La quantité de données générée dans le cadre d'étude à grande échelle du réseau d'interaction protéine-protéine dépasse notre capacité à les analyser et à comprendre leur sens; d'une part, par leur complexité et leur volume, et d'un autre part, par la qualité du jeu de donnée produit qui semble bondé de faux positifs et de faux négatifs. Cette dissertation décrit une nouvelle méthode de criblage des interactions physique entre protéines à haut débit chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae, la complémentation de fragments protéiques (PCA). Cette approche est accomplie dans des cellules intactes dans les conditions natives des protéines; sous leur promoteur endogène et dans le respect des contextes de modifications post-traductionnelles et de localisations subcellulaires. Une application biologique de cette méthode a permis de démontrer la capacité de ce système rapporteur à répondre aux questions d'adaptation cellulaire à des stress, comme la famine en nutriments et un traitement à une drogue. Dans le premier chapitre de cette dissertation, nous avons présenté un criblage des paires d'interactions entre les protéines résultant des quelques 6000 cadres de lecture de Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Nous avons identifié 2770 interactions entre 1124 protéines. Nous avons estimé la qualité de notre criblage en le comparant à d'autres banques d'interaction. Nous avons réalisé que la majorité de nos interactions sont nouvelles, alors que le chevauchement avec les données des autres méthodes est large. Nous avons pris cette opportunité pour caractériser les facteurs déterminants dans la détection d'une interaction par PCA. Nous avons remarqué que notre approche est sous une contrainte stérique provenant de la nécessité des fragments rapporteurs à pouvoir se rejoindre dans l'espace cellulaire afin de récupérer l'activité observable de la sonde d'interaction. L'intégration de nos résultats aux connaissances des dynamiques de régulations génétiques et des modifications protéiques nous dirigera vers une meilleure compréhension des processus cellulaires complexes orchestrés aux niveaux moléculaires et structuraux dans les cellules vivantes. Nous avons appliqué notre méthode aux réarrangements dynamiques opérant durant l'adaptation de la cellule à des stress, comme la famine en nutriments et le traitement à une drogue. Cette investigation fait le détail de notre second chapitre. Nous avons déterminé de cette manière que l'équilibre entre les formes phosphorylées et déphosphorylées de l'arginine méthyltransférase de Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Hmt1, régulait du même coup sont assemblage en hexamère et son activité enzymatique. L'activité d'Hmt1 a directement un impact dans la progression du cycle cellulaire durant un stress, stabilisant les transcrits de CLB2 et permettant la synthèse de Cln3p. Nous avons utilisé notre criblage afin de déterminer les régulateurs de la phosphorylation d'Hmt1 dans un contexte de traitement à la rapamycin, un inhibiteur de la kinase cible de la rapamycin (TOR). Nous avons identifié la sous-unité catalytique de la phosphatase PP2a, Pph22, activé par l'inhibition de la kinase TOR et la kinase Dbf2, activé durant l'entrée en mitose de la cellule, comme la phosphatase et la kinase responsable de la modification d'Hmt1 et de ses fonctions de régulations dans le cycle cellulaire. Cette approche peut être généralisée afin d'identifier et de lier mécanistiquement les gènes, incluant ceux n'ayant aucune fonction connue, à tout processus cellulaire, comme les mécanismes régulant l'ARNm. / The quantity of data generated within the framework of protein-protein interaction network large-scale studies exceeds our capacity to analyze them and to understand their meaning; on one hand, by their complexity and their number, and on the other hand, by the quality of the produced data, which are populated with spurious interactions. This dissertation describes new applications of a protein-fragments complementation assay (PCA) to screen for interactions among all proteins in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This approach is carried out in intact cells, with proteins expressed in their native contexts and under their endogenous promoter, thus assuring correct post-translational modifications and subcellular localization. A further novel application of PCA is described for investigating proteome wide changes in response to cellular adaptation to stresses, such as nutrient starvations and drug treatments. Finally, as a result of the latter strategy applied to characterizing proteome-wide response to the immunosuppressant drug, rapamycin, I describe the discovery of an unforeseen mechanism of modulating cell cycle progression through control of cyclin mRNA stability. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I present a pairwise screen of interactions among proteins resulting from the ~6000 open reading frames in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We identified 2770 interactions among 1124 proteins. We estimated the quality of our screen by comparing our results to curated gold standard data and coverage of known interactions to all previous studies. The majority of our interactions were novel, but overlap with data from previous studies was as high as 40%. PCA is based on refolding of the reporter protein from complementary N- and C- terminal fragments following interaction of the two proteins to which they are fused. Thus, reporter activity is sterrically limited to interactions in which the termini of the proteins to which the complementary reporter fragments are fused are sufficiently close in space. In the case of our reporter, this limit was 8 nm. Thus PCA is a molecular ruler, providing information on both direct protein-protein interactions and sterrically restricted distances between proteins in complexes. We benchmarked and demonstrated correct topological relationships for a number of known