TY - JOUR A1 - Phillips, Jane A. A1 - Chan, Angela A1 - Paeschke, Katrin A1 - Zakian, Virginia A. T1 - The Pif1 helicase, a negative regulator of telomerase, acts preferentially at long telomeres JF - PLoS Genetics N2 - Telomerase, the enzyme that maintains telomeres, preferentially lengthens short telomeres. The S. cerevisiae Pif1 DNA helicase inhibits both telomerase-mediated telomere lengthening and de novo telomere addition at double strand breaks (DSB). Here, we report that the association of the telomerase subunits Est2 and Est1 at a DSB was increased in the absence of Pif1, as it is at telomeres, suggesting that Pif1 suppresses de novo telomere addition by removing telomerase from the break. To determine how the absence of Pif1 results in telomere lengthening, we used the single telomere extension assay (STEX), which monitors lengthening of individual telomeres in a single cell cycle. In the absence of Pif1, telomerase added significantly more telomeric DNA, an average of 72 nucleotides per telomere compared to the 45 nucleotides in wild type cells, and the fraction of telomeres lengthened increased almost four-fold. Using an inducible short telomere assay, Est2 and Est1 no longer bound preferentially to a short telomere in pif1 mutant cells while binding of Yku80, a telomere structural protein, was unaffected by the status of the PIF1 locus. Two experiments demonstrate that Pif1 binding is affected by telomere length: Pif1 (but not Yku80) -associated telomeres were 70 bps longer than bulk telomeres, and in the inducible short telomere assay, Pif1 bound better to wild type length telomeres than to short telomeres. Thus, preferential lengthening of short yeast telomeres is achieved in part by targeting the negative regulator Pif1 to long telomeres. KW - Saccharomyces cerevisiae telomeres KW - DNA helicase KW - Pol II KW - in vitro KW - genome instability KW - yeast telomerase KW - G-quadruplex motifs KW - elongation KW - length KW - replication Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148722 VL - 11 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tuchscherr, Lorena A1 - Bischoff, Markus A1 - Lattar, Santiago M. A1 - Noto Llana, Mariangeles A1 - Pförtner, Henrike A1 - Niemann, Silke A1 - Geraci, Jennifer A1 - Van de Vyver, Hélène A1 - Fraunholz, Martin J. A1 - Cheung, Ambrose L. A1 - Herrmann, Mathias A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Sordelli, Daniel O. A1 - Peters, Georg A1 - Loeffler, Bettina T1 - Sigma factor SigB is crucial to mediate Staphylococcus aureus adaptation during chronic infections JF - PLoS Pathogens N2 - Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes a range of infections from acute invasive to chronic and difficult-to-treat. Infection strategies associated with persisting S. aureus infections are bacterial host cell invasion and the bacterial ability to dynamically change phenotypes from the aggressive wild-type to small colony variants (SCVs), which are adapted for intracellular long-term persistence. The underlying mechanisms of the bacterial switching and adaptation mechanisms appear to be very dynamic, but are largely unknown. Here, we analyzed the role and the crosstalk of the global S. aureus regulators agr, sarA and SigB by generating single, double and triple mutants, and testing them with proteome analysis and in different in vitro and in vivo infection models. We were able to demonstrate that SigB is the crucial factor for adaptation in chronic infections. During acute infection, the bacteria require the simultaneous action of the agr and sarA loci to defend against invading immune cells by causing inflammation and cytotoxicity and to escape from phagosomes in their host cells that enable them to settle an infection at high bacterial density. To persist intracellularly the bacteria subsequently need to silence agr and sarA. Indeed agr and sarA deletion mutants expressed a much lower number of virulence factors and could persist at high numbers intracellularly. SigB plays a crucial function to promote bacterial intracellular persistence. In fact, \(\Delta\)sigB-mutants did not generate SCVs and were completely cleared by the host cells within a few days. In this study we identified SigB as an essential factor that enables the bacteria to switch from the highly aggressive phenotype that settles an acute