Kaiserslautern - Fachbereich Biologie
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Synapses are the fundamental structures that regulate the functionality of the neural circuit. The ability of the synapse to modulate its structure and function at a fast rate due to various sensory inputs provides the strength to the nervous system to incorporate new adaptations and behaviors in the animal. The synapses are very dynamic throughout the life of the animal starting from early development. Continuous events of formation and elimination of synapse, activation and inhibition of synaptic function are observed in almost all synapses. These processes occur at a high speed and require controlled cellular mechanisms. Imbalance in these processes results in defective nervous system and has been reported in many neurological disorders. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms that regulate process of synapse development maintenance and function.
Kinases and phosphatases are the key regulators of cellular mechanisms. Understanding the function of these molecules in the neuron will shed light on the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. Using Drosophila melanogaster larval neuromuscular junction as a model, Bulat et al. (2014) performed a large RNAi based screen targeting kinome and phosphatome of Drosophila to identify the essential kinases and phosphatases and found Myeloid leukemia factor-1 adaptor molecule (Madm) and Protein phosphatase 4 (PP4) as novel regulators of synapse development and maintenance. The function of these molecules in the nervous system has not been reported and hence I investigated on the role of Madm and PP4 in the regulation of synapse development, maintenance and function.
Myeloid leukemia factor-1 adaptor molecule (Madm), a ubiquitously expressing psuedokinase essentially functions to regulate synaptic growth, stability and function. Using a combination of genetic and high throughput imaging, I could demonstrate that Madm functions to regulate the synaptic growth and stability from the presynapse and synaptic organization form the postsynapse. Also, I could demonstrate that Madm functions in association with mTOR pathway to regulate synapse growth acting downstream of 4E-BP. In addition, using electrophysiology, we could demonstrate that Madm is essential for the basic synaptic transmission with an additive function of retrograde synaptic potentiation. In summary, I could demonstrate that Madm is a novel regulator of synaptic development, maintenance and function.
Protein phosphatase 4 (PP4), a ubiquitously expressing protein phosphatase is involved in the regulation of multiple aspects of the nervous system. I could demonstrate that PP4 is essential for the development of nervous system and the metamorphosis. Using genetics and imaging analysis, I could demonstrate that loss of PP4 results in the abnormal morphology of cell organelles. In addition, I could show that loss of PP4 results in defective brain development with poorly developed structures.
Altogether, in this study, I could demonstrate the importance of novel molecules, a pesudokinase Madm and protein phosphatases PP4 in the nervous system to regulate distinct aspects of the neuron.
Es wurden Untersuchungen zur Expression und Wechsel von Serotypproteinen bei Paramecium primaurelia, Stamm 156 durchgeführt. Zum Nachweis der unterschiedlichen Serotypexpressionen wurden Immunofluoreszenzfärbungen und eine spezifische RT-PCR etabliert. Mit dieser Methode wurde der Ablauf eines temperaturinduzierten Serotypwechsels dokumentiert. Es wurde der Einfluss weiterer Umweltparameter auf die Ausprägung des Serotyps untersucht. Freilandexperimente sollten die Ausprägung der Serotypen unter multifaktorieller Reizeinwirkung zeigen. Zusätzlich konnte die Koexpression von zwei Serotypproteinen auf einer Zelle nachgewiesen werden.
More than ten years ago, ER-ANT1 was shown to act as an ATP/ADP antiporter and to exist in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of higher plants. Because structurally different transporters generally mediate energy provision to the ER, the physiological function of ER-ANT1 was not directly evident.
Interestingly, mutant plants lacking ER-ANT1 exhibit a photorespiratory phenotype. Although many research efforts were undertaken, the possible connection between the transporter and photorespiration also remained elusive. Here, a forward genetic approach was used to decipher the role of ER-ANT1 in the plant context and its association to photorespiration.