complexes, including the proteasome, RNA polymerase II and the nuclear pore complex. Thus our study provided, for the first time, a topological map of complex organization in a living cell. The integration of the results from such efforts with those of gene regulation dynamics and protein modifications will lead to a fuller understanding of how complex cellular processes are orchestrated at a molecular and structural level in the living cell. In chapter 2, I describe the results of an application of PCA to study the dynamic rearrangement of the proteome under a specific stress; treatment of cells with rapamycin. The results of these efforts were the identification of a novel mechanism of cell cycle control at the level of cyclin mRNA. Specifically, we discovered that the balance between the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae arginine methyltransferase, Hmt1, regulates both its assembly into a hexamer and its enzymatic activity. The Hmt1 activity modulates cell cycle progression through stabilizing the B cyclin CLB2 mRNA. We then used PCA to identify the Hmt1 regulators under rapamycin treatment. We identified the catalytic subunit of the PP2a phosphatase, Pph22, activated by the inhibition of TOR, and the kinase Dbf2, activated during entry into mitosis, as the phosphatase and the kinase responsible for the modification of Hmt1 and for its regulatory functions in the cell cycle. I thus, in the end close the circle I began in this summary, going from large-scale discovery of protein-protein interactions, to mapping dynamics of proteome changes during an adaptation and finally to mechanistic insight into a primordial control mechanism in cellular dynamics. The strategies that we devised to discover this mechanism can be generalized to identify and mechanistically link genes together, including those of unknown function, to any cellular process.

L'inflammation est considérée comme un promoteur de la cancérogenèse. La cyclooxygénase-2 (COX-2), la forme inductible de la famille des cyclooxygénases est un médiateur important de l'inflammation. Cette enzyme est constitutivement exprimée dans un grand nombre de cancers tels que les cancers du sein, du colon ou de la prostate. De nombreuses études mettent en évidence que COX-2 est surexprimée lors des étapes pré-néoplasiques. La COX-2 représente de ce fait une cible thérapeutique potentielle en chimioprévention et également pour le traitement des cancers. L'utilisation d'inhibiteurs synthétiques de COX-2 qui ciblent l'activité enzymatique est le seul traitement clinique actuellement disponible pour réduire l'activité de COX-2. Cependant, ces agents présentent des effets secondaires sévères, ce qui limite leur prise chronique chimiopréventives ou au cours des traitements anti-cancéreux. Une stratégie alternative pour cibler la fonction de COX-2 est d'inhiber son expression. Un grand nombre d'études montrent que certains produits naturels (la curcumine, le resveratrol ou l'apigénine par exemple) inhibent, préférentiellement l'expression de COX-2, sans être toxique. Notre projet analyse l'effet de l'acide cinnamique, un produit naturel extrait de la plante Cinnamonium cassia, sur l'expression de COX-2 au cours de la cancérogenèse dans le but d'évaluer son intérêt en chimioprévention. Nous avons utilisé comme modèle les cellules mammaires non carcinogènes, MCF10A stimulées avec un ester de phorbol, le 12-phorbol myristate 13-acetate (PMA), qui induit l'expression de COX-2. Nous avons observé une diminution de l'expression de COX-2 au niveau de l'ARNm et de la protéine après le traitement avec différentes concentrations d'acide cinnamique (1 et 10μM). L'analyse des mécanismes impliqués dans la diminution de l'expression de COX-2 a mis en évidence que l'acide cinnamique régule l'expression de COX-2 de façon post-transcriptionnelle en réduisant la stabilité de son ARNm. Cet effet est associé à une prévention de la diminution de l'expression de microARN (miR)-16 et une inhibition de l'expression de p38 induite par l'acide cinnamique en réponse au traitement avec le PMA. / Inflammation is considered a cancer-promoting factor. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), the inducible form of the family of cyclooxygenases is an important mediator of inflammation, which has been found constitutively expressed in many forms of cancer including breast, colon or prostate. A number of studies show that COX-2 is stably expressed since the early pre-neoplastic stages. This encourages us to consider COX-2 as a potential target in chemoprevention as well as in the treatment of cancer. Synthetic inhibitors of COX-2, which target enzymatic activity, are the only clinical strategy to counteract COX-2. However, these compounds present severe side effects, a fact that limits their prolonged intake, like requested in chemoprevention or during anti-cancer treatment.An alternative strategy to target COX-2 is at the level of its expression. A number of studies show that several natural compounds including curcumin, resveratrol or apigenin preferentially target COX-2 expression without showing toxicity.Our study analyses the effect of cinnamic acid, a natural compound derived from Cinnamonium cassia on COX-2 expression during carcinogenesis, with the final aim to evaluate its potential in chemoprevention/therapy.For our chemopreventive purposes, we used the non-carcinogenic breast cell line MCF10A, stimulated by the phorbol ester 12-phorbol myristate 13-acetate (PMA), which typically induces COX-2. We show a reduction of induced COX-2 expression after treatment with different concentrations of cinnamic acid (1 and 10μM). The analysis of the mechanisms involved in COX-2 protein expression decrease shows that cinnamic acid regulated COX-2 expression at the post-transcriptional level by reducing COX-2 mRNA stability. This effect is associated with the ability of cinnamic acid to prevent downregulation of miR-16 expression and p38 activation in response to PMA treatment.