infection to a silent SCV-phenotype that allows for long-term intracellular persistence. Consequently, the SigB-operon represents a possible target to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies against chronic and therapy-refractory infections. KW - gene regulator agr KW - endothelial cells KW - modulates virulence KW - death pathway sar locus KW - factor B KW - small-colony variants KW - alpha-toxin KW - epithelial cells KW - in vitro Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143419 VL - 11 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shityakov, Sergey A1 - Puskás, István A1 - Pápai, Katalin A1 - Salvador, Ellaine A1 - Roewer, Norbert A1 - Förster, Carola A1 - Broscheit, Jens-Albert T1 - Sevoflurane-sulfobutylether-\(\beta\)-cyclodextrin complex: preparation, characterization, cellular toxicity, molecular modeling and blood-brain barrier transport studies JF - Molecules N2 - The objective of the present investigation was to study the ability of sulfobutylether-\(\beta\)-cyclodextrin (SBECD) to form an inclusion complex with sevoflurane (SEV), a volatile anesthetic with poor water solubility. The inclusion complex was prepared, characterized and its cellular toxicity and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeation potential of the formulated SEV have also been examined for the purpose of controlled drug delivery. The SEV-SBE\(\beta\)CD complex was nontoxic to the primary brain microvascular endothelial (pEND) cells at a clinically relevant concentration of sevoflurane. The inclusion complex exhibited significantly higher BBB permeation profiles as compared with the reference substance (propranolol) concerning calculated apparent permeability values (P\(_{app}\)). In addition, SEV binding affinity to SBE\(\beta\)CD was confirmed by a minimal Gibbs free energy of binding (ΔG\(_{bind}\)) value of -1.727 ± 0.042 kcal・mol\(^{-1}\) and an average binding constant (K\(_{b}\)) of 53.66 ± 9.24 mM indicating rapid drug liberation from the cyclodextrin amphiphilic cavity. KW - pharmaceutical applications KW - in vitro KW - propranolol KW - water KW - primary microvascular endothelial cells KW - molecular liphophilicity potential KW - molecular docking KW - blood-brain barrier KW - ulfobutylether-\(\beta\)-cyclodextrin KW - sevoflurane KW - cyclodextrin formulations KW - safety KW - etomidate KW - formulations KW - hydrochloride KW - ether KW - intestinal absorption Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148543 VL - 20 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geffers, Martha A1 - Groll, Jürgen A1 - Gbureck, Uwe T1 - Reinforcement strategies for load-bearing calcium phosphate biocements JF - Materials N2 - Calcium phosphate biocements based on calcium phosphate chemistry are well-established biomaterials for the repair of non-load bearing bone defects due to the brittle nature and low flexural strength of such cements. This article features reinforcement strategies of biocements based on various intrinsic or extrinsic material modifications to improve their strength and toughness. Altering particle size distribution in conjunction with using liquefiers reduces the amount of cement liquid necessary for cement paste preparation. This in turn decreases cement porosity and increases the mechanical performance, but does not change the brittle nature of the cements. The use of fibers may lead to a reinforcement of the matrix with a toughness increase of up to two orders of magnitude, but restricts at the same time cement injection for minimal invasive application techniques. A novel promising approach is the concept of dual-setting cements, in which a second hydrogel phase is simultaneously formed during setting, leading to more ductile cement-hydrogel composites with largely unaffected application properties. KW - in vitro KW - synergistic reinforcement KW - dihydrate cement KW - porosity KW - mechanical properties KW - dual setting KW - calcium phosphate cements KW - fiber reinforcement KW - polyacrylic acid KW - compressive strength KW - balloon kyphoplasty KW - brushite cement KW - bone cement Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148636 VL - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neuhaus, Winfried A1 - Schlundt, Marian A1 - Fehrholz, Markus A1 - Ehrke, Alexander A1 - Kunzmann, Steffen A1 - Liebner, Stefan