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Protein kinases as targets for the development of novel drugs against alveolar echinococcosis
(2015)
The metacestode larval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis (AE), one of the most lethal zoonosis of the northern hemisphere. The development of metacestode vesicles by asexual multiplication and the almost unrestricted infiltrative growth within the host organs is ensured from a population of undifferentiated, proliferative cells, so-called germinative cells. AE treatment options include surgery, if possible, as well as Benzimidazole-based chemotherapy (BZ). Given that the cellular targets of BZs, the -tubulins, are highly conserved between cestodes and humans, the chemotherapy is associated with considerable side-effects. Therefore, BZ can only be applied in parasitostatic doses and has to be given lifelong. Furthermore, the current anti-AE chemotherapy is ineffective in eliminating the germinative cell population of the parasite, which leads to remission of parasite growth as soon as therapy is discontinued.
This work focuses on protein kinases involved in the proliferation and development of the parasite with the intention of developing novel anti-AE therapies. Polo-like kinases (Plks) are important regulators of the eukaryotic cell cycle and are involved in the regulation and formation of the mitotic spindles during the M-phase of the cell cycle. Plks have already been shown to be associated with deregulated cellular growth in human cancers and have been investigated as novel drug targets in the flatworm parasite Schistosoma mansoni. In the first part of this work, the characterisation of a novel and druggable parasite enzyme, EmPlk1, which is homologous to the polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) of humans and S. mansoni (SmPlk1), is presented. Through in situ hybridisation, it could be demonstrated that emplk1 is specifically expressed in the Echinococcus germinative cells. Upon heterologous expression in the Xenopus oocyte system, EmPlk1 induced germinal vesicle breakdown, thus indicating that it is an active kinase. Furthermore, BI 2536, a compound originally designed to inhibit the human ortholog of EmPlk1, inhibited the EmPlk1 activity at a concentration of 25 nM. In vitro treatment of parasite vesicles with similar concentrations of BI 2536 led to the elimination of the germinative cells from Echinococcus larvae, thus preventing the growth and further development of the parasite. In in vitro cultivation systems for parasite primary cells, BI 2536 effectively inhibited the formation of new metacestode vesicles from germinative cells. Thus, BI 2536 has profound anti-parasitic activities in vitro at concentrations well within the range of plasma levels measured after the administration of safe dosages to patients (50 nM after 24 h). This implies that EmPlk1 is a promising new drug target for the development of novel anti-AE drugs that would specifically affect the parasite’s stem cell population, namely the only parasite cells capable of proliferation. In addition to the chemotherapeutic aspects of this work, the inhibitor BI 2536 could be further used to study the function of stem cells in this model organism, utilising a method of injection of parasite stem cells into metacestode vesicles, for instance, as has been developed in this work.
In the second part of this work, a novel receptor tyrosine kinase, the Venus flytrap kinase receptor (EmVKR) of E. multilocularis has been characterised. Members of this class of single-pass transmembrane receptors have recently been discovered in the related trematode S. mansoni and are associated with the growth and differentiation of sporocyst germinal cells and ovocytes. The ortholog receptor in EmVKR is characterised by an unusual domain composition of an extracellular Venus flytrap module (VFT), which shows significant similarity to GABA receptors, such as the GABAB receptor (γ-amino butyric acid type B) and is linked through a single transmembrane domain to an intracellular tyrosine kinase domain with similarities to the kinase domains of human insulin receptors. Based upon the size (5112bp) of emvkr and nucleotide sequence specificities, efforts have been made to isolate the gene from cell culture samples to study the ligand for the activation of this receptor type in Xenopus oocytes. To date, this type of receptor has only been described in invertebrates, thus making it an attractive target for drug screening. In a first trial, the ATP competitive inhibitor AG 1024 was tested in our in vitro cell culture.
In conclusion, the EmVKR represents a novel receptor tyrosine kinase in E. multilocularis. Further efforts have to be made to identify the activating ligand of the receptor and its cellular function, which might strengthen the case for EmVKR as a potential drug target. The successful depletion of stem cells in the metacestode vesicle by the Plk1 inhibitor BI 2536 gives rise to optimising the chemical component for EmPlk1 as a new potential drug target. Furthermore, this inhibitor opens a new cell culture technique with high potential to study the cellular behaviour and influencing factors of stem cells in vitro.
