@phdthesis{Polzien2011,
  author    = {Polzien, Lisa},
  title     = {BAD Phosphorylation: A Novel Link between Apoptosis and Cancer},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-56919},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {BAD (Bcl-2 antagonist of cell death, Bcl-2 associated death promoter) is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 protein family that is regulated by phosphorylation in response to survival factors. Although much attention has been devoted to the identification of phosphorylation sites in murine BAD (mBAD), little data are available with respect to phosphorylation of human BAD (hBAD) protein. In this work, we investigated the quantitative contribution of BAD targeting kinases in phosphorylating serines 75, 99 and 118 of hBAD (Chapter 3.1). Our results indicate that RAF kinases phosphorylate hBAD in vivo at these established serine residues. RAF-induced phosphorylation of hBAD was not prevented by MEK inhibitors but could be reduced to control levels by use of the RAF inhibitor Sorafenib (BAY 43-9006). Consistently, expression of active RAF suppressed apoptosis induced by hBAD and the inhibition of colony formation caused by hBAD could be prevented by RAF. In addition, using surface plasmon resonance technique we analyzed the direct consequences of hBAD phosphorylation by RAF with respect to complex formation of BAD with 14-3-3 proteins and Bcl-XL. Phosphorylation of hBAD by active RAF promotes 14-3-3 protein association, whereby the phosphoserine 99 represents the major binding site. Furthermore, we demonstrate in this work that hBAD forms channels in planar bilayer membranes in vitro. This pore-forming capacity is dependent on phosphorylation status and interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Additionally, we show that hBAD pores possess a funnel-shaped geometry that can be entered by ions and non-charged molecules up to 200 Da (Chapter 3.2). Since both lipid binding domains of hBAD (LBD1 and LBD2) are located within the C-terminal region, we investigated this part of the protein with respect to its structural properties (Chapter 3.3). Our results demonstrate that the C-terminus of hBAD possesses an ordered β-sheet structure in aqueous solution that adopts helical disposition upon interaction with lipid membranes. Additionally, we show that the interaction of the C-terminal segment of hBAD with the BH3 domain results in the formation of permanently open pores, whereby the phosphorylation of serine 118 proved to be necessary for effective pore-formation. In contrast, phosphorylation of serine 99 in combination with 14-3-3 association suppresses formation of channels. These results indicate that the C-terminal part of hBAD controls hBAD function by structural transitions, lipid binding and phosphorylation. Using mass spectrometry we identified in this work, besides the established in vivo phosphorylation sites at serines 75, 99 and 118, several novel hBAD phosphorylation sites (serines 25, 32/34, 97, 124 and 134, Chapter 3.1). To further analyze the regulation of hBAD function, we investigated the role of these newly identified phosphorylation sites on BAD-mediated apoptosis. We found that in contrast to the N-terminal phosphorylation sites, the C-terminal serines 124 and 134 act in an anti-apoptotic manner (Chapter 3.4). Our results further indicate that RAF kinases and PAK1 effectively phosphorylate BAD at serine 134. Notably, in the presence of wild type hBAD, co-expression of survival kinases, such as RAF and PAK1, leads to a strongly increased proliferation, whereas substitution of serine 134 by alanine abolishes this process. Furthermore, we identified hBAD serine 134 to be strongly involved in survival signaling in B-RAF-V600E containing tumor cells and found phosphorylation of this residue to be crucial for efficient proliferation in these cells. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the regulation of hBAD function by phosphorylation and its role in cancer signaling.},
  subject      = {Krebs <Medizin>},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Puschmann2011,
  author    = {Puschmann, Anne-Katrin},
  title     = {Migr{\"a}ne, Stress und Emotionen - Psychophysiologische und neuroimmunologische Faktoren},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-55985},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war die Untersuchung der Reaktionen von Migr{\"a}nepatientinnen mit episodischer (EM) und h{\"a}ufiger Migr{\"a}ne (HM) auf verschiedene Aspekte des Triggerfaktors „Negativer Affekt" wie Stress und negative Emotionen. Die Ergebnisse der beiden Gruppen wurden mit denen gesunder Kontrollpersonen verglichen (KG). Zur Ermittlung des Aufmerksamkeitsverhaltens gegen{\"u}ber emotionalen Reizen wurden zwei Emotionale Stroop Tests (EST) durchgef{\"u}hrt. Erwartet wurde ein Aufmerksamkeitsbias der Patientinnen hinsichtlich negativer emotionaler Reize. Im EST 1 wurden allgemeine affektive W{\"o}rter der Valenzen positiv, neutral