A1 - Speer, Christian P. A1 - Förster, Carola Y. T1 - Multiple antenatal dexamethasone treatment alters brain vessel differentiation in newborn mouse pups JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Antenatal steroid treatment decreases morbidity and mortality in premature infants through the maturation of lung tissue, which enables sufficient breathing performance. However, clinical and animal studies have shown that repeated doses of glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone and betamethasone lead to long-term adverse effects on brain development. Therefore, we established a mouse model for antenatal dexamethasone treatment to investigate the effects of dexamethasone on brain vessel differentiation towards the blood-brain barrier (BBB) phenotype, focusing on molecular marker analysis. The major findings were that in total brains on postnatal day (PN) 4 triple antenatal dexamethasone treatment significantly downregulated the tight junction protein claudin-5, the endothelial marker Pecam-1/CD31, the glucocorticoid receptor, the NR1 subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, and Abc transporters (Abcb1a, Abcg2 Abcc4). Less pronounced effects were found after single antenatal dexamethasone treatment and in PN10 samples. Comparisons of total brain samples with isolated brain endothelial cells together with the stainings for Pecam-1/CD31 and claudin-5 led to the assumption that the morphology of brain vessels is affected by antenatal dexamethasone treatment at PN4. On the mRNA level markers for angiogenesis, the sonic hedgehog and the Wnt pathway were downregulated in PN4 samples, suggesting fundamental changes in brain vascularization and/or differentiation. In conclusion, we provided a first comprehensive molecular basis for the adverse effects of multiple antenatal dexamethasone treatment on brain vessel differentiation. KW - preterm birth KW - fetal lung KW - corticosteroids KW - glucocorticoids KW - exposure KW - endothelial cells KW - in vitro KW - barrier KW - expression KW - rat Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148268 VL - 10 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wäldchen, Sina A1 - Lehmann, Julian A1 - Klein, Teresa A1 - van de Linde, Sebastian A1 - Sauer, Markus T1 - Light-induced cell damage in live-cell super-resolution microscopy JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Super-resolution microscopy can unravel previously hidden details of cellular structures but requires high irradiation intensities to use the limited photon budget efficiently. Such high photon densities are likely to induce cellular damage in live-cell experiments. We applied single-molecule localization microscopy conditions and tested the influence of irradiation intensity, illumination-mode, wavelength, light-dose, temperature and fluorescence labeling on the survival probability of different cell lines 20-24 hours after irradiation. In addition, we measured the microtubule growth speed after irradiation. The photo-sensitivity is dramatically increased at lower irradiation wavelength. We observed fixation, plasma membrane permeabilization and cytoskeleton destruction upon irradiation with shorter wavelengths. While cells stand light intensities of similar to 1 kW cm\(^{-2}\) at 640 nm for several minutes, the maximum dose at 405 nm is only similar to 50 J cm\(^{-2}\), emphasizing red fluorophores for live-cell localization microscopy. We also present strategies to minimize phototoxic factors and maximize the cells ability to cope with higher irradiation intensities. KW - optical reconstruction microscopy KW - tag fusion proteins KW - localization microscopy KW - photodynamic therapy KW - diffraction limit KW - illumination microscopy KW - structured illumination KW - fluorescent probes KW - in vitro KW - dynamics Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-145207 VL - 5 IS - 15348 ER - TY - THES A1 - Bellwon, Patricia T1 - Kinetic assessment by in vitro approaches - A contribution to reduce animals in toxicity testing T1 - Evaluierung der Kinetik anhand von in vitro Systemen - Ein Beitrag um die Anzahl von Tierversuchen zur Toxizitätsprüfung zu reduzieren N2 - The adoption of directives and regulations by the EU requires the development of alternative testing strategies as opposed to animal testing