The number of fungal infections is rising in Germany and worldwide. These infections are mainly caused by the opportunistic fungal pathogen C. albicans, which especially harms immunocompromised people. With increasing numbers of fungal infections, more frequent and longer lasting treatments are necessary and lead to an increase of drug resistances, for example against the clinically applied therapeutic fluconazole. Drug resistance in C. albicans can be mediated by the Multidrug resistance pump 1 (Mdr1), a membrane transporter belonging to the major facilitator family. However, Mdr1-mediated fluconazole drug resistance is caused by the pump’s regulator, the transcription factor Mrr1 (Multidrug resistance regulator 1). It was shown that Mrr1 is hyperactive without stimulation or further activation in resistant strains which is due to so called gain of function mutations in the MRR1 gene.
To understand the mechanism that lays behind this constitutive activity of Mrr1, the transcription factor should be structurally and functionally (in vitro) characterized which could provide a basis for successful drug development to target Mdr1-mediated drug resistance caused by Mrr1. Therefore, the entire 1108 amino acid protein was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. However, further purification was compromised as the protein tended to form aggregates, unsuitable for crystallization trials or further characterization experiments. Expression trials in the eukaryote Pichia pastoris neither yielded full length nor truncated Mrr1 protein. In order to overcome the aggregation problem, a shortened variant, missing the N-terminal 249 amino acids named Mrr1 ‘250’, was successfully expressed in E. coli and could be purified without aggregation. Similar to the wild type Mrr1 ‘250’, selected gain of function variants were successfully cloned, expressed and purified with varying yields and with varying purity. The Mrr1 `250’ construct contains most of the described regulatory domains of Mrr1. It was used for crystallization and an initial comparative analysis between the wild type protein and the variants. The proposed dimeric form of the transcription factor, necessary for DNA binding, could be verified for both, the wild type and the mutant proteins. Secondary structure analysis by circular dichroism measurements revealed no significant differences in the overall fold of the wild type and variant proteins. In vitro, the gain of function variants seem to be less stable compared to the wild type protein, as they were more prone to degradation. Whether this observation holds true for the full length protein’s stability in vitro and in vivo remains to be determined. The crystallization experiments, performed with the Mrr1 ‘250’ constructs, led to few small needle shaped or cubic crystals, which did not diffract very well and were hardly reproducible. Therefore no structural information of the transcription factor could be gained so far.
Infections with M. tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, are the leading cause of mortality among bacterial diseases. Especially long treatment times, an increasing number of resistant strains and the prevalence of for decades persisting bacteria create the necessity for new drugs against this disease. The cholesterol import and metabolism pathways were discovered as promising new targets and interestingly they seem to play an important role for the chronic stage of the tuberculosis infection and for persisting bacteria.
In this thesis, the 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase FadA5 from M. tuberculosis was characterized and the potential for specifically targeting this enzyme was investigated. FadA5 catalyzes the last step of the β-oxidation reaction in the side-chain degradation pathway of cholesterol. We solved the three dimensional structure of this enzyme by X-ray crystallography and obtained two different apo structures and three structures in complex with acetyl-CoA, CoA and a hydrolyzed steroid-CoA, which is the natural product of FadA5. Analysis of the FadA5 apo structures revealed a typical thiolase fold as it is common for biosynthetic and degradative enzymes of this class for one of the structures. The second apo structure showed deviations from the typical thiolase fold. All obtained structures show the enzyme as a dimer, which is consistent with the observed dimer formation in solution. Thus the dimer is likely to be the catalytically active form of the enzyme. Besides the characteristic structural fold, the catalytic triad, comprising two cysteines and one histidine, as well as the typical coenzyme A binding site of enzymes belonging to the thiolase class could be identified. The two obtained apo structures differed significantly from each other. One apo structure is in agreement with the characteristic thiolase fold and the well-known dimer interface could be identified in our structure. The same characteristics were observed in all complex structures. In contrast, the second apo structure followed the thiolase fold only partially. One subdomain, spanning 30 amino acids, was in a different orientation. This reorientation was caused by the formation of two disulfide bonds, including the active site cysteines, which rendered the enzyme inactive. The disulfide bonds together with the resulting domain swap still permitted dimer formation, yet with a significantly shifted dimer interface. The comparison of the apo structures together with the preliminary activity analysis performed by our collaborator suggest, that FadA5 can be inactivated by oxidation and reactivated by reduction. If this redox switch is of biological importance requires further evaluation, however, this would be the first reported example of a bacterial thiolase employing redox regulation.
