Ste2p and Ste3p are well-characterized yeast pheromone G-protein Coupled Receptors (GPCR) those are involved in the signaling of mating responses that lead to cell fusion. Their signaling–associated interactions with G-protein/MAPK signal transduction machinery are well established, homologous to those in mammalian systems, and serve as a simplified model system in GPCR research. While the arrestin- mediated biased signaling mechanism of mammalian GPCR has not been discovered for the pheromone receptors, a recent demonstration of α-arrestins being involved in the internalization of the pheromone GPCR, Ste2p was reported. The present study was designed to reevaluate and extend the alternate functionality for pheromone receptors and to determine the role of yeast arrestins in the yeast mating. Specific residues in the TM6 of Ste2p exhibiting strong mating and constitutive MAPK signaling were combined and investigated in terms of their effect on MAPK signal transduction leading to cell cycle arrest as well as their impact on downstream mating projection formation and zygote formation events. Our findings indicate that Ste2p possess as specific residues that govern its relative bias for mediating MAPK signaling or mating events. Relative dose response experiments accounting for systemic and observation bias for these mutations yielded evidence of mutational-derived functional biases for Ste2p and further validated the alternate pheromone dependent functionalities for Ste2p. Further, arrestin knockout and knock-in studies showed that Art1 (Ldb19) is selectively involved in the regulation of zygote formation but not MAPK signal transduction following the binding of ligand to Ste2p receptors. In addition, ligand stimulated selective localization of Art1 (Ldb19) to the mating projection, implicating it in the regulation of downstream mating functionalities. Overall, while leaving the full mechanism of alternate/biased Ste2p signaling to be elucidated, these results highlight the possibility of continued relevance of the yeast pheromone-mating pathway as a simplified model for GPCR research in the context of arrestin-mediated biased GPCR signaling.

In this study, self-catalytic maturation of heterologously expressed pro-galactose oxidase was analysed in E.coli by altering some amino acids which were supposed to play a crucial role in pro-peptide removal. Galactose oxidase (GOase / EC 1.1.3.9) from Fusarium graminearum / having a molecular mass of 68kDa, is a monomeric, copper containing enzyme with an unusual thioether bond. The enzyme is produced as a precursor with an additional 8 amino acid pre- and a 17- amino acid pro-sequence at the N terminus. Previous work has shown that the pre-peptide is removed possibly by a protease during secretion, whereas the 17 amino acid pro-peptide is removed autocatalytically by the aerobic addition of Cu2+ to the precursor, preceding the formation of the thioether bond at the active site. The pro-gao gene was on ProGON1 and ProGOMN1 constructs which were previously established on pET101/D/lacZ vector in England by directed evolution. ProGON1 contains silent mutations at the N-terminus different from native galactose oxidase whereas ProGOMN1 has six further mutations within the mature enzyme, providing high expression. The cleavage site mutations R-1P/A1P, R-1X/A1X, S2A, and the H522A mutation just against the cleavage site in the three dimensional configuration, were carried out by site-directed mutagenesis. Those and some extra mutations were confirmed by DNA sequence analysis. Next, mutant galactose oxidases were expressed in E. coli BL21 Star (DE3), and were purified by Strep-Tactin&reg / Sepharose&reg / column, operating on the basis of affinity chromatography. Subsequently, SDS-PAGE was performed to analyze self-processing by detecting molecular mass difference of protein bands resulting from pro-sequence removal or existence. When the bands obtained in SDS-PAGE were compared, it was seen that the products of original recombinant plasmids, i.e. ProGON1, ProGOMN1 / and the mutational variants showed no difference in band size, all slightly above 70kDa / indicating pro-sequence presence on all constructs. Non-mutants and some of the mutants showed galactose oxidase activity, signifying proper active site construction by thioether bond formation. ProGOMN1 was submitted for N-terminal amino acid sequencing to be able to assert that a size above 70kDa is not solely due to the existence of a 1 kDa Strep-tag II at C-terminus. Sequencing data affirmed the presence of both the pre-peptide and the pro-preptide showing that processing has not occurred at the N-terminus. Accordingly, in this study, it was shown for the first time that the existence of a pre-pro-peptide at the N-terminus of galactose oxidase does not prevent thioether bond formation at the active site. Furthermore, since the pro-peptide is cleaved autocatalytically, the lack of removal of the pre-peptide in E.coli in the presence of Cu 2+ and oxygen is very likely to be the cause of lack of pro-peptide cleavage. In future studies the region corresponding to the pre-peptide will be deleted to prove this hypothesis.

