GH signalling revealed that SW1353 cells have high levels of activated JAK2 and exposure to GH, estrogen, AG490 and other signalling inhibitors did not affect JAK2 phosphorylation. Interestingly, AG490 treatment dramatically decreased ERK2 signalling, although GH did stimulate ERK2 phosphorylation above control levels. AG490 also decreased CBFA1 expression, a transcription factor known to activate MMP9 and MMP13. Finally, GH and estrogen treatment increased expression of SOCS3 mRNA, suggesting that SOCS3 may regulate JAK/STAT signalling in SW1353 cells. The modulation of GH-mediated MMP expression by estrogen in SW1353 cells represents a potentially novel mechanism by which estrogen may regulate longitudinal bone growth. However, further investigation is required in order to elucidate the precise mechanisms behind estrogen and GH regulation of MMP13 expression in SW1353 cells. This study has provided additional evidence that estrogen and the ER gene are major factors in the regulation of growth and the determination of adult height. Newly identified polymorphisms in the ER gene not only contribute to our understanding of the genetic basis of human height, but may also be useful in association studies examining other complex traits. This study also identified several estrogen regulated genes and indicated that estrogen modifies the expression of genes which are primarily expressed in the hypertrophic region of the epiphyseal growth plate. Furthermore, synergistic studies incorporating GH and estrogen have revealed the ability of estrogen to attenuate the effects of GH on MMP13 expression, revealing potential pathways by which estrogen may modulate growth plate fusion, longitudinal bone growth and even arthritis.

A infecção pelo vírus da hepatite C (VHC) é uma das mais comuns infecções ao redor do mundo. Aproximadamente, 20% dos pacientes infectados eliminam espontaneamente o vírus, porém a maioria dos indivíduos infectados desenvolve infecção crônica com amplo espectro de lesões hepáticas, desde inflamação leve até cirrose. A resposta imune do hospedeiro exerce grande influência sobre o desfecho da infecção pelo VHC. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a influência dos polimorfismos genéticos de citocinas na susceptibilidade ou persistência da infecção por VHC e no clareamento espontâneo em uma amostra de pacientes da população do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). Os polimorfismos genéticos das citocinas TNFA (-308), TGFB1 (codon 10 e 25), IL10 (-1082, -592), IL6 (-174) e IFNG (+874) foram analisados por PCR-SSP em 245 pacientes com hepatite C crônica (HCC), 41 pacientes que alcançaram o clareamento viral espontâneo e 189 indivíduos controle saudáveis. Além disso, os polimorfismos próximos ao gene da citocina IL28B (rs12979860, rs12980275 e rs8099917) foram analisados por PCR em tempo real em todos os grupos. O grau de fibrose e inflamação, a resposta ao tratamento e o genótipo do vírus também foram levados em consideração quanto ao desfecho da HCC Os genótipos IL28B rs12979860 CC e CT e rs12980275 AA e AG foram significativamente associados ao clareamento espontâneo e à resposta à terapia anti-viral. Da mesma forma, o alelo C (rs12979860) e o alelo A (rs12980275) foram significativamente maior no grupo Clareamento. O alelo C de IL6 (-174) foi associado com o Clareamento. Nenhuma associação entre as demais citocinas e o desfecho da HCC foi encontrada. O Genótipo TNFA (-308) GG parece estar associado com menor grau de inflamação. Além disso, a etnia auto declarada influencia a distribuição dos polimorfismos em IL6 (-174) e IL28B rs12979860 e rs8099917. Nossas observações indicam que os polimorfismos próximos ao gene da IL28B estão associados com o clareamento viral e resposta ao tratamento na população do Rio de Janeiro. Além disso, nossos resultados podem ser úteis para futuras investigações entre os polimorfismos de citocinas e a infecção por VHC numa população heterogênea como a Brasileira. / Hepatitis C virus infection is one of the most common blood-borne infections worldwide. Approximately, 20% of infected patients successfully eliminate the virus, whereas the majority of patients develop chronic infection with a wide spectrum of liver lesions, ranging from a minimal inflammation to cirrhosis. The host's immune response is an important correlate of HCV infection outcome and disease progression. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of the inheritance of cytokine gene polymorphisms as a candidate for susceptibility to persistent HCV infection or HCV clearance in a sample of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) population. Genetic polymorphisms in the cytokines TNFA (-308), TGFB1 (codon 10 and 25), IL10 (-1082, -592), IL6 (-174) and IFNG (+874) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (SSP) in 245 chronic hepatitis C (HCC) patients, 41 spontaneous recovery (SR) patients and 189 healthy volunteers. Further, IL28B (rs12979860, rs12980275 and rs8099917) were assessed by real-time PCR in all groups. Liver fibrosis and inflammation staging, response to treatment and virus genotype were also tested to influence in HCV chronic infection. IL28B rs12989760 CC and rs12980275 AA genotypes were significantly associated with spontaneous recovery of HCV infection and response to therapy. Likewise, C allele (rs12979860) and A allele (rs12980275) were also more frequent in SR group, while C allele of IL6 (-174) is associated with persistence to HCC. No association was found between other cytokine gene polymorphism and susceptibility to HCV infection and response to treatment. Multivariate analysis showed male, IL28B rs12979860 CT and TT and TGFB1 (codon 10) TC genotypes to be factors associated with HCC. TNFA (-308) GG genotype seems to be associated with moderate stage of inflammation. Also, ethnicity according self-declared is supposed to influence the distribution IL6 (-174) and IL28B rs12979860 and rs8099917 polymorphisms. These results suggest that the IL28B polymorphisms are associated with spontaneous clearance of HCV and response to therapy in a Brazilian population. Moreover, these results could be useful to further association between cytokine polymorphism and HCV infection outcome in Brazilian admixture population.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:42:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1165643 bytes, checksum: afd121bfd728867f85eb3916457d8ba4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A qualidade do sêmen de reprodutores suínos pode ser avaliada de acordo com vários critérios, sendo a motilidade espermática o mais utilizado e importante. A motilidade, essencial para a fertilização, refere-se ao movimento retilíneo dos espermatozóides. Apesar da importância da avaliação de características de qualidade do sêmen de reprodutores, tradicionalmente estes animais têm sido selecionados com ênfase em características de carcaça e crescimento, com pouca atenção dispensada à sua capacidade reprodutiva. Devido ao fato de características seminais poderem ser avaliadas nos reprodutores somente após a puberdade, técnicas moleculares e genotipagem dos animais utilizando chips de alta densidade de marcadores SNPs poderiam ser utilizados como ferramentas para avaliar e melhorar a seleção para fertilidade e qualidade de sêmen em reprodutores suínos em uma idade jovem. O estudo de associação genômica ampla (GWAS) requer o conhecimento de uma associação entre um marcador genético e alguma variação no fenótipo e assume que associação significativa pode ser detectada porque os SNPs estão em desequilíbrio de ligação (LD) com as mutações causais para as características de interesse, a nível de população. Assim, este estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de identificar, através do GWAS, marcadores SNPs e genes candidatos relacionados com motilidade espermática em duas diferentes linhas de suínos. Os dados fenotípicos são provenientes de avaliações repetidas de motilidade de espermatozóides logo após a coleta do sêmen através do método denominado CASA (Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis). Animais de duas linhas (linha 1, n=760 animais da raça Landrace e linha 2, n=645 animais da raça Large White) foram fenotipados para a construção do arquivo de dados, que possui 32884 observações para a linha 1 e 32576 para a linha 2. Um total de 1507 animais da linha 1 e 1383 animais da linha 2 foram genotipados com o uso do chip de 60K da Illumina®. Os valores genéticos dos animais foram estimados utilizando o programa ASREML e os valores genéticos desregressados foram calculados para serem utilizados no GWAS. Após o controle de qualidade, 42551 SNPs e 602 animais genotipados (linha 1) e 40890 SNPs e 525 animais genotipados (linha 2) foram utilizados no GWAS. SNPs que possuíram q-valores baseados na taxa de falsos descobertos (FDR) menores ou iguais a 0.05 foram considerados significativos. Para a linha 1 não foram encontrados SNPs significativos relacionados com motilidade. Já para a linha 2, seis SNPs localizados no cromossomo 1 (SSC1) foram significativamente relacionados com a característica estudada. Essa diferença pode ser explicada pela baixa correlação (r = 0.0926) entre os valores de LD entre marcadores calculados para as duas linhas na região que abrange os seis SNPs significativos. O alto valor médio de r2 (r2 = 0.7275), calculado para medir o LD entre os seis SNPs significativos para a linha 2, revela que todos esses SNPs podem estar ligados a um mesmo QTL. O gene metionil-tRNA formiltransferase mitocondrial (MTFMT) é um possível gene candidato controlando a característica. Esse estudo fornece marcadores SNPs e um gene candidato associados com motilidade espermática em suínos. No entanto, por ser o primeiro trabalho a encontrar tais marcadores relacionados