Our obtained complex structures represent different stages of the thiolase reaction cycle. In some complex structures, FadA5 was found to be acetylated at the catalytic cysteine and it was in complex with acetyl-CoA or CoA. These structures, together with the FadA5 structure in complex with a hydrolyzed steroid-CoA, revealed important insights into enzyme dynamics upon ligand binding and release. The steroid-bound structure is as yet a unique example of a thiolase enzyme interacting with a complex ligand. The characterized enzyme was used as platform for modeling studies and for comparison with human thiolases. These studies permitted initial conclusions regarding the specific targetability of FadA5 as a drug target against M. tuberculosis infection, taking the closely related human enzymes into account. Additional analyses led to the proposal of a specific lead compound based on the steroid and ligand interactions within the active site of FadA5.
The present work illustrates the structural and biochemical characterization of two diverse proteins, BadI and MenD from Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively.
BadI or 2-ketocyclohexanecarboxyl-CoA is one of the key enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of aromatic compounds. The degradation of aromatic compounds is a vital process for the maintenance of the biogeochemical carbon cycle and bioremediation of xenobiotic compounds, which if present at higher concentrations can cause potential hazards to humans. Due to the relatively inert nature of aromatic compounds, enzymes catalyzing their degradation are of special interest for industrial applications. BadI is one of the key enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of aromatic compounds into an aliphatic moiety.
The major focus of this study was to provide mechanistic insights into the reaction catalyzed by BadI. BadI belongs to the crotonase superfamily and shares high sequence homology with the family members of MenB or dihydroxynaphthoate synthase. BadI is known to catalyze the cleavage of the cyclic ring of 2-ketocyclohexane carboxyl-CoA by hydrolyzing the C-C bond leading to the formation of the aliphatic compound pimelyl CoA. On the other hand MenB catalyzes the condensation reaction of o-succinylbenzoyl-CoA to dihydroxylnaphthoyl-CoA. A comprehensive amino acid sequence analysis between BadI and MenB showed that the active site residues of MenB from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (mtMenB) are conserved in BadI from Rhodopseudomonas palustris. MenB is involved in the menaquinone biosynthesis pathway and is a potential drug target against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as it has no known human homologs. Due to the high homology between MenB and BadI and the inability to obtain MenB-inhibitor complex structures we extended our interest to BadI to explore a potential substitute model for mtMenB as a drug target.
In addition, BadI possesses some unique mechanistic characteristics. As mentioned before, it hydrolyzes the substrate via a retro Dieckmann’s reaction contrasting its closest homolog MenB that catalyzes a ring closing reaction through a Dieckmann’s reaction. Nevertheless the active site residues in both enzymes seem to be highly conserved. We therefore decided to pursue the structural characterization of BadI to shed light on the similarities and differences between BadI and MenB and thereby provide some insights how they accomplish the contrasting reactions described above.
We determined the first structures of BadI, in its apo and a substrate mimic bound form. The crystal structures revealed that the overall fold of BadI is similar to other crotonase superfamily members. However, there is no indication of domain swapping in BadI as observed for MenB. The absence of domain swapping is quite remarkable because the domain swapped C-terminal helical domain in MenB provides a tyrosine that is imperative for catalysis and is also conserved in the BadI sequence. Comparison of the active sites revealed that the C-terminus of BadI folds onto its core in such a way that the conserved tyrosine is located in the same position as in MenB and can form interactions with the ligand molecule. The structure of BadI also confirms the role of a serine and an aspartate in ligand interaction, thus validating that the conserved active site triad participates in the enzymatic reaction. The structures also reveal a noteworthy movement of the active site aspartate that adopts two major conformations. Structural studies further illuminated close proximity of the active site serine to a water and chlorine molecule and to the carbon atom at which the carbonyl group of the true substrate would reside. Biochemical characterization of BadI using enzyme kinetics validated that the suggested active site residues are involved in substrate interaction. However, the role of these residues is very distinct, with the serine assuming a major role. Thus, the present work ascertain the participation of putative active site residues and demonstrates that the active site residues of BadI adopt very distinctive roles compared to their closest homolog MenB.
