Relevance of obesity and overweight to salivary and plasma proteomes of human young adults from Brazil / Relevância da obesidade e sobrepeso para os proteomas salivares e plasmáticos de adultos jovens humanos do Brasil

Obesity is a chronic condition related to multiple comorbidities such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, periodontal and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity can lead to a metabolic change, creating a prolonged and low-intensity inflammatory process. This study aims to analyze the plasma and saliva proteomes of young adults with obesity and overweight comparing to normal weight individuals, to reveal if the rise on body mass influences the proteomic profiles. The reported population consisted of 18 students and/or employees of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, aged between 18 and 35 years. Individuals were categorized according to their anthropometric measures in the Normal Weight, Overweight and Obese groups. Proteomic characterization was assessed by quantitative Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI Q/TOF). In addition, cytokines were identified by Multiplex analysis. A total of 118 human proteins from saliva and plasma were identified, including 7 that were common between both fluids. The salivary and plasma proteomes seemed to be related to the body mass index, once the three groups showed distinct proteome profiles. Altogether 49 proteins presented different abundances between the obese, overweight, and normal weight individuals. The main functional category modified in both fluids was the immune response. Most of the modified proteins were previously reported as related to inflammatory diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, in particular alpha-1 antitrypsin, C3 complement, alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein, apolipoprotein AI and lysozyme, that could be tested to possible use as early biomarkers of obesity comorbidities

Structural analyses of rab family GTPases and mechanism of Mafb regulation by the protein TIPRL

Orientadores: Nilson Ivo Tonin Zanchin, Beatriz Gomes GuimaraesTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de BiologiaResumo: As GTPases da família Rab regulam o transporte intracelular de vesículas em eucariotos. Cada Rab atua em uma via de transporte específica e seu mecanismo de ação se dá através da realização de um ciclo de ligação e hidrólise de GTP. Neste trabalho, foi determinada a estrutura cristalográfica das formas inativa (ligada a GDP) e ativa (ligada a GppNHp) da GTPase Rab11b, um membro da subfamília Rab11 que está envolvida na reciclagem de proteínas dos endossomos para a membrana plasmática, no tráfego de vesículas da rede trans-Golgi para a membrana plasmática e na fagocitose. Os resultados foram confrontados com os dados estruturais da Rab11a descritos anteriormente. A Rab11b inativa cristalizou como um monômero, o que gera conflitos a respeito da formação de dímeros funcionais pela Rab11a. A Rab11b e a Rab11a ativas divergiram em relação à posição e à interação da serina 20, que é importante na hidrólise de GTP, mas apresentaram taxas hidrolíticas semelhantes in vitro. Visando uma investigação mais ampla da família Rab, a GTPase Rab21 também foi cristalizada, mas os cristais difrataram até 2.90 Å de resolução. Ensaios de desnaturação térmica revelaram que a Rab21 é estruturalmente mais instável do que a Rab11, talvez pela presença de cisteínas que estão susceptíveis à oxidação, contribuindo para a agregação e precipitação da proteína. A Rab11 é bastante estável, e possivelmente forma estruturas do tipo beta-amilóide em altas temperaturas. Este trabalho envolveu também o estudo funcional da interação entre a proteína TIP41 humana (TIPRL) e o fator de transcrição MafB. A TIPRL é uma proteína conservada que foi identificada como uma ativadora de MAP quinases enquanto sua homóloga em levedura foi caracterizada como um antagonista da via de sinalização da quinase TOR que regula o crescimento celular. A MafB está envolvida no controle transcricional em diversos processos de desenvolvimento, mas seus reguladores ainda não estão bem estabelecidos. A interação direta entre a TIPRL e a MafB inteira, ou seu domínio bZIP isolado, foi confirmada através de ensaios de ligação in vitro. As proteínas co-localizaram no núcleo de células HEK293 e nossos resultados preliminares mostram que a TIPRL inibe a atividade transcricional da MafB in vivo, embora apenas interfira na ligação in vitro do domínio bZIP da MafB ao seu DNA-alvo mediante a estabilização do complexo TIPRL-bZIP. A TIPRL pode, portanto, constituir um novo regulador da atividade de MafBAbstract: GTPases of the Rab family are responsible for the intracellular transport of vesicles. Each family member acts on a specific transport pathway and their function is regulated by GTP binding and hydrolysis, cycling between inactive (GDP-bound) and active (GTP-bound) forms. In this work, we describe the crystal structure of inactive and active forms of the GTPase Rab11b, a member of the Rab11 subfamily which is involved in recycling of proteins from endosomes to the plasma membrane, in polarized transport in epithelial cells, in the transport of molecules of the trans-Golgi network to the plasma membrane and in phagocytosis. The Rab11b structure showed several differences from the Rab11a isoform previously described. Inactive Rab11b crystallized as a monomer, contradicting the hypothesis about functional dimers formed by Rab11a. Active Rab11b differ from Rab11a relative to the position of the serine 20 sidechain, which is involved in GTP hydrolysis, although both GTPases show similar GTP hydrolysis rates in vitro. In order to obtain structural information on Rab GTPases, Rab21 was also crystallized, but the crystals diffracted to a relatively low resolution (2.90 Å). Rab21 is a cysteine rich protein, showing a higher instability relative to Rab11b. Thermal unfolding followed by circular dicroism confirmed this hypothesis. Both Rab11b and Rab11a show a relatively high thermal stability and circular dicroism analysis indicate that they undergo conversion to structures rich in beta-strands upon thermal denaturation. This work includes also studies on the function of TIPRL in regard to its interaction with the transcription factor MafB. TIPRL is a conserved human protein identified as an activator of MAP kinases whereas its yeast counterpart Tip41 functions as an antagonist of the TOR kinase pathway. MafB is a large member of the Maf family of bZIP transcription factors controlling developmental processes in vertebrates. Regulation of MafB is critical, for example, during erythroid differentiation. A direct interaction between TIPRL and full length MafB and the bZIP domain of MafB was confirmed by in vitro interaction assays. TIPRL is localized throughout the whole cell and overlaps with MafB in the nucleus of HEK293 cells. Preliminary assays showed that TIPRL inhibits transcriptional activation mediated by MafB in HEK293 cells, although MafB shows a higher binding affinity to its target DNA relative to TIPRL in vitro. This evidence indicates that TIPRL may control MafB activity in vivoDoutoradoGenetica Animal e EvoluçãoDoutor em Genetica e Biologia Molecula