und negativ verwendet. Die Probandinnen sollten auf die Wortfarbe mit Tastendruck reagieren und den Wortinhalt ignorieren. Im EST 2 wurden emotionale Gesichtsausdr{\"u}cke ({\"a}rgerlich, freundlich, neutral) als Reize verwendet. Dabei sollte die Rahmenfarbe der Bilder per Tastendruck bestimmt werden und der Inhalt ignoriert werden. Zur Auswertung wurden Emotionale Stroop Interferenzen (ESI) zum Vergleich Reaktionszeitdifferenzen negativ-neutral und negativ-positiv berechnet. Der erwartete Aufmerksamkeitsbias der HM f{\"u}r negative emotionale Reize wurde dabei nicht gefunden. Daf{\"u}r zeigten im EST 2 die KG einen Aufmerksamkeitsbias f{\"u}r {\"a}rgerliche Gesichter. Ein signifikanter Gruppenunterschied in EST 2 mit sehr niedrigen, im Vergleich negativ-positiv sogar negativen ESI der HM ließ auf ein Vermeidungsverhalten dieser Gruppe {\"a}rgerlichen Gesichtern gegen{\"u}ber schließen. Dieses wurde als Vermeidung negativer sozialer Reize interpretiert und zum gelernten, m{\"o}glicherweise dysfunktionalen Vermeidungsverhalten von Migr{\"a}nepatienten potentiellen Triggersituationen gegen{\"u}ber in Bezug gesetzt. Weiterhin wurden die Probandinnen mit dem „Paradigma der {\"O}ffentlichen Rede" psychosozialem Stress ausgesetzt, indem sie vor einer Videokamera unter Beobachtung eine Rede halten sowie eine Kopfrechenaufgabe l{\"o}sen sollten. Vorher und nachher wurden insgesamt vier Speichelproben zur Bestimmung des Stresshormons Kortisol genommen. Zudem wurden die Druckschmerzschwellen vor und nach dem Experimentalteil gemessen. Die erwartete Kortisolreaktion als Antwort auf die psychosoziale Stressaufgabe blieb aus. Ursache daf{\"u}r kann die Stichprobenzusammensetzung mit 98\% Frauen sein, deren Kortisolreaktion auf Stress durch hormonelle Schwankungen im Experiment nur unzuverl{\"a}ssig stimulierbar ist. Bei der Berechnung der Gesamtkortisolaussch{\"u}ttung {\"u}ber die Zeit zeigte sich im Gegensatz zu dem erwarteten erh{\"o}hten Kortisolspiegel der Migr{\"a}nepatientinnen ein linearer Abfall des Spiegels von KG, {\"u}ber EM zu HM, mit den niedrigsten Werten der HM. Diese Ergebnisse k{\"o}nnten auf Ver{\"a}nderungen der Hypophysen-Nebennieren (HHN)-Achse im Sinne eines Hypokortisolismus bei Migr{\"a}nepatientinnen widerspiegeln, der weiterer Kl{\"a}rung bedarf, z.B. durch die Bestimmung eines Kortisoltagesprofils bei Patientinnen. Eine ver{\"a}nderte Funktion der HHN-Achse k{\"o}nnte außerdem zu einer inad{\"a}quaten Reaktion auf Stresssituationen beitragen. Die bei Patientinnen ausbleibende Ver{\"a}nderung der Druckschmerzschwelle in Reaktion auf Stress l{\"a}sst ebenfalls auf eine ungen{\"u}gende Stressreaktion der Patientinnen schließen. Am Ende der Untersuchung, nach einer Entspannungsphase von 50 Minuten, wurde den Probandinnen Blut abgenommen, in dem die mRNA- und Proteinkonzentrationen ausgew{\"a}hlter pro- und antiinflammatorischer Zytokine bestimmt wurden. Die Analyse der Zytokinkonzentrationen mit Luminex ergab f{\"u}r die Proteindaten aufgrund zu geringer verwertbarer Daten kein interpretierbares Bild. Die mittels Real Time Quantitativer PCR erhaltenen mRNA-Konzentrationen spiegelten die Schmerzfreiheit der Patienten wieder, mit im Vergleich zu KG verringerten proinflammatorischen Zytokinen (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6) und dem ebenfalls verringerten antiinflammatorischen Zytokin IL-10, sowie dem deutlich erh{\"o}hten antiinflammatorischen IL-4. Die im Vergleich zur KG {\"u}berregulierten Zytokine im schmerzfreien Intervall weisen auf ver{\"a}nderte Regulierungsmechanismen des Immunsystems f{\"u}r die Schmerzmediatoren Zytokine hin. Weitere Schmerzmediatoren k{\"o}nnten ebenfalls ver{\"a}ndert sein, was weiterer Kl{\"a}rung in nachfolgenden Studien bedarf. Alles in allem konnten verschiedene Ver{\"a}nderungen in den psychologischen und endokrinen Reaktionen der Migr{\"a}nepatientinnen auf Bestandteile des Triggers „Negativer Affekt" sowie in der Schmerzregulierung gefunden werden, wobei die Ver{\"a}nderungen bei Patientinnen mit H{\"a}ufiger Migr{\"a}ne st{\"a}rker auftraten. Dies weist auf eine m{\"o}gliche Rolle der einzelnen untersuchten Komponenten bei der Migr{\"a}nechronifizierung hin, was in weiteren Studien vertiefend untersucht werden sollte.},
  subject      = {Migr{\"a}ne},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Jentzsch2011,
  author    = {Jentzsch, Claudia},