The MenD protein also referred to as SEPHCHC (2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6- hydroxy-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid) synthase is one of the enzymes involved in menaquinone biosynthesis in Staphylococcous aureus. Though S. aureus is usually considered as a commensal it can act as a remarkable pathogen when it crosses the epithelium, causing a wide spectrum of disorders ranging from skin infection to life threatening diseases. Small colony variants (SCVs), a slow growing, small sized subpopulation of the bacteria has been associated with persistent, recurrent and antibiotic resistant infections. These variants show autotrophy for thiamine, menaquinone or hemin. Menaquinone is an essential component in the electron transport pathway in gram-positive organisms. Therefore, enzymes partaking in this pathway are attractive drug targets against pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus subtilis. MenD, an enzyme catalyzing the first irreversible step in the menaquinone biosynthetic pathway has been implicated in the SCV phenotype of S. aureus. In the present work we explored biochemical and structural properties of this important enzyme.
Our structural analysis revealed that despite its low sequence identity of 28%, the overall fold of staphylococcal MenD (saMenD) is similar to Escherichia coli MenD (ecMenD) albeit with some significant disparities. Major structural differences can be observed near the active site region of the protein and are profound in the C-terminal helix and a loop near the active site. The loop contains critical residues for cofactor binding and is well ordered only in the ecMenD-ThDP structure, while in the apo and substrate bound structures of ecMenD the loop is primarily disordered. In our saMenD structure the loop is for the first time completely ordered in the apo form and displays a novel conformation of the cofactor-binding loop. The loop adopts an unusual open conformation and the conserved residues, which are responsible for cofactor binding are located too far away to form a productive complex with the cofactor in this conformation. Additionally, biochemical studies in conjugation with the structural data aided in the identification of the substrate-binding pocket and delineated residues contributing to its binding and catalysis. Thus the present work successfully divulged the unique biochemical and structural characteristics of saMenD.
The high infection rates and recent emergence of extremely drug resistant forms of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis pose a significant challenge for global health. The NADH-
dependent enoyl-ACP-reductase InhA of the type II mycobacterial fatty acid biosynthesis
pathway is a well-validated target for inhibiting mycobacterial growth. InhA has been
shown to be inhibited by a variety of compound series. Prominent classes of InhA
inhibitors from literature include diaryl ethers, pyrrolidine carboxamides and arylamides
which can be subjected to further development. Despite the progress in this area, very
few compounds are in clinical development phase. The present work involves a detailed
computational investigation of the binding modes and structure-based optimisation of
pyrrolidine carboxamides as InhA inhibitors.
With substituents of widely varying bulkiness, the pyrrolidine carboxamide dataset
presented a challenge for prediction of binding mode as well as affinity. Using advanced
docking protocols and in-house developed pose selection procedures, the binding modes
of 44 compounds were predicted. The poses from docking were used in short molecular
dynamics (MD) simulations to ascertain the dominant binding conformations for the
bulkier members of the series. Subsequently, an activity-based classification strategy
could be developed to circumvent the affinity prediction problems observed with this
dataset. The prominent motions of the bound ligand and the active site residues were
then ascertained using Essential Dynamics (ED). The information from ED and literature
was subsequently used to design a total of 20 compounds that were subjected to extensive
in-silico evaluations. Finally, the molecular determinants of rapid-reversible binding of
pyrrolidine carboxamides were investigated using long MD simulations.
Gene expression and transfer of the genetic information to the next generation forms the basis of cellular life. These processes crucially rely on DNA, thus the preservation, transcription and translation of DNA is of fundamental importance for any living being. The general transcription factor TFIIH is a ten subunit protein complex, which consists of two subcomplexes: XPB, p62, p52, p44, p34, and p8 constitute the TFIIH core, CDK7, CyclinH, and MAT1 constitute the CAK. These two subcomplexes are connected via XPD. TFIIH is a crucial factor involved in both, DNA repair and transcription. The central role of TFIIH is underlined by three severe disorders linked to failure of TFIIH in these processes: xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne syndrome, and trichothiodystrophy. Only limited structural and functional data of TFIIH are available so far. Here, the model organism Chaetomium thermophilum was utilized with the aim to structurally and functionally characterize TFIIH. By combining the expression and purification of single TFIIH subunits with the co-expression and co-purification of dual complexes, a unique and powerful modular system of the TFIIH core subunits could be established, encompassing all proteins in high quality and fully functional. This system permits the step-wise assembly of TFIIH core, thereby making it possible to assess the influence of the intricate interaction network within TFIIH core on the overall enzymatic activities of TFIIH, which has not been possible so far. Utilizing the single subunits and dual complexes, a detailed interaction network of TFIIH core was established, revealing the crucial role of the p34 subunit as a central scaffold of TFIIH by linking the two proteins p44 and p52. Our studies also suggest that p62 constitutes the central interface of TFIIH to the environment rather than acting as a scaffold. TFIIH core complexes were assembled and investigated via electron microscopy. Preliminary data indicate that TFIIH adopts different conformational states, which are important to fulfill its functions in transcription and DNA repair. Additionally, a shortened construct of p62 was used to develop an easy-to-use, low cost strategy to overcome the crystallographic phase problem via cesium derivatization.
