A major thrust in assessment reform is the instructional use of assessment (Ministry, 2010). Assessment for learning (AFL) has, however, proven challenging for teachers to implement (Brookhart, 2004; Swaffield, 2011; Tierney, 2006). Researchers have called for studies of classrooms that show how AFL works in practice (Bennett, 2011; Shepard, 2000). This study gathers images of practice from classrooms where teachers have been implementing a structure-based approach called Question Structure. Although a key premise of AFL is that assessment can be used instructionally to support learning, Question Structure’s constructivist-information-processing approach is rooted in educational measurement traditions usually juxtaposed to AFL theory and practice (Broadfoot & Black, 2004). Images of practice were drawn from classroom observation, teaching artifacts, and interviews from teachers who had been implementing the system for three to six years in three Ontario school boards. Data were analyzed through sub-questions emerging from the literature and through grounded theory. The study found that Question Structure supported AFL principles and practices. It also supported a Tylerian, backwards-design approach to program design, but not to excess. Technical revisions tended to evolve into significant change in practice, including program reconceptualization and increased focus on students’ learning. The structure-based approach functioned in a variety of ways, for example to support task clarification, (re)reading and comprehension of text, writing process, open-ended collaborative work, and student-generated questions. Teachers were able to clarify the meaning of ‘structure,’ to distinguish structures from instructional and cognitive strategies, and to use universal structures and strategies as subject-specific pedagogy in Language Arts/English. The role of the technical interest and implications for professional learning are also discussed.

A major thrust in assessment reform is the instructional use of assessment (Ministry, 2010). Assessment for learning (AFL) has, however, proven challenging for teachers to implement (Brookhart, 2004; Swaffield, 2011; Tierney, 2006). Researchers have called for studies of classrooms that show how AFL works in practice (Bennett, 2011; Shepard, 2000). This study gathers images of practice from classrooms where teachers have been implementing a structure-based approach called Question Structure. Although a key premise of AFL is that assessment can be used instructionally to support learning, Question Structure’s constructivist-information-processing approach is rooted in educational measurement traditions usually juxtaposed to AFL theory and practice (Broadfoot & Black, 2004). Images of practice were drawn from classroom observation, teaching artifacts, and interviews from teachers who had been implementing the system for three to six years in three Ontario school boards. Data were analyzed through sub-questions emerging from the literature and through grounded theory. The study found that Question Structure supported AFL principles and practices. It also supported a Tylerian, backwards-design approach to program design, but not to excess. Technical revisions tended to evolve into significant change in practice, including program reconceptualization and increased focus on students’ learning. The structure-based approach functioned in a variety of ways, for example to support task clarification, (re)reading and comprehension of text, writing process, open-ended collaborative work, and student-generated questions. Teachers were able to clarify the meaning of ‘structure,’ to distinguish structures from instructional and cognitive strategies, and to use universal structures and strategies as subject-specific pedagogy in Language Arts/English. The role of the technical interest and implications for professional learning are also discussed.