This strategy identified that additional absence of a putative HAD-type phosphatase partially restored the photorespiratory phenotype. Localisation studies revealed that the corresponding protein is targeted to the chloroplast. Moreover, biochemical analyses demonstrate that the HAD-type phosphatase is specific for pyridoxal phosphate. These observations, together with transcriptional and metabolic data of corresponding single (ER-ANT1) and double (ER-ANT1, phosphatase) loss-of-function mutant plants revealed an unexpected connection of ER-ANT1 to vitamin B6 metabolism.
Finally, a scenario is proposed, which explains how ER-ANT1 may influence B6 vitamer phosphorylation, by this affects photorespiration and causes several other physiological alterations observed in the corresponding loss-of-function mutant plants.
Biological clocks exist across all life forms and serve to coordinate organismal physiology with periodic environmental changes. The underlying mechanism of these clocks is predominantly based on cellular transcription-translation feedback loops in which clock proteins mediate the periodic expression of numerous genes. However, recent studies point to the existence of a conserved timekeeping mechanism independent of cellular transcription and translation, but based on cellular metabolism. These metabolic clocks were concluded based upon the observation of circadian and ultradian oscillations in the level of hyperoxidized peroxiredoxin proteins. Peroxiredoxins are enzymes found almost ubiquitously throughout life. Originally identified as H2O2 scavengers, recent studies show that peroxiredoxins can transfer oxidation to, and thereby regulate, a wide range of cellular proteins. Thus, it is conceivable that peroxiredoxins, using H2O2 as the primary signaling molecule, have the potential to integrate and coordinate much of cellular physiology and behavior with metabolic changes. Nonetheless, it remained unclear if peroxiredoxins are passive reporters of metabolic clock activity or active determinants of cellular timekeeping. Budding yeast possess an ultradian metabolic clock termed the Yeast Metabolic Cycle (YMC). The most obvious feature of the YMC is a high amplitude oscillation in oxygen consumption. Like circadian clocks, the YMC temporally compartmentalizes cellular processes (e.g. metabolism) and coordinates cellular programs such as gene expression and cell division. The YMC also exhibits oscillations in the level of hyperoxidized peroxiredoxin proteins.
In this study, I used the YMC clock model to investigate the role of peroxiredoxins in cellular timekeeping, as well as the coordination of cell division with the metabolic clock. I observed that cytosolic 2-Cys peroxiredoxins are essential for robust metabolic clock function. I provide direct evidence for oscillations in cytosolic H2O2 levels, as well as cyclical changes in oxidation state of a peroxiredoxin and a model peroxiredoxin target protein during the YMC. I noted two distinct metabolic states during the YMC: low oxygen consumption (LOC) and high oxygen consumption (HOC). I demonstrate that thiol-disulfide oxidation and reduction are necessary for switching between LOC and HOC. Specifically, a thiol reductant promotes switching to HOC, whilst a thiol oxidant prevents switching to HOC, forcing cells to remain in LOC. Transient peroxiredoxin inactivation triggered rapid and premature switching from LOC to HOC. Furthermore, I show that cell division is normally synchronized with the YMC and that deletion of typical 2-Cys peroxiredoxins leads to complete uncoupling of cell division from metabolic cycling. Moreover, metabolic oscillations are crucial for regulating cell cycle entry and exit. Intriguingly, switching to HOC is crucial for initiating cell cycle entry whilst switching to LOC is crucial for cell cycle completion and exit. Consequently, forcing cells to remain in HOC by application of a thiol reductant leads to multiple rounds of cell cycle entry despite failure to complete the preceding cell cycle. On the other hand, forcing cells to remain in LOC by treating with a thiol oxidant prevents initiation of cell cycle entry.
In conclusion, I propose that peroxiredoxins – by controlling metabolic cycles, which are in turn crucial for regulating the progression through cell cycle – play a central role in the coordination of cellular metabolism with cell division. This proposition, thus, positions peroxiredoxins as active players in the cellular timekeeping mechanism.