Yeasts are unicellular eukaryotic microorganisms, capable of forming of organised multicellular communities, the colonies. Many yeast strains possess a characteristic colony morphology under defined living conditions. Another feature typical for many feral and pathogenic yeast strains is the ability to switch their morphotype. This phenomenon, called the phenotypic switching, contributes to a rapid adaptation to the changing harmful environment and is often connected with changes of the stress resistance or with the changes of virulence of pathogenic yeasts. Phenotypic switching can be observed even in non-pathogenic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The strain BR-F, isolated from nature, switches under laboratory conditions from fluffy to smooth morphology of the strain BR-S. This phenotypic switch is accompanied by broad changes in the phenotype. Transcriptome analyses of the strains BR-F and BR-S have shown, among others, changes in expression of the subtelomeric genes that are under control of the histone acetylases and deacetylases. My work was aimed to the histone deacetylase Sir2p, which could influence the phenotypic switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The sir2 deletion mutant of the strain BR-S, prepared in our laboratory, was used for my studies. The results show, that the strain BR-S...

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from the wild are able to exhibit multicellular social behaviour and to form complex structured colonies resembling in many properties highly resistant biofilms of pathogenic yeasts. The capability of phenotypic variability, i.e. high frequency transition between two or more different phenotypes, is another feature typical for the wild yeast strains. Such phenotypic changes are in case of pathogenic yeast often connected with changes in virulence and resistance to stress and antifungal treatment. Long-term cultivation of the wild yeast strains under laboratory conditions leads to their domestication, i.e. transition to smooth colonies and loss of some features typical for structured colonies. This process is, similarly to phenotypic switching, accompanied by significant changes in gene expression and global change of colony lifestyle. Mechanisms underlying yeast phenotypic transitions are ascribed to epigenetic regulation of gene expression via transcriptional silencing conferred by histone deacetylases. This work deals with the study of such mechanisms using knock-outs of selected genes with putative function in formation of structured colonies in wild and domesticated strains. The achieved results show, that NAD+-dependent histone deacetylase Sir2p influences...

La protéine suppresseur de tumeur p53 est soumise à de complexes régulations transcriptionnelles et posttraductionnelles. La découverte d’isoformes de p53 a introduit un degré de complexité supplémentaire auxmécanismes de régulation des fonctions de p53. On dénombre à ce jour douze isoformes qui diffèrent de p53dans leurs domaines N- et C-terminal. Cependant, les modes d’expression et de fonction de ces isoformes restentà être clarifiés.Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés aux deux isoformes Δ40p53 et Δ133p53, en analysant leurinteraction avec p53 et en mesurant leur expression dans les mélanomes, un type de cancer où p53 est trèsrarement mutée. Nous montrons que Δ40p53 peut moduler l’activité de p53 avec un effet bi-phasique, tantôtactivateur ou répresseur du niveau d’expression et des fonctions de p53. Δ133p53 est produite par un promoteurP2 localisé dans le gène TP53. Nous avons montré qu’en réponse à un stress génotoxique, l’expression de Δ133p53 est régulée par p53, qui se lie au promoteur P2. Ceci suggère une boucle d’auto-régulation par p53, quiest capable de contrôler l’expression d’une isoforme inhibant ses propres fonctions. Enfin, les isoformes Δ40p53 et Δ133p53 sont surexprimées dans les tumeurs métastatiques de mélanomes comparées aux tumeurs noninvasives,suggérant à ces isoformes un rôle dans l’inactivation de p53 dans les cancers.Ainsi, Δ40p53 et Δ133p53 interagissent avec p53 de façon complexe, avec des effets plus contrastés que lasimple inhibition de l’activité suppressive de p53. Les isoformes de p53 jouent ainsi un rôle majeur dans lesactivités basales de p53, ainsi que dans l’inactivation fonctionnelle de p53 dans les cancers. / The p53 tumour suppressor protein has a highly complex pattern of regulation at transcriptional and posttranslationallevels. The discovery of p53 isoforms has added another layer of complexity to the mechanisms thatregulate p53 functions. Indeed, p53 is expressed as 12 isoforms that differ in their N- and C-terminus due toalternative splicing, promoter or codon initiation usage. So far, there is limited understanding of the patterns ofexpression and of the functions of each of these isoforms.In this Thesis, we have focused on the two major p53 N-terminal isoforms, Δ40p53 and Δ133p53. We haveanalysed their patterns of interactions with the full-length p53 and we have investigated whether their expressioncould