  title     = {Identifizierung und Charakterisierung funktionell relevanter kardialer Faktoren},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-66699},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Die chronische Herzinsuffizienz stellt nach wie vor eine der h{\"a}ufigsten Todesursachen weltweit dar. Trotz intensiver Forschung ist es bisher nicht m{\"o}glich die pathophysiologischen Prozesse aufzuhalten. Es wird nach neuen Strategien gesucht, hier therapeutisch eingreifen zu k{\"o}nnen. Kleine nicht-kodierende RNAs, sogenannte microRNAs (miRNAs), wurden als wichtige Faktoren bei verschiedenen Herzkrankheiten beschrieben. Die Mehrzahl der bisherigen Studien fokussierte sich dabei auf die am st{\"a}rksten deregulierten miRNAs im erkrankten Herz. In einer automatisierten Analyse im 96 Well-Format untersuchten wir 230 miRNAs auf ihr Potential, in das Gr{\"o}ßenwachstum von prim{\"a}ren Kardiomyozyten einzugreifen. Aus den miRNAs mit den gr{\"o}ßten Effekten selektierten wir diejenigen, die eine hohe endogene Expression aufwiesen, und unterzogen sie einem Validierungsprozess. Hier konnten wir die Effekte aller pro- (miR-22, miR-30c, miR-30d, miR-212, miR-365) und anti-hypertrophen (miR-27a, miR-27b, miR-133a) miRNAs best{\"a}tigen. Die Mehrzahl dieser miRNAs wurde hiermit erstmalig beschrieben, dass sie eine wichtige Rolle beim Gr{\"o}ßenwachstum von Kardiomyozyten spielen. Sie w{\"a}ren daher interessante Kandidaten f{\"u}r detaillierte funktionelle Studien mit dem Ziel ihr therapeutisches Potential zu evaluieren. In einem fr{\"u}heren genetischen Screen zur Identifizierung von kardialen, sezernierten Faktoren wurde der Protease Inhibitor 16 (PI16) entdeckt, der sich im insuffizienten Herz durch eine starke Akkumulation auszeichnet. Gegenstand des zweiten Teils dieser Arbeit war es, eine Mauslinie zu generieren, in der PI16 global oder konditionell mit Hilfe des Cre/LoxP-Systems ausgeschaltet werden kann. Nach Elektroporation des Pi16floxneo Targeting Vektors in embryonale Stammzellen und Blastozysteninjektion erhielten wir eine Mauslinie, die Tr{\"a}ger der zielgerichteten Modifikation des Pi16 Allels war. Mit der globalen genetischen Deletion des LoxP-flankierten Abschnitts von Exon 3 bis 4 konnten wir die Expression des Pi16 Gens komplett unterbinden. Die PI16 Defizienz f{\"u}hrte weder im Herz noch in anderen Organen per se zu pathologischen Ver{\"a}nderungen. Zudem war unbekannt, dass PI16 in der gesunden Maus in der kardialen Fibroblastenfraktion enthalten sowie in den Zilien der Epididymis und der Trachea und im Lumen der Schilddr{\"u}se lokalisiert ist. Im insuffizienten Herz best{\"a}tigten wir eine Akkumulation von PI16, die sich vor allem auf die fibrotischen Bereiche beschr{\"a}nkte. Das l{\"a}sst Grund zur Annahme, dass die kardiale Funktion von PI16 erst dann offensichtlich wird, wenn man die defizienten M{\"a}use zuk{\"u}nftig entsprechenden Stressmodellen aussetzt. Das wird zu einem umfassenden Verst{\"a}ndnis der kardialen Funktion von PI16 und dessen Potential als therapeutisches Zielmolek{\"u}l f{\"u}hren.},
  subject      = {miRNS},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Halder2011,
  author    = {Halder, Partho},
  title     = {Identification and characterization of synaptic proteins of Drosophila melanogaster using monoclonal antibodies of the Wuerzburg Hybridoma Library},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67325},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {For a large fraction of the proteins expressed in the human brain only the primary structure is known from the genome project. Proteins conserved in evolution can be studied in genetic models such as Drosophila. In this doctoral thesis monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from the Wuerzburg Hybridoma library are produced and characterized with the aim to identify the target antigen. The mAb ab52 was found to be an IgM which recognized a cytosolic protein of Mr ~110 kDa on Western blots. The antigen was resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) as a single distinct spot. Mass spectrometric analysis of this spot revealed EPS-15 (epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate clone 15) to be a strong candidate. Another mAb from the library, aa2, was already found to recognize EPS-15, and comparison of the signal of both mAbs on Western blots of 1D and 2D electrophoretic separations revealed similar patterns, hence indicating that both antigens could represent the same protein. Finally absence of the wild-type signal in homozygous Eps15 mutants in a Western blot with ab52 confirmed the ab52 antigen to be EPS-15. Thus both the mAbs aa2 and ab52 recognize the Drosophila homologue of EPS-15. The mAb aa2, being an IgG, is more suitable for applications like immunoprecipitation (IP). It has already been submitted to the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB) to be easily available for the entire research community. The mAb na21 was also found to be an IgM. It recognizes a membrane associated antigen of Mr ~10 kDa on Western blots. Due to the membrane associated nature of the protein, it was not possible to resolve it by 2DE and due to the IgM nature of the mAb it was not possible to enrich the antigen by IP. Preliminary attempts to biochemically purify the endogenously expressed protein from the tissue, gave promising results but could not be completed due to lack of time. Thus biochemical purification of the protein seems possible in order to facilitate its identification by mass spectrometry. Several other mAbs were studied for their staining pattern on