The oncogene MYC is deregulated and overexpressed in a high variety of human
cancers and is considered an important driver in tumorigenesis. The MYC protein
binds to virtually all active promoters of genes which are also bound by the RNA
Polymerase II (RNAPII). This results in the assumption that MYC is a transcription
factor regulating gene expression. The effects of gene expression are weak and often
differ depending on the tumor entities or MYC levels. These observations could
argue that the oncogene MYC has additional functions independent of altering gene
expression. In relation to this, the high diversity of interaction partners might be
important. One of them is the RNAPII associated Factor I complex (PAF1c).
In this study, direct interaction between PAF1c and MYC was confirmed in an
in-vitro pulldown assay. ChIP sequencing analyses revealed that knockdown of PAF1c
components resulted in reduced MYC occupancy at active promoters. Depletion
or activation as well as overexpression of MYC led to reduced or enhanced global
occupancy of PAF1c in the body of active genes, arguing that MYC and PAF1c
bind cooperatively to chromatin. Upon PAF1c knockdown cell proliferation was
reduced and additionally resulted in an attenuation of activation or repression of
MYC-regulated genes. Interestingly, knockdown of PAF1c components caused an
accumulation in S-phase of cells bearing oncogenic MYC levels. Remarkably, enhanced
DNA damage, measured by elevated gH2AX and pKAP1 protein levels, was observed
in those cells and this DNA damage occurs specifically during DNA synthesis.
Strikingly, MYC is involved in double strand break repair in a PAF1c-dependent
manner at oncogenic MYC levels.
Collectively the data show that the transfer of PAF1c from MYC onto the RNAPII
couples the transcriptional elongation with double strand break repair to maintain
the genomic integrity in MYC-driven tumor cells.
Die Einhaltung eines gesunden Lebensstils, einschließlich der Behandlung modifizierbarer kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktoren, beeinflusst maßgeblich die Entstehung und Progression von Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen (HKE). So reduziert eine ausgewogene Ernährungsweise, ausreichend körperliche Aktivität, Tabakverzicht, das Halten des Normalgewichtes sowie die Behandlung einer Hypertonie, Hyperlipidämie und Diabetes mellitus, die kardiovaskuläre Morbidität und Mortalität.
Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich (a) der Prävalenz und leitliniengerechten Kontrolle kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktoren von Teilnehmern aus der Allgemeinbevölkerung der STAAB Kohortenstudie („Häufigkeit und Einflussfaktoren auf frühe Stadien A und B der Herzinsuffizienz in der Bevölkerung“) sowie der Schätzung des 10-Jahres Risikos für tödliche HKE in diesem Kollektiv. Weiterhin wurde (b) der Einfluss von medikamentenbezogenen Überzeugungen auf die Blutdruckkontrolle von Teilnehmern der STAAB Kohortenstudie untersucht. Schließlich wurde (c) der Erhalt von ärztlichen Lebensstilempfehlungen sowie deren Determinanten bei Teilnehmern der STAAB Kohortenstudie sowie der EUROASPIRE IV Studie („European Action on Secondary and Primary Prevention by Intervention to Reduce
Events“) in Deutschland betrachtet.
Die STAAB Kohortenstudie untersucht die frühen asymptomatischen Formen der Herzinsuffizienz-Stadien A und B in einer repräsentativen Stichprobe von 5.000 Personen
ohne symptomatische Herzinsuffizienz im Alter von 30 bis 79 Jahren aus der Allgemeinbevölkerung mit Wohnsitz in der Stadt Würzburg.