com motilidade espermática em suínos em uma nova região do SSC1, é necessária replicação e validação do estudo em outra população para confirmação dos resultados encontrados a fim de incluir tais informações na seleção de melhores animais. / The boar semen quality can be evaluated according to several parameters. Sperm motility is the most widely used and important test. Sperm motility, essential for fertility, is measured as the proportion of sperm cells with a straightforward movement. Despite its importance, traditionally boar selection has been done based on growth rate and carcass traits and little attention has been given on their semen quantity and quality. Because reproductive traits and sperm quality traits can only be measured on boars after puberty, molecular techniques and animal genotyping using chips with high density of SNP markers could be used to evaluate and improve selection on boar fertility at a young age. The Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) requires knowledge of an association of a genetic marker with some variation in phenotype and it assumes that significant association can be detected because the SNPs are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the causative mutations for the traits of interest at the population level. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objective of performing a GWAS in order to find markers and candidate genes in the pig genome associated with sperm motility in two different pig lines. The phenotypic data consisted of repeated records of fresh sperm motility evaluated with CASA (Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis), obtained from two pure dam lines: a Landrace based line (line 1), n=760 animals and a Large White based line (line 2), n=645. The phenotypic database had in total 32,884 observations for line 1 and 32,576 observations for line 2, with 43.27 ± 36.81 observations per animal for line 1 and 50.51 ± 39.15 observations per animal for line 2. The PorcineSNP60 Beadchip of Illumina (San Diego, CA, USA, Ramos et al., 2009) was used to identify the association between sperm motility and the SNP markers. After quality control, a total of 42,551 SNPs and 602 genotyped animals (line 1) and 40,890 SNPs and 525 animals (line 2) were used in the association analyses. A False Discovery Rate based q-value of 0.05 was used as threshold for significant association. Six SNPs on pig chromosome 1 (SSC1) were significantly associated with the trait in line 2, whereas no SNPs were considered significantly associated with the trait in line 1. This difference can be explained by the low correlation (r = 0.0926) between the LD measurements (r2) between markers located in the region covering the six significant SNPs for line 2, calculated for both lines. The high average value of r2 (r2 = 0.7275), calculated to measure the LD between the six significant SNPs for line 2 reveals that all these SNPs may be linked to one QTL. The mitochondrial methionyl-tRNA formyltransferase (MTFMT) is a possible candidate gene affecting sperm motility on SSC1. This study provides some SNPs markers and a candidate gene associated with the trait of interest in a novel region on SSC1. However, replication, validation in another population and confirmation of published QTL or candidate genes related to boar sperm motility in the same region that we found in this study is necessary before using such information in selection.

A infecção pelo vírus da hepatite C (VHC) é uma das mais comuns infecções ao redor do mundo. Aproximadamente, 20% dos pacientes infectados eliminam espontaneamente o vírus, porém a maioria dos indivíduos infectados desenvolve infecção crônica com amplo espectro de lesões hepáticas, desde inflamação leve até cirrose. A resposta imune do hospedeiro exerce grande influência sobre o desfecho da infecção pelo VHC. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a influência dos polimorfismos genéticos de citocinas na susceptibilidade ou persistência da infecção por VHC e no clareamento espontâneo em uma amostra de pacientes da população do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). Os polimorfismos genéticos das citocinas TNFA (-308), TGFB1 (codon 10 e 25), IL10 (-1082, -592), IL6 (-174) e IFNG (+874) foram analisados por PCR-SSP em 245 pacientes com hepatite C crônica (HCC), 41 pacientes que alcançaram o clareamento viral espontâneo e 189 indivíduos controle saudáveis. Além disso, os polimorfismos próximos ao gene da citocina IL28B (rs12979860, rs12980275 e rs8099917) foram analisados por PCR em tempo real em todos os grupos. O grau de fibrose e inflamação, a resposta ao tratamento e o genótipo do vírus também foram levados em consideração quanto ao desfecho da HCC Os genótipos IL28B rs12979860 CC e CT e rs12980275 AA e AG foram significativamente associados ao clareamento espontâneo e à resposta à terapia anti-viral. Da mesma forma, o