cryosections and whole mounts of Drosophila brains. However, many of these mAbs stained very few structures in the brain, which indicated that only a very limited amount of protein would be available as starting material. Because these antibodies did not produce signals on Western blots, which made it impossible to enrich the antigens by electrophoretic methods, we did not attempt their purification. However, the specific localization of these proteins makes them highly interesting and calls for their further characterization, as they may play a highly specialized role in the development and/or function of the neural circuits they are present in. The purification and identification of such low expression proteins would need novel methods of enrichment of the stained structures.},
  subject      = {Taufliege},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Bonn2011,
  author    = {Bonn, Maria Roswitha},
  title     = {Zielstrukturen des serotonergen Systems in der laterobasalen Amygdala : Untersuchungen an Ratten und einem Mausmodell f{\"u}r emotionale Dysregulation},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69494},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Die Amygdala ist ein Kernkomplex, der dicht von serotonergen Afferenzen innerviert wird. Sowohl bei Tieren als auch beim Menschen spielen Interaktionen zwischen dem serotonergen System und der Amygdala bei der Verarbeitung von Reizen, die mit Angst oder Stress assoziiert sind, eine zentrale Rolle. Genetische Variationen im serotonergen System und/oder dauerhafter Stress k{\"o}nnen dazu f{\"u}hren, dass diese Verarbeitungsprozesse fehlerhaft ablaufen, wodurch Verhaltensanormalit{\"a}ten bzw. die Entstehung psychiatrischer Erkrankungen beg{\"u}nstigt werden. Die Zielneurone der serotonergen Transmission in der Amygdala, die molekularen Mechanismen m{\"o}glicher Interaktionen und strukturelle Konsequenzen der St{\"o}rungen dieser Interaktionen sind jedoch bis zum heutigen Zeitpunkt noch nicht vollst{\"a}ndig bekannt. Daher bestand ein Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit darin, den Einfluss eines Ungleichgewichts im serotonergen System (5-Htt KO) sowie von wiederholtem, sozialem Stress auf die neuronale Morphologie der Amygdala zu analysieren und Zielneurone serotonerger Afferenzen zu identifizieren und zu charakterisieren, um die neuronalen Netzwerke der Emotionsverarbeitung besser verstehen zu k{\"o}nnen. Um vom 5-Htt-Genotyp abh{\"a}ngige und stressbedingte neuromorphologische Ver{\"a}nderungen zu untersuchen, wurden dreidimensionale Rekonstruktionen von Neuronen der laterobasalen Amygdala von m{\"a}nnlichen, adulten Wildtyp (WT)- und 5-Htt KO-M{\"a}usen angefertigt und bez{\"u}glich verschiedener morphologischer Parameter ausgewertet. An den Pyramidenzellen wurden nur geringf{\"u}gige Ver{\"a}nderungen der dendritischen Komplexit{\"a}t, jedoch, im Vergleich zu WT-M{\"a}usen, eine wesentliche Erh{\"o}hung der Dornendichte an spezifischen dendritischen Kompartimenten bei gestressten WT-M{\"a}usen, sowie nicht gestressten und gestressten 5-Htt KO-M{\"a}usen nachgewiesen. Im Vergleich zu nicht gestressten WT-M{\"a}usen war die dendritische Dornendichte aller anderen Gruppen gleichermaßen erh{\"o}ht. Die Sternzelle, zeigten bez{\"u}glich der untersuchten Parameter keine morphologischen Ver{\"a}nderungen auf. Eine besondere Subpopulation der Interneurone stellen die NeuropeptidY (NPY)-Neurone der laterobasalen Amygdala dar, da sie in diesen Nuclei anxiolytisch wirken. Es gibt nur wenige Anhaltspunkte dar{\"u}ber, durch welche Systeme NPY-Neurone moduliert werden. Da sowohl NPY-Neurone in der laterobasalen Amygdala als auch das serotonerge System an angstregulierenden Prozessen beteiligt sind, sollte im zweiten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit untersucht werden, ob es sich bei diesen Neuronen um Zielstrukturen des serotonergen Systems handelt. Mittels licht- und elektronenmikroskopischer Analysen wurden synaptische Kontakte zwischen serotonergen Afferenzen und NPY-immunreaktiven Neuronen in der laterobasalen Amygdala von Ratten verifiziert. Da der funktionelle Einfluss der serotonergen Innervation auf diese Zielneurone von deren Serotoninrezeptor (5-HTR)-Ausstattung abh{\"a}ngt, wurden Koexpressionsanalysen von NPY mRNA mit den mRNAs verschiedener 5-HTR durchgef{\"u}hrt. Die Analysen ergaben, dass NPY mRNA-reaktive Neurone in der laterobasalen Amygdala 5-HT1A und 5-HT2C, jedoch nicht 5-HT3 mRNA koexprimieren. Die in der vorliegenden Arbeit erzielten Resultate liefern neue Erkenntnisse {\"u}ber den Einfluss des serotonergen Systems auf die laterobasale Amygdala von M{\"a}usen und Ratten. Bei den Ver{\"a}nderungen der dendritischen Dornendichte nach sozialen Stresserfahrungen k{\"o}nnte es sich um neuroadaptive bzw. kompensatorische Mechanismen der Pyramidenzellen handeln, die WT-M{\"a}usen eine Anpassung an sich {\"a}ndernde, negative Umweltbedingungen erm{\"o}glicht. Die erh{\"o}hte Dornendichte k{\"o}nnte dabei die Ausbildung