Die EUROASPIRE IV Studie untersuchte bei 7.998 Koronarpatienten im Alter von 18 bis 79
Jahren aus insgesamt 24 Europäischen Ländern (536 Patienten aus Deutschland) im Zeitraum 2012 bis 2013 die Risikofaktoren sowie die Umsetzung der leitliniengerechten Versorgung und Prävention von HKE im europäischen Vergleich. Die Datenerhebung beider Studien erfolgte durch ein geschultes Studienpersonal nach standardisierten Vorgaben.
Die Prävalenz und Kontrolle kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktoren nach den aktuellen Vorgaben der „European Society of Cardiology“ (ESC) wurde bei insgesamt 1.379 Teilnehmern, die zwischen Dezember 2013 und April 2015 an der STAAB Kohortenstudie teilgenommen haben, untersucht. Es zeigte sich eine hohe Prävalenz der kardiovaskulären Risikofaktoren Hypertonie (31.8%), Hyperlipidämie (57.6%) und Diabetes mellitus (3.5%). Hierbei erreichten
trotz Pharmakotherapie über die Hälfte der Teilnehmer mit einem Bluthochdruck (52.7%) oder erhöhten LDL-Cholesterinwerten (56.7%) sowie 44.0% der Personen mit einem Diabetes mellitus die empfohlenen Grenzwerte nicht. Weiterhin wurde erstmalig zu Studienbesuch eine Hypertonie (36.0%), Hyperlipidämie (54.2%) oder ein Langzeitzuckerwert (HbA1c) >6.5% (23.3%) detektiert. In der jüngsten Altersgruppe (30-39 Jahre) fand sich der höchste Anteil von unbekanntem Bluthochdruck (76.5%) sowie hohem LDL-Cholesterin (78.0%) und die Altersgruppe 60-69 Jahren wies mit 43.5% die höchste Prävalenz für einen bislang nicht detektierten HbA1c >6.5% auf. Die Akkumulation von drei oder mehr kardiovaskulären Risikofaktoren war mit dem männlichen Geschlecht, einem höheren Alter und einem niedrigeren Bildungsgrad assoziiert. Von 980 mittels SCORE („Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation“) Risiko-Chart untersuchten Teilnehmern befanden sich jeweils 56.6%, 35.8% und 7.5% in der niedrigen, mittleren und hohen bis sehr hohen SCORE-Risikogruppe für tödliche HKE. Das Hochrisiko-Kollektiv für tödliche HKE war vorwiegend männlich und wies häufiger eine Hypertonie oder ein hohes LDL-Cholesterin auf.
Der Einfluss von Überzeugungen gegenüber antihypertensiver Medikation auf die Blutdruckkontrolle wurde an 293 Teilnehmern, die von Oktober 2014 bis März 2017 an der STAAB Kohortenstudie teilgenommen haben, untersucht. Auf ihre Medikamente gesundheitlich angewiesen zu sein gaben 87% der Teilnehmer an, 78.1% stimmten der Aussage zu, dass ihre Medikamente sie vor einer Verschlechterung ihrer Gesundheit schützen. Es zeigte sich ein inverser Zusammenhang zwischen einem höheren Maß an Bedenken gegenüber der verordneten blutdrucksenkenden Medikation und einer besseren Blutdruckkontrolle bei Frauen. Ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen Bedenken gegenüber einer antihypertensiven Medikation und der Blutdruckkontrolle bei Männern ließ sich hingegen nicht feststellen. Es konnten keine statistisch signifikanten Assoziationen für die Notwendigkeit von Medikation in der vorliegen Untersuchung gezeigt werden.
Die Häufigkeit und Determinanten für die Empfehlung eines ärztlichen Lebensstils wurde bei 665 Teilnehmern der STAAB Kohortenstudie ohne vorbestehende HKE (Primärprävention) und bei 536 Koronarpatienten der EUROASPIRE IV Studie (Sekundärprävention) untersucht.
Mit Ausnahme der Empfehlung zum Rauchverzicht erhielten die Patienten der EUROASPIRE IV Studie häufiger ärztliche Lebensstilempfehlungen verglichen mit Teilnehmern der STAAB Kohortenstudie: (Rauchverzicht: STAAB 44.0%, EUROASPIRE 36.7%; Gewichtsreduktion: STAAB 43.9%, EUROASPIRE 69.2%; körperliche Aktivität steigern: STAAB 52.1%, EUROASPIRE 71.4%; gesundes Ernährungsverhalten: STAAB 43.9%, EUROASPIRE 73.1%). Die Chance für den Erhalt von mindestens 50% aufgrund der individuellen Risikofaktoren adäquaten ärztlichen Lebensstilempfehlungen war bei STAAB Teilnehmern mit offensichtlichen oder beobachtbaren kardiovaskulären Risikofaktoren signifikant erhöht (BMI >25kg/m2, Hypertonie, Hyperlipidämie und Diabetes mellitus).
Hingegen erhielten Patienten mit einer vorbestehenden HKE signifikant häufiger eine ärztliche Lebensstilempfehlung bei einem Diabetes mellitus, wobei die Empfehlungshäufigkeit mit zunehmendem Alter abnahm. Die weitergehende nicht publizierte Analyse des Interaktions
Modells zeigte, dass der Zusammenhang zwischen dem Alter und der Empfehlungshäufigkeit bei Patienten mit bereits bestehender HKE stärker ausgeprägt war, als bei Teilnehmern der STAAB Kohortenstudie ohne koronare HKE. Weiterhin war der Zusammenhang zwischen einer adäquaten Lebensstilempfehlung und Hyperlipidämie bei Teilnehmern ohne koronares Ereignis signifikant stärker ausgeprägt, im Vergleich zu Patienten mit einer bereits bestehender HKE.
Die Ergebnisse zeigten ein erhebliches Potenzial für eine verbesserte Umsetzung leitliniengerechter Behandlung modifizierbarer kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktoren in der Primär- und Sekundärprävention. Vor dem Hintergrund einer hohen Anzahl kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktoren bei jungen Erwachsenen sollte die Bedeutung der Langzeitfolgen im Arzt
Patienten-Gespräch hervorgehoben und bei der Erarbeitung von Präventionsstrategien, insbesondere für junge Altersgruppen, Beachtung finden. Geschlechtsspezifische
Determinanten hinsichtlich der Kontrolle kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktoren sowie Befürchtungen gegenüber der Medikation sollten stärker im Arzt-Patientengespräch berücksichtigt werden.
Zur Stärkung der Compliance des Patienten bei der Umsetzung eines gesunden Lebensstils,
sollte der Arzt hinsichtlich der Bedeutung von Lebensstilintervention, aber auch im Umgang mit schwierigen Situationen, wie die Empfehlung einer Gewichtsreduktion, sensibilisiert und bei der richtigen Handhabung der Leitlinienempfehlung stärker unterstützt werden.
From the simplest single-cellular organism to the most complex multicellular life forms, genetic information in form of DNA represents the universal basis for all biological processes and thus for life itself. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of the genome is therefore of paramount importance for every single cell. DNA itself, as an active and complex macromolecular structure, is both substrate and product of many of these biochemical processes. A cornerstone of DNA maintenance is thus established by the tight regulation of the multitude of reactions in DNA metabolism, repressing adverse side reactions and ensuring the integrity of DNA in sequence and function. The family of RecQ helicases has emerged as a vital class of enzymes that facilitate genomic integrity by operating in a versatile spectrum of nucleic acid metabolism processes, such as DNA replication, repair, recombination, transcription and telomere stability. RecQ helicases are ubiquitously expressed and conserved in all kingdoms of life. Human cells express five different RecQ enzymes, RecQ1, BLM, WRN, RecQ4 and RecQ5, which all exhibit individual as well as overlapping functions in the maintenance of genomic integrity. Dysfunction of three human RecQ helicases, BLM, WRN and RecQ4, causes different heritable cancer susceptibility syndromes, supporting the theory that genomic instability is a molecular driving force for cancer development. However, based on their inherent DNA protective nature, RecQ helicases represent a double-edged sword in the maintenance of genomic integrity. While their activity in normal cells is essential to prevent cancerogenesis and cellular aging, cancer cells may exploit this DNA protective function by the overexpression of many RecQ helicases, aiding to overcome the disadvantageous results of unchecked DNA replication and simultaneously gaining resistance against chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, detailed knowledge how RecQ helicases warrant genomic integrity is required to understand their implication in cancerogenesis and aging, thus setting the stage to develop new strategies towards the treatment of cancer.