Avec plus d’un million et demi de morts chaque année, la tuberculose reste aujourd’hui la seconde cause de mortalité liée à un agent infectieux. De plus l’organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) a estimé en 2011 qu’un tiers de la population mondiale était porteuse du bacille Mycobacterium tuberculosis responsable de la maladie. Depuis la fin des années 1980, une recrudescence du nombre de cas de tuberculose est observée à l’échelle mondiale. Cette recrudescence est due à la fois à l’apparition de souches résistantes, mais également à l’épidémie de VIH qui est un facteur de prédisposition au déclenchement de la maladie.En 2000, le répresseur transcriptionnel mycobactérien EthR a été identifié comme étant un régulateur clé dans la bioactivation de l’éthionamide (ETH), un antituberculeux utilisé pour le traitement de seconde intention. En 2009, l’inhibition de ce répresseur par le développement de molécules « drug-like » a permis de potentialiser l’activité de l’éthionamide d’un facteur 3 chez la souris infectée et a permis de valider cette cible pour une future approche thérapeutique.Ce travail repose sur la découverte et l’optimisation de nouveaux inhibiteurs de ce répresseur transcriptionnel mycobactérien, à partir d’une petite molécule appelée « fragment » qui a été cocristallisée avec la protéine. Par la combinaison d’un criblage in silico, d’un criblage in vitro des touches identifiées, de l’étude des structures radiocristallographiques des complexes ligands/protéines et de la chimie médicinale, le développement de trois approches complémentaires dites « fragmentgrowing », « fragment-merging » et « fragment-linking » a permis de développer des composés présentant de fortes activités. Ces résultats permettront très prochainement de sélectionner une nouvelle molécule issue de ce travail dans la perspective de nouveaux essais sur le modèle murin. / Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death due to a single infective agent with more than 1.5 million people killed each year. In 2011, the world health organization (WHO) estimated that one third of the world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen responsible for the disease. This phenomenon may be due to an explosive escalation of TB incidence that occurred in the 1980s due to the emergence of both resistant strains and HIV epidemic.In 2000, EthR, a mycobacterial transcriptional repressor, was identified as a key modulator of ethionamide (ETH) bioactivation. ETH is one of the main second-line drugs used to treat drug resistant strains. In 2009, it was shown that co-administration of ETH and drug-like inhibitors of EthR was able to boost ETH activity threefold in a mouse-model of TB-infection, thus validating the target for a new therapeutic strategy.This work deals with the discovery and optimisation of new EthR inhibitors, based on a small molecule, called a “fragment”, co-crystallized with the protein. We combined in silico screening, in vitro evaluation of the hit compounds, study of co-crystal structures and medicinal chemistry to develop three complementary approaches called “fragment growing”, “fragment merging” and “fragment linking” that led to the discovery of very potent inhibitors. Based on these results, we are currently selecting a potential candidate for new in vivo experiments.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2017-09-13T11:59:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 7758959 bytes, checksum: db745d41b196978192ebc789e25f442b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-13T11:59:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 7758959 bytes, checksum: db745d41b196978192ebc789e25f442b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / The use of plants for medicinal purposes is one of the oldest forms of medical practice of mankind, emphasizing the alkaloids because they present rich structural and pharmacological properties extensive variety. The drug design is aided by computer based strategies based on linkers or target. When developing new compounds, the structure-based techniques, such as docking, can be applied to study of certain receptor and its corresponding ligand, evaluating bindingprotein interactions. Whereas in the ligand-based methods, a database of known ligands is used, looking for ways to evaluate parameters (molecular descriptors) that can assist in the development of compounds with higher power. This study aimed to perform in silico studies to investigate drug-target interactions with alkaloids derived from natural products and their analogues with relevant pharmacological activity. Different molecular descriptors and methodologies were used in the studies developed. In chapter 2, the interaction of alkaloid bisindolic caulerpine (CLP) was evaluated with the enzyme involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), and a database with 109 analogs. It was possible to observe a chemical parameter of inhibition of PLC analogues where the replacement of the radicals must be asymmetric with different polarity. The studies based on the linker and the structure associated with the classification drug-like chemical skeleton suggest that the PLC has potential use in the treatment of AD. In chapter 3, 8 alkaloids isolated Cissampelos sympodialis and 101 derivatives, had their inhibitory potential against enzyme (BACE, GSK-3β and MAO-A) involved in degenerative diseases assessed by in silico methods. consensual analysis showed affinity alkaloids bisbenzilisoquinolinics by BACE, incluindos the roraimine natural alkaloids and simpodialine-β-N-oxide, supporting interest in investigating this skeleton as an antagonist of this enzyme. In Chapter 4 we evaluated the multi-target potential of 148 aphorphinics alkaloids Annonaceae against Leishmania donovani. Six were selected enzymes of this neglected disease for theoretical study, which was associated with experimental four alkaloids available data and integrating the bank, which had pIC50 value inferior to 5.26. The xyloguyelline alkaloid was named as a potential multi-agent target, demonstrating activity against 5 of 6 enzymes evaluated, likely to activity of over 60%. fragment descriptors were used to create model-based binder in a parallel approach with molecular docking to predict the cytotoxic and against topoisomerase II activity azaphenantrene alkaloids in chapter 5. The cytotoxic activity of this skeleton alkaloids are well described in the literature, molecules having activity against several tumor cell lines. The IMB 6 analog and 23 IMB showed interesting activity and selectivity, with MolDock energy similar to liriodenine composed characterized by potent anti-tumor action, but with high toxicity. Important structural information is provided by spectroscopy nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and Chapter 6 aimed to discuss the importance of this technique for generating molecular descriptors. Studies that applied successfully in drug design NMR descriptors assisted by computer are described and several QSAR and QSPR having as support data chemical shifts. / A utilização de plantas com fins medicinais é uma das mais antigas formas de prática medicinal da humanidade, enfatizando os alcaloides, por apresentarem rica variedade estrutural e extensa propriedade farmacológica. O desenho de drogas auxiliado pelo computador é fundamentado em estratégias baseadas nos ligantes ou no alvo. No desenvolvimento de novos compostos, técnicas baseadas na estrutura, como o docking, podem ser aplicadas no estudo de um determinado receptor e seu respectivo ligante, avaliando as interações ligante-proteína. Ao passo que nos métodos baseados no ligante, um banco de ligantes conhecidos é utilizado, buscando modos de avaliar parâmetros (descritores moleculares) que possam auxiliar no desenvolvimento de compostos com maior potência. Este estudo teve como objetivo realizar estudos in silico para investigar interações fármaco-alvo com alcaloides oriundos de produtos naturais, e respectivos análogos, com relevante atividade farmacológica. Diferentes descritores moleculares e metodologias foram utilizadas nos estudos desenvolvidos. No capítulo 2, foi avaliado a interação do alcaloide bisindolico caulerpina (CLP) com a enzima envolvida na doença de Alzheimer (DA) monoamina oxidase B (MAO-B), além de um banco com 109 análogos. Foi possível observar um parâmetro químico de inibição dos análogos da CLP, onde a substituição dos radicais deve ser assimétrica com polaridade distinta. Os estudos dos baseados no ligante e na estrutura, associado à classificação drug-like, sugerem que o esqueleto químico da CLP tem potencial uso no tratamento da DA. No capítulo 3, 8 alcaloides isolados de Cissampelos sympodialis e 101 derivados, tiveram seu potencial inibitório contra enzimas (BACE, GSK-3β e MAO-A) envolvidas em doenças degenerativas avaliado por metodologias in silico. Análise consensual demonstrou afinidade de alcaloides bisbenzilisoquinolínicos pela BACE, incluindos os alcaloides naturais roraimina e simpodialina- β-N-oxide, suportando interesse em investigar este esqueleto como antagonista desta enzima. No capítulo 4 foi avaliado o potencial multi-target de 148 alcaloides aporfinicos de Annonaceae contra Leishmania donovani. Foram utilizadas seis enzimas desta doença negligenciada para o estudo teórico, que foi associado com dados experimentais de quatro alcaloides disponíveis e que integram o banco, que apresentaram valor pIC50 inferior a 5.26. O alcaloide xyloguyellina foi apontado como potencial agente multitarget, demonstrando atividade contra 5 das 6 enzimas avaliadas, com probabilidade de atividade superior a 60%. Descritores de fragmento foram utilizados para criar modelo baseado no ligante em uma abordagem paralela com docking molecular, para predizer a atividade citotóxica e contra topoisomerase II de azafenantreno alcaloides, no capítulo 5. A atividade citotóxica deste esqueleto de alcaloides está bem descrita na literatura, com diversas moléculas apresentando atividade contra linhagens de células tumorais. Os análogos IMB 6 e IMB 23 apresentaram interessante atividade e com seletividade, apresentando energia MolDock similar à liriodenina, composto caracterizado por potente ação antitumoral, porém com elevada toxicidade. Importantes informações estruturais são fornecidas pela espectroscopia de ressonância magnética nuclear (RMN), sendo o capítulo 6 destinado a discorrer sobre a importância desta técnica para geração de descritores moleculares. Estudos que aplicaram com sucesso descritores RMN em design de drogas assistida pelo computador encontram-se descritos, além de diversos estudos de QSAR e QSPR tendo como amparo dados de deslocamentos químicos.