for risk assessment of xenobiotics. Additionally, high attrition rates of drugs late in the discovery phase demand improvement of current test batteries applied in the preclinical phase within the pharmaceutical area. These issues were taken up by the EU founded 7th Framework Program “Predict-IV”; with the overall goal to improve the predictability of safety of an investigational product, after repeated exposure, by integration of “omics” technologies applied on well established in vitro approaches. Three major target organs for drug-induced toxicity were in focus: liver, kidney and central nervous system. To relate obtained dynamic data with the in vivo situation, kinetics of the test compounds have to be evaluated and extrapolated by physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling. This thesis assessed in vitro kinetics of the selected test compounds (cyclosporine A, adefovir dipivoxil and cisplatinum) regarding their reliability and relevance to respective in vivo pharmacokinetics. Cells were exposed daily or every other day to the test compounds at two concentration levels (toxic and non-toxic) for up to 14 days. Concentrations of the test compounds or their major biotransformation products were determined by LC-MS/MS or ICP-MS in vehicle, media, cells and plastic adsorption samples generated at five different time-points on the first and the last treatment day. Cyclosporine A bioaccumulation was evident in primary rat hepatocytes (PRH) at the high concentration, while efficient biotransformation mediated by CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 was determined in primary human hepatocytes (PHH) and HepaRG cells. The lower biotransformation in PRH is in accordance with observation made in vivo with the rat being a poor model for CYP3A biotransformation. Further, inter-assay variability was noticed in PHH caused by biological variability in CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activity in human donors. The inter-assay variability observed for PRH and HepaRG cells was a result of differences between vehicles regarding their cyclosporine A content. Cyclosporine A biotransformation was more prominent in HepaRG cells due to stable and high CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activity. In addition, in vitro clearances were calculated and scaled to in vivo. All scaled in vitro clearances were overestimated (PRH: 10-fold, PHH: 2-fold, HepaRG cells: 2-fold). These results should be proven by physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling and additional experiments, in order to verify that these overestimations are constant for each system and subsequently can be diminished by implementation of further scaling factors. Brain cell cultures, primary neuronal culture of mouse cortex cells and primary aggregating rat brain cells, revealed fast achieved steady state levels of cyclosporine A. This indicates a chemical distribution of cyclosporine A between the aqueous and organic phases and only minor involvement of biological processes such as active transport and biotransformation. Hence, cyclosporine A uptake into cells is presumably transport mediated, supported by findings of transporter experiments performed on a parallel artificial membrane and Caco-2 cells. Plastic adsorption of cyclosporine A was significant, but different for each model, and should be considered by physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling. Kinetics of adefovir dipivoxil highlights the limits of in vitro approaches. Active transporters are required for adefovir uptake, but were not functional in RPTECT/TERT1. Therefore, adefovir uptake was limited to passive diffusion of adefovir dipivoxil, which itself degrades time-dependently under culture conditions. Cisplatinum kinetics, studied in RPTEC/TERT1 cells, indicated intracellular enrichment of platinum, while significant bioaccumulation was not noted. This could be due to cisplatinum not reaching steady state levels within 14 days repeated exposure. As shown in vivo, active transport occurred from the basolateral to apical side, but with lower velocity. Hence, obtained data need to be modeled to estimate cellular processes, which can be scaled and compared to in vivo. Repeated daily exposure to two different drug concentrations makes it possible to account for bioaccumulation