eines „emotionalen Ged{\"a}chtnisses" repr{\"a}sentieren, das eine flexible Verhaltensantwort auf ein erneutes Auftauchen von Gefahr erlaubt. Eine solche Modulation der Erregbarkeit der laterobasalen Amygdala k{\"o}nnte beispielsweise {\"u}ber eine situationsentsprechende Hemmung des Outputs der Pyramidenzellen durch differentiell aktive inhibitorische Netzwerke erfolgen. Eine differentielle Aktivierung kann z. B. {\"u}ber unterschiedliche Rezeptorausstattungen, wie es in der Subpopulation der NPY-Neurone in der vorliegenden Arbeit nachgewiesen wurde, erfolgen. Das erh{\"o}hte angst{\"a}hnliche Verhalten der 5-Htt KO-M{\"a}use nach wiederholtem Stress k{\"o}nnte mit der Unf{\"a}higkeit zusammenh{\"a}ngen, in entsprechenden Situationen durch Neubildung von Dornen zu reagieren, da die Dornendichte bei diesen Tieren schon unter stressarmen Umweltbedingungen ihr Maximum erreicht hat. Sowohl Fehlfunktionen der neuronalen Plastizit{\"a}t als auch m{\"o}gliche Fehlfunktionen der differentiellen Inhibierung der Pyramidenzellen durch Interneurone, die durch genetische Variationen und/oder Stress bedingt sein k{\"o}nnen, k{\"o}nnten eine „offene T{\"u}r" repr{\"a}sentieren, die zu manifesten Auff{\"a}lligkeiten im Verhalten bei Tieren f{\"u}hrt bzw. auch zur Entstehung bestimmter psychiatrischer Erkrankungen beim Menschen beitr{\"a}gt.},
  subject      = {Angst},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Jacobs2011,
  author    = {Jacobs, Graeme Brendon},
  title     = {HIV-1 resistance analyses from therapy-na{\"i}ve patients in South Africa, Tanzania and the characterization of a new HIV-1 subtype C proviral molecular clone},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67319},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is currently the most infectious disease worldwide. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). At the moment there are ~33.3 million people infected with HIV. Sub-Saharan Africa, with ~22.5 million people infected accounts for 68\% of the global burden. In most African countries antiretroviral therapy (ART) is administered in limited-resource settings with standardised first- and second-line ART regimens. During this study I analysed the therapy-na{\"i}ve population of Cape Town, South Africa and Mwanza, Tanzania for any resistance associated mutations (RAMs) against protease inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. My results indicate that HIV-1 subtype C accounts for ~95\% of all circulating strains in Cape Town, South Africa. I could show that ~3.6\% of the patient derived viruses had RAMs, despite patients being therapy-na{\"i}ve. In Mwanza, Tanzania the HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) prevalence in the therapy-na{\"i}ve population was 14.8\% and significantly higher in the older population, >25 years. Therefore, the current WHO transmitted HIVDR (tHIVDR) survey that is solely focused on the transmission of HIVDR and that excludes patients over 25 years of age may result in substantial underestimation of the prevalence of HIVDR in the therapy-na{\"i}ve population. Based on the prevalence rates of tHIVDR in the study populations it is recommended that all HIV-1 positive individuals undergo a genotyping resistance test before starting ART. I also characterized vif sequences from HIV-1 infected patients from Cape Town, South Africa as the Vif protein has been shown to counteract the antiretroviral activity of the cellular APOBEC3G/F cytidine deaminases. There is no selective pressure on the HIV-1 Vif protein from current ART regimens and vif sequences was used as an evolutionary control. As the majority of phenotypic resistance assays are still based on HIV-1 subtype B, I wanted to design an infectious HIV-1 subtype C proviral molecular clone that can be used for in vitro assays based on circulating strains in South Africa. Therefore, I characterized an early primary HIV-1 subtype C isolate from Cape Town, South Africa and created a new infectious subtype C proviral molecular clone (pZAC). The new pZAC virus has a significantly higher transient viral titer after transfection and replication rate than the previously published HIV-1 subtype C virus from Botswana. The optimized proviral molecular clone, pZAC could be used in future cell culture and phenotypic HIV resistance assays regarding HIV-1 subtype C.},
  subject      = {HIV},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Beisser2011,
  author    = {Beisser, Daniela},
  title     = {Integrated functional analysis of biological networks},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-70150},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {In recent years high-throughput experiments provided a vast amount of data from all areas of molecular biology, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Its analysis using bioinformatics methods has developed accordingly, towards a systematic approach to understand how genes and their resulting proteins give rise to biological form and function. They interact with each other and with other molecules in highly complex structures, which are explored in network biology. The in-depth knowledge of genes and proteins obtained from high-throughput experiments can be complemented by the architecture of molecular networks to gain a deeper understanding of biological processes. This thesis provides methods and statistical analyses for the integration of molecular data into biological networks and the identification of functional modules, as well as its application to distinct biological data. The integrated network approach is implemented as a software package, termed BioNet, for the statistical language R. The package includes the statistics for the integration of transcriptomic and functional data with biological networks, the scoring of nodes and edges of these networks as well as methods for subnetwork search and visualisation. The exact algorithm is extensively tested in a simulation study and outperforms existing heuristic methods for the calculation of this NP-hard problem in accuracy and robustness. The variability of the resulting solutions is assessed on perturbed data, mimicking random or biased factors that obscure the biological signal, generated for the integrated data and the network. An optimal, robust module can be calculated using a consensus approach, based on a resampling method. It summarizes optimally an ensemble of solutions in a robust consensus module with the estimated variability indicated by confidence values for the nodes and edges. The approach is subsequently applied to two gene expression data sets. The first application analyses gene expression data for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and differences between the subgroups with and without an oncogenic BCR/ABL gene fusion. In a second application gene expression and survival data from diffuse large B-cell lymphomas are examined. The identified modules include and extend already existing gene lists and signatures by further significant genes and their interactions. The most important novelty is that these genes are determined and visualised in the context of their interactions as a functional module and not as a list of independent and unrelated transcripts. In a third application the integrative network approach is used to trace changes in tardigrade metabolism to identify pathways responsible for their extreme resistance to environmental changes and endurance in an inactive tun state. For the first time a metabolic network approach is proposed to detect shifts in metabolic pathways, integrating transcriptome and metabolite data. Concluding, the presented integrated network approach is an adequate technique to unite high-throughput experimental data for single molecules and their intermolecular dependencies. It is flexible to apply on diverse data, ranging from gene expression changes over metabolite abundances to protein modifications in a combination with a suitable molecular network. The exact algorithm is accurate and robust in comparison to heuristic approaches and delivers an optimal, robust solution in form of a consensus module with confidence values. By the integration of diverse sources of information and a simultaneous inspection of a molecular event from different points of view, new and exhaustive insights into biological processes can be acquired.},
  subject      = {Bioinformatik},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Joseph2011,
  author    = {Joseph, Julie},
  title     = {Studying the role of Th17 cells in autoimmune diabetes and generation of a beta cell reporter mouse by lentiviral transgenesis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-66571},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Type 1 diabetes affects around 0.5\% of the population in developed countries and the incidence rates have been rising over the years. The destruction of beta cells is irreversible and the current therapy available to patients only manages the symptoms and does not prevent the associated pathological manifestations. The patients need lifelong therapy and intensive research is being carried out to identify ways to eliminate autoimmune responses directed against pancreatic beta cells and to replace or regenerate beta cells. The work presented herein aimed at analyzing the role of the Th17 T cell subset, characterized by secretion of the pro- inflammatory cytokine IL-17A, in autoimmune diabetes and also at generating a beta cell reporter mouse line in the NOD background, the most widely- used mouse model for type 1 diabetes. We generated IL- 17A knockdown (KD) NOD mice, using RNAi in combination with lentiviral transgenesis. We analyzed diabetes frequency in IL-17A deficient mice and found that the loss of IL-17A did not protect the transgenic mice from diabetes. Based on these observations, we believe that Th17 cells do not play a critical role in type 1 diabetes through the IL-17A pathway, though they might still be involved