alelo C (rs12979860) e o alelo A (rs12980275) foram significativamente maior no grupo Clareamento. O alelo C de IL6 (-174) foi associado com o Clareamento. Nenhuma associação entre as demais citocinas e o desfecho da HCC foi encontrada. O Genótipo TNFA (-308) GG parece estar associado com menor grau de inflamação. Além disso, a etnia auto declarada influencia a distribuição dos polimorfismos em IL6 (-174) e IL28B rs12979860 e rs8099917. Nossas observações indicam que os polimorfismos próximos ao gene da IL28B estão associados com o clareamento viral e resposta ao tratamento na população do Rio de Janeiro. Além disso, nossos resultados podem ser úteis para futuras investigações entre os polimorfismos de citocinas e a infecção por VHC numa população heterogênea como a Brasileira. / Hepatitis C virus infection is one of the most common blood-borne infections worldwide. Approximately, 20% of infected patients successfully eliminate the virus, whereas the majority of patients develop chronic infection with a wide spectrum of liver lesions, ranging from a minimal inflammation to cirrhosis. The host's immune response is an important correlate of HCV infection outcome and disease progression. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of the inheritance of cytokine gene polymorphisms as a candidate for susceptibility to persistent HCV infection or HCV clearance in a sample of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) population. Genetic polymorphisms in the cytokines TNFA (-308), TGFB1 (codon 10 and 25), IL10 (-1082, -592), IL6 (-174) and IFNG (+874) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (SSP) in 245 chronic hepatitis C (HCC) patients, 41 spontaneous recovery (SR) patients and 189 healthy volunteers. Further, IL28B (rs12979860, rs12980275 and rs8099917) were assessed by real-time PCR in all groups. Liver fibrosis and inflammation staging, response to treatment and virus genotype were also tested to influence in HCV chronic infection. IL28B rs12989760 CC and rs12980275 AA genotypes were significantly associated with spontaneous recovery of HCV infection and response to therapy. Likewise, C allele (rs12979860) and A allele (rs12980275) were also more frequent in SR group, while C allele of IL6 (-174) is associated with persistence to HCC. No association was found between other cytokine gene polymorphism and susceptibility to HCV infection and response to treatment. Multivariate analysis showed male, IL28B rs12979860 CT and TT and TGFB1 (codon 10) TC genotypes to be factors associated with HCC. TNFA (-308) GG genotype seems to be associated with moderate stage of inflammation. Also, ethnicity according self-declared is supposed to influence the distribution IL6 (-174) and IL28B rs12979860 and rs8099917 polymorphisms. These results suggest that the IL28B polymorphisms are associated with spontaneous clearance of HCV and response to therapy in a Brazilian population. Moreover, these results could be useful to further association between cytokine polymorphism and HCV infection outcome in Brazilian admixture population.

Introdução. A paracoccidioidomicose (PCM) é uma micose sistêmica crônica, endêmica na América Latina, principalmente Brasil, sendo a oitava causa de morte entre as doenças infecciosas crônicas recorrentes. A PCM infecção é caracterizada por uma resposta Th1, a forma aguda por um perfil misto da resposta Th2/Th9, enquanto na forma crônica caracteriza-se pelo perfil Th17/Th22. A ocorrência e gravidade da PCM humana podem também estar associadas a fatores genéticos como os polimorfismos dos genes de citocinas. Objetivos. 1. Descrever a frequência dos polimorfismos de (SNPs) IFNG +874 T/A, IL12B 3\' UTR +1188 A/C e IL12RB1 11014 A/G no éxon 7 em pacientes e controles; 2. Investigar a associação entre esses polimorfismos e as diferentes formas clínicas da micose; 3. Verificar se há associação entre esses polimorfismos e a secreção das citocinas IFN-y, IL-12p40 e IL-12p70. Materiais e Métodos. 143 pacientes com PCM foram incluídos (40 com a forma aguda, 100 com a forma crônica multifocal e 17 unifocal). Critérios de inclusão: ter doença ativa (DA) comprovada por exame micológico ou histopatológico positivo ou presença de anticorpos anti-Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (>= 1/32 por contraimunoeletroforese) ou ter doença curada/tratada (CT) quando comprovada anteriormente pelos critérios de DA e atualmente com títulos de anticorpos estáveis e <= 4 em dois períodos com intervalo >= 6 meses. Analisaram-se os SNPs IFNG pela técnica de PCR-ARMS (\"Polymerase Chain Reaction - Amplification Refractory Mutational System\"), IL12B e IL12RB1 por RFLP (\"PCR-Restriction Fragment Lenght Polymorphism\"). Para a dosagem de citocinas foram utilizadas as técnicas de ELISA (n=29) e CBA (\"Cytometric Bead Array\"; n= 18), sendo considerados estatisticamente significantes, os valores de p < 0,05 para os testes