Thesis (M.Sc.). / Written for the Dept. of Biochemistry. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2009/06/23). Includes bibliographical references.

Orientador: Carlos Henrique Inacio Ramos / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T11:57:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Regis_WiliamCesarBento_D.pdf: 2288615 bytes, checksum: 63ccd34d93524d993a42e51b4e2f9855 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Os estudos em biologia estrutural avançaram muito nos últimos anos e inúmeras informações, obtidas principalmente por dados cristalográficos, ajudaram no entendimento dos mecanismos de ação e efeito biológico de várias proteínas contudo o caminho que vai da síntese até a estruturação dde uma porteína aidna é pouco conhecido. Uma descrição termodinâmica detalhada de proteínas é fundamental para se entender seu papel biológico e conhecer as interações e forças que determinam o enovelamento. Este é o foco pincipal deste trabalho que utilizou para isso as mioglobinas de baleia e de cavalo. O estudo da apomioglobina se divide quase igualmente entre as proteínas oriundas de espermacete, a qual está clonada, e de cavalo, a qual é obtida comercialmente. Ambas possuem alta homologia e comportamento similar quanto ao enovelamento, assumindo-se em geral que estas proteínas apresentam o mesmo fenômeno no que diz respeito ao enovelamento. Contudo, esta hipótese pode não ser verdadeira, o que torna necessário medir e comparar a estabilidade destas proteínas. Apenas recentemente um método confiável para medir a estabilidade de mioglobina em uma reação reversível foi implantado: análise do desenovelamento por uréia de um derivado ciano de mioglobina em uma faixa de pH limitado. Nossos resultados mostraram que a mioglobina de cavalo é 2,1 kcal/mol menos estável que a mioglobina de espermacete em pH 5,0 e 25 ºC. Além disso, a mioglobina de cavalo agregou em altas concentrações, como medido por experimentos de gel filtração e ultracentrifugação analítica. A alta estabilidade da mioglobina de espermacete foi identificada tanto para a forma apoquanto para a forma holo e se mostrou independente de pH, na faixa de 5 até 8, e da presença de até 200 mM de cloreto de sódio. A substituição dos resíduos de alanina nas posições 15 e 74 por glicina, encontrados na mioglobina de cavalo, diminuiu a estabilidade da proteína em 1,0 kcal/mol. As apoproteínas de mamíferos que mergulham são significativamente mais estáveis do que as apoproteínas de mamíferos terrestres. Este fenômeno pode ser explicado pela suposição de que sob pressão seletiva um acúmulo de mutações que levam a pequenas estabilizações nas características globais de estabilidade das proteínas. Mamíferos que mergulham em grandes profundidades, como a baleia, são expostos a anaerobiose prolongada e conseqüente condições de acidose. Isto pode levar a uma série de acúmulos de mutações que promoverão resistência ao desenovelamento e a perda do grupo heme, fenômenos que podem ocorrer durante a acidose (Tang et al., 1998). Os resultados deste trabalho indicaram que a propensão a formação de hélices é um componente importante para explicar as diferenças de estabilidade entre as mioglobinas de cavalo e de espermacete / Abstract: The work in the literature on the stability and folding pathway of myoglobin is almost equally divided between horse myoglobin, which is available commercially, and sperm whale myoglobin, which must be cloned and expressed. The two proteins share high homology, show similar folding behavior and it is often assumed that all folding phenomena found with one protein will also be found with the other. This assumption may not be true, which makes essential to compare their basic properties, such as stability and dependence on temperature and salt concentration. However, no reliable method have been used to access the precisely difference in stability between these two proteins because it was not possible until recently to measure the stability of holoMb in a reversible unfoldingr efolding reaction. The reversible folding of myoglobin can be measured by using the cyanmet derivative and urea unfolding but only in a limited pH range. We report data at equilibrium showing that horse myoglobin was 2.1 kcal/mol less stable than sperm whale myoglobin at pH 5.0, 25 ºC, and aggregated at high concentrations as measured by gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments. The higher stability of sperm whale myoglobin was identified for both apo and holo forms, and was independent of pH from 5 to 8 and of the presence of sodium chloride. We also show that the substitution of sperm whale myoglobin residues Ala15 and Ala74 to Gly, the residues found at positions 15 and 74 in horse myoglobin, decreased the stability by 1.0 kcal/mol, indicating that helix propensity is an important component of the explanation for the difference in stability between the two proteins / Doutorado / Bioquimica / Doutor em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Orientadores: Maricilda Palandi de Mello, Anna Wedell / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T13:24:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Soardi_FernandaCaroline_D.pdf: 4267789 bytes, checksum: 80c77e1664dcc041014d42a92bdd435e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: A causa mais freqüente de hiperplasia congênita da adrenal (HCA) é a deficiência da enzima CYP21A2 responsável por cerca de 90% dos casos, seguida da deficiência de CYP11B1, a qual é responsável por 5-8%. A deficiência de CYP21A2 apresenta diferentes sintomas clínicos, que podem variar de uma forma leve não clássica (NC) a uma forma grave clássica, dividida em virilizante simples (VS) e perdedora de sal (PS). Enquanto a deficiência de CYP11B1 é classificada nas formas clássica e não-clássica, dependendo da gravidade do fenótipo. As diferentes formas destas deficiências estão associadas a mutações distintas ou a combinação de mutações nos genes, sendo estas mutações provenientes dos genes homólogos ou não. O primeiro objetivo desta tese foi identificar novas mutações em alelos de 31 pacientes. As variantes protéicas novas p.G56R, p.L107R e p.L142P e, as raras p.H62L, p.H62L+p.P453S e p.R408C do gene CYP21A2 foram expressas para comparar as atividades da enzima CYP21A2 nas suas formas normal e mutantes. Foi objetivo, também, estudar através da técnica de mini-genes as possíveis alterações no processo de splicing para as variantes IVS2+5G>A, IVS2-2A>G, IVS4- 15A>C+IVS4-8C>T+p.D183E do gene CYP21A2 e para a variante g.1753G>A do gene CYP11B1. O estudo da atividade enzimática do gene CYP21A2, realizado pela técnica de mutagênese sítio-dirigida, demonstrou que as mutações p.L107R, p.L142P e p.R408C reduziram a atividade enzimática para valores praticamente nulos, classificando-as como responsáveis pela forma PS. A alteração p.G56R apresentou uma quantidade mínima de conversão de progesterona em desoxicorticosterona, quantidade suficiente para evitar a perda de sal, sendo considerada clássica associada à forma VS. A mutação p.H62L foi encontrada no mesmo alelo que a mutação p.P34L, em uma das pacientes da casuística desse trabalho, ambas inseridas num gene quimérico portador da deleção de 30 Kb. A mutação p.H62L também foi encontrada em associação com a mutação p.P453S, em dois pacientes de origem Escandinava. No estudo funcional a mutação p.H62L reduziu parcialmente a atividade enzimática. Os resultados cinéticos classificaram essa mutação como relacionada à forma NC da deficiência de CYP21A2. Em combinação com a mutação p.P453S, observou-se um sinergismo, uma vez que reduziu a atividade da enzima para a faixa limítrofe entre NC e VS. A investigação no processo de splicing utilizando a técnica de minigenes para as alterações no gene CYP21A2 indicou que a variação IVS2+5G>A causa a perda do exon 2 na formação do mRNA, sendo relacionada à forma PS. Da mesma forma, a variação IVS2- 2A>G foi classificada como associada à forma PS, pois inseriu no mRNA 19 bases provenientes do intron 2 na junção exon2-exon3, o que modificou o frame de leitura do mRNA criando um códon de parada prematura. Por outro lado, ficou demonstrado que as variações IVS4- 15A>C+IVS4-8C>T+p.D183E não interferem no processamento normal do mRNA do gene CYP21A2. No caso da alteração g.1753G>A no gene CYP11B1, que foi classificada como responsável pela forma clássica da deficiência de CYP11B1, o estudo de mini-gene indicou a perda dos últimos 45 nucleotídeos do exon 4, criando um códon de parada prematura. A elucidação do papel funcional e estrutural das mutações nos genes estudados permitiu o correto estabelecimento da correlação genótipo-fenótipo na maioria dos pacientes com HCA estudados / Abstract: Deficiency of CYP21A2 enzyme is responsible for more than 90% of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) followed by the deficiency of CYP11B1, which is responsible for 5-8% of the cases. The deficiency of CYP21A2 is normally classified in clinical forms that vary from a mild non-classical (NC) to a severe classical form, which can manifest as salt wasting (SW) or as simple virilizing (SV). Depending on the severity of phenotype, deficiency of CYP11B1 can be classified in classical or non-classical forms. In both deficiencies the clinical forms are associated with different mutations or combination of mutations, which may or may not be originated from the homologous genes. The aim of this study was to identify novel or rare mutations in alleles of 31 patients with CYP21A2 deficiency. Using site-direct mutagenesis strategies, nucleotide variants were introduced into the cDNA and the novel p.G56R, p.L107R and p.L142P and rare p.H62L, p.H62L+p.P453S and p.R408C protein variants of CYP21A2 were expressed to compare the enzymatic activity between the wild-type and mutant proteins. Furthermore, splicing activities were investigated for IVS2+5G>A, IVS2-2A>G, IVS4-15A>C+IVS4-8C>T+p.D183E sequence CTP21A2 variations and for g.1753G>A on CYP11B1 gene by minigene constructions. The analysis of enzymatic conversion of both CYP21A2 substrates, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and progesterone, into 11-desoxycortisol and corticosterone, respectively, showed low levels of residual activities for p.L107R, p.L142P and p.R408C, which were classified as SW mutations. Whereas, the result of enzyme activity for p.G56R indicated that it might be a SV-related mutation due a residual activity of 1.4% toward progesterone as substrate. The p.H62L was associated to p.P34L mutation in a chimeric gene present in a 30-kb deletion allele in Brazilian patients. In Scandinavian patients, the p.H62L mutation was found associated to the p.P453S which is known as a NC mutation. The p.H62L itself showed an activity within the range of NC mutations. The apparent kinetic constant confirmed this classification. A synergistic effect was observed for the allele bearing the p.H62L+p.P453S combination as it had caused a significant reduction in the enzymatic activity bringing it to the borderline level between SV and NC mutations. On the minigene analyses for CYP21A2, the IVS2+5G>A variation showed skipping of exon 2, therefore this alteration was classified as SW mutation. Likely, IVS2-2A>G was considered as a SW mutation due to the insertion of 19 nucleotides from intron 2 into the resulting mRNA, which changed the reading frame and created a premature stop codon. Conversely, the group of variations IVS4-15A>C+IVS4-8C>T+p.D183E did not affect the normal splicing of CYP21A2 mRNA. In the CYP11B1 minigene analysis, the g.1753G>A nucleotide variation was classified as responsible for the classical form of deficiency. An alternative splicing due to disruption of the normal donor site was used and the skipping of the last 45 nucleotides of exon 4 was observed. This alteration modified the mRNA reading frame and created a premature stop codon. The elucidation of functional and structural characters of the steroidogenic gene mutations led to the establishment of a correct genotype-phenotype in most patients studied. / Doutorado / Genetica Animal e Evolução / Doutor em Genetica e Biologia Molecular

Os receptores acoplados à proteína G (GPCRs) são proteínas integrais de membrana caracterizados por possuírem sete alfa-hélices transmembranares. Esses receptores são importantes alvos de estudos biomédicos e aproximadamente 40% dos medicamentos atualmente comercializados agem sobre estes receptores. O receptor de Angiotensina II do tipo 1 (AT1) é um GPCR e o principal mediador do Sistema Renina-Angiotensina que tem como principal efetor o octopeptídeo Angiotensina II (AngII). Recentemente foi descrito que as mutações A244S e I103T-A244S no receptor AT1 podem estar relacionadas com a predisposição à fibrilação atrial. Neste trabalho foi realizada a construção, caracterização bioquímica e farmacológica destes mutantes, bem como do mutante I103T, com o objetivo de compreender como a funcionalidade desses receptores mutantes poderiam contribuir para a predisposição à fibrilação atrial. Os mutantes I103T e I103T-A244S revelaram