The transfer of substrates between to enzymes within a biosynthesis pathway is an effective way to synthesize the specific product and a good way to avoid metabolic interference. This process is called metabolic channeling and it describes the (in-)direct transfer of an intermediate molecule between the active sites of two enzymes. By forming multi-enzyme cascades the efficiency of product formation and the flux is elevated and intermediate products are transferred and converted in a correct manner by the enzymes.
During tetrapyrrole biosynthesis several substrate transfer events occur and are prerequisite for an optimal pigment synthesis. In this project the metabolic channeling process during the pink pigment phycoerythrobilin (PEB) was investigated. The responsible ferredoxin-dependent bilin reductases (FDBR) for PEB formation are PebA and PebB. During the pigment synthesis the intermediate molecule 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin (DHBV) is formed and transferred from PebA to PebB. While in earlier studies a metabolic channeling of DHBV was postulated, this work revealed new insights into the requirements of this protein-protein interaction. It became clear, that the most important requirement for the PebA/PebB interaction is based on the affinity to their substrate/product DHBV. The already high affinity of both enzymes to each other is enhanced in the presence of DHBV in the binding pocket of PebA which leads to a rapid transfer to the subsequent enzyme PebB. DHBV is a labile molecule and needs to be rapidly channeled in order to get correctly further reduced to PEB. Fluorescence titration experiments and transfer assays confirmed the enhancement effect of DHBV for its own transfer.
More insights became clear by creating an active fusion protein of PebA and PebB and comparing its reaction mechanism with standard FDBRs. This fusion protein was able to convert biliverdin IXα (BV IXα) to PEB similar to the PebS activity, which also can convert BV IXα via DHBV to PEB as a single enzyme. The product and intermediate of the reaction were identified via HPLC and UV-Vis spectroscopy.
The results of this work revealed that PebA and PebB interact via a proximity channeling process where the intermediate DHBV plays an important role for the interaction. It also highlights the importance of substrate channeling in the synthesis of PEB to optimize the flux of intermediates through this metabolic pathway.
Substrate channeling is a widespread mechanism in metabolic pathways to avoid decomposition of unstable intermediates, competing reactions, and to accelerate catalytic turnover. During the biosynthesis of light-harvesting phycobilins in cyanobacteria, two members of the ferredoxin-dependent bilin reductases are involved in the reduction of the open-chain tetrapyrrole biliverdin IXα to the pink pigment phycoerythrobilin. The first reaction is catalyzed by 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and produces the unstable intermediate 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin (DHBV). This intermediate is subsequently converted by phycoerythrobilin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase to the final product phycoerythrobilin. Although substrate channeling has been postulated already a decade ago, detailed experimental evidence was missing. Using a new on-column assay employing immobilized enzyme in combination with UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that both enzymes transiently interact and that transfer of the intermediate is facilitated by a significantly higher binding affinity of DHBV toward phycoerythrobilin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase. Concluding from the presented data, the intermediate DHBV is transferred via proximity channeling.
The scaffolding protein family Fe65, composed of Fe65, Fe65L1, and Fe65L2, was identified as an interaction partner of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which plays a key function in Alzheimer’s disease. All three Fe65 family members possess three highly conserved interaction domains, forming complexes with diverse binding partners that can be assigned to different cellular functions, such as transactivation of genes in the nucleus, modulation of calcium homeostasis and lipid metabolism, and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. In this article, we rule out putative new intracellular signaling mechanisms of the APP-interacting protein Fe65 in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics in the context of various neuronal functions, such as cell migration, neurite outgrowth, and synaptic plasticity.