be deregulated in melanoma, a cancer type in which TP53 mutations are rare. Our results show that Δ40p53 can modulate p53 function with a bi-phasic effect, acting as a repressor or activator of p53 to control itslevels and activity. Moreover, we demonstrate that the internal P2 promoter produces Δ133p53 and is regulatedby p53 in response to genotoxic stress, identifying a novel auto-regulatory loop by which p53 may control theexpression of an isoform acting as an inhibitor of p53 activities. Finally, we show that mRNAs encoding Nterminalisoforms are often over-expressed in highly metastatic melanoma when compared to non-invasiveforms, suggesting that N-terminal isoforms contribute to functionally inactivate p53. Thus, we propose that Δ40p53 and Δ133p53 modulate p53 functions within dynamic fluctuations of aprotein network. Hence, p53 isoforms may have a major role in basal p53 activities as well as in the functionalinactivation of p53 in cancer cells.

Les plantes sont ancrées au sol pendant la majorité de leur cycle de vie et doivent donc constamment adapter leur croissance et leur métabolisme aux stress abiotiques. Ainsi, la subsistance des plantes dépend de leur capacité à réguler rapidement l’expression des gènes afin d’adapter leur physiologie à l’environnement. L’expression d’un gène peut être contrôlé à plusieurs niveaux; transcriptionnel, post-transcriptionnel, traductionnel et post-traductionnel.De nombreux processus cellulaires vitaux tels que la réplication de l’ADN, la transcription, la synthèse protéique, et la dégradation des protéines, sont régulés par les signaux environnementaux. Des études chez la levure, la drosophile et les animaux ont montré que la protéine kinase TOR (Target Of Rapamycin) est impliquée dans le contrôle de la croissance cellulaire et de la prolifération en réponse à différents signaux tels que les nutriments, les acides aminés, les hormones et les facteurs de croissance. Chez Arabidopsis thaliana, TOR est nécessaire au développement de l’embryon et de l’endosperme. De plus, des modifications du niveau de protéine AtTOR affectent la croissance végétative et la reproduction.Le principal objectif de cette thèse est de caractériser les mécanismes qui contrôlent l’expression de AtTOR en déterminant les éléments de régulation situés sur le la région 5’ non traduite (5′UTR) de l’ARNm de AtTOR, puis de manipuler ces éléments de régulation afin d étudier leur rôle. Nous avons choisi de nous focaliser sur la région 5′UTR de AtTOR, et sur une microORF (uORF) située en amont de l’ORF principale de AtTOR. Il s’agit de la première tentative d’étude de la régulation de l’expression de TOR par ces éléments chez les eucaryotes.Trois constructions chimériques ont été réalisées pour cette étude et transformée transitoirement est de manière stable dans des plantes. La première construction (contrôle positif) incluse le promoteur de AtTOR, la région 5′UTR, le premier intron et le début du premier exon fusionné au gène rapporteur GUS. La seconde construction (microORF mutée) est présente une mutation du codon start de la microORF (ATG changé en TTG). Enfin, la troisième construction (5′UTR délétée) contient la même séquence que le contrôle positif mais sans la région 5′UTR. Ces constructions ont également été placée sous le contrôle du promoteur 35S au lieu du promoteur de AtTOR afin d’étudier un lien éventuel entre la 5′UTR et la microRF et le promoteur de AtTORNos résultats indiquent une régulation généralement négative exercée par la 5′UTR, et dans une moindre mesure par la microORF, sur l’expression de AtTOR. Cette régulation semble avoir lieu au niveau transcriptionnel ou au niveau de la stabilité de l’ARNm, mais pas au niveau de la traduction. En effet, les modifications du niveau de transcrit GUS sont suivie d’un changement équivalent de l’activité GUS. De plus, nous avons observé que l’auxine et le sucrose ont un effet positif sur l’expression de AtTOR. Dans le cas de l’auxine, cet effet semble lié à la présence de la région 5′UTR de AtTOR.D’autres études de la fonction de la région 5’UTR et de la microORF de AtTOR, ainsi que de leur relation avec d’autres éléments régulateurs localisée dans le promoteur de AtTOR, permettront de mieux comprendre comment ces éléments régulateurs contrôlent finement l’expression de AtTOR. / Land plants are anchored in one place for most of their life cycle and therefore must constantly adapt their growth and metabolism to abiotic stresses. Thus, plants’ subsistence depends on their ability to regulate rapidly gene expression in order to adapt their physiology to their environment. The expression of a gene can be controlled at many levels, including transcription, post-transcription, translation, and post-translation.Many vital cellular processes like DNA replication, transcription, protein synthesis, and protein degradation are regulated by environmental signals. Studies in yeast, Drosophila, and mammals showed that the target of rapamycin (TOR) protein is involved in control of cell growth and cell proliferation in response to different types of environmental