ser mais eficientes e potentes que o receptor selvagem em aumentar os níveis de cálcio intracelular em resposta à AngII. Todos os mutantes estudados apresentaram baixa eficiência quanto à ativação da via das MAPKs e apresentaram comportamento diferente do receptor selvagem quando bloqueados com o antagonista Losartan, seletivo para o receptor AT1 e muito usado na clínica como medicamento anti-hipertensivo. Esses dados ressaltam a relevância do estudo tanto em termos de melhor compreender as bases moleculares da relação entre as mutações e a doença, bem como possível prevenção ao uso de medicamentos que possam interagir e agir diferentemente em receptores com essas mutações. / G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are integral membrane proteins characterized by having seven transmembrane alpha-helices. These receptors are important targets of biomedical studies and approximately 40% of currently marketed drugs act on such receptors. The angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) is a GPCR and the main mediator of the Renin-Angiotensin System whose main effector is the octapeptide Angiotensin II (Ang II). It was recently described that I103T and A244S mutations in the AT1 receptor may be related to the susceptibility to atrial fibrillation. In this study we carried out the construction of these mutants and their biochemical and functional characterization. The I103T and I103T/A244S mutants were shown to be more efficient and potent than the wild-type receptor on the increase of intracellular calcium levels. All mutants showed lower efficcacy for MAPK pathway activation and showed different behavior when compared to the wild-type receptor after antagonism with Losartan. These data highlight the relevance of the present study concerning a better understanding of the molecular basis of cardiovascular diseases and showing that conventional therapies for certain diseases may lead to adverse effects on patients carrying point mutations on the receptor sequence.

Orientadores: Maricilda Palandi de Mello, Fernanda Caroline Soardi / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T03:55:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Petroli_ReginaldoJose_D.pdf: 6228632 bytes, checksum: e6e99d402e3d99ccab57c84290065e84 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: O receptor de andrógenos (AR) é um fator de transcrição pertencente à superfamília de receptores nucleares e é ativado por fosforilação e dimerização sob a ligação ao hormônio. Várias funções são atribuídas a este receptor, sendo a principal delas o desenvolvimento e manutenção das características sexuais masculinas, atua na regulação da expressão gênica e diferenciação celular em tecidos alvos. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo principal a análise do efeito das mutações p.Pro695Ser, p.Ser759Tre, p.Leu768Val., p.Cis806Fen+p.Gln798Glu, p.Leu830Fen, p.Ile898Fen e p.Pro904Arg sobre a função do AR. As mutações acima citadas, localizadas no domínio de ligação ao hormônio, foram identificadas por sequenciamento direto do gene do AR de pacientes 46,XY com diferentes graus da Síndrome da Insensibilidade Androgênica (AIS). Mutações nesse domínio geralmente rompem a ligação aos andrógenos naturais, porém há algumas que não afetam essa ligação, mas interferem na interação entre os domínios amino e carboxi-terminal (N/C terminal), importante para a estabilização receptor-ligante. Assim, ambas funções foram investigadas. Para se avaliar a capacidade de transativação das proteínas AR mutantes, foi realizada a técnica de mutagênese sítio dirigida no cDNA completo, seguida de transfecção e expressão em células e mamíferos e, análise de transativação induzida por concentrações crescentes de 5?