A esquistossomose é uma das principais causas de morbidade em países Tropicais e Subtropicais, gerando graves consequências socioeconômicas. Atualmente, os fármacos disponíveis para o tratamento da desta doença são praziquantel e oxamniquina, porém relatos de baixa susceptibilidade do parasita a esses medicamentos sugerem a necessidade de novas estratégias terapêuticas para o tratamento da doença. Todavia, existe pouco interesse da indústria farmacêutica no desenvolvimento de fármacos contra doenças tropicais e negligenciadas, entre as quais se encontra a esquistossomose. Devido a estes fatores, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo geral utilizar ferramentas computacionais para identificar inibidores da SmDHFR candidatos a novos fármacos. Avaliou-se as características exclusivas para a proteína de S. mansoni por meio de uma análise das sequências FASTA em comparação com a DHFR de outros organismos. A fim de garantir a ação seletiva dessas moléculas frente a enzima do parasita, os campos moleculares de interação seletivos para SmDHFR foram calculados e empregados na construção do modelo farmacofórico, o qual foi utilizado na triagem virtual de inibidores de SmDHFR. Os estudos computacionais realizados nos permitiram a seleção de 20 moléculas com uma boa complementariedade com o modelo farmacofórico gerado e com potencial para serem inibidores de SmDHFR. / Schistosomiasis is one of morbidity\'s main causes in tropical and subtropical countries, which leads to serious socioeconomic consequences. Praziquantel and oxamniquina are the drugs currently available for treating this disease, but reports points that the parasite has been resistant to both drugs, which suggests the need for new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this disease. However, there is little interest in the pharmaceutical industry in developing drugs against neglected tropical diseases, including schistosomiasis. Due to these factors, the present work has the general objective to use computational tools to identify SmDHFR inhibitors which could be good candidates for developing new drugs. Evaluation of the exclusive characteristics of the S. mansoni protein were performed by FASTA sequence analyses in comparison to DHFR from other organisms. In order to guarantee the selective action of these molecules against the parasite enzyme, the molecular interaction fields selective for SmDHFR were calculated and used in the construction of the pharmacophoric model, which was further used in the virtual screening of SmDHFR inhibitors. Computational studies were performed and those led us to 20 molecules with a good complementarity with the pharmacophoric model that was previously generated and with potential to be SmDHFR inhibitors.