signals such as nutrients, amino acids, hormones, and growth factors. In Arabidopsis thaliana, TOR is necessary for both embryo and endosperm development in, and changes of TOR protein level affect both vegetative and reproductive growth.The main purpose from this thesis is to highlight the mechanisms that control AtTOR expression at the post-transcriptional level through determination of the possible regulatory elements within the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) or the first intron of AtTOR mRNA itself, and through manipulation of these regulatory elements to study their precise role. We have chosen to focus on the small upstream open reading frame (uORF) as well as the 5′UTR region. This is the first attempt to study the regulation of TOR kinase expression in eukaryotes through these small uORF or the sequence of 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR).To achieve this purpose, three chimeric constructs have been established and transformed in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and Arabidopsis thaliana plants. The first construct (the positive control) contains the AtTOR promoter, the 5′UTR, the first intron, and the beginning of the second exon fused to the GUS reporter gene. The second construct (mutated uORF) have the same sequence as the positive control construct except the start codon of uORF was changed from ATG to TTG. The third construct (deleted 5′UTR) have the same sequence as the positive control construct without the 5′UTR. These constructs have also been placed under the activity of CaMV 35S promoter instead of AtTOR promoter to investigate whether there is a link between the 5′UTR/or uORF and the promoter.Our work show an overall negative regulation exerted by the 5′UTR and, to a lesser extent, by the uORF on AtTOR gene regulation. This regulation is likely at the level of transcription or mRNA stability, since the changes in GUS transcript level was followed by the same changes in GUS activity. In addition we found that external inducers like auxin or sucrose exert a positive effect on AtTOR expression. This effect appears somehow linked to the presence of the 5′UTR of AtTOR mRNA.Greater insight into the molecular mechanisms of AtTOR 5′UTR/or uORF function and its relationship with other regulatory elements located in AtTOR promoter will be required to understand how these regulatory elements work either individually or in combination to achieve the fine and accurate regulation of their gene expression.

No description available.

O desenvolvimento embrionário é o resultado de uma sequência controlada de eventos modulados por sinais ambientais e mecanismos intracelulares. Em Hymenoptera, esse processo tem um caráter especial devido ao sistema de determinação do sexo (Haplodiploide). Neste sistema, os ovos fecundados se desenvolvem em fêmeas (diploides) e os ovos não fecundados em machos (haploides). Assim, eventos importantes, como a ativação do ovo e transição materno-zigótica, eventos iniciais da embriogênese, são elementos-chave para compreender o desenvolvimento de ambos os tipos de embriões. Ativação do ovo é um evento complexo acionado em resposta a estímulos externos, necessários para o início da embriogênese. Em abelhas a ativação ovo ocorre independentemente da fecundação e parece ser desencadeado durante a passagem pelo trato reprodutivo da mãe. Além disso, se o ovócito não for fecundado ele irá se desenvolver em um organismo haploide. No entanto, se o ovo recebe o espermatozóide até 30 minutos depois da ativação, o ovo se desenvolve em um organismo diploide. Em Drosophila, a ativação do ovo é também idependente da fecundação. O estímulo inicial que desencadeia o desenvolvimento é devido tensões mecânicas sofridas pelo ovócito durante a ovulação pela passagem através do trato reprodutivo. Neste modelo, o primeiro sinal de ativação inclui a ativação da via dependente de cálcio. Moléculas maternas que são incorporados no ovócito durante ovogênese, atuam durante a ativação do ovo, bem como no início da embriogênese. Os eventos iniciais da embriogênese também são caracterizados pela ausência de altos níveis de transcrição zigótica. As moléculas depositadas atuam na ativação do ovo, quebrando a dormência da divisão celular permitindo a ocorrência do início do desenvolvimento embrionário. Mas, o embrião em desenvolvimento gradualmente degrada e substitui essas moléculas herdadas da mãe, em um processo conhecido como transição materno-zigótica. Nosso principal objetivo foi o entendimento da comunicação entre as moléculas herdadas e as recém produzidas durante os primeiros passos do desenvolvimento de Apis mellifera. Para alcançar nosso objetivo, 16 bibliotecas de RNAseq (mRNA e miRNA) foram construídas utilizando amostras de RNA total de embriões diploides e haploides de diferentes idades e ovócitos maduros. A análise do transcriptoma mostrou que existem genes diferencialmente expressos entre os dois tipos de embriões já em 1 h de desenvolvimento. Além disso, nossa análise permitiu a identificação de mRNAs e miRNAs maternos e zigóticos, além de