at toxic concentrations or biotransformation/extrusion at non-toxic concentrations. Potential errors leading to misinterpretation of data were reduced by analyses of the vehicles as the applied drug concentrations do not necessarily correspond to the nominal concentrations. Finally, analyses of separate compartments (medium, cells, plastic) give insights into a compound’s distribution, reduce misprediction of cellular processes, e.g. biotransformation, and help to interpret kinetic data. On the other hand, the limits of in vitro approaches have also been pointed out. For correct extrapolation to in vivo, it is essential that the studied in vitro system exhibits the functionality of proteins, which play a key role in the specific drug induced toxicity. Considering the benefits and limitations, it is worth to validate this long-term treatment experimental set-up and expand it on co-culture systems and on organs-on-chips with regard to alternative toxicity testing strategies for repeated dose toxicity studies. N2 - Die Erlassung von Richtlinien und Verordnungen durch die EU führte zu der Entwicklung von alternativen Testmethoden als Ersatz von Tierversuchen zur Risikobewertung von Xenobiotika. Des Weiteren weisen hohe Ausfallraten von Arzneimitteln in der späten Entwicklungsphase auf die Notwendigkeit hin, die bisher verwendeten Testmethoden der präklinischen Phase zu verbessern. Diese Punkte wurden in dem im siebten Rahmenprogramm der EU finanzierten Projekt „Predict-IV“ aufgegriffen. Ziel des Projektes war es, die Vorhersage der Arzneimittelsicherheit durch integrierte „omics“-Technologien, angewendet an etablierten in vitro Ansätzen, zu verbessern. Dabei standen drei Zielorgane bzgl. Arzneimittel-induzierter Organtoxizität im Mittelpunkt: Leber, Niere und zentrales Nervensystem, die jeweils durch Zelllinien oder primäre Zellen vertreten waren. Um die in vitro generierten Dynamik-Daten mit der in vivo Situation in Korrelation zu bringen, muss die Kinetik der Testsubstanz berücksichtigt und die Ergebnisse mit Hilfe von physiologisch-basierter pharmakokinetischer Modellierung extrapoliert werden. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, Kinetik-Daten der gewählten Testsubstanzen (Cyclosporin A, Adefovir dipivoxil und Cisplatin) in vitro zu erheben und bzgl. ihrer Zuverlässigkeit sowie ihrer Relevanz verglichen mit in vivo Daten zu beurteilen. Hierfür wurden kultivierte Zellen täglich bzw. jeden zweiten Tag für zwei Wochen mit zwei verschiedenen Konzentrationen (toxisch und nicht toxisch) des Arzneimittels behandelt. Der Gehalt des applizierten Arzneimittels oder die Hauptmetaboliten wurden mittels LC MS/MS oder ICP-MS in Vehikel, Medium und Zellen sowie die vom Plastik adsorbierte Menge in Proben bestimmt, die am ersten und letzten Behandlungstag zu fünf unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten gewonnen wurden. Eine eindeutige Bioakkumulation von Cyclosporin A wurde in primären Rattenhepatozyten nach Behandlung mit der hohen Konzentration festgestellt. Eine effiziente CYP3A4- und CYP3A5-vermittelte Biotransformation von Cyclosporin A wurde für primäre humane Hepatozyten sowie HepaRG Zellen beobachtet. Diese Ergebnisse stimmten mit der in vivo Situation überein. Ratten sind aufgrund ihrer geringen CYP3A Aktivität schlechte Tiermodelle für CYP3A-Biotransformationsstudien. Des Weiteren wurden Interassay-Schwankungen bei primären human Hepatozyten bemerkt, die auf die biologische Variabilität der CYP3A4- sowie CYP3A5-Aktivität zwischen den menschlichen Spendern zurückzuführen sind. Rattenhepatozyten und HepaRG Zellen hingegen wiesen Interassay-Schwankungen auf, die durch unterschiedliche Cyclosporin A Behandlungskonzentrationen zwischen den Replikaten verursacht wurden. Die Cyclosporin A Biotransformation war in HepaRG Zellen am stärksten ausgeprägt, was durch stabile und wesentlich höhere CYP3A4- und CYP3A5-Aktivität in HepaRG Zellen zu erklären ist. Zusätzlich wurden die in vitro Clearance-Werte bestimmt und auf in vivo Clearance-Werte extrapoliert. Alle extrapolierten Werte waren zu hoch geschätzt (primäre Rattenhepatozyten: 10fach, primäre human Hepatpzyten: 2fach, HepaRG Zellen: 2fach). Diese Ergebnisse sollten mittels physiologisch-basierter pharmakokinetischer Modellierung sowie durch weitere Experimente überprüft werden, um zu ermitteln, ob