de x2 e o teste de Kruskal-Wallis, com pós-teste de Dunn. Resultados. O genótipo AA do SNP IL12RB1 foi mais frequente na forma crônica multifocal e o genótipo AG, na forma unifocal masculina (p= 0,048). À análise desta forma clínica entre ambos os sexos, o genótipo AG foi também mais frequente no sexo masculino (p= 0,009). Segundo a etnia, foi demonstrada diferença estatisticamente significante nas frequências dos genótipos e alelos dos SNPs IFNG e IL12RB1 (p < 0,05). Em relação às formas clínicas da PCM, houve similaridade nas frequências dos genótipos e alelos dos SNPs estudados. Quanto aos níveis das citocinas, para os SNPs IFNG, IL12B e IL12RB1, maiores níveis de secreção de citocinas, frente a PHA, foram registrados nos grupos CT e CO em relação ao DA, sugerindo relação com a evolução da doença e com a imunossupressão já descrita na doença ativa. Conclusão. Não houve associação entre os SNPs IFNG, IL12B e IL12RB1 e as diferentes formas da doença quando todos os pacientes foram analisados; no sexo masculino, sugere-se que o genótipo AA esteja associado à doença crônica mais disseminada (IL12RB1). Houve diferença significante entre as etnias nos SNPs IFNG e IL12RB1, sugerindo-se a ampliação do número de pacientes em determinadas etnias e na forma clínica unifocal para melhor compreensão dessas associações / Introduction. Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic chronic mycosis, endemic in Latin America, mainly in Brazil where it is the eighth cause of death among chronic recurrent infectious diseases. PCM infection is characterized by the Th1 immune response, the acute form, by a mixed Th2/Th9 profile, while the chronic form is characterized by Th17/Th22 profile. The occurrence and severity of human PCM can also be associated with genetic factors such as polymorphisms on genes of cytokines. Objectives. 1. To describe the frequencies of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) IFNG +874 T/A, IL12B 3\'UTR +1188 A/C and IL12RB1 11014 A/G on exon 7, on patients with PCM and non-PCM controls; 2. To investigate the association between those SNPs and the different clinical forms of PCM. 3. To verify the possible association between those SNPs and the secretion of the cytokines IFN-?, IL-12p40 and IL12p70. Materials and Methods. 143 patients with PCM were included (40 with acute form, 100 with multifocal chronic form and 17 unifocal). Inclusion criteria: active disease (DA) proved by fungal identification on direct microscopy/histopathology or culture, or presence of antibodies antiParacoccidioides brasiliensis ( >= 1/32 by counterimmunoelectrophoresis) or cured/treated disease (CT) when previously proved by criteria of DA and present stable antibodies titles =6 months in between. The SNP IFNG was analyzed by PCR-ARMS (Polymerase Chain Reaction - Amplification Refractory Mutational System) and the SNPs IL12B and IL12RB1 by PCR-RFLP (PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism). The levels of cytokines were detected by ELISA (n= 29) and CBA (Cytometric Bead Array; n= 18) and values of p < 0.05 for ?2 test and Kruskal-Wallis\' test, with Dunn\'s post-test were considered statistically significant. Results. The AA genotype of SNP IL12RB1 was the most frequent in the multifocal chronic form while the AG was more frequent in men with the unifocal chronic form of PCM (p = 0.048). On this clinical form in the comparison between genres, the AG genotype was also more frequent in men (p= 0.009). On ethnicity, it was demonstrated statistical difference between the frequencies of genotypes and alleles of SNPs IFNG and IL12RB1 (p < 0.05). In the comparison between the clinical forms of PCM, the frequencies of genotypes and alleles of the evaluated SNPs were similar. On the levels of cytokines, for SNPs IFNG, IL12B and IL12RB1, increased levels of cytokines were observed with PHA on the CT and CO groups compared with DA, suggesting a connection with the evolution of the disease and the previously described immunosuppression during active disease. Conclusion. There was no association between the SNPs IFNG, IL12B and IL12RB1 and the different forms of PCM when all patients were analyzed; among men, it is suggested that the AA genotype of IL12RB1 is associated with a more disseminated chronic disease. There was a significant difference between the ethnicities on SNPs IFNG and IL12RB1, being the latter also associated with the chronic form in men. The increase in the number of patients in certain ethnic groups and in the unifocal clinical form of PCM might help the better understanding of these associations