The current study presents and discusses the first high-resolution X-ray structure of the human RecQ4 helicase. The structure encompasses the conserved RecQ4 helicase core, including a large fraction of its unique C- terminus. Our structural analysis of the RecQ4 model highlights distinctive differences and unexpected similarities to other, structurally conserved, RecQ helicases and permits to draw conclusions about the functional implications of the unique domains within the RecQ4 C-terminus. The biochemical characterization of various RecQ4 variants provides functional insights into the RecQ4 helicase mechanism, suggesting that RecQ4 might utilize an alternative DNA strand separation technique, compared to other human RecQ family members. Finally, the RecQ4 model permits for the first time the analysis of multiple documented RecQ4 patient mutations at the atomic level and thus provides the possibility for an advanced interpretation of particular structure-function relationships in RecQ4 pathogenesis.
The WHO-designated neglected-disease pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is a gram-negative bacterium responsible for the most frequently diagnosed sexually transmitted infection worldwide. CT infections can lead to infertility, blindness and reactive arthritis, among others. CT acts as an infectious agent by its ability to evade the immune response of its host, which includes the impairment of the NF-κB mediated inflammatory response and the Mcl1 pro-apoptotic pathway through its deubiquitylating, deneddylating and transacetylating enzyme ChlaDUB1 (Cdu1). Expression of Cdu1 is also connected to host cell Golgi apparatus fragmentation, a key process in CT infections.
Cdu1 may this be an attractive drug target for the treatment of CT infections. However, a lead molecule for the development of novel potent inhibitors has been unknown so far. Sequence alignments and phylogenetic searches allocate Cdu1 in the CE clan of cysteine proteases. The adenovirus protease (adenain) also belongs to this clan and shares a high degree of structural similarity with Cdu1. Taking advantage of topological similarities between the active sites of Cdu1 and adenain, a target-hopping approach on a focused set of adenain inhibitors, developed at Novartis, has been pursued. The thereby identified cyano-pyrimidines represent the first active-site directed covalent reversible inhibitors for Cdu1. High-resolution crystal structures of Cdu1 in complex with the covalently bound cyano-pyrimidines as well as with its substrate ubiquitin have been elucidated. The structural data of this thesis, combined with enzymatic assays and covalent docking studies, provide valuable insights into Cdu1s activity, substrate recognition, active site pocket flexibility and potential hotspots for ligand interaction. Structure-informed drug design permitted the optimization of this cyano-pyrimidine based scaffold towards HJR108, the first molecule of its kind specifically designed to disrupt the function of Cdu1. The structures of potentially more potent and selective Cdu1 inhibitors are herein proposed.
This thesis provides important insights towards our understanding of the structural basis of ubiquitin recognition by Cdu1, and the basis to design highly specific Cdu1 covalent inhibitors.
A novel USP11-TCEAL1-mediated mechanism protects transcriptional elongation by RNA Polymerase II
(2024)
Deregulated expression of MYC oncoproteins is a driving event in many human cancers. Therefore, understanding and targeting MYC protein-driven mechanisms in tumor biology remain a major challenge.
Oncogenic transcription in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma leads to the formation of the MYCN-BRCA1-USP11 complex that terminates transcription by evicting stalling RNAPII from chromatin. This reduces cellular stress and allows reinitiation of new rounds of transcription. Basically, tumors with amplified MYC genes have a high demand on well orchestration of transcriptional processes-dependent and independent from MYC proteins functions in gene regulation. To date, the cooperation between promoter-proximal termination and transcriptional elongation in cancer cells remains still incomplete in its understanding.
In this study the putative role of the dubiquitinase Ubiquitin Specific Protease 11 (USP11) in transcription regulation was further investigated. First, several USP11 interaction partners involved in transcriptional regulation in neuroblastoma cancer cells were identified. In particular, the transcription elongation factor A like 1 (TCEAL1) protein, which assists USP11 to engage protein-protein interactions in a MYCN-dependent manner, was characterized. The data clearly show that TCEAL1 acts as a pro-transcriptional factor for RNA polymerase II (RNAPII)-medi- ated transcription. In detail, TCEAL1 controls the transcription factor S-II (TFIIS), a factor that assists RNAPII to escape from paused sites. The findings claim that TCEAL1 outcompetes the transcription elongation factor TFIIS in a non-catalytic manner on chromatin of highly expressed genes. This is reasoned by the need regulating TFIIS function in transcription. TCEAL1 equili- brates excessive backtracking and premature termination of transcription caused by TFIIS.
Collectively, the work shed light on the stoichiometric control of TFIIS demand in transcriptional regulation via the USP11-TCEAL1-USP7 complex. This complex protects RNAPII from TFIIS-mediated termination helping to regulate productive transcription of highly active genes in neuroblastoma.