Experimental approaches to the interaction of the prion protein with nucleic acids and glycosaminoglycans: Modulators of the pathogenic conversion

12 p. : il., tab.The concept that transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are caused only by proteins haschanged the traditional paradigm that disease transmission is due solely to an agent that carries genetic information. The central hypothesis for prion diseases proposes that the conversion of a cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a misfolded, b-sheet-rich isoform (PrPSc) accounts for the development of (TSE). There is substantial evidence that the infectious material consists chiefly of a protein, PrPSc, with no genomic coding material, unlike a virus particle, which has both. However, prions seem to have other partners that chaperone their activities in converting the PrPC into the disease-causing isoform. Nucleic acids (NAs) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are the most probable accomplices of prion conversion. Here, we review the recent experimental approaches that have been employed to characterize the interaction of prion proteins with nucleic acids and glycosaminoglycans. A PrP recognizes many nucleic acids and GAGs with high affinities, and this seems to be related to a pathophysiological role for this interaction. A PrP binds nucleic acids and GAGs with structural selectivity, and some PrP:NA complexes can become proteinase K-resistant, undergoing amyloid oligomerization and conversion to a b-sheet-rich structure. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that endogenous polyanions (such as NAs and GAGs) may accelerate the rate of prion disease progression by acting as scaffolds or lattices that mediate the interaction between PrPC and PrPSc molecules. In addition to a still-possible hypothesis that nucleic acids and GAGs, especially those from the host, may modulate the conversion, the recent structural characterization of the complexes has raised the possibility of developing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies