@phdthesis{Schmidt2012,
  author    = {Schmidt, Traudel},
  title     = {Establishment of Hey-triple-KO-ES cells and characterisation of Bre, a Hey binding partner},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85459},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Hey1, Hey2 and HeyL are downstream effectors of the Notch signalling pathway. Hey genes play decisive roles during embryonic development for example in cardiovascular development. However, the precise transcriptional programmes and genes, which are affected by each single Hey gene, are still poorly understood. One drawback for the analysis of Hey1, Hey2 or HeyL single gene function is that these genes are co-expressed in many tissues and share a high degree of functional redundancy. Thus, it was necessary to establish a system, which is either devoid of Hey expression, or just comprises one single Hey gene family member. For this, Hey1(fl/fl)/Hey2(-/-)/HeyL(-/-)- as well as Hey-triple- knock out (KO)-ES cells (embryonic stem cells) were generated in this work, because ES cells and their differentiation as EBs (embryoid bodies) represent a valuable tool for the in vitro analysis of embryonic developmental processes. After the establishment of Hey1(fl/fl)/Hey2(-/-)/HeyL(-/-)- and Hey-triple- KO-ES cells, it could be seen by ALP staining and pluripotency marker expression that loss of Hey expression did not affect ES cell pluripotency features. Thus, these ES cells represent bona fide ES cells and could be further used for the differentiation as EBs. Here, differences in gene expression between Hey1(fl/fl)/Hey2(-/-)/HeyL(-/-)- and Hey-triple- KO-ES cells (after the loss of Hey1) could be observed in realtime-RT-PCR analysis for the endodermal marker AFP as well as for neural and myogenic markers in d10 EBs. However, the establishment of inducible Hey1, Hey2 or HeyL ES cell lines will be essential to confirm these findings and to search for novel Hey target genes. To get further insight into the mode of Hey action, the analysis of Hey interaction partners is necessary. One such binding partner, the Bre protein, has previously been found in a yeast-two-hybrid screen. Bre has been described to be a member of two distinct complexes (i.e. the nuclear BRCA1-A complex with a function in DNA damage response and the cytoplasmic BRISC complex), to directly interact with the TNF-receptor and Fas and to interfere with apoptotic signalling. The Hey-Bre interaction could be further corroborated in this work; yet, it was not possible to narrow down the interaction site of Bre with Hey1. It rather seems that non-overlapping parts of the Bre protein may bind to Hey. This interaction may be direct- pointing to more than one interaction site inside the Bre protein - or via a common binding partner such as the endogenous Bre protein itself. Besides the interaction studies, functional assays were performed for a more detailed characterisation of Hey1 and Bre interaction. Here, it could be shown that Hey1 over-expression did not have any influence on Bre sub-cellular localisation. Interestingly, it could be demonstrated that Bre positively interfered with Hey1 repressive function in luciferase assays at three of four promoters analysed. Moreover, interaction with Bre seems to lead to a stabilisation of Hey1. As Bre has been described to modulate the E3-ligase activity intrinsic to the BRCC complex it was analysed whether Bre over-expression results in an ubiquitination of Hey1. Yet, this could not be observed in the present work. Furthermore, an interaction of Bre with ubiquitinated proteins could not be demonstrated in an ubiquitin binding assay. To obtain a better insight into Bre function, Bre LacZ gene trap-ES cells and animals were generated. However, realtime-RT-analyses revealed that these cells and mice did not show a loss of Bre expression on mRNA level indicating that insertion mutagenesis did not occur as expected. However, embryos derived from these mice could nevertheless be used for the detection of tissues with Bre expression by β-galactosidase staining. Bre deficiency on mRNA levels was only achieved after the deletion of the floxed exon 3 resulting in the generation of Bre del-mice. Bre del-mice were fertile and without any obvious phenotype and they were used for the generation of Bre del- and wt-MEFs (murine embryonic fibroblasts). Characterisation of these cells showed that proliferation was not affected after loss of Bre (neither under normal nor under stress conditions). However, loss of Bre notably resulted in a reduction in the BRCA1 DNA damage response, in a slightly increased sensitivity towards apoptosis induction by FasL treatment and in an increase in the K63-poly-ubiquitin content in Bre del-cytoplasmic fractions, probably linked to a change in the BRISC de-ubiquitinase activity. Even though these results have the same tendencies as observed in former studies, the effects in the present work are less striking. Further studies as well as intercrossing of Bre del- to Hey KO-animals will be necessary to further understand the functional relevance of Hey and Bre interaction.},
  subject      = {Embryonale Stammzelle},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Ratzka2012,
  author    = {Ratzka, Carolin},
  title     = {Immune responses of the ant Camponotus floridanus towards pathogens and its obligate mutualistic endosymbiont Blochmannia floridanus},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69350},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Ants of the species Camponotus floridanus live in huge colonies composed of genetically identical or closely related animals, which should predispose them to an increased vulnerability towards infection by pathogens (Cremer et al. 2007). Therefore the question is how ants (or social insects in general) can nevertheless efficiently combat infections. In order to investigate the immune response of the ant C. floridanus, the present study initially focused on the identification of possible immune factors, encoded by the ant´s genome. By using the method "suppression subtractive hybridization" as well as by Illumnia sequencing technology, several immune-related genes could be identified. Among these were genes encoding proteins involved in pathogen recognition, signal transduction, antimicrobial activity, or general stress response. In accordance with the ant´s genome sequence (Bonasio et al. 2010), only three antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes could be identified in C. floridanus. The gene and cDNA sequences of these AMPs were established and their expression was shown to be induced by microbial challenge. Two different defensin genes (type 1 and 2) were characterized. A detailed characterization of the mRNA and gene sequence of the other AMP, a hymenoptaecin, revealed a special repeat structure. The C. floridanus hymenoptaecin has a signal and a pro-sequence followed by a hymenoptaecin-like domain and six directly repeated hymenoptaecin domains (HDs). Since each HD is flanked by two known processing sites, proteolytic processing of the precursor protein may generate several mature AMPs. Bioinformatical analyses revealed the presence of hymenoptaecin genes with similar multipeptide precursor structure in genomes of other ant species suggesting an evolutionary conserved important role of this gene in ant immunity. C. floridanus ants harbor the obligate intracellular bacterium, Blochmannia floridanus, in specialized cells (so-called bacteriocytes), which are intercalated between midgut cells as well as in ovaries of females (Blochmann 1882; Sauer et al. 2002; Schr{\"o}der et al. 1996). Ant hosts face the problem that on the one hand they have to maintain the beneficial symbiotic bacteria and on the other hand they need to raise an immune response against harmful pathogenic bacteria during an infection. It was investigated, if endosymbionts are actually detected by the host immune system. Injection of B. floridanus induced an immune response of its host C. floridanus, which was comparable to the one towards pathogens. This means that, despite the evolutionary established cooperation of the endosymbionts and their hosts, these bacteria are still recognized as „non-self" by the host immune system. This finding led to the question, if the ant immune system might be involved in regulation of the endosymbiont number in the midgut tissue in order to avoid their uncontrolled replication. During the holometabolous life cycle of the ant hosts the distribution of bacteriocytes and of Blochmannia endosymbionts is remarkably dynamic and peaks in late pupal stages, in which the entire midgut is transformed into a symbiotic organ (Stoll et al. 2010). It was hypothesized that hosts could regulate the number of endosymbionts present in their tissues via the innate immune system. A quantitative gene expression analysis of assumed symbiosis-relevant candidate genes revealed distinct expression patterns of some genes according to developmental stage and tissue. Moreover, the immune gene expression in response to bacterial challenge was investigated in the pupal stage. By an artificial immune-challenge of pupae it was confirmed that in fact the immune response of the endosymbiont-bearing midgut tissue differs from that of other body parts. The data support a key role for amidase peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs), especially PGRP-LB, in endosymbiont tolerance and suggest an involvement of the lysosomal system in control of Blochmannia endosymbionts. In sum, this thesis provides a first description of the immune response of the ant C. floridanus. A comprehensive set of immune-relevant genes was determined. Especially, the identification and molecular characterization of the hymenoptaecin gene delivered new insights into the immune competence of ants in general. Moreover, first indications could be gathered for the involvement of the immune system in controlling the endosymbiont B. floridanus.},
  subject      = {Humorale Immunit{\"a}t},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Boyanova2012,
  author    = {Boyanova, Desislava Veselinova},
  title     = {Systems biological analysis of the platelet proteome and applications of functional module search in proteome networks},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72165},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Recent development of proteomic approaches and generation of large-scale proteomic datasets calls for new methods for biological interpretation of the obtained results. Systems biological approaches such as integrated network analysis and functional module search have become an essential part of proteomic investigation. Proteomics is especially applied in anucleate cells such as platelets. The underlying molecular mechanisms of platelet activation and their pharmacological modulation are of immense importance for clinical research. Advances in platelet proteomics have provided a large amount of proteomic data, which has not yet been comprehensively investigated in a systems biological perspective. To this end, I assembled platelet specific data from proteomic and transcriptomic studies by detailed manual curation and worked on the generation of a comprehensive human platelet repository for systems biological analysis of platelets in the functional context of integrated networks (PlateletWeb) (http:/PlateletWeb.bioapps.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de). I also added platelet-specific experimentally validated phosphorylation data and generated kinase predictions for 80\% of the newly identified platelet phosphosites. The combination of drug, disease and pathway information with phosphorylation and interaction data makes this database the first integrative platelet platform available for platelet research. PlateletWeb contains more than 5000 platelet proteins, which can also be analyzed and visualized in a network context, allowing identification of all major signaling modules involved in platelet activation and inhibition. Using the wealth of integrated data I performed a series of platelet-specific analyses regarding the platelet proteome, pathways, drug targets and novel platelet phosphorylation events involved in crucial signaling events. I analyzed the statistical enrichment of known pathways for platelet proteins and identified endocytosis as a highly represented pathway in platelets. Further results revealed that highly connected platelet proteins are more often targeted by drugs. Using integrated network analysis offered by PlateletWeb, I analyzed the crucial activation signaling pathway of adenosine diphosphate (ADP), visualizing how the signal flow from receptors to effectors is maintained. My work on integrin inside-out signaling was also based on the integrated network approach and examined new platelet-specific phosphorylation sites and their regulation using kinase predictions. I generated hypothesis on integrin signaling, by investigating the regulation of Ser269 phosphorylation site on the docking protein 1 (DOK1). This phosphorylation site may influence the inhibiting effect of DOK1 on integrin a2bb3. Extending the integrated network approach to further cell lines, I used the assembled human interactome information for the analysis of functional modules in cellular networks. The investigation was performed with a previously developed module detection algorithm, which finds maximum-scoring subgraphs in transcriptomic datasets by using assigned values to the network nodes. We extended the algorithm to qualitative proteomic datasets and enhanced the module search by adding functional information to the network edges to concentrate the solution onto modules with high functional similarity. I performed a series of analyses to validate its performance in small-sized (virus-infected gastric cells) and medium-sized networks (human lymphocytes). In both cases the algorithm extracted characteristic modules of sample proteins with high functional similarity. The functional module search is especially useful in site-specific phosphoproteomic datasets, where kinase regulation of the detected sites is often sparse or lacking. Therefore, I used the module detection algorithm in quantitative phosphoproteomic datasets. In a platelet phosphorylation dataset, I presented a pipeline for network analysis of detected phosphorylation sites. In a second approach, the functional module detecting algorithm was used on a phosphoproteome network of human embryonic stem cells, in which nodes represented the maximally changing phosphorylation sites in the experiment. Additional kinases from the human phosphoproteome in PlateletWeb were included to the network to investigate the regulation of the signal flow. Results indicated important phosphorylation sites and their upstream kinases and explained changes observed in embryonic stem cells during differentiation. This work presents novel approaches for integrated network analysis in cells and introduces for the first time a systematic biological investigation of the human platelet proteome based on the platelet-specific knowledge base PlateletWeb. The extended methods for optimized functional module detection offer an invaluable tool for exploring proteomic datasets and covering gaps in complex large-scale data analysis. By combining exact module detection approaches with functional information data between interacting proteins, characteristic functional modules with high functional resemblance can be extracted from complex datasets, thereby focusing on important changes in the observed networks.},
  subject      = {Netzwerkanalyse},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Haydn2012,
  author    = {Haydn, Johannes},
  title     = {Regulation of ERK1/2 signaling in melanoma},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85727},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Die Mechanismen in einer Zelle, die die Genexpression und somit den Stoffwechsel, das Wachstum und das gesamte Zellverhalten steuern, sind ebenso bedeutsam f{\"u}r das Verst{\"a}ndnis der grundlegenden Biologie einer lebenden Zelle wie f{\"u}r die Vorg{\"a}nge der Krebsentstehung. Dabei bilden hochvernetzte, und strikt regulierte Signaltransduktionswege die Basis f{\"u}r ein belastbares und zugleich hochflexibles regulatorisches Netzwerk. Die St{\"o}rung solcher Signalkaskaden kann zum einen urs{\"a}chlich aber auch modifizierend auf die Bildung von Tumoren wirken. Die von Rezeptortyrosinkinasen (RTK) und RAS abh{\"a}ngigen Signalwege, die zur Aktivierung von AKT und ERK1/2 f{\"u}hren, sind hierbei von besonderem Interesse f{\"u}r die Entstehung des malignen Melanoms. Mutationen in Komponenten dieser Wege (z.B. NRAS, BRAF oder PTEN), die die Signalst{\"a}rke erh{\"o}hen kommen in Melanomen sehr h{\"a}ufig vor. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit wurden die unterschiedlichen und vielf{\"a}ltigen Funktionen von MKP2, einem Feedbackregulator des ERK1/2-Weges, unter verschiedenen zellul{\"a}ren Rahmenbedingungen, untersucht. Des Weiteren wird eine Funktion des zum AP1-Komplex geh{\"o}renden FOSL1, einem unter transkriptioneller Kontrolle des ERK1/2-Weges stehendem Transkriptionsfaktors, hinsichtlich der Steuerung der Zell-Proliferation gezeigt. Weiterhin habe ich Aspekte der direkten pharmakologischen Inhibition des ERK1/2-Weges hinsichtlich ihres Effekts auf die Ausl{\"o}sung von Apoptose untersucht. Aufgrund der H{\"a}ufigkeit von Mutationen in Genen, die f{\"u}r Proteine des ERK1/2-Weges kodieren (z.B. NRASQ61K, BRAFV600E), gilt die Inhibition dieses Signalwegs als vielversprechende Strategie zur Behandlung des Melanoms. Auch wenn klinische Studien, die Inhibitoren f{\"u}r MEK oder RAF als Einzelmedikamente verwenden, bei mehrmonatiger Behandlung sehr erfolgreich sind, konnten so keine langfristigen Erfolge erzielt werden. Aus diesem Grund werden nun Kombinationstherapien, die einen Inhibitor des ERK1/2-Weges und eine weitere Form der Therapie kombinieren, untersucht. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit beschreibt, dass der spezifische MEK Inhibitor PD184352 Melanomzellen vor der Apoptosewirkung von Cisplatin sch{\"u}tzen kann. Einzelbehandlung mit Cisplatin f{\"u}hrt hierbei zur Akkumulation von DNA Sch{\"a}den, die wiederum Caspase-abh{\"a}ngig Apoptose induzieren. Zus{\"a}tzliche Anwendung des MEK Inhibitors verringerte jedoch in einigen Zelllinien das Potential von Cisplatin, Apoptose auszul{\"o}sen. Diese Zellen zeigten eine verst{\"a}rkte Aktivierung der Serin/Threonin-KInase AKT nach MEK Inhibition. Diese AKT Aktivierung f{\"u}hrte zur Inaktivierung der FOXO Transkriptionsfaktoren, was wiederum die Expression des pro-apoptotischen BH3-only Proteins PUMA verringerte. PUMA selbst ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Apoptose Maschinerie, die durch Cisplatin aktiviert wird. Die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit erhaltenen Befunde deuten darauf hin, dass RTKs, im besonderen EGFR, bei diesem Crosstalk eine Rolle spielen. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Inhibition des RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK Signalweges im Melanom nicht zwangsl{\"a}ufig von Vorteil sein muss, falls die Zellen gleichzeitig mit einem genotoxischen Medikament behandelt werden. Hier kann sie sogar die {\"U}berlebensf{\"a}higkeit von Melanomzellen unter Apoptose induzierenden Bedingungen verbessern.},
  subject      = {Melanom},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Nilla2012,
  author    = {Nilla, Jaya Santosh Chakravarthy},
  title     = {An Integrated Knowledgebase and Network Analysis Applied on Platelets and Other Cell Types},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85730},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Systems biology looks for emergent system effects from large scale assemblies of molecules and data, for instance in the human platelets. However, the computational efforts in all steps before such insights are possible can hardly be under estimated. In practice this involves numerous programming tasks, the establishment of new database systems but as well their maintenance, curation and data validation. Furthermore, network insights are only possible if strong algorithms decipher the interactions, decoding the hidden system effects. This thesis and my work are all about these challenges. To answer this requirement, an integrated platelet network, PlateletWeb, was assembled from different sources and further analyzed for signaling in a systems biological manner including multilevel data integration and visualization. PlateletWeb is an integrated network database and was established by combining the data from recent platelet proteome and transcriptome (SAGE) studies. The information on protein-protein interactions and kinase-substrate relationships extracted from bioinformatical databases as well as published literature were added to this resource. Moreover, the mass spectrometry-based platelet phosphoproteome was combined with site-specific phosphorylation/ dephosphorylation information and then enhanced with data from Phosphosite and complemented by bioinformatical sequence analysis for site-specific kinase predictions. The number of catalogued platelet proteins was increased by over 80\% as compared to the previous version. The integration of annotations on kinases, protein domains, transmembrane regions, Gene Ontology, disease associations and drug targets provides ample functional tools for platelet signaling analysis. The PlateletWeb resource provides a novel systems biological workbench for the analysis of platelet signaling in the functional context of protein networks. By comprehensive exploration, over 15000 phosphorylation sites were found, out of which 2500 have the corresponding kinase associations. The network motifs were also investigated in this anucleate cell and characterize signaling modules based on integrated information on phosphorylation and protein-protein interactions. Furthermore, many algorithmic approaches have been introduced, including an exact approach (heinz) based on integer linear programming. At the same time, the concept of semantic similarities between two genes using Gene Ontology (GO) annotations has become an important basis for many analytical approaches in bioinformatics. Assuming that a higher number of semantically similar gene functional annotations reflect biologically more relevant interactions, an edge score was devised for functional network analysis. Bringing these two approaches together, the edge score, based on the GO similarity, and the node score, based on the expression of the proteins in the analyzed cell type (e.g. data from proteomic studies), the functional module as a maximum-scoring sub network in large protein-protein interaction networks was identified. This method was applied to various proteome datasets (different types of blood cells, embryonic stem cells) to identify protein modules that functionally characterize the respective cell type. This scalable method allows a smooth integration of data from various sources and retrieves biologically relevant signaling modules.},
  subject      = {Systembiologie},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Reinboth2012,
  author    = {Reinboth, Jennifer},
  title     = {Cellular Factors Contributing to Host Cell Permissiveness in Support of Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Replication},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85392},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {In initial experiments, the well characterized VACV strain GLV-1h68 and three wild-type LIVP isolates were utilized to analyze gene expression in a pair of autologous human melanoma cell lines (888-MEL and 1936 MEL) after infection. Microarray analyses, followed by sequential statistical approaches, characterized human genes whose transcription is affected specifically by VACV infection. In accordance with the literature, those genes were involved in broad cellular functions, such as cell death, protein synthesis and folding, as well as DNA replication, recombination, and repair. In parallel to host gene expression, viral gene expression was evaluated with help of customized VACV array platforms to get better insight over the interplay between VACV and its host. Our main focus was to compare host and viral early events, since virus genome replication occurs early after infection. We observed that viral transcripts segregated in a characteristic time-specific pattern, consistent with the three temporal expression classes of VACV genes, including a group of genes which could be classified as early-stage genes. In this work, comparison of VACV early replication and respective early gene transcription led to the identification of seven viral genes whose expression correlated strictly with replication. We considered the early expression of those seven genes to be representative for VACV replication and we therefore referred to them as viral replication indicators (VRIs). To explore the relationship between host cell transcription and viral replication, we correlated viral (VRI) and human early gene expression. Correlation analysis revealed a subset of 114 human transcripts whose early expression tightly correlated with early VRI expression and thus early viral replication. These 114 human molecules represented an involvement in broad cellular functions. We found at least six out of 114 correlates to be involved in protein ubiquitination or proteasomal function. Another molecule of interest was the serine-threonine protein kinase WNK lysine-deficient protein kinase 1 (WNK1). We discovered that WNK1 features differences on several molecular biological levels associated with permissiveness to VACV infection. In addition to that, a set of human genes was identified with possible predictive value for viral replication in an independent dataset. A further objective of this work was to explore baseline molecular biological variances associated with permissiveness which could help identifying cellular components that contribute to the formation of a permissive phenotype. Therefore, in a subsequent approach, we screened a set of 15 melanoma cell lines (15-MEL) regarding their permissiveness to GLV-1h68, evaluated by GFP expression levels, and classified the top four and lowest four cell lines into high and low permissive group, respectively. Baseline gene transcriptional data, comparing low and highly permissive group, suggest that differences between the two groups are at least in part due to variances in global cellular functions, such as cell cycle, cell growth and proliferation, as well as cell death and survival. We also observed differences in the ubiquitination pathway, which is consistent with our previous results and underlines the importance of this pathway in VACV replication and permissiveness. Moreover, baseline microRNA (miRNA) expression between low and highly permissive group was considered to provide valuable information regarding virus-host co-existence. In our data set, we identified six miRNAs that featured varying baseline expression between low and highly permissive group. Finally, copy number variations (CNVs) between low and highly permissive group were evaluated. In this study, when investigating differences in the chromosomal aberration patterns between low and highly permissive group, we observed frequent segmental amplifications within the low permissive group, whereas the same regions were mostly unchanged in the high group. Taken together, our results highlight a probable correlation between viral replication, early gene expression, and the respective host response and thus a possible involvement of human host factors in viral early replication. Furthermore, we revealed the importance of cellular baseline composition for permissiveness to VACV infection on different molecular biological levels, including mRNA expression, miRNA expression, as well as copy number variations. The characterization of human target genes that influence viral replication could help answering the question of host cell response to oncolytic virotherapy and provide important information for the development of novel recombinant vaccinia viruses with improved features to enhance replication rate and hence trigger therapeutic outcome.},
  subject      = {Vaccinia-Virus},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Nguyen2012,
  author    = {Nguyen, Hoang Duong},
  title     = {Vaccinia virus mediated expression of human erythropoietin in colonized human tumor xenografts results in faster tumor regression and increased red blood cell biogenesis in mice},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85383},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Cancer-related anemia is prevalent in cancer patients. Anemia negatively affects normal mental and physical function capacity with common symptoms s like fatigue, headache, or depression. Human erythropoietin (hEPO), a glycoprotein hormone regulating red blood cell formation, is approved for the treatment of cancer-related anemia. It has shown benefits in correcting anemia, and subsequently improving health-related quality of life and/or enhancing radio-, and chemotherapy. Several recent clinical trials have suggested that recombinant hEPO (rhEPO) may promote tumor growth that raises the questions concerning the safety of using rhEPO for cancer treatment. However in others, such effects were not indicated. As of today, the direct functional effect of rhEPO in tumor models remains controversial and needs to be further analyzed. Based on the GLV-1h68 backbone, the hEPO-expressing recombinant VACV strains (EPO-VACVs) GLV-1h210, GLV-1h211, GLV-1h212 and GLV-1h213 were generated by replacing the lacZ expression cassette at the J2R locus with hEPO under the control of different vaccinia promoters p7.5, pSE, pSEL, pSL, respectively. Also, GLV-1h209 was generated, which is similar to GLV-1h210 but expresses a mutated non-functinal EPO (R103A). The EPO-VACV strains were characterized for their oncolytic efficacy in lung (A549) cancer cells in culture and tumor xenografts. Concomitantly, the effects of locally expressed hEPO in tumors on virus replication, host immune infiltration, tumor vascularization and tumor growth were also evaluated. As expected, EPO-VACVs enhanced red blood cell (RBC) formation in xenograft model. The number of RBCs and hemoglobin (Hb) levels were significantly increased in EPO-VACVs-treated mice compared to GLV-1h68-treated or untreated control mice. However, the mean size of RBC or Hb content per RBC remained normal. Furthermore, over-expression of hEPO did not significantly affect numbers of lymphocytes, monocytes, leucocytes or platelets in the peripheral blood stream. The expression of hEPO in colonized tumors of mice treated with EPO-VACVs was demonstrated by immunohistological staining. Interestingly, there were 9 - 10 hEPO isoforms detected either in tumors, cells, or supernatant, while 3-4 basic isoforms were missing in blood serum, where only six hEPO isoforms were found. Tumor-bearing mice after treatment with EPO-VACVs showed enhanced tumor regression compared to GLV-1h68. The virus titers in tumors in EPO-VACVs-treated mice were 3-4 fold higher compared to GLV-1h68-treated mice. Nevertheless, no significant difference in virus titers among EPO-VACVs was found. The blood vessels in tumors were significantly enlarged while the blood vessel density remained unchanged compared to the GLV-1h68 treated mice, indicating that hEPO did not affect endothelial cell proliferation in this model. Meanwhile, rhEPO (Epoetin alfa) alone or in combination with GLV-1h68 did not show any signs of enhanced tumor growth when compared to untreated controls and GLV-1h68 groups, while doses used were clinical relevant (500 U/kg). These findings suggested that hEPO did not promote angiogenesis or tumor growth in the A549 tumor xenograft model. Human EPO has been reported to function as an immune modulator. In this study, however, we did not find any involvement of hEPO in immune cytokine and chemokine expression or innate immune cell infiltration (leucocytes, B cells, macrophages and dendritic cells) into infected tumors. The degree of immune infiltration and cytokine expression was directly correlated to the number of virus particles. Increased virus replication, led to more recruited immune cells and secreted cytokines/chemokines. It was proposed that tumor regression was at least partially mediated through activation of innate immune mechanisms. In conclusion, the novel EPO-VACVs were shown to significantly increase the number of RBCs, Hb levels, and virus replication in tumors as well as to enhance tumor regression in the A549 tumor xenograft model. Moreover, locally expressed hEPO did not promote tumor angiogenesis, tumor growth, and immune infiltration but was shown to causing enlarged tumoral microvessels which facilitated virus spreading. It is conceivable that in a possible clinical application, anemic cancer patients could benefit from the EPO-VACVs, where they could serve as "wellness pills" to decrease anemic symptoms, while simultaneously destroying tumors.},
  subject      = {Erythropoietin},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Buckel2012,
  author    = {Buckel, Lisa},
  title     = {Evaluating the combination of oncolytic vaccinia virus and ionizing radiation in therapy of preclinical glioma models},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85309},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most aggressive form of malignant brain tumors and remains a therapeutically challenge. Intense research in the field has lead to the testing of oncolytic viruses to improve tumor control. Currently, a variety of different oncolytic viruses are being evaluated for their ability to be used in anti-cancer therapy and a few have entered clinical trials. Vaccinia virus, is one of the viruses being studied. GLV-1h68, an oncolytic vaccinia virus engineered by Genelux Corporation, was constructed by insertion of three gene cassettes, RUC-GFP fusion, β-galactosidase and β- glucuronidase into the genome of the LIVP strain. Since focal tumor radiotherapy is a mainstay for cancer treatment, including glioma therapy, it is of clinical relevance to assess how systemically administered oncolytic vaccinia virus could be combined with targeted ionizing radiation for therapeutic gain. In this work we show how focal ionizing radiation (IR) can be combined with multiple systemically delivered oncolytic vaccinia virus strains in murine models of human U-87 glioma. After initial experiments which confirmed that ionizing radiation does not damage viral DNA or alter viral tropism, animal studies were carried out to analyze the interaction of vaccinia virus and ionizing radiation in the in vivo setting. We found that irradiation of the tumor target, prior to systemic administration of oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h68, increased viral replication within the U-87 xenografts as measured by viral reporter gene expression and viral titers. Importantly, while GLV-1h68 alone had minimal effect on U-87 tumor growth delay, IR enhanced GLV-1h68 replication, which translated to increased tumor growth delay and mouse survival in subcutaneous and orthotopic U-87 glioma murine models compared to monotherapy with IR or GLV-1h68. The ability of IR to enhance vaccinia replication was not restricted to the multi-mutated GLV-1h68, but was also seen with the less attenuated oncolytic vaccinia, LIVP 1.1.1. We have demonstrated that in animals treated with combination of ionizing radiation and LIVP 1.1.1 a strong pro-inflammatory tissue response was induced. When IR was given in a more clinically relevant fractionated scheme, we found oncolytic vaccinia virus replication also increased. This indicates that vaccinia virus could be incorporated into either larger hypo-fraction or more conventionally fractionated radiotherapy schemes. The ability of focal IR to mediate selective replication of systemically injected oncolytic vaccinia was demonstrated in a bilateral glioma model. In mice with bilateral U-87 tumors in both hindlimbs, systemically administered oncolytic vaccinia replicated preferentially in the focally irradiated tumor compared to the shielded non- irradiated tumor in the same mouse We demonstrated that tumor control could be further improved when fractionated focal ionizing radiation was combined with a vaccinia virus caring an anti-angiogenic payload targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Our studies showed that following ionizing radiation expression of VEGF is upregulated in U-87 glioma cells in culture. We further showed a concentration dependent increase in radioresistance of human endothelial cells in presence of VEGF. Interestingly, we found effects of vascular endothelial growth factor on endothelial cells were reversible by adding purified GLAF-1 to the cells. GLAF-1 is a single- chain antibody targeting human and murine VEGF and is expressed by oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-109. In U-87 glioma xenograft murine models the combination of fractionated ionizing radiation with GLV-1h164, a vaccinia virus also targeting VEGF, resulted in the best volumetric tumor response and a drastic decrease in vascular endothelial growth factor. Histological analysis of embedded tumor sections 14 days after viral administration confirmed that blocking VEGF translated into a decrease in vessel number to 30\% of vessel number found in control tumors in animals treated with GLV-164 and fractionated IR which was lower than for all other treatment groups. Our experiments with GLV-1h164 and fractionated radiotherapy have shown that in addition to ionizing radiation and viral induced tumor cell destruction we were able to effectively target the tumor vasculature. This was achieved by enhanced viral replication translating in increased levels of GLAF-2 disrupting tumor vessels as well as the radiosensitization of tumor vasculature to IR by blocking VEGF. Our preclinical results have important clinical implications of how focal radiotherapy can be combined with systemic oncolytic viral administration for highly aggressive, locally advanced tumors with the potential, by using a vaccinia virus targeting human vascular endothelial growth factor, to further increase tumor radiation sensitivity by engaging the vascular component in addition to cancer cells.},
  subject      = {Gliom},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Schuster2012,
  author    = {Schuster, Beatrice},
  title     = {Genotyping Fanconi Anemia : From Known to Novel Genes -From Classical Genetic Approaches to Next Generation Sequencing},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85515},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Fanconi anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive or X-chromosomal inherited disorder, which is not only phenotypically but also genotypically very heterogeneous. While its hallmark feature is progressive bone marrow failure, many yet not all patients suffer additionally from typical congenital malformations like radial ray defects and growth retardation. In young adulthood the cumulative risk for developing hematological or other malignancies is compared to the general population several hundred-fold increased. The underlying molecular defect is the deficiency of DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL) repair. ICLs are deleterious lesions, which interfere with crucial cellular processes like transcription and replication and thereby can lead to malignant transformation, premature senescence or cell death. To overcome this threat evolution developed a highly complex network of interacting DNA repair pathways, which is conserved completely only in vertebrates. The so called FA/BRCA DNA damage response pathway is able to recognize ICLs on stalled replication forks and promotes their repair through homologous recombination (HR). Today we know 15 FA genes (FANCA, -B, -C, -D1, -D2, -E, -F, -G, -I, -J, -L, -M, -N, -O and -P) whose products are involved in this pathway. Although more than 80\% of FA patients carry biallelic mutations in either FANCA, FANCC or FANCG, there are still some who cannot be assigned to any of the known complementation groups. This work aimed to indentify the di¬sease causing mutations in a cohort of those unassigned patients. Initial screens of the candidate genes FAN1, MHF1 and MHF2 did not reveal any pathogenic alterations. Moreover, FAN1 could be excluded as FA candidate gene because patients carrying a homozygous microdeletion including the FAN1 locus did not show a phenotype comparable to FA patients. In the case of MHF1 and MHF2 the reason for the negative screening result is not clear. Mutation carriers might be rare or, regarding the diverse and also FA pathway independent protein functions, phenotypically not comparable to FA patients. Nevertheless, this study contri¬buted to the identification and characterization of the most recent members of the FA pathway - RAD51C (FANCO), SLX4 (FANCP) and XPF (FANCQ). FANCO is one of the RAD51 paralogs and is involved in crucial steps of HR. But since the only reported FA-O patient has so far not developed any hematological anomalies, FANCO is tentatively designated as gene underlying an FA-like disorder. In contrast, patients carrying biallelic mutations in FANCP do not only show hematological anomalies, but as well congenital malformations typical for FA. The distinct role of FANCP in the FA pathway could not be determined, but it is most likely the coordination of structure-specific nucleases during ICL excision. One of these nucleases is the heterodimer XPF/ERCC1. XPF is probably disease causing in the complementation group FA-Q and is the first FA gene, which was identified by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Extraordinarily is that mutations in this gene had previously been reported to cause two other disorders, xeroderma pigmentosum and segmental progeria. Despite some overlaps, it was shown that the divergent phenotypes could clearly be distinguished and are caused by distinct functional defects of XPF. Additionally, this work aimed to improve and accelerate the genotyping process of FA patients in general. Therefore, classical approaches should be complemented or fully replaced by approa¬ches using NGS. Massively parallel sequencing of the whole exome proved to be most appro¬priate and the establishment of an FA-specific analysis pipeline facilitated improved molecular diagnostics by combining complementation group assignment and mutation analysis in one step. Consequently two NGS studies revealed the pathogenic defect in several previously unassigned FA patients and thereby added another patient to one of the most recent subtypes, FA-P. In summary, this work contributed not only to further completion of the FA/BRCA DNA repair network by adding three novel genes, it also showed that classical molecular approaches for re¬search as well as for diagnostics could be replaced by NGS.},
  subject      = {Fanconi An{\"a}mie},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Ulrich2012,
  author    = {Ulrich, Tanja},
  title     = {Function of Lin9 in vivo and MAP3K4-p38 signaling regulates p53 mediated cell cycle arrest after defective mitosis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73975},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Eine genaue Kontrolle des Verlaufs durch die Mitose ist entscheidend f{\"u}r die Gew{\"a}hrleistung genomischer Stabilit{\"a}t und f{\"u}r die Vermeidung von Aneuploidy. Der DREAM Komplex ist ein wichtiger Regulator der Expression von mitotischen Genen. Die Depletion der DREAM-Untereinheit Lin9, f{\"u}hrt zu einer verminderten Expression von G2/M Genen und beeintr{\"a}chtigt die Proliferation. In konditionellen knockout Mauszellen (MEFs) verursacht das Ausschalten von Lin9 Defekte in Mitose und Zytokinese und l{\"o}st vorzeitige Seneszenz aus, um eine weitere Zellproliferation zu verhindern. In dieser Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass der seneszente Ph{\"a}notyp in Lin9 knockout MEFs unabh{\"a}ngig von den beiden Tumorsuppressor-Signalwegen p53-p21 und p16-pRB induziert wird. Untersuchungen mit dem konditionellen Lin9 knockout Mausmodell verdeutlichten die wichtige Funktion von Lin9 in der Regulierung der mitotischen Genexpression und der Proliferation in vivo. Das Fehlen von Lin9 f{\"u}hrte zu einer verringerten Proliferation in den Krypten des D{\"u}nndarms und verursachte eine Atrophie des Darmepithels und einen schnell eintretenden Tod der Tiere. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurden Signalwege untersucht, die nach fehlerhafter Zytokinese zu einem p53 vermittelten G1-Arrest f{\"u}hren. Hierf{\"u}r wurde ein chemischer Inhibitor der mitotischen Kinase Aurora B verwendet. Mit Hilfe eines Hochdurchsatz siRNA Screens wurde die MAP Kinase MAP3K4 als Aktivator des p53 Signalwegs identifiziert. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass MAP3K4 die Stresskinase p38b aktiviert, um den p53 vermittelten Zellzyklusarrest in tetraploiden Zellen auszul{\"o}sen. Dabei wurde p38b nach Hemmung von Aurora B f{\"u}r die transkriptionelle Aktivierung des p53 Zielgens p21 ben{\"o}tigt. Im Gegenteil dazu erfolgte die Phosphorylierung, Stabilisierung und die Rekrutierung von p53 an den p21 Promoter unabh{\"a}ngig von p38. Die teilweise Hemmung von Aurora B zeigte, dass fehlerhafte Segregation von Chromosomen auch den MAP3K4-p38-p53 Signalweg aktiviert und l{\"a}sst darauf schließen, dass subtile Defekte in der Mitose ausreichen diesen Stress-Signalweg zu induzieren. Obwohl p38 f{\"u}r den G1 Zellzyklusarrest nach mitotischen Sch{\"a}den erforderlich war, f{\"u}hrte die gleichzeitige Inhibierung von p38 und Aurora B {\"u}ber einen l{\"a}ngeren Zeitraum zu einer verringerten Proliferation, vermutlich aufgrund verst{\"a}rkter Apoptose. Es ist anzunehmen, dass der MAP3K4-p38-p53 Signalweg generell nach Defekten in der Mitose oder Zytokinese aktiviert wird um Zellen in G1 zu arretieren und um chromosomale Instabilit{\"a}t zu vermeiden.},
  subject      = {Mitose},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Bruder2012,
  author    = {Bruder, Jessica},
  title     = {Antigenerkennung bei autoaggressiven Lymphozyten},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73342},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Millionen Menschen weltweit leiden an den verschiedensten Autoimmunerkrankungen. Diese Krankheiten entstehen, wenn das Immunsystem gesundes k{\"o}rpereigenes Gewebe angreift und zerst{\"o}rt. An der Pathogenese sind sowohl Komponenten des angeborenen Immunsystems als auch Bestandteile des adaptiven Immunsystems, wie Lymphozyten und Antik{\"o}rper, beteiligt. Da die Ursachen und molekularen Mechanismen der Pathogenese dieser Erkrankungen bis heute weitgehend unbekannt sind, wurden in dieser Arbeit autoaggressive Lymphozyten bei den humanen Autoimmunerkrankungen Polymyositis und Multiple Sklerose n{\"a}her untersucht. Die Polymyositis ist eine chronisch entz{\"u}ndliche Erkrankung der Skelettmuskulatur. Die Muskelfasern werden dabei von zytotoxischen CD8+ gd-T-Lymphozyten infiltriert, attackiert und schließlich zerst{\"o}rt. In einem seltenen Fall der Polymyositis wurden die Muskelzellen hingegen in {\"a}hnlicher Weise von CD8- gd-T-Lymphozyten angegriffen. Die gd-T-Lymphozyten waren monoklonal expandiert und ihr Rezeptor, im Folgenden als M88 bezeichnet, wurde als Vg1.3+Vd2+ identifiziert. Fr{\"u}here Untersuchungen der Antigenspezifit{\"a}t dieser Zellen zeigten, dass M88 mehrere funktionell und strukturell verschiedene Proteine aus unterschiedlichen Spezies erkennt. Die Bindung erfolgt spezifisch durch die Antigenerkennungsregionen beider Rezeptorketten von M88. In dieser Arbeit wurden verschiedene bakterielle und humane Proteine des Translationsapparates als Antigene von M88 identifiziert. Weitere ausf{\"u}hrliche Untersuchungen eines paradigmatischen bakteriellen Antigens, dem Translationsinitiationsfaktor EcIF1, zeigten, dass M88 an Oberfl{\"a}chen-exponierte Konformationsepitope von Proteinen bindet. Interessanterweise erkennt M88 mehrere humane Aminoacyl-tRNA-Synthetasen, Antigene, die in anderen Formen der Myositis von Autoantik{\"o}rpern angegriffen werden. Diese Beobachtung ergibt eine bemerkenswerte Verbindung zwischen T-Zell- und Antik{\"o}rper-vermittelten B-Zell-Antworten bei der autoimmunen Myositis. Bei der Multiplen Sklerose ist das zentrale Nervensystem betroffen. Autoaggressive Lymphozyten greifen die Myelinschicht der Nervenzellen im Gehirn und R{\"u}ckenmark an und zerst{\"o}ren sie. Im Liquor cerebrospinalis von Patienten lassen sich klonal expandierte und affinit{\"a}tsgereifte B-Zellen sowie „oligoklonale Banden" (OKB) Antik{\"o}rper nachweisen. Obwohl diese Merkmale auf eine Antigen-induzierte Immunantwort hindeuten, sind die zugrundeliegenden Antigene und die Rolle der OKB bei der Pathogenese bis heute unbekannt. In dieser Arbeit wurde die Antigenspezifit{\"a}t von f{\"u}nf IgG OKB-Antik{\"o}rpern aus drei Patienten untersucht. Durch verschiedene proteinbiochemische Methoden konnten intrazellul{\"a}re Kandidatenantigene identifiziert werden. Interessanterweise sind darunter mehrere nukle{\"a}re Proteine, die an der Transkriptionsregulation oder der RNA-Prozessierung beteiligt sind. Reaktivit{\"a}ten gegen intrazellul{\"a}re Antigene treten auch bei anderen Autoimmunerkrankungen, wie beispielsweise dem systemischen Lupus erythematodes, auf. Diese Ergebnisse k{\"o}nnten auf einen allgemeinen Mechanismus der Entstehung und Funktion von Autoantik{\"o}rpern bei diesen humanen Autoimmunerkrankungen hindeuten.},
  subject      = {Multiple Sklerose},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Chen2012,
  author    = {Chen, Yi-chun},
  title     = {Experimental access to the content of an olfactory memory trace in larval Drosophila},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-83705},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Animals need to evaluate their experiences in order to cope with new situations they encounter. This requires the ability of learning and memory. Drosophila melanogaster lends itself as an animal model for such research because elaborate genetic techniques are available. Drosphila larva even saves cellular redundancy in parts of its nervous system. My Thesis has two parts dealing with associative olfactory learning in larval Drosophila. Firstly, I tackle the question of odour processing in respect to odour quality and intensity. Secondly, by focusing on the evolutionarily conserved presynaptic protein Synapsin, olfactory learning on the cellular and molecular level is investigated. Part I.1. provides a behaviour-based estimate of odour similarity in larval Drosophila by using four recognition-type experiments to result in a combined, task-independent estimate of perceived difference between odour-pairs. A further comparison of these combined perceived differences to published calculations of physico-chemical difference reveals a weak correlation between perceptual and physico-chemical similarity. Part I.2. focuses on how odour intensity is interpreted in the process of olfactory learning in larval Drosophila. First, the dose-effect curves of learnability across odour intensities are described in order to choose odour intensities such that larvae are trained at intermediate odour intensity, but tested for retention either with that trained intermediate odour intensity, or with respectively HIGHer or LOWer intensities. A specificity of retention for the trained intensity is observed for all the odours used. Such intensity specificity of learning adds to appreciate the richness in 'content' of olfactory memory traces, and to define the demands on computational models of associative olfactory memory trace formation. In part II.1. of the thesis, the cellular site and molecular mode of Synapsin function is investigated- an evolutionarily conserved, presynaptic vesicular phosphoprotein. On the cellular level, the study shows a Synapsin-dependent memory trace in the mushroom bodies, a third-order "cortical" brain region of the insects; on the molecular level, Synapsin engages as a downstream element of the AC-cAMP-PKA signalling cascade.},
  subject      = {Taufliege},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Schleyer2012,
  author    = {Schleyer, Michael},
  title     = {Integrating past, present and future: mechanisms of a simple decision in larval Drosophila},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78923},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Is behaviour response or action? In this Thesis I study this question regarding a rather simple organism, the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Despite its numerically simple brain and limited behavioural repertoire, it is nevertheless capable to accomplish surprisingly complex tasks. After association of an odour and a rewarding or punishing reinforcement signal, the learnt odour is able to retrieve the formed memory trace. However, the activated memory trace is not automatically turned into learned behaviour: Appetitive memory traces are behaviourally expressed only in absence of the rewarding tastant whereas aversive memory traces are behaviourally expressed in the presence of the punishing tastant. The 'decision' whether to behaviourally express a memory trace or not relies on a quantitive comparison between memory trace and current situation: only if the memory trace (after odour-sugar training) predicts a stronger sugar reward than currently present, animals show appetitive conditioned behaviour. Learned appetitive behaviour is best seen as active search for food - being pointless in the presence of (enough) food. Learned aversive behaviour, in turn, can be seen as escape from a punishment - being pointless in absence of punishment. Importantly, appetitive and aversive memory traces can be formed and retrieved independent from each other but also can, under appriate circumstances, summate to jointly organise conditioned behaviour. In contrast to learned behaviour, innate olfactory behaviour is not influenced by gustatory processing and vice versa. Thus, innate olfactory and gustatory behaviour is rather rigid and reflexive in nature, being executed almost regardless of other environmental cues. I suggest a behavioural circuit-model of chemosensory behaviour and the 'decision' process whether to behaviourally express a memory trace or not. This model reflects known components of the larval chemobehavioural circuit and provides clear hypotheses about the kinds of architecture to look for in the currently unknown parts of this circuit. The second chapter deals with gustatory perception and processing (especially of bitter substances). Quinine, the bitter tastant in tonic water and bitter lemon, is aversive for larvae, suppresses feeding behaviour and can act as aversive reinforcer in learning experiments. However, all three examined behaviours differ in their dose-effect dynamics, suggesting different molecular and cellular processing streams at some level. Innate choice behaviour, thought to be relatively reflexive and hard-wired, nevertheless can be influenced by the gustatory context. That is, attraction toward sweet tastants is decreased in presence of bitter tastants. The extent of this inhibitory effect depends on the concentration of both sweet and bitter tastant. Importantly, sweet tastants differ in their sensitivity to bitter interference, indicating a stimulus-specific mechanism. The molecular and cellular processes underlying the inhibitory effect of bitter tastants are unknown, but the behavioural results presented here provide a framework to further investigate interactions of gustatory processing streams.},
  subject      = {Lernen},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Cecil2012,
  author    = {Cecil, Alexander [geb. Schmid]},
  title     = {Metabolische Netzwerkanalysen f{\"u}r den Weg von xenobiotischen zu vertr{\"a}glichen antibiotischen Substanzen},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-71866},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Durch das Auftreten neuer St{\"a}mme resistenter Krankheitserreger ist die Suche nach neuartigen Wirkstoffen gegen diese, sich st{\"a}ndig weiter ausbreitende Bedrohung, dringend notwendig. Der interdisziplin{\"a}re Sonderforschungsbereich 630 der Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg stellt sich dieser Aufgabe, indem hier neuartige Xenobiotika synthetisiert und auf ihre Wirksamkeit getestet werden. Die hier vorgelegte Dissertation f{\"u}gt sich hierbei nahtlos in die verschiedenen Fachbereiche des SFB630 ein: Sie stellt eine Schnittstelle zwischen Synthese und Analyse der Effekte der im Rahmen des SFB630 synthetisierten Isochinolinalkaloid-Derivaten. Mit den hier angewandten bioinformatischen Methoden wurden zun{\"a}chst die wichtigsten Stoffwechselwege von S. epidermidis R62A, S. aureus USA300 und menschlicher Zellen in sogenannten metabolischen Netzwerkmodellen nachgestellt. Basierend auf diesen Modellen konnten Enzymaktivit{\"a}ten f{\"u}r verschiedene Szenarien an zugesetzten Xenobiotika berechnet werden. Die hierf{\"u}r ben{\"o}tigten Daten wurden direkt aus Genexpressionsanalysen gewonnen. Die Validierung dieser Methode erfolgte durch Metabolommessungen. Hierf{\"u}r wurde S. aureus USA300 mit verschiedenen Konzentrationen von IQ-143 behandelt und gem{\"a}ß dem in dieser Dissertation vorgelegten Ernteprotokoll aufgearbeitet. Die Ergebnisse hieraus lassen darauf schließen, dass IQ-143 starke Effekte auf den Komplex 1 der Atmungskette aus{\"u}bt - diese Resultate decken sich mit denen der metabolischen Netzwerkanalyse. F{\"u}r den Wirkstoff IQ-238 ergaben sich trotz der strukturellen {\"A}hnlichkeiten zu IQ-143 deutlich verschiedene Wirkeffekte: Dieser Stoff verursacht einen direkten Abfall der Enzymaktivit{\"a}ten in der Glykolyse. Dadurch konnte eine unspezifische Toxizit{\"a}t dieser Stoffe basierend auf ihrer chemischen Struktur ausgeschlossen werden. Weiterhin konnten die bereits f{\"u}r IQ-143 und IQ-238 auf Bakterien angewandten Methoden erfolgreich zur Modellierung der Effekte von Methylenblau auf verschiedene resistente St{\"a}mme von P. falciparum 3D7 angewandt werden. Dadurch konnte gezeigt werden, dass Methylenblau in einer Kombination mit anderen Pr{\"a}paraten gegen diesen Parasiten zum einen die Wirkung des Prim{\"a}rpr{\"a}parates verst{\"a}rkt, zum anderen aber auch in gewissem Maße vorhandene Resistenzen gegen das Prim{\"a}rpr{\"a}parat zu verringern vermag. Somit konnte durch die vorgelegte Arbeit eine Pipeline zur Identifizierung der metabolischen Effekte verschiedener Wirkstoffe auf unterschiedliche Krankheitserreger erstellt werden. Diese Pipeline kann jederzeit auf andere Organismen ausgeweitet werden und stellt somit einen wichtigen Ansatz um Netzwerkeffekte verschiedener, potentieller Medikamente aufzukl{\"a}ren.},
  subject      = {Stoffwechsel},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Cook2012,
  author    = {Cook, Vanessa Janine},
  title     = {Protection of healthy tissues from infection with systemically administered vaccinia virus strains},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69654},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Oncolytic virotherapy using recombinant vaccinia virus strains is a promising approach for the treatment of cancer. To further improve the safety of oncolytic vaccinia viruses, the cellular microRNA machinery can be applied as the host's own security mechanism to avoid unwanted viral replication in healthy tissues. MicroRNAs are a class of small single-stranded RNAs which due to their ability to mediate post-transcriptional gene-silencing, play a crucial role in almost every regulatory process in cellular metabolism. Different cancers display unique microRNA expression patterns, showing significant up- or downregulation of endogenously expressed microRNAs. Furthermore, the behavior of cancer cells can be altered by either adding microRNAs known to inhibit cancer cell spread and proliferation or suppressing cancer promoting microRNAs (oncomirs) making microRNAs promising targets for cancer gene therapy. The cell's own RNAi machinery can also be utilized to control viral replication due to the virus dependence on the host cell replication machinery, a process controlled by microRNAs. GLV-1h68 is a replication-competent recombinant oncolytic vaccinia virus constructed and generated by Genelux Corp., San Diego, CA, USA which carries insertions of three reporter gene cassettes for detection and attenuation purposes and is currently being evaluated for cancer treatment in clinical trials. Though there are hardly any side effects found in GLV-1h68 mediated oncolytic therapy an increased tropism for replication exclusively in cancer cells is desirable. Therefore it was investigated whether or not further cancer cell specificity of a recombinant vaccinia virus strain could be obtained without compromising its oncolytic activity using microRNA interference. Let-7a is a well characterized microRNA known to be expressed in high levels in healthy tissues and strongly downregulated in most cancers. To control vaccinia virus replication rates, four copies of the mature human microRNA let-7a target sequence were cloned behind the stop codon in the 3'end of the vaccinia virus D4R gene, using a GLV-1h68 derivative, GLV-1h190, as parental strain yielding the new recombinant virus strain GLV-1h250. The D4R gene belongs to the group of early transcribed vaccinia genes and encodes an essential enzyme, uracil DNA glycosylase, which catalyzes the removal of uracil residues from double-stranded DNA. A defect in D4R prevents vaccinia virus from entering into the intermediate and late phase of replication, leading to an aborted virus replication. After expression of the microRNA target sequence from the vaccinia virus genome, the endogenously expressed microRNA-let-7a should recognize its target structure within the viral mRNA transcript, thereby binding and degrading the viral mRNA which should lead to a strong inhibition of the virus replication in healthy cells. GLV-1h250 replication rates in cancerous A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells, which show a strong down-regulation of microRNA let-7a, was comparable to the replication rates of its parental strain GLV-1h190 and the control strain GLV-1h68. In contrast, GLV-1h250 displayed a 10-fold decrease in viral replication in non-cancerous ERC cells when compared to GLV-1h190 and GLV-1h68. In A549 tumor bearing nude mice GLV-1h250 replicated exclusively in the tumorous tissue and resulted in efficient tumor regression without adverse effects leading to the conclusion that GLV-1h250 replicates preferentially in cancerous cells and tissues, which display low endogenous let-7a expression levels.},
  subject      = {Vaccinia-Virus},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Knaf2012,
  author    = {Knaf, Tobias},
  title     = {Spezifische Bindung von Aluminium und Eisen an den kationenselektiven Kanal MppA von Microthrix parvicella},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-77011},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Schwermetallsalze wie beispielsweise Aluminium- oder Eisensalze werden in der Abwasserbehandlung zur Pr{\"a}vention und Bek{\"a}mpfung von Bl{\"a}hschlamm, Schwimmschlamm und Schaumbildung verwendet. Dadurch kann eine Verbesserung der Schlammabsetzeigenschaften im Nachkl{\"a}rbecken erreicht werden. {\"U}berm{\"a}ßiges Wachstum des grampositiven Bakteriums Microthrix parvicella gilt dabei als Hauptursache von Schlammabsetzproblemen und kann ebenfalls durch die Dosierung von schwermetallhaltigen Flockungs- und F{\"a}llungsmitteln vermieden werden. Da diese Verbindungen in Wasser gel{\"o}st sind, m{\"u}ssen sie die Außenmembran bestimmter Bakterien passieren. Nur der Einbau von wassergef{\"u}llten Kan{\"a}len erlaubt den gel{\"o}sten Salzen das Passieren der durch hydrophobe Fetts{\"a}uren aufgebauten zus{\"a}tzlichen Permeabilit{\"a}tsbarriere. In dieser Arbeit wurden wassergef{\"u}llten Kan{\"a}le von Microthrix parvicella isoliert, aufgereinigt und mit Hilfe der Black-Lipid-Bilayer-Technik charakterisiert. Erg{\"a}nzend wurde der Einfluss und der Durchlass der Flockungs- und F{\"a}llungsmittel in Titrationsexperimenten untersucht. Dabei konnte ein wassergef{\"u}llter Kanal, der die Bezeichnung MppA erhielt, gefunden werden, welcher eine Leitf{\"a}higkeit von 600 pS in 1 M Kaliumchlorid und eine Bindestelle f{\"u}r mehrwertige Kationen wie Eisen oder Aluminium zeigte. Die Bindung dieser mehrwertigen Kationen f{\"u}hrte zu einer {\"A}nderung der Ionenselektivit{\"a}t. Ohne Bindung mehrwertiger Kationen zeigte der Kanal eine leichte Kationenselektivit{\"a}t. Nach der Bindung wechselte die Ionenselektivit{\"a}t zu einer Anionenselektivit{\"a}t, was auf eine spezifische Ladungsverteilung im Kanal hinweist. Der Kanal MppA zeigte gleichwertige Bindekonstanten f{\"u}r Aluminium und Eisen. Beide Metalle werden als F{\"a}llungs- und Flockungsmittel in Kl{\"a}ranlagen zum Verhindern von Schwimm- und Bl{\"a}hschlamm verwendet. Fr{\"u}here Arbeiten offenbarten bereits, dass haupts{\"a}chlich der Aluminiumanteil entscheidend f{\"u}r die Wirkung dieser Mittel ist. Diese Beobachtungen in Verbindung mit den Ergebnissen dieser Arbeit f{\"u}hrten zu der Annahme, dass Eisen und Aluminium eine kompetitive Bindung an der Bindestelle im Kanalinneren zeigen k{\"o}nnten. So k{\"o}nnte in manchen F{\"a}llen Aluminium anstelle des sonst als Spurenelement ben{\"o}tigten Eisens durch den Kanal transportiert werden und in Enzym-Substrat-Komplexen eingebaut werden. Dadurch k{\"o}nnten toxische Effekte auftreten, die letztlich ein Absterben des Organismus zur Folge h{\"a}tten. F{\"u}r die Bindung der Metallsalze konnte zus{\"a}tzlich eine pH-Abh{\"a}ngigkeit beobachtet werden. Nur eine Zugabe von Metalll{\"o}sungen mit einem pH-Wert kleiner 6 f{\"u}hrte zu einer Bindung im Kanal. Die Zugabe von Metalll{\"o}sungen mit einem pH-Wert gr{\"o}ßer 6 zeigte keinen Effekt auf die Leitf{\"a}higkeit des Kanals. Diese Ergebnisse best{\"a}tigen die auf Kl{\"a}ranlagen und in vorherigen Arbeiten get{\"a}tigte Beobachtung, dass der pH-Wert f{\"u}r die Wirksamkeit der Verbindungen entscheidend ist. In dieser Arbeit konnte jedoch erstmals gezeigt werden, dass der pH-Wert direkt die Bindung der Metallsalze beeinflusst.},
  subject      = {Aluminium},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{CardosoeCastro2012,
  author    = {Cardoso e Castro, In{\^e}s Sofia},
  title     = {Epigenetic switch induced by MYC in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76713},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is the most frequent human lung cancer and a major cause of death due to its high rate of metastasis1. These facts emphasize the urgent need for the investigation of new targets for anti-metastatic therapy. Up to now a number of genes and gene products have been identified that positively or negatively affect the probability of established human tumor cell lines to metastasize2. Previously, together with the group of Professor Ulf Rapp, we have described the first conditional mouse model for metastasis of NSCLC and identified a gene, c-MYC, that is able to orchestrate all steps of this process. We could identify potential markers for detection of metastasis and highlighted GATA4, which is exclusively expressed during lung development, as a target for future therapeutic intervention2. However, the mechanism underlying this metastatic conversion remained to be identified, and was therefore the focus of the present work. Here, GATA4 is identified as a MYC target in the development of metastasis and epigenetic alterations at the GATA4 promoter level are shown after MYC expression in NSCLC in vivo and in vitro. Such alterations include site-specific demethylation that accompanies the displacement of the MYC-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) from the GATA4 promoter, which leads to GATA4 expression. Histone modification analysis of the GATA4 promoter revealed a switch from repressive histone marks to active histone marks after MYC binding, which corresponds to active GATA4 expression. This work identifies a novel epigenetic mechanism by which MYC activates GATA4 leading to metastasis in NSCLC, suggesting novel potential targets for the development of anti-metastatic therapy.},
  subject      = {Nicht-kleinzelliges Bronchialkarzinom},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Chaianunporn2012,
  author    = {Chaianunporn, Thotsapol},
  title     = {Evolution of dispersal and specialization in systems of interacting species},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76779},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {A metacommunity approach will be a useful framework to assess and predict changes in biodiversity in spatially structured landscapes and changing environments. However, the relationship between two core elements of metacommunity dynamics, dispersal and species interaction are not well understood. Most theoretical studies on dispersal evolution assume that target species are in isolation and do not interact with other species although the species interactions and community structure should have strong interdependence with dispersal. On the one hand, a species interaction can change the cost and benefit structure of dispersing in relation to non-dispersing individuals. On the other hand, with dispersal, an individual can follow respectively avoid species partners. Moreover, it is also important to explore the interdependence between dispersal and species interaction with spatial and temporal heterogeneity of environment because it would allow us to gain more understanding about responses of community to disturbances such as habitat destruction or global climate change, and this aspect is up to now not well-studied. In this thesis, I focus on the interactive and evolutionary feedback effects between dispersal and various types of interspecific interactions in different environmental settings. More specifically, I contrast dispersal evolution in scenarios with different types of interactions (chapter 2), explore the concurrent evolution of dispersal and habitat niche width (specialization) in spatial heterogeneous landscape (chapter 3) and consider (potential) multidimensional evolutionary responses under climate change (chapter 4). Moreover, I investigate consequences of different dispersal probability and group tolerance on group formation respectively group composition and the coexistence of 'marker types' (chapter 5). For all studies, I utilize individual-based models of single or multiple species within spatially explicit (grid-based) landscapes. In chapter 5, I also use an analytical model in addition to an individual-based model to predict phenomenon in group recognition and group formation. ...},
  subject      = {Tiergesellschaft},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Goehler2012,
  author    = {G{\"o}hler, Antonia},
  title     = {Untersuchung Karbohydrat-bindender Proteine mit hoher zeitlicher und r{\"a}umlicher Aufl{\"o}sung},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76665},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Das menschliche Genom verschl{\"u}sselt 30000 bis 40000 Proteine, von denen ein Großteil kovalent gebundene Karbohydrat-Gruppen an Asparagin-, Serin-, Threonin- oder Hydroxylysin-Resten tr{\"a}gt. Diese sogenannten Glykoproteine sind allgegenw{\"a}rtige Bestandteile der extrazellul{\"a}ren Matrix von Zelloberfl{\"a}chen. Sie steuern Zell-Zell- und Zell-Matrix-Kommunikationen, k{\"o}nnen bei der roteinfaltung helfen bzw. die Proteinstabilit{\"a}t erh{\"o}hen oder Immunantworten regulieren. Die Ausl{\"o}sung von biologischen Prozesse erfordert aber {\"U}bersetzer der zuckerbasierten Informationen. Solche Effektoren sind die Lektine, unter ihnen auch die Galektine. Galektine binden spezifisch β-Galaktosen, weisen strukturelle {\"U}bereinstimmungen in der Aminos{\"a}uresequenz ihrer Zuckererkennungsdom{\"a}nen (CRDs) auf und zeigen ein „jelly-roll"-Faltungsmuster, bestehend aus einem β-Sandwich mit zwei antiparallelen Faltbl{\"a}ttern. Strukturell werden die CRDs in drei verschiedenen, topologischen Formen pr{\"a}sentiert. Proto-Typen existieren als nicht-kovalent verkn{\"u}pfte Dimere der CRDs, Chimera-Typen besitzen neben der CRD eine Nicht-Lektin-Dom{\"a}ne und bei den Tandem-Repeat-Typen sind zwei verschiedene CRDs {\"u}ber ein kurzes Linker-Peptid kovalent verbunden. Galektine werden sowohl in normalem wie auch pathogenem Gewebe exprimiert und das zunehmende Wissen {\"u}ber die Beteiligung an verschiedenen Krankheiten und Tumorwachstum liefert die Motivation, strukturelle Aspekte und die Vernetzung von Lektinen detailliert, insbesondere im Hinblick auf ihre intrafamili{\"a}ren Unterschiede, zu untersuchen. Durch die Kombination verschiedener Spektroskopie-Techniken mit hoher zeitlicher und r{\"a}umlicher Aufl{\"o}sung, basierend auf der Verwendung von Fluorophoren (intrinsisch und extrinsisch), werden in dieser Arbeit die Eigenschaften von Galektinen n{\"a}her untersucht. Mit Fluoreszenz-Korrelations-Spektroskopie (FCS) und Anisotropie-Messungen wird gezeigt, dass eine Liganden-Bindung bei Proto-Typ-Galektinen mit einer Verringerung des hydrodynamischen Radius einhergeht. Bei Tandem-Repeat- und Chimera-Typen bleibt der Radius konstant. Daf{\"u}r skaliert die Diffusionskonstante von Tandem-Repeat-Typen anormal mit der molaren Masse. Die Anisotropie-Messungen werden parallel zu den FCS-Messungen durchgef{\"u}hrt, um einen Einfluss des Fluoreszenzmarkers auszuschließen. Mit Hilfe dieser Technik wird außerdem gezeigt, dass unterschiedliche Dissoziationskonstanten und Kinetiken f{\"u}r den Bindungsprozess innerhalb der Proto-Typ-Gruppe m{\"o}glichweise auf unterschiedliche Konformationsdynamiken zur{\"u}ckgehen. Der Vergleich von hGal-1 und cG-1B verdeutlicht, dass strukturelle {\"A}hnlichkeiten zwar ein identisches Bindungsverhalten hervorrufen k{\"o}nnen, der Oxidationsprozess der Proteine aber unterschiedlich ablaufen kann. Beide Methoden k{\"o}nnen so als sehr sensitive Techniken zur Untersuchung von Strukturmerkmalen bei Galektinen etabliert werden, wobei die {\"U}bertragbarkeit auf andere Glykoproteine gew{\"a}hrleistet ist. Weiterhin gilt Quervernetzung als eine der wichtigsten Eigenschaften von Galektinen, da durch die Vernetzung von Glykoproteinen auf der Zelloberfl{\"a}che Signalwege aktiviert und Immunantworten reguliert werden. Um die r{\"a}umliche organisation und Quervernetzung von hGal-1 auf den Oberfl{\"a}chen von Neuroblastomzellen nachzuweisen, eignet sich das hochaufl{\"o}sende Mikroskopieverfahren dSTORM sehr gut. Durch Verwendung des photoschaltbaren Fluorophors Alexa647 als spezifischem Marker f{\"u}r hGal-1, einem Standard-Weitfeld-Aufbau und verschiedenen Analyseverfahren, kann eine Clusterformation von hGal-1 auf der Zelloberfl{\"a}che best{\"a}tigt werden. hGal-1 bildet Cluster mit einem mittleren Durchmesser von 81±7 nm aus. Der Durchmesser ist unabh{\"a}ngig von der Konzentration, w{\"a}hrend die Anzahl der Cluster davon abh{\"a}ngt. F{\"u}r die Clusterausbildung ist ein Startpunkt, also eine minimale Dichte der Galektin-Molek{\"u}le, notwendig. Durch Blockierung der CRDs mit Laktose wird die Clusterbildung unterdr{\"u}ckt und die Spezifit{\"a}t der CRDs gegen{\"u}ber β-Galaktosen erneut herausgestellt. Anders als dimeres hGal-1 binden Monomere deutlich schlechter an die Membranrezeptoren. Es werden keine Cluster ausgebildet, eine Quervernetzung von Membranrezeptoren ist nicht m{\"o}glich. Außerdem kann es durch die Monomere zu einer vollst{\"a}ndigen Markierung und damit Abkugellung der Zellen kommen. M{\"o}glicherweise wird der Zelltod induziert. Hochaufl{\"o}sende Mikroskopieverfahren sind durch den Markierungsprozess limitiert. Die bioorthogonale Click-Chemie er{\"o}ffnet jedoch neue M{\"o}glichkeiten zur Markierung und Visualisierung von Biomolek{\"u}len, ohne die Notwenigkeit genetischer Manipulationen. Es werden modifizierte Zuckermolek{\"u}le in die Zellmembranen eingebaut, {\"u}ber eine 1,3-polare Cycloaddition mit einem Alkin markiert und ihre Verteilung mit Hilfe von dSTORM untersucht. Es wird nachgewiesen, dass die Zuckermolek{\"u}le in Clustern auftreten und Click-Chemie trotz dem Katalysator Kupfer an lebenden Zellen durchf{\"u}hrbar ist. Die Bewegung der Gesamtcluster wird mittels Mean Square Displacement aufgeschl{\"u}sselt und eine Diffusionskonstante f{\"u}r Cluster im Bereich von 40 - 250 nm bestimmt. Zusammenfassend stellt die Kombination verschiedener Spektroskopie-Techniken ein gutes Werkzeug zur Untersuchung von Karbohydrat-bindendenden Proteinen mit hoher r{\"a}umlicher und zeitlicher Aufl{\"o}sung dar und erm{\"o}glicht einen neuen Einblick in die Biologie der Galektine.},
  subject      = {Fluoreszenz},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Scheller2012,
  author    = {Scheller, Katharina},
  title     = {Charakterisierung und Anwendung von humanen, prim{\"a}ren mikrovaskul{\"a}ren Endothelzellen mit erweiterter Proliferationsf{\"a}higkeit},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76577},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Das Arbeitsgebiet Tissue Engineering befasst sich mit der Kl{\"a}rung der Mechanismen, die der Funktionen verschiedener Gewebearten zu Grunde liegen sowie mit der Entwicklung alternativer Strategien zur Behandlung von Organversagen bzw. Organverlusten. Einer der kritischsten Punkte im Tissue Engineering ist die ausreichende Versorgung der Zellen mit N{\"a}hrstoffen und Sauerstoff. Bioartifizielle Gewebe mit einer Dicke von bis zu 200 µm k{\"o}nnen mittels Diffusion ausreichend versorgt werden. F{\"u}r dickere Transplantate ist die Versorgung der Zellen alleine durch Diffusion jedoch nicht gegeben. Hierf{\"u}r m{\"u}ssen Mechanismen und Strategien zur Pr{\"a}vaskularisierung der artifiziellen Gewebekonstrukte entwickelt werden, damit die N{\"a}hrstoff- und Sauerstoffversorgung aller Zellen, auch im Inneren des Transplantates, von Anfang an gew{\"a}hrleistet ist. Eine wichtige Rolle bei der Pr{\"a}vaskularisierung spielt die Angiogenese. Dabei ist die Wahl einer geeigneten Zellquelle entscheidend, da die Zellen die Basis f{\"u}r die Angiogenese darstellen. Mikrovaskul{\"a}re Endothelzellen (mvEZ) sind maßgeblich an der Angiogenese beteiligt. Das Problem bei der Verwendung von humanen prim{\"a}ren mvEZ ist ihre geringe Verf{\"u}gbarkeit, ihre limitierte Proliferationskapazit{\"a}t und der schnelle Verlust ihrer typischen Endothelzellmarker in-vitro. Der Aufbau standardisierter in-vitro Testsysteme ist durch die geringe Zellausbeute auch nicht m{\"o}glich. Die upcyte® Technologie bietet hierf{\"u}r einen L{\"o}sungsansatz. In der vorliegenden Arbeit konnten upcyte® mvEZ als Alternative zu prim{\"a}ren mvEZ generiert werden. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Zellen eine erweiterte Proliferationsf{\"a}higkeit aufweisen und im Vergleich zu prim{\"a}ren mvEZ durchschnittlich 15 zus{\"a}tzliche Populationsverdopplungen leisten k{\"o}nnen. Dadurch ist es m{\"o}glich 3x104-fach mehr upcyte® mvEZ eines Spenders zu generieren verglichen mit den korrespondierenden Prim{\"a}rzellen. Die gute und ausreichende Verf{\"u}gbarkeit der Zellen macht sie interessant f{\"u}r die Standardisierung von in-vitro Testsystemen, ebenso k{\"o}nnen die Zellen zur Pr{\"a}vaskularisierung von Transplantaten eingesetzt werden. Upcyte® mvEZ zeigen zahlreiche Prim{\"a}rzellmerkmale, die in der Literatur beschrieben sind. Im konfluenten Zustand zeigen sie die f{\"u}r prim{\"a}re mvEZ spezifische pflastersteinartige Morphologie. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus exprimieren upcyte® mvEZ typische Endothelzellmarker wie CD31, vWF, eNOS, CD105, CD146 und VEGFR-2 vergleichbar zu prim{\"a}ren mvEZ. Eine weitere endothelzellspezifische Eigenschaft ist die Bindung von Ulex europaeus agglutinin I Lektin an die alpha-L-Fucose enthaltene Kohlenhydratstrukturen von mvEZs. Auch hier wurden upcyte® Zellen mit prim{\"a}ren mvEZ verglichen und zeigten die hierf{\"u}r charkteristischen Strukturen. Zus{\"a}tzlich zu Morphologie, Proliferationskapazit{\"a}t und endothelzellspezifischen Markern, zeigen upcyte® mvEZ auch mehrere funktionelle Eigenschaften, welche in prim{\"a}ren mvEZ beobachtet werden k{\"o}nnen, wie beispielsweise die Aufnahme von Dil-markiertem acetyliertem Low Density Lipoprotein (Dil-Ac-LDL) oder die F{\"a}higkeit den Prozess der Angiognese zu unterst{\"u}tzen. Zus{\"a}tzlich bilden Sph{\"a}roide aus upcyte® mvEZ dreidimensionale lumin{\"a}re Zellformationen in einer Kollagenmatrix aus. Diese Charakteristika zeigen den quasi-prim{\"a}ren Ph{\"a}notyp der upcyte® mvEZs. Upcyte® mvEZ stellen dar{\"u}ber hinaus eine neuartige m{\"o}gliche Zellquelle f{\"u}r die Generierung pr{\"a}vaskularisierter Tr{\"a}germaterialien im Tissue Engineering dar. In der vorliegenden Arbeit konnte die Wiederbesiedlung der biologisch vaskularisierte Matrix (BioVaSc) mit upcyte® mvEZ vergleichbar zu prim{\"a}ren mvEZ gezeigt werden. Der Einsatz von upcyte® mvEZ in der BioVaSc stellt einen neuen, vielversprechenden Ansatz zur Herstellung eines vaskularisierten Modells f{\"u}r Gewebekonstrukte dar, wie beispielsweise einem Leberkonstrukt. Zusammenfassend konnte in der vorliegenden Arbeit gezeigt werden, dass upcyte® mvEZ vergleichbar zu prim{\"a}ren mvEZs sind und somit eine geeignete Alternative f{\"u}r die Generierung pr{\"a}vaskulierter Tr{\"a}germaterialien und Aufbau von in-vitro Testsystemen darstellen. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus wurde ein neues, innovatives System f{\"u}r die Generierung einer perfundierten, mit Endothelzellen wiederbesiedelten Matrix f{\"u}r k{\"u}nstliches Gewebe in-vitro entwickelt.},
  subject      = {Tissue Engineering},
  language  = {de}
}