in the disease process through alternate pathways. We also generated NOD and NOD-SCID mice with a transgene that drives the beta cell specific expression of a luciferase reporter gene. We used a lentiviral construct, which combined a luciferase sequence and a short- hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression cassette, allowing gene- knockdown under the beta cell specific rat insulin promoter (RIP). These mice will be of use in studying beta cell phenotypes resulting from the knockdown of target genes, using non- invasive bioimaging. We believe that the generation of these reporter mouse lines for diabetes studies will prove valuable in future investigations. Furthermore, the demonstration that the loss of IL-17A does not alter susceptibility to type 1 diabetes should help clarify the controversial involvement of Th17 cells in this disease.},
  subject      = {Diabetes mellitus},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Saumweber2011,
  author    = {Saumweber, Timo},
  title     = {Mechanism of Learning and Plasticity in Larval Drosophila},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-66354},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {According to a changing environment it is crucial for animals to make experience and learn about it. Sensing, integrating and learning to associate different kinds of modalities enables animals to expect future events and to adjust behavior in the way, expected as the most profitable. Complex processes as memory formation and storage make it necessary to investigate learning and memory on different levels. In this context Drosophila melanogaster represents a powerful model organism. As the adult brain of the fly is still quite complex, I chose the third instar larva as model - the more simple the system, the easier to isolate single, fundamental principles of learning. In this thesis I addressed several kinds of questions on different mechanism of olfactory associative and synaptic plasiticity in Drosophila larvae. I focused on short-term memory throughout my thesis. First, investigating larval learning on behavioral level, I developed a one-odor paradigm for olfactory associative conditioning. This enables to estimate the learnability of single odors, reduces the complexity of the task and simplify analyses of "learning mutants". It further allows to balance learnability of odors for generalization-type experiments to describe the olfactory "coding space". Furthermore I could show that innate attractiveness and learnability can be dissociated and found finally that paired presentation of a given odor with reward increase performance, whereas unpaired presentations of these two stimuli decrease performance, indicating that larva are able to learn about the presence as well as about the absence of a reward. Second, on behavioral level, together with Thomas Niewalda and colleagues we focussed on salt processing in the context of choice, feeding and learning. Salt is required in several physiological processes, but can neither be synthesized nor stored. Various salt concentrations shift the valence from attraction to repulsion in reflexive behaviour. Interestingly, the reinforcing effect of salt in learning is shifted by more than one order of magnitude toward higher concentrations. Thus, the input pathways for gustatory behavior appear to be more sensitive than the ones supporting gustatory reinforcement, which is may be due to the dissociation of the reflexive and the reinforcing signalling pathways of salt. Third, in cooperation with Michael Schleyer we performed a series of behavioral gustatory, olfactory preference tests and larval learning experiments. Based on the available neuroanatomical and behavioral data we propose a model regarding chemosensory processing, odor-tastant memory trace formation and the 'decision' like process. It incorporates putative sites of interaction between olfactory and gustatory pathways during the establishment as well as behavioral expression of odor-tastant memory. We claim that innate olfactory behavior is responsive in nature and suggest that associative conditioned behavior is not a simple substitution like process, but driven more likely by the expectation of its outcome. Fourth, together with Birgit Michels and colleagues we investigated the cellular site and molecular mode of Synapsin, an evolutionarily conserved, presynaptic vesicular phosphoprotein and its action in larval learning. We confirmed a previously described learning impairment upon loss of Synapsin. We localized this Synapsin dependent memory trace in the mushroom bodies, a third-order "cortical" brain region, and could further show on molecular level, that Synapsin is as a downstream element of the AC-cAMP-PKA signalling cascade. This study provides a comprehensive chain of explanation from the molecular level to an associative behavioral change. Fifth, in the main part of my thesis I focused on molecular level on another synaptic protein, the Synapse