processos com que estas moléculas se relacionam. As análises mostraram também que um mesmo miRNA pode atingir diferentes mRNAs em cada tipo de embrião, na mesma fase de desenvolvimento. Além disso, um mesmo gene pode ser diferentemente regulado nos dois tipos de embriões. Por exemplo, broad/GB48272, que é classificado como materno em embriões dipoides é regulado por quatro miRNAs diferentes e em embriões haploides é classificado como zigótico, regulado por apenas um miRNA. Análise das bibliotecas de RNAseq e hibridação in situ mostrou o padrão de expressão de zelda em embriões jovens de abelhas. Zelda é um ativador chave do genoma zigótico em Drosophila e regula eventos importantes na embriogênese se ligando a um motivo conservado, TAGteam. Em A. mellifera, encontramos um motivo TAGteam putativo que tem sido relacionado à transcrição zigótica precoce. Além disso, a hibridização in situ e PCR mostraram três primiRNAs (ame-mir-375-3p, ame-mir-34-5p e ame-mir-263b-5p) que se expressam durante a clivagem. A presença de pri-miRNAs evidenciou a início da transcrição zigótica durante a clivagem. Em suma, podemos dizer que este é o primeiro trabalho em Apis mellifera a descrever os eventos de iniciais do desenvolvimento embrionário comparando embriões haploides e diploides usando os recentes protocolos de bioinformática e os avanços da biologia molecular. / Embryonic development is the result of a precisely controlled sequence of events modulated by environmental signals and intracellular mechanisms. In Hymenoptera, this process takes a special character due the sex-determination system (haplodiploidy). In this system, fertilized eggs develop in females (diploid) and unfertilized eggs in males (haploid). Thus, important events such as egg activation and maternal-zygotic transition, events of the early embryogenesis are key elements to understand the development of both types of embryos. Egg activation is a complex event triggered in response to external stimuli and necessary for the onset of embryogenesis. In honeybees egg activation occurs independently of fertilization and seems to be triggered during the passage through mother\'s reproductive tract. Furthermore, if the egg is not fertilized it will develop into haploid organism. However, if the egg receives the sperm up to 30min after activation, this egg develops into a diploid organism. In Drosophila, the egg activation is also fertilization independent. Initial stimulus that triggers the development is due mechanical stresses suffered by the egg during ovulation and passage through the reproductive tract. In this model, the first activation signal includes activation of calciumdependent pathway. Maternal molecules that are incorporated into the oocyte during ovogenesis, act during egg activation, as well as in early embryogenesis. Early embryogenesis events are also characterized by absence of high levels of zygotic transcription. The deposited molecules drive egg activation, breaking cell division dormancy permitting the beginning of embryonic development. But, the developing embryo gradually degrades and substitutes these mother-inherited molecules, in a process known as mother-to-zygote transition. Our main objective was the understanding of the deep crosstalk among the inherited molecules and the newly ones produced during the first steps of Apis mellifera embryogenesis. To achieve our objective 16 deep sequenced RNA (mRNA, miRNA) libraries were constructed using different age diploid and haploid embryos, and mature oocytes. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis was performed and interactive regulatory networks were constructed. Our analysis permitted the identification of maternal and zygotic mRNAs and miRNAs and related processes. Based on expression profiles of mRNAs and miRNAs in mature oocytes and haploid and diploid embryos of 2, 6 and 18-24 h of development, we constructed integrative regulatory networks (miRNA:mRNA) showing that the same miRNA could target different mRNAs in each type of embryo, in the same phase of development. As example we cite broad/GB48272, which is classified as maternal in diploid embryos and regulated by four different miRNAs. However, in haploid embryos it is zygotic and regulated by only one miRNA. Analysis of RNAseq and in situ hybridization showed the expression pattern of zelda in early honeybee embryos. Zelda is a key activator of Drosophila early zygotic genome and regulates important events in early embryogenesis binding to TAGteam motif. In A. mellifera, we found a putative TAGteam motif that has been implicated in early zygotic transcription. Moreover, in situ hybridization and PCR assay showed three pri-miRNAs (ame-mir-375-3p, ame-mir-34-5p and ame-mir-263b-5p) expressed during cleavage. The presence of pri-miRNAs is the first evidence of early zygotic transcription during cleavage. In short, we could say that this is the first work on Apis mellifera describing the early embryonic developmental events comparing haploid and diploid embryos using modern bioinformatics tools and advanced molecular analysis.