diese hohen Schätzungen für jedes System konstant sind und somit durch die Einführung von weiteren Skalierungsfaktoren verringert werden können. Kultivierte Gehirnzellen, primäre Nervenzellkulturen der Kortex von Mäusen und primäre Hirnzellaggregate der Ratte, zeigten schnell erreichte Cyclosporin A Gleichgewichtskonzentrationen. Diese Ergebnisse deuteten auf eine Verteilung von Cyclosporin A zwischen der wässrigen und organischen Phase hin, wobei biologische Prozesse nur eine untergeordnete Rolle spielen. Daher scheint die intrazelluläre Cyclosporin A Aufnahme Transporter-vermittelt zu sein. Ergebnisse der Transporter Experimente, die an einer künstlichen Membran und Caco-2 Zellen durchgeführt wurden, unterstützten diese Hypothese. Messungen der Plastikbindung von Cyclosporin A zeigten signifikante, aber für jedes Zellsystem unterschiedliche, Adsorptionsraten, die mittels physiologisch-basierter pharmakokinetischer Modellierung berücksichtigt werden sollten. Die Kinetik von Adefovir dipivoxil machte auf die Nachteile von in vitro Versuchen aufmerksam. Für die intrazelluläre Aufnahme von Adefovir sind aktive Transportproteine nötig, die jedoch in der Nierenzelllinie RPTEC/TERT1 nicht funktionell vorhanden sind. Daher war die Aufnahme von Adefovir auf die passive Diffusion von Adefovir dipivoxil beschränkt, das aber auch zeitabhängig unter den experimentellen Konditionen zerfiel. Die an RPTEC/TERT1 Zellen untersuchte Kinetik von Cisplatin deutete auf eine intrazelluläre Platin-Anreicherung hin, die jedoch nicht in einer signifikanten Bioakkumulation resultierte. Möglicherweise sind innerhalb von 14 Tagen die Gleichgewichtskonzentrationen von Cisplatin noch nicht erreicht. Die Kinetikprofile von Cisplatin in Medium ließen einen aktiven, von der basolateralen zur apikalen Seite gerichteten Cisplatin Transport erkennen, wie schon in vivo beschrieben, wobei die Geschwindigkeit dieser Transportprozesse in vitro langsamer zu sein scheint als in der intakte Niere. Daher müssen die generierten Daten zur Schätzung von zellulären Prozessen modelliert werden, um durch anschließende Extrapolation mit in vivo Daten verglichen werden zu können. Abschließend bleibt zu sagen, dass das experimentelle Design vorteilhaft war. Wiederholte tägliche Administration von zwei unterschiedlichen Konzentrationen eines Medikaments ermöglichte die Erfassung von Bioakkumulation bei toxischen Konzentrationen sowie Biotransformation/Export bei nicht-toxischen Konzentrationen. Potenzielle Fehler, die zu einer Fehlinterpretation führen könnten, wurden durch die exakte Bestimmung der tatsächlich applizierten Arzneimittelmenge reduziert, da nicht immer die applizierte Konzentration mit der Nominalkonzentration übereinstimmt. Darüber hinaus erwies es sich als Vorteil, die Arzneimittelkonzentrationen in den einzelnen Kompartimenten (Medium, Zellen und Plastik) zu bestimmen. Somit konnten zum einen Erkenntnisse über die Verteilung der Substanz gewonnen werden und zum anderen Fehleinschätzungen von zellulären Prozessen, z.B. Biotransformation, verhindert werden, was letzten Endes bei die Interpretation von Kinetik-Daten behilflich ist. Jedoch, wurden auch die Grenzen von in vitro Ansätzen deutlich. Für eine korrekte Extrapolation ist es unverzichtbar, dass die untersuchten in vitro Systeme funktionierende Proteine aufweisen, die bei der untersuchten Arzneimittel-induzierten Toxizität eine Schlüsselrolle übernehmen. Abschließend kann festgehalten werden, dass es, unter Berücksichtigung der Vor- und Nachteile, von Nutzen sein kann diesen Versuchsansatz der Langzeitbehandlung zu validieren und darüber hinaus auf Co Kultursysteme sowie Organ-Chips anzuwenden hinsichtlich der Entwicklung von Alternativmethoden für Toxizitätsstudien bei wiederholter Gabe. KW - cell culture KW - pharmacokinetics KW - repeated dose KW - in vitro KW - toxicity testing KW - Zellkultur KW - In vitro KW - Pharmakokinetik KW - Toxizitätstest Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-122693 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmitt, Jessica A1 - Eckardt, Sigrid A1 - Schlegel, Paul G A1 - Sirén, Anna-Leena A1 - Bruttel, Valentin S A1 - McLaughlin, K John A1 - Wischhusen, Jörg A1 - Müller, Albrecht M T1 - Human parthenogenetic embryonic stem cell-derived neural stem cells express HLA-G and show unique resistance to NK cell-mediated killing JF - Molecular Medicine N2 - Parent-of-origin imprints have been implicated in the regulation of neural differentiation and brain development. Previously we have shown that, despite the lack of a paternal genome, human parthenogenetic (PG) embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can form proliferating neural stem cells (NSCs) that are capable of differentiation into physiologically functional neurons while maintaining allele-specific expression of imprinted genes. Since biparental ("normal") hESC-derived NSCs (N NSCs) are targeted by immune cells, we characterized the immunogenicity of PG NSCs. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry revealed that both N NSCs and PG NSCs exhibited surface expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I but not HLA-DR molecules. Functional analyses using an in vitro mixed lymphocyte reaction assay resulted in less proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with PG compared with N NSCs. In addition, natural killer (NK) cells cytolyzed PG less than N NSCs. At a molecular level, expression analyses of immune regulatory factors revealed higher HLA-G levels in PG compared with N NSCs. In line with this finding, MIR152, which represses HLA-G expression, is less transcribed in PG compared with N cells. Blockage of HLA-G receptors ILT2 and KIR2DL4 on natural killer cell leukemia (NKL) cells increased cytolysis of PG NSCs. Together this indicates that PG NSCs have unique immunological properties due to elevated HLA-G expression. KW - brain development KW - immune response KW - T lymphocytes KW - blastocysts KW - lines KW - HLA-G gene KW - mhc molecules KW - nervous system KW - in vitro KW - stem/progenitor cells Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-149170 VL - 21 IS - 2101185 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dühring, Sybille A1 - Germerodt, Sebastian A1 - Skerka, Christine A1 - Zipfel, Peter F. A1 - Dandekar, Thomas A1 - Schuster, Stefan T1 - Host-pathogen interactions between the human innate immune system and Candida albicans - understanding and modeling defense and evasion strategies JF - Frontiers in Microbiology N2 - The diploid, polymorphic yeast Candida albicans is one of the most important human pathogenic fungi. C. albicans can grow, proliferate and coexist as a commensal on or within the human host for a long time. However, alterations in the host environment can render C. albicans virulent. In this review, we describe the immunological cross-talk between C. albicans and the human innate immune system. We give an overview in form of pairs of human defense strategies including immunological mechanisms as well as general stressors such as nutrient limitation, pH, fever etc. and the corresponding fungal response and evasion mechanisms. Furthermore, Computational Systems Biology approaches to model and investigate these complex interactions are highlighted with a special focus on game-theoretical methods and agent-based models. An outlook on interesting questions to be tackled by Systems Biology regarding entangled defense and evasion mechanisms is given. KW - agent-based model KW - antimicrobial peptides KW - fungal pathogens KW - Candida albicans KW - immunological cross-talk KW - beta-lactamase inhibition KW - in vitro KW - biomaterial surfaces KW - biofilm formation KW - dendritic cells KW - infection KW - resistance KW - human immune system KW - host-pathogen interaction KW - computational systems biology KW - defense and evasion strategies Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151621 VL - 6 IS - 625 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dembek, Marcin A1 - Barquist, Lars A1 - Boinett, Christine J. A1 - Cain, Amy K. A1 - Mayho, Matthew A1 - Lawley, Trevor D. A1 - Fairweather, Neil F. A1 - Fagan, Robert P. T1 - High-throughput analysis of gene essentiality and sporulation in Clostridium difficile JF - mBio N2 - Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of antibiotic-associated intestinal infections and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Infection with C. difficile requires disruption of the intestinal microbiota, most commonly by antibiotic usage. Therapeutic intervention largely relies on a small number of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which further exacerbate intestinal