associated protein of 47kDa (Sap47) and its role in larval behavior. As a member of a phylogenetically conserved gene family of hitherto unknown function. It is localized throughout the whole neuropil of larval brains and associated with presynaptic vesicles. Upon loss of Sap47 larvae exhibit normal sensory detection of the to-be-associated stimuli as well as normal motor performance and basic synaptic transmission. Interestingly, short-term plasticity is distorted and odorant-tastant associative learning ability is reduced. This defect in associative function could be rescued by restoring Sap47 expression. Therefore, this report is the first to suggest a function for Sap47 and specifically argues that Sap47 is required for synaptic as well as for behavioral plasticity in Drosophila larva. This prompts the question whether its homologs are required for synaptic and behavioral plasticity also in other species. Further in the last part of my thesis I contributed to the study of Ayse Yarali. Her central topic was the role of the White protein in punishment and relief learning in adult flies. Whereas stimuli that precede shock during training are subsequently avoided as predictors for punishment, stimuli that follow shock during training are later on approached, as they predict relief. Concerning the loss of White we report that pain-relief learning as well as punishment learning is changed. My contribution was a comparison between wild type and the white1118 mutant larvae in odor-reward learning. It turned out that a loss of White has no effect on larval odorant-tastant learning. This study, regarding painrelief learning provides the very first hints concerning the genetic determinants of this form of learning.},
  subject      = {Taufliege},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Dieler2011,
  author    = {Dieler, Alica Christina},
  title     = {Investigation of variables influencing cognitive inhibition: from the behavioral to the molecular level},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-65955},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {The present work investigated the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive inhibition/thought suppression in Anderson's and Green's Think/No-Think paradigm (TNT), as well as different variables influencing these mechanisms at the cognitive, the neurophysiological, the electrophysiological and the molecular level. Neurophysiological data collected with fNIRS and fMRI have added up to the existing evidence of a fronto-hippocampal network interacting during the inhibition of unwanted thoughts. Some evidence has been presented suggesting that by means of external stimulation of the right dlPFC through iTBS thought suppression might be improved, providing further evidence for an implication of this region in the TNT. A combination of fNIRS with ERP has delivered evidence of a dissociation of early condition-independent attentional and later suppression-specific processes within the dlPFC, both contributing to suppression performance. Due to inconsistencies in the previous literature it was considered how stimulus valence would influence thought suppression by manipulating the emotional content of the to-be-suppressed stimuli. Findings of the current work regarding the ability to suppress negative word or picture stimuli have, however, been inconclusive as well. It has been hypothesized that performance in the TNT might depend on the combination of valence conditions included in the paradigm. Alternatively, it has been suggested that inconsistent findings regarding the suppression of negative stimuli or suppression at all might be due to certain personality traits and/or genetic variables, found in the present work to contribute to thought inhibition in the TNT. Rumination has been shown to be a valid predictor of thought suppression performance. Increased ruminative tendencies led to worse suppression performance which, in the present work, has been linked to less effective recruitment of the dlPFC and in turn less effective down-regulation of hippocampal activity during suppression trials. Trait anxiety has also been shown to interrupt thought suppression despite higher, however, inefficient recruitment of the dlPFC. Complementing the findings regarding ruminative tendencies and decreased thought inhibition a functional polymorphism in the KCNJ6 gene, encompassing a G-to-A transition, has been shown to disrupt thought suppression despite increased activation of the dlPFC. Through the investigation of thought suppression at different levels, the current work adds further evidence to the idea that the TNT reflects an executive control mechanism, which is sensitive to alterations in stimulus valence to some extent, neurophysiological functioning as indicated by its sensitivity to iTBS, functional modulations at the molecular level and personality traits, such as rumination and trait anxiety.},
  subject      = {Kognitiver Prozess},
  language  = {en}
}