INTRODUÇÃO: O meduloblastoma, tumor maligno do Sistema Nervoso Central mais comum em crianças, foi inicialmente descrito de forma uniforme em 1925 por Bailey e Harvey Cushing. A despeito do avanço diagnóstico e terapêutico, os índices de morbimortalidade persistem altos. Grupos epidemiologicamente semelhantes podem ter desfechos diferentes, e evoluções desfavoráveis ocorrem em pacientes com marcadores de bom prognóstico. Os avanços nas pesquisas em biologia molecular procuram explicar os diferentes comportamentos da doença, e de forma sistemática, buscam identificar genes que sirvam como alvos terapêuticos, já que o tratamento disponível atualmente ainda é bastante insatisfatório e com muitos efeitos colaterais. Simeone e colaboradores identificaram os genes OTX1 e OTX2, presentes em humanos, e cuja função é organizar, compartimentalizar e hierarquizar a formação do sistema nervoso central, especialmente o cerebelo. Os genes OTX1 e OTX2 são expressos no tecido cerebelar em humanos até a nona semana de vida extra-uterina, exclusivamente. Os mesmos autores também identificaram que os mesmos genes são alvo terapêutico do ácido transretinóico, que inibe a expressão gênica. Estudos prévios demonstraram a expressão dos genes OTX1 e OTX2 em meduloblastomas, o que torna o ácido uma potencial terapêutica para estes tumores, assim como os genes OTX1 e OTX2 potenciais alvos para desenvolvimento de novas drogas terapêuticas. OBJETIVOS: Estudar a prevalência dos genes OTX1 e OTX2 em uma amostra de 60 pacientes, e estabelecer correlações entre a expressão gênica e aspectos clínicos, patológicos e de evolução. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODO: Realizada análise retrospectiva de 60 pacientes com diagnóstico meduloblastoma, operados no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, e no Hospital do Câncer de Barretos. Organizado um banco de dados de 60 pacientes contendo dados da expressão gênica dos genes OTX1 e OTX2 (obtida através da técnica de PCR em tempo real) e dados clínico-epidemiológicos. Realizados testes estatísticos para se estabelecer correlação entre dados clínico-patológicos e de expressão gênica. RESULTADOS: O gene OTX1 foi expresso em 52% da população estudada, e tal expressão variou com a idade (sendo maior em adultos), localização (preferência por hemisfério) e tipo histológico (desmoplásico). O gene OTX2 foi expresso em 62% da população estudada, e tal expressão variou com a idade (sendo maior quanto menor a faixa etária), localização (preferência por vérmis) e tipo histológico (clássico). Houve correlação estatística entre a expressão do gene OTX2 e o desenvolvimento de metástases leptomeníngeas. CONCLUSÕES: Na população estudada, a expressão dos genes OTX1 e OTX2 corrobora a impressão de seu papel importante na patogênese dos meduloblastomas, e é dependente da idade do paciente, da localização tumoral e do tipo histológico. Dada a sensibilidade do gene ao ácido transretinóico, a identificação deste perfil populacional pode significar no futuro novas perspectivas de tratamento. / INTRODUCTION: Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant tumor of the central nervous system in children, was first uniformly described in 1925 by Bailey and Harvey Cushing. Despite the diagnostic and therapeutic advances, the morbidity and mortality rates remain high. Epidemiologically similar groups may have different outcomes, and adverse developments occur in patients with markers of good prognosis. Advances in molecular biology research seeks to explain the different behaviors of the disease, and consistently seek to identify genes that serve as drug targets, since the treatment currently available is still unsatisfactory and with many side effects. Simeone and colleagues identified genes OTX1 and OTX2 in humans, and whose function is to organize, prioritize and compartmentalize the formation of the central nervous system, especially the cerebellum. OTX1 and OTX2 genes are expressed in cerebellar tissue in humans until the ninth week of extra uterine life, exclusively. The same authors also found that the same genes are therapeutic target of trans-retinoic acid, which inhibits gene expression. Previous studies have demonstrated the expression of OTX1 and OTX2 genes in medulloblastomas, which makes the acid a potential therapy for these tumors, as well as the genes OTX2 and OTX1 potential targets for developing new therapeutic drugs. OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of OTX1 and OTX2 genes in a sample of 60 patients, and to establish correlations between gene expression and clinical, pathological and follow up aspects. CASUISTICS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 60 patients diagnosed with