Compared to our current knowledge of neuronal excitation, little is known about the development and maturation of inhibitory circuits. Recent studies show that inhibitory circuits develop and mature in a similar way like excitatory circuit. One such similarity is the development through excitation, irrespective of its inhibitory nature. Here in this current study, I used the inhibitory projection between the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) and the lateral superior olive (LSO) as a model system to unravel some aspects of the development of inhibitory synapses. In LSO neurons of the rat auditory brainstem, glycine receptor-mediated responses change from depolarizing to hyperpolarizing during the first two postnatal weeks (Kandler and Friauf 1995, J. Neurosci. 15:6890-6904). The depolarizing effect of glycine is due to a high intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl-]i), which induces a reversal potential of glycine (EGly) more positive than the resting membrane potential (Vrest). In older LSO neurons, the hyperpolarizing effect is due to a low [Cl-]i (Ehrlich et al., 1999, J. Physiol. 520:121-137). Aim of the present study was to elucidate the molecular mechanism behind Clhomeostasis in LSO neurons which determines polarity of glycine response. To do so, the role and developmental expression of Cl-cotransporters, such as NKCC1 and KCC2 were investigated. Molecular biological and gramicidin perforated patchclamp experiments revealed, the role of KCC2 as an outward Cl-cotransporter in mature LSO neurons (Balakrishnan et al., 2003, J Neurosci. 23:4134-4145). But, NKCC1 does not appear to be involved in accumulating chloride in immature LSO neurons. Further experiments, indicated the role of GABA and glycine transporters (GAT1 and GLYT2) in accumulating Cl- in immature LSO neurons. Finally, the experiments with hypothyroid animals suggest the possible role of thyroid hormone in the maturation of inhibitory synapse. Altogether, this thesis addressed the molecular mechanism underlying the Cl- regulation in LSO neurons and deciphered it to some extent.
In dieser Arbeit wurden auf der Basis des felinen Foamyvirus (FFV) bzw. Spumaretrovirus diverse replikationsdefiziente Vektoren entwickelt und deren Tranduktionseffizienz, Stabilität, Markergenexpression und biologische Sicherheit unter Zellkulturbedingungen charakterisiert. Ausgehend von replikationskompetenten FFV-Vektoren wurden zunächst so genannte selbst-inaktivierende (SIN) Vektoren, in welchen die LTR-Promotoraktivität inhibiert ist, konstruiert. Diese FFV-SIN-Vektoren erlaubten eine stabile Transduktion und Markergenexpression, entwickelten jedoch nach einer begrenzten Zeit replikationskompetente Revertanten und waren daher nicht zur Transduktion langlebiger Zellen geeignet. In Analogie zu humanen Foamyvirus-basierenden Vektoren wurde anschließend ein Großteil der env-Sequenz aus den SIN-Vektoren deletiert, um die biologische Sicherheit der Vektoren zu erhöhen. Diese Env-deletierten und FFV-Promotor-abhängigen Vektoren waren allerdings aufgrund eines schwachen und schnell abklingenden Markergentransfers nicht zur effizienten und stabilen Markergentransduktion geeignet. Zur Entwicklung replikationsdefizienter Vektoren mit einem starken heterologen Promotor zur Markergenexpression wurden verschiedene Deletionen in das Vektorgenom eingeführt und Helferplasmide für die Strukturgene bzw. viralen Enzyme kloniert. Hiermit wurde ein transientes Transfektionssystem zur Produktion von Vektorpartikeln etabliert, wobei die für den Markergentransfer essentiellen cis-agierenden Sequenzen auf dem FFV-Genom identifiziert wurden. Die Lokalisation zweier essentieller cis-agierender Sequenzen am 5’-Ende des Genoms und in pol ermöglichte die anschließende Konstruktion replikationsdefizienter Bel1-unabhängiger Vektoren, in denen die 3’ von pol liegenden Gene fast vollständig deletiert und durch eine Expressionskassette, bestehend aus dem humanen Ubiquitin C-Promotor und dem lacZ-Gen, ersetzt wurden. Diese neuen FFV-basierenden Vektoren erlauben einen effizienten Markergentransfer und ermöglichen eine stabile Transduktion diverser Zielzellen bei gleichzeitiger nicht nachweisbarer viraler Genexpression und replikationskompetenter Revertanten. Daher sind diese Vektoren biologisch sicher, zur Transduktion langlebiger Zellen geeignet und können daher für gentherapeutische Untersuchungen in tierexperimentellen Modellen verwendet werden.