<p>G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are membrane proteins that constitute ~30% of the FDA-approved drug targets. Opioid receptors are a subtype of GPCRs with four different receptor types: delta, kappa, mu, and nociception opioid receptors. Opioids such as morphine have been used for thousands of years and are deemed the most effective method for treating pain. However, opioids can have detrimental effects if used illicitly or over an extended period of time. Intriguingly, most of the clinically used opioids act on the mu opioid receptor (µOR). Hence, efforts in recent decades have focused on other opioid receptors to treat pain and other disorders. The delta opioid receptor (δOR) is one of four opioid receptors expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system. The δOR has attracted much attention as a potential target for a multitude of diseases and disorders including substance and alcohol use disorders, ischemia, migraine, and neurodegenerative diseases. However, to date, no δOR agonists, or drugs that act directly at the δOR, have been successful as clinical candidates. Nonetheless, the therapeutic potential of the δOR necessitates the targeting its pharmacologically. In this dissertation, I highlight peptide-based modulation as well as the identification of novel agonists at the δOR. I report research findings in the context of biased agonism at δOR, which is a hypothesized cellular signaling mechanism with potential therapeutic benefits. The focus on this work is the molecular determinants of biased agonism, which were investigated using a combination of cellular and computational approaches.  </p>

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Glutathione transferase (GST) A2-2 is the human enzyme most efficient in catalyzing azathioprine activation. Structure-function relationships were sought explaining the higher catalytic efficiency compared to other alpha class GSTs. By screening a DNA shuffling library, five recombined segments were identified that were conserved among the most active mutants. Mutational analysis confirmed the importance of these short segments as their insertion into low-active GSTs introduced higher azathioprine activity. Besides, H-site mutagenesis led to decreased azathioprine activity when the targeted positions belonged to these conserved segments and mainly enhanced activity when other positions were targeted. Hydrophobic residues were preferred in positions 208 and 213. The prodrug azathioprine is today primarily used for maintaining remission in inflammatory bowel disease. Therapy leads to adverse effects for 30 % of the patients and genotyping of the metabolic genes involved can explain some of these incidences. Five genotypes of human A2-2 were characterized and variant A2*E had 3–4-fold higher catalytic efficiency with azathioprine, due to a proline mutated close to the H-site. Faster activation might lead to different metabolite distributions and possibly more adverse effects. Genotyping of GSTs is recommended for further studies. Molecular docking of azathioprine into a modeled structure of A2*E suggested three positions for mutagenesis. The most active mutants had small or polar residues in the mutated positions. Mutant L107G/L108D/F222H displayed a 70-fold improved catalytic efficiency with azathioprine. Determination of its structure by X-ray crystallography showed a widened H-site, suggesting that the transition state could be accommodated in a mode better suited for catalysis. The mutational analysis increased our understanding of the azathioprine activation in alpha class GSTs and highlighted A2*E as one factor possibly behind the adverse drug-effects. A successfully redesigned GST, with 200-fold enhanced catalytic efficiency towards azathioprine compared to the starting point A2*C, might find use in targeted enzyme-prodrug therapies.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is constitutively activated in malignant tumors, and its activation is associated with high histological grade and advanced cancer stage. STAT3 has been shown to play important roles in multiple aspects of cancer aggressiveness including proliferation, survival, self-renewal, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and immune response by regulating the expression of diverse downstream target genes. Thus, inhibiting STAT3 promises to be an attractive strategy for treatment of advanced tumors with metastatic potential. We firstly identified a STAT3 inhibitor, inS3-54, by targeting the DNA-binding site of STAT3 using an in-silico screening approach; however, inS3-54 was finally found not to be appropriate for further studies because of low specificity on STAT3 and poor absorption in mice. To develop an effective and specific STAT3 inhibitor, we identified 89 analogues for the structure-activity relationship analysis. By using hematopoietic progenitor cells isolated from wild-type and STAT3 conditional knockout mice, further studies showed that three analogues (A18, A26 and A69) only inhibited STAT3-dependent colony formation of hematopoietic progenitor cells, indicating a higher selectivity for STAT3 than their parental compound, inS3-54. These compounds were found to (1) inhibit STAT3-specific DNA binding activity; (2) bind to STAT3 protein; (3) suppress proliferation of cancer cells harboring aberrant STAT3 signaling; (4) inhibit migration and invasion of cancer cells and (5) inhibit STAT3-dependent expression of downstream targets by blocking the binding of STAT3 to the promoter regions of responsive genes in cells. In addition, A18 can reduce tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model of lung cancer with little effect on body weight. Taken together, we conclude that it is feasible to inhibit STAT3 by targeting its DNA-binding domain for discovery of anticancer therapeutics.