Submitted by Vasti Diniz (vastijpa@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-06T12:44:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1491913 bytes, checksum: 48f18b769a4ddee1245aef6c202388b1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-06T12:44:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1491913 bytes, checksum: 48f18b769a4ddee1245aef6c202388b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is a frequent neoplasm in humans and its main etiological factor is exposure to solar radiation. Although genetic and epigenetic changes can activate proto-oncogenes, inactivate tumor suppressor genes and repair mechanism genes, the cell has several mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of genomic stability. Mutations in repair genes can lead to tumor progression and loss of genome integrity leading to the onset of cancer. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is an important mechanism primarily used to repair injuries caused by UV. The objective of this study was to evaluate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of XPA and XPC genes and the risk of developing BCC. One hundred samples of paraffined tissue from patients from the State of Paraíba with histopathological diagnosis of BCC were analyzed for each polymorphism. The results were obtained by a newly developed genotyping method, the Dideoxy Unique Allele Specific - PCR, a method that presents high sensitivity and low cost. Graphpad Prism 6.01 software was used for the statistical analysis and application of Chi-square and Fisher's exact test. The SNP rs535425175 of the XPC gene showed a significant association with the BCC in the analyzed samples (X2 = 14.51 and P <0.005). Whereas the SNPs rs745769173 of the XPA gene and rs761106780 of the XPC gene are in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, not showing any association with the neoplasia. The results suggest that the SNP rs535425175 of the XPC gene may be considered a risk factor associated with the development of BCC. / O Carcinoma Basocelular (CBC) é uma neoplasia frequente em seres humanos e seu principal fator etiológico é a exposição à radiação solar. Embora alterações genéticas e epigenéticas possam ativar proto-oncogenes, inativar genes supressores de tumor e genes do mecanismo de reparo, a célula apresenta vários mecanismos que contribuem para a manutenção da estabilidade genômica. Mutações em genes de reparo podem levar a progressão tumoral e à perda da integridade do genoma levando ao surgimento do câncer. O reparo por excisão de nucleotídeo (NER) é um importante mecanismo utilizado principalmente para reparar lesões causadas por UV. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar polimorfismos de nucleotídeo único (SNP) dos genes XPA e XPC e o risco de desenvolver CBC. Foram analisadas 100 amostras de tecido parafinado de pacientes do Estado da Paraíba com diagnóstico histopatológico de CBC para cada polimorfismo. Os resultados foram obtidos por um método de genotipagem recentemente desenvolvido, o Didesoxi Único Alelo Específico – PCR, método que apresenta alta sensibilidade e de baixo custo. O software Graphpad Prism 6.01 foi utilizado para as análises estatísticas e aplicação de teste Qui-quadrado e Exato de Fisher. O SNP rs535425175 do gene XPC apresentou associação significativa com o CBC nas amostras analisadas (X2=14,51 e P<0,005). Enquanto que os SNP rs745769173 do gene XPA e rs761106780 do gene XPC estão no equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg, não apresentando associação com a neoplasia. Os resultados sugerem que o SNP rs535425175 do gene XPC pode ser considerado um fator de risco associado ao desenvolvimento de CBC. Palavras-chaves: Carcinoma Basocelular, Família XP, Reparo por excisão de nucleotídeo, Polimorfismo de nucleotídeo único, Genotipagem. VII

55 Abstract Frequency of selected genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 in the Czech population and the influence of CYP2C9 genotype on the hypolipidemic effect of fluvastatin Introduction: One of the main factors of genetically determined variability in response of humans to administered drugs are differences in catalytic activity of metabolizing enzymes, which are caused mainly by genetic polymorphisms in cytochrom P450 family enzymes. This thesis consists of two parts and it is presented as a commentary to the original papers. The first aim was to investigate the frequency of functionally important variant alleles of three main isoenzymes of cytochrome P450 gene: CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, throughout the Czech population, predict the prevalence of poor metabolizer phenotypes, and then to compare the results to the data from other populations. Secondly, we analysed the correlation between the CYP2C9 genotype and cholesterol-lowering effect of fluvastatin in human hypercholesterolemic patients. Methods: Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP. The presence of alleles CYP2D6*1, *6, *5, *4, *3, and gene duplication was analysed in 233 healthy volunteers, CYP2C9*1, *2 and*3 in 254 subjects and CYP2C19*1, *2 and *2 in 218 subjects. Eighty seven patients on fluvastatin therapy, and 48 patients on monotherapy...