Sekretionssysteme ermöglichen Bakterien nicht nur die Kommunikation mit ihrer Umwelt, sie spielen auch eine große Rolle in der Virulenz. Mit Virulenz werden auch Typ VII-Sekretionssysteme in Verbindung gebracht, die ausschließlich in Gram-positiven Bakterien vorkommen. Substrate dieser Systeme sind u.a. kleine Proteine mit einem zentralen WXG-Motiv, die sogenannten WXG-100 Proteine, die im gleichen Locus kodiert werden. Das ESX-1 System, das u.a. in M. tuberculosis und S. aureus vorkommt, ist ein bisher vor allem in diesen Organismen untersuchtes Typ VII-Sekretionssystem.
Im Gegensatz zu seinem pathogenen Verwandten S. pneumoniae besitzt S. oralis Uo5 Gene, die für ein ESX-1 Sekretionssystem kodieren. Bislang wurde ein solches System in Strepto-kokken nicht untersucht und es war unklar, ob dieses exprimiert wird und welche Funktion es in diesen Bakterien erfüllt.
Im Fokus dieser Arbeit stand nun die Charakterisierung des ESX-1 Sekretionssystems von S. oralis Uo5 und dessen Verbreitung in anderen Streptokokken. Dabei belegten Transkrip-tionsstudien, dass ein interner Terminator zwischen dem ersten und zweiten Gen (esxA und esaA) die Transkription negativ beeinflusst. Trotz der niedrigen Transkriptmenge der downstream des Terminators gelegenen Gene konnte die Funktionalität des Systems durch den Nachweis der beiden WXG-100 Proteine EsxA und EsxB im Cytoplasma und im Kultur-medium bestätigt werden. Der Nachweis der WXG-100 Proteine erfolgte mit Antiseren, die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit gegen die rekombinant hergestellten und aus E. coli isolierten WXG-100 Proteine generiert worden waren. Durch eine Deletion des Gens, das in anderen Organismen für eine FtsK/SpoIIIE-ATPase kodiert, wurde gezeigt, dass auch dieses Protein in S. oralis Uo5 für die Sekretion der WXG-100 Proteine essentiell ist.
Die Daten von CD-spektroskopischen Analysen lassen vermuten, dass EsxA und EsxB, wie in anderen Organismen bereits gezeigt, als lineare Proteine vorliegen, die hauptsächlich aus α-Helices bestehen. Diese Daten zeigen auch, dass EsxA im Gegensatz zu EsxB eine höhere Stabilität besitzt. Durch die Kombination von Gelfiltration und Crosslinking-Experimenten mittels Glutaraldehyd konnte die Bildung von EsxA-Homodimeren bestätigt werden.
Mit Hilfe von Antikörpern konnte EsxA in einer Reihe von S. oralis Stämmen nachgewiesen werden; die Verbreitung des ESX-1 Systems konnte durch PCR-Analysen bestätigt werden. Eine vergleichende Analyse bekannter Genomdaten in silico bestätigt, dass dieses Cluster in verschiedenen Streptokokken-Spezies vorkommt. Eine phylogenetische Analyse der Gene esxA und essC im Vergleich mit dem in allen Bakterien konservierten Gen gyrA verdeutlicht, dass das ESX-1 System als Teil des akzessorischen Genoms angesehen werden kann, das sich über horizontalen Gentransfer verbreiten kann.
In dieser Arbeit wird somit zum ersten Mal ein Typ VII-Sekretionssystem in Streptokokken untersucht. Die Charakterisierung auf molekularer Ebene legt einen Grundstein für die Erforschung der Rolle des ESX-1 Systems in vivo.