medulloblastoma, assisted at Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, and the Cancer Hospital of Barretos. Organized a database of 60 patients which contains the gene expression of OTX1 and OTX2 genes (obtained through the technique of real-time PCR) and clinical and epidemiological data. Performed statistical tests to establish a correlation between clinical-pathological and gene expression. RESULTS: The OTX1 gene was expressed in 52% of the population studied, and such expression varied with age (being higher in adults), location (preferably by hemisphere) and histology (desmoplastic). The OTX2 gene was expressed in 62% of the studied population, and such expression varied with age (being higher the younger the age group), location (preferably vermis) and histological type (classical). A statistical correlation between the expression of OTX2 gene and development of leptomeningeal metastases was observed. CONCLUSIONS: In the studied population, the expression of OTX1 and OTX2 genes corroborates the impression of his role in the pathogenesis of medulloblastomas, and is dependent on patient age, tumor location and histological type. Given the sensitivity of the gene-trans retinoic acid, the identification of the population profile in the future will represent new opportunities for treatment.

O gene do Retardo Mental do X Frágil (FMR1) possui 17 éxons e seu transcrito primário pode sofrer splicing alternativo, havendo, entre outros eventos, possibilidade de exclusão ou inclusão do éxon 12. O produto da expressão do FMR1, a proteína do retardo mental do X frágil (FMRP), possui papéis importantes no sistema nervoso central, atuando como repressora da tradução de RNAm em espinhas dendríticas e controlando a síntese de proteínas envolvidas na função sináptica. Entre dois domínios centrais do tipo KH presentes na FMRP, o segundo (KH-2) é responsável pela interação da proteína aos polissomos. O domínio KH-2 é codificado pelos éxons 9 a 13 do FMR1 e possui a alça variável mais longa já observada entre proteínas humanas, que é codificada pelos éxons 11 e 12. A inclusão do éxon 12 no RNAm do FMR1 causa uma extensão em fase dessa alça variável do KH-2 da FMRP. Estas isoformas apresentam expressão significativa em neurônios cortico-cerebrais e cerebelares do rato, no primeiro mês pós-natal. Este trabalho baseia-se em resultados prévios do grupo de pesquisa, em que se identificaram sequências curtas no íntron 12 do FMR1, com potencial para agir como acentuadores de splicing. Baseando-nos na hipótese de que essas sequências constituem elementos transcritos que se ligam a fatores proteicos do núcleo celular, potencialmente reguladores do splicing do pré-RNAm do FMR1, realizamos ensaios de precipitação por afinidade com extratos nucleares de córtex cerebral de rato e transcritos do loco, biotinilados. Análises por espectrometria de massas revelaram enriquecimento de proteínas nucleares, contendo domínios de ligação a RNA, principalmente aquelas relacionadas à regulação e processamento de pré-RNAm, sobretudo o splicing / Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 gene (FMR1) comprises 17 exons. Its primary transcript is subject to alternative splicing, allowing for the possibility of exon 12 inclusion or skipping, among other events. The product of FMR1 gene expression, fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), has important roles in the central nervous system, acting as a translational repressor in dendritic spines, thus controlling the synthesis of proteins involved in synaptic function. FMRP has two central KH domains. One of them (KH-2) is responsible for its interaction with polysomes. The KH-2 domain is encoded by FMR1 exons 9 to 13. It contains the longest variable loop ever observed among human KH-containing proteins, which is encoded by FMR1 exons 11 and 12. Exon-12 inclusion in FMR1 mRNA causes an in-frame extension of FMRP KH-2 domain variable loop. These isoforms appear significantly expressed in cortico-cerebral and cerebellar neurons of the rat in the first month after birth. We have previously identified short sequences within FMR1 intron 12 that may potentially act as splicing enhancers. Our study is based on the hypothesis that those sequences when transcribed should bind to nuclear protein factors that may function as FMR1 exon 12 pre-mRNA splicing regulators. To initiate an experimental approach to test that hypothesis, we conducted affinity precipitation assays with rat cerebral cortex nuclear extracts and biotinylated transcripts. Mass spectrometry analyses disclosed proteins that have been described to be enriched in the cell nucleus, contain RNA-binding domains, and be functionally related to pre-mRNA processing, notably splicing