-diidrotestosterona (DHT) utilizando-se um gene repórter. A análise das interações N/C-terminal para cada AR mutante foi realizada pela técnica de duplo-híbrido em células de mamíferos. A mutação p.Pro695Ser apresentou atividades de transativação de 85% e 82% nos ensaios transativação com o cDNA completo e no duplo-híbrido, respectivamente, em valores de DHT fisiológicos (cerca de 1 nM). As atividades atingiram valores normais em concentrações elevadas de DHT indicando um baixo efeito sobre a atividade gonadal. No entanto, em concentrações de DHT inferiores a atividade de transativação decai para menos de 50% nos dois experimentos, podendo afetar as funções do AR em tecidos não gonadais. Esta mutação foi considerada "branda" e corresponde perfeitamente ao fenótipo masculino do paciente que se apresentava com ginecomastia, mas com fertilidade preservada. Com 1 nM de hormônio, as mutações p.Ser759Tre, p.Leu830Fen, p.Ile898Fen apresentaram atividade de transativação superior a 20%, havendo um aumento de resposta com concentrações crescentes. No entanto, o comportamento de cada uma no experimento de interação N/C diferiu sendo que a p.Ile898Fen não apresentou atividade em nenhuma concentração de ligante; as p.Ser759Tre e p.Leu830Fen responderam positivamente ao aumento da concentração de DHT atingindo 50% e 250% da atividade trancricional do receptor selvagem, respectivamente. Esses resultados indicam um fenótipo parcial de AIS (PAIS) para os portadores das mutações p.Ser759Tre e p.Leu830Fen. Nesses casos verificou-se uma boa correlação dos achados funcionais com os fenótipos dos pacientes que apresentavam graus variados de PAIS. Já para a mutação p.Ile898Fen o fenótipo esperado baseando-se nos resultados funcionais seria o de AIS na forma completa (CAIS), porém os pacientes portadores desta mutação apresentavam graus variados de ambiguidade genital compatíveis com o fenótipo PAIS. Isto indica que outros fatores devem estar influenciando a manifestação fenotípica nesse caso. A mutação p.Leu768Val apresentou atividade transcricional nula em 1 nM de DHT nos dois experimentos, um perfil típico do fenótipo CAIS apresentado pelo portador desta mutação. As mutações p.Gln798Glu e p.Cis806Fen estudadas separadamente apresentaram respostas à indução de DHT semelhantes às de mutações "brandas" e PAIS, respectivamente. No entanto, quando estudadas em conjunto, a atividade de transativação com 1 nM foi inferior a 10%, aumentando com o aumento da concentração de ligante, comportamento compatível com mutações mais graves resultando no fenótipo CAIS observado nesse caso. Por último, a mutação p.Pro904Arg, embora tenha reduzido a atividade trancricional para cerca de 20% da selvagem no experimento com o cDNA completo, no experimento com duplo híbrido a atividade foi nula indicando uma ação mais grave compatível com a forma CAIS observada. A análise funcional do AR aqui realizada pode elucidar alguns mecanismos moleculares associados a cada mutação, bem como pode fornecer subsídios para a resposta ao tratamento com DHT em cada caso em particular / Abstract: The androgen receptor (AR) is a transcription factor that belongs to the superfamily of nuclear receptors activated by phosphorylation and dimerization by hormone binding. Several functions are attributed for AR, like male sex development, regulation of gene expression and cell differentiation in target tissues. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of mutations p.Pro695Ser, p.Ser759Tre, p.Leu768Val, p.Cys806Phe+ p.Gln798Glu, p.Leu830Phe, p.Ile898Phe and p.Pro904Arg upon AR transactivation activity. All mutations studied here are located in the hormone-binding domain and were identified in patients with different degrees of androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) by AR gene sequencing. Mutations in this domain can result in the impairment of androgen ligation, but there are cases that it does not affect the binding but interfere with the interaction between the amino and carboxi-terminal domains (N/C terminal), important step for receptor-binding stabilization. Thus, both functions have been studied in this work. To evaluate the ability of AR transactivation of mutant proteins, the site-directed mutagenesis assay was performed on full-length cDNA, followed by transfection and expression in mammalian cells. The analysis of transactivation of a reporter gene with different dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations was performed. The analysis of N/C-terminal interactions for each mutant AR was performed by two- hybrid mammalian assay. The mutation p.Pro695Ser reveled transactivation activities of 85% and 82% in transactivation assays with the full-length cDNA and two hybrid assay, respectively, at DHT physiological values (approximately 1 nM). The activities reached normal values at high DHT concentrations, indicating a low effect on gonadal activity. However, in low DHT concentrations, the transactivation activity decays to