dysbiosis and leave the patient acutely sensitive to reinfection. Development of novel targeted therapeutic interventions will require a detailed knowledge of essential cellular processes, which represent attractive targets, and species-specific processes, such as bacterial sporulation. Our knowledge of the genetic basis of C. difficile infection has been hampered by a lack of genetic tools, although recent developments have made some headway in addressing this limitation. Here we describe the development of a method for rapidly generating large numbers of transposon mutants in clinically important strains of C. difficile. We validated our transposon mutagenesis approach in a model strain of C. difficile and then generated a comprehensive transposon library in the highly virulent epidemic strain R20291 (027/BI/NAP1) containing more than 70,000 unique mutants. Using transposon-directed insertion site sequencing (TraDIS), we have identified a core set of 404 essential genes, required for growth in vitro. We then applied this technique to the process of sporulation, an absolute requirement for C. difficile transmission and pathogenesis, identifying 798 genes that are likely to impact spore production. The data generated in this study will form a valuable resource for the community and inform future research on this important human pathogen. KW - Bacillus subtilis KW - expression KW - spores KW - toxin KW - transcription KW - germination KW - transposition KW - metabolism KW - infection KW - in vitro Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143745 VL - 6 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Worku, Netsanet A1 - Stich, August A1 - Daugschies, Arwid A1 - Wenzel, Iris A1 - Kurz, Randy A1 - Thieme, Rene A1 - Kurz, Susanne A1 - Birkenmeier, Gerd T1 - Ethyl Pyruvate Emerges as a Safe and Fast Acting Agent against Trypanosoma brucei by Targeting Pyruvate Kinase Activity JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) also called sleeping sickness is an infectious disease in humans caused by an extracellular protozoan parasite. The disease, if left untreated, results in 100% mortality. Currently available drugs are full of severe drawbacks and fail to escape the fast development of trypanosoma resistance. Due to similarities in cell metabolism between cancerous tumors and trypanosoma cells, some of the current registered drugs against HAT have also been tested in cancer chemotherapy. Here we demonstrate for the first time that the simple ester, ethyl pyruvate, comprises such properties. Results The current study covers the efficacy and corresponding target evaluation of ethyl pyruvate on T. brucei cell lines using a combination of biochemical techniques including cell proliferation assays, enzyme kinetics, phasecontrast microscopic video imaging and ex vivo toxicity tests. We have shown that ethyl pyruvate effectively kills trypanosomes most probably by net ATP depletion through inhibition of pyruvate kinase (Ki = 3.0\(\pm\)0.29 mM). The potential of ethyl pyruvate as a trypanocidal compound is also strengthened by its fast acting property, killing cells within three hours post exposure. This has been demonstrated using video imaging of live cells as well as concentration and time dependency experiments. Most importantly, ethyl pyruvate produces minimal side effects in human red cells and is known to easily cross the blood-brain-barrier. This makes it a promising candidate for effective treatment of the two clinical stages of sleeping sickness. Trypanosome drug-resistance tests indicate irreversible cell death and a low incidence of resistance development under experimental conditions. Conclusion Our results present ethyl pyruvate as a safe and fast acting trypanocidal compound and show that it inhibits the enzyme pyruvate kinase. Competitive inhibition of this enzyme was found to cause ATP depletion and cell death. Due to its ability to easily cross the blood-brain-barrier, ethyl pyruvate could be considered as new candidate agent to treat the hemo-lymphatic as well as neurological stages of sleeping sickness. KW - human african trypanosomiasis KW - glycolysis KW - transport KW - protein KW - cruzi KW - chemotherapy KW - metabolism KW - in vitro KW - drugs KW - sleeping sickness Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-150002 VL - 10 IS - 9 ER -