less than 50% in both experiments, which may affect AR functions in non-gonadal tissues. This mutation was considered "mild" and corresponds perfectly to the male phenotype of the patient who presented with gynecomastia, but with preserved fertility. With 1 nM hormone, the p.Ser759Tre, p.Leu830Phe, p.Ile898Phe mutations showed transactivation activity higher than 20%, the response increased with higher DHT concentrations. However, in N/C interaction assays, those mutations showed different results. The p.Ile898Phe revealed a complete disruption in N/C interaction at all hormone concentrations; the p.Ser759Tre and p.Leu830Phe showed positive response with the increasing in DHT concentrations and reached 50% and 250% of the transcriptional activity of wild type, respectively. Such results indicate a partial AIS phenotype (PAIS) as functional effect for p.Ser759Tre and p.Leu830Phe. In these cases there was a positive correlation with the phenotypes of patients that presented different degrees of PAIS. For the p.Ile898Phe, the expected phenotype based on functional analysis would be the complete form of AIS (CAIS), but the patients with this mutation had variable degrees of genital ambiguity consistent to PAIS. This indicates that other factors must influence the phenotypic manifestation. The p.Leu768Val revealed a complete disruption at 1 nM DHT in both experiments, typical of CAIS. The p.Gln798Glu and p.Cys806Phe mutations studied separately revealed responses to the induction of DHT similar to Mild and Partial phenotypes, respectively. However, when analyzed together, the transactivation activity of 1 nM was lower than 10%, increasing in high ligand concentration, which is consistent to CAIS phenotype. Finally, p.Pro904Arg, although showed residual transcriptional activity around 20% of the wild type in the experiment with the full-length cDNA, it abolished the transcriptional activity when N/C terminal interaction was tested indicating a CAIS phenotype, as observed in the patient. Functional analysis of the AR performed here could elucidate some molecular mechanisms associated with each mutation, and may provide a basis for response to treatment with DHT in each particular case / Doutorado / Genetica Animal e Evolução / Doutor em Genetica e Biologia Molecular

Abstract Human mitochondria contain a circular genome called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). It encodes subunits of the respiratory chain enzymes involved in energy conservation in oxidative phosphorylation and the necessary RNA needed for their expression. Errors in these genes have been shown to cause diseases, called mitochondrial diseases, which mainly affect tissues with high energy-demand, such as brain, heart, and skeletal muscle, or to lead to the production of harmful by-products in the form of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during cellular respiration. ROS damage lipids, proteins, and DNA, especially mtDNA. Accumulation of mtDNA mutations has also been associated with aging. Mitochondrial complex I is located in the inner mitochondrial membrane and catalyzes NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreduction coupled to the translocation of four protons from the inside of the mitochondrion to the intermembranous space. Bacteria contain a homologous but simpler enzyme, NDH-1, with the same catalytic mechanism and which is therefore considered the catalytical core of mitochondrial complex I. Seven of the conserved membranous subunits in complex I are encoded in the mtDNA and are targets for mutations causing mitochondrial diseases, like MELAS syndrome or Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). We used Paracoccus denitrificans and Escherichia coli NDH-1 enzymes to reveal the role of selected conserved charged residues and MELAS or LHON amino acid substitutions in enzyme catalysis. The growth phenotypes and NDH-1-dependent activities in mutant bacterial membranes were characterized, in addition to the sensitivity to selected complex I inhibitors. In order to enable ROS production measurements in the bacterial model of human mitochondrial diseases, we evaluated the reliability of two superoxide detecting probes, lucigenin and coelenterazine. Elimination of the acidic residue in ND1 (position E228) previously found to cause MELAS, was found detrimental for NDH-1 assembly and activity. Also, elimination of the acidic residue at position E36 in ND4L resulted in an inactive enzyme. ND1-E216A, ND4L-E72Q and -E36Q/I39D/A69D/E72Q substitutions decreased NDH-1 activity somewhat (normal activity in the last mutant), but displayed a negative growth phenotype under NDH-1 dependent conditions, suggestive of impaired energy conservation in these mutants. ND1-Y229, whose substitution causes MELAS, charged residues in loop five of ND1, and ND1-E157, whose substitution causes LHON, were also found important for the enzyme activity. Coelenterazine was found a reliable probe for quantitative superoxide production measurement in mitochondrial or bacterial membranes, and its sensitivity is not affected by the reduction level of the respiratory chain. Therefore, coelenterazine is suitable for quantitative superoxide production measurements.

Phytohormone auxin and its directional distribution plays an essential role in the regulation of numerous processes during vegetative and reproductive plant development. Regulation of the expression, localization and activity of the PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins is important for proper polar auxin transport in plant tissues. PIN proteins have been described as the major auxin efflux carriers regulating auxin's directional flow to build up gradients that provide information for the coordination of plant development. PIN protein structure topology prediction through bioinformatic analysis is still insufficient to understand their transport mechanism. Experimental analysis of PIN protein domains can provide valuable insight into understanding their role in mediating auxin transport. In this study, the C-terminal part of PINs have been modified by gradual trimming to determine the existence of relevant functional domains, which could be important for auxin transport. Seven modified PIN proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum were prepared. Transiently transformed tobacco cell line Bright Yellow-2 (BY-2) was used to monitor differences in PIN transport activity. This approach allowed indirect monitoring of intracellular auxin levels using the DR5 reporter system. Transiently expressed...

Novel conserved amino acid variations of papaya cystatin (PC) were investigated by amino acid substitutions using oryzacystatin-I (OCI) as a model plant cystatin for comparison. These amino acid residues in the conserved motifs are involved in binding with cysteine proteases, these include the GG (Gly-Gly) in the N-terminal region for both OCI and PC, the (Q)QVVAG (Gln-Val-Val-Ala-Gly) motif for OCI and (Q)AVVEG (Ala-Val-Val-Glu-Gly) motif for PC in the first inhibitory loop, and the PW (Pro-Trp) motif for OCI and LW (Leu-Trp) motif for PC in the second inhibitory loop. Recombinant OCI and PC mutant proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli and were tested for altered inhibitory activity against commercial cysteine proteases (papain and cathepsin L) and extracts from Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) larvae, from banana weevil larvae (Cosmopolites sordidus) and tobacco leaf extracts (Nicotiana benthamiana). In all tests higher amounts of PC had to be used to obtain similar inhibition levels as OCI. Changing the amino acid Q at position 52 to E in OCI in the first inhibitory loop, had lowered the Ki value of the mutant against the commercial proteases. Concurrently the same amino acid string (EQ) in PC had resulted in a significantly decreased Ki value compared to PC wild-type and other mutants. All other OCI mutants were less efficient than the wild-type OCI, whereas all PC first inhibitory loop mutants had improved inhibitory activity against protease activity with the highest improvement against the protease extracts was found for the substitution of E with A at position 55. This study has shown the importance of the three conserved motifs and that it is possible to improve the binding capacity of a plant cystatins to cysteine protease activity by amino acid substitution using site-directed mutagenesis. By mutating individual amino acid residues in the first binding loop of the relatively “weak” papaya cystatin to amino acid residues found in OCI caused a significant improvement in inhibitory potency of PC. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Plant Science / unrestricted