Matching Items (7)
Description
Protein affinity reagents have aptly gained profound importance as capture reagents and
drugs in basic research, biotechnology, diagnostics and therapeutics. However, due to the
cost, labor and time associated with production of antibodies focus has recently changed
towards potential of peptides to act as protein affinity reagents. Affinity peptides are easy
to work with, non-immunogenic, cost effective and amenable to scale up. Even though
researchers have developed several affinity peptides, we are far from compiling library of
peptides that encompasses entire human proteome. My thesis describes high throughput
pipeline that can be used to develop and characterize affinity peptides that bind several
discrete sites on target proteins.
Chapter 2 describes optimization of cell-free protein expression using commercially
available translation systems and well-known leader sequences. Presence of internal
ribosome entry site upstream of coding region allows maximal expression in HeLa cell
lysate whereas translation enhancing elements are best suited for expression in rabbit
reticulocyte lysate and wheat germ extract. Use of optimal vector and cell lysate
combination ensures maximum protein expression of DNA libraries.
Chapter 3 describes mRNA display selection methodology for developing affinity peptides
for target proteins using large diversity DNA libraries. I demonstrate that mild denaturant
is not sufficient to increase selection pressure for up to three rounds of selection and
increasing number of selection rounds increases probability of finding affinity peptide s.
These studies enhance fundamental understanding of mRNA display and pave the way
for future optimizations to accelerate convergence of in vitro selections.
Chapter 4 describes a high throughput double membrane dot blot system to rapidly
screen, identify and characterize affinity peptides obtained from selection output. I used
dot blot to screen potential affinity peptides from large diversity of previously
ii
uncharacterized mRNA display selection output. Further characterization of potential
peptides allowed determination of several high affinity peptides from having Kd range 150-
450 nM. Double membrane dot blot is automation amenable, easy and affordable solution
for analyzing selection output and characterizing peptides without ne ed for much
instrumentation.
Together these projects serve as guideline for evolution of cost effective high throughput
pipeline for identification and characterization of affinity peptides.
drugs in basic research, biotechnology, diagnostics and therapeutics. However, due to the
cost, labor and time associated with production of antibodies focus has recently changed
towards potential of peptides to act as protein affinity reagents. Affinity peptides are easy
to work with, non-immunogenic, cost effective and amenable to scale up. Even though
researchers have developed several affinity peptides, we are far from compiling library of
peptides that encompasses entire human proteome. My thesis describes high throughput
pipeline that can be used to develop and characterize affinity peptides that bind several
discrete sites on target proteins.
Chapter 2 describes optimization of cell-free protein expression using commercially
available translation systems and well-known leader sequences. Presence of internal
ribosome entry site upstream of coding region allows maximal expression in HeLa cell
lysate whereas translation enhancing elements are best suited for expression in rabbit
reticulocyte lysate and wheat germ extract. Use of optimal vector and cell lysate
combination ensures maximum protein expression of DNA libraries.
Chapter 3 describes mRNA display selection methodology for developing affinity peptides
for target proteins using large diversity DNA libraries. I demonstrate that mild denaturant
is not sufficient to increase selection pressure for up to three rounds of selection and
increasing number of selection rounds increases probability of finding affinity peptide s.
These studies enhance fundamental understanding of mRNA display and pave the way
for future optimizations to accelerate convergence of in vitro selections.
Chapter 4 describes a high throughput double membrane dot blot system to rapidly
screen, identify and characterize affinity peptides obtained from selection output. I used
dot blot to screen potential affinity peptides from large diversity of previously
ii
uncharacterized mRNA display selection output. Further characterization of potential
peptides allowed determination of several high affinity peptides from having Kd range 150-
450 nM. Double membrane dot blot is automation amenable, easy and affordable solution
for analyzing selection output and characterizing peptides without ne ed for much
instrumentation.
Together these projects serve as guideline for evolution of cost effective high throughput
pipeline for identification and characterization of affinity peptides.
ContributorsShah, Pankti (Author) / Chaput, John (Thesis advisor) / Hecht, Sidney (Committee member) / Wachter, Rebekka (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
It has been well established that mitochondria play a critical role in the pathology of Friedreich's Ataxia. This disease is believed to be caused by a deficiency of frataxin, which research suggests is responsible for iron sulfur cluster assembly. This incomplete assembly of iron sulfur clusters is believed to be linked with dysfunctional complexes in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, increased oxidative stress, and potential cell death. Increased understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease has enabled the development of various therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring mitochondrial respiration. This thesis contains an analysis of the biological activity of several classes of antioxidants against oxidative stress induced by diethyl maleate in Friedreich's Ataxia lymphocytes and CEM leukemia cells. Analogues of vitamin E α-tocopherol have been shown to protect cells under oxidative stress. However, these same analogues show various levels of inhibition towards the electron transport chain complex I. Bicyclic pyridinols containing a ten carbon substituent provided favorable cytoprotection. N-hydroxy-4-pyridone compounds were observed to provide little protection. Similarly, analogues of CoQ10 in the form of pyridinol and pyrimidinol compounds also preserved cell viability at low concentrations.
ContributorsJaruvangsanti, Jennifer (Author) / Hecht, Sidney (Thesis advisor) / Woodbury, Neal (Committee member) / Skibo, Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Due to a continued interest in the fundamental properties of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and its enzymatic activities, this study employed the use of six fluorescent tryptophan derivatives, for single site amino acid replacements. The two positions 30 and 47 within DHFR were studied to discover the rate at which these larger tryptophan analogues may be incorporated. Additionally, it was to be determined how much activity the mutated DHFR’s could retain when compared to their wild type counterpart. Through a review of literature, it was shown that previous studies have illustrated successful incorporation and toleration of unnatural amino acids.
Each of the six analogues A through F were relatively efficiently incorporated into the enzyme and well tolerated. Each maintained at least a third of their catalytic activity, measured through the consumption of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. Primarily, derivatives B, C, and D were able to retain the highest amount of activity in each position; B and D were the most tolerated in positions 30 and 47 with respective values of 68 ± 6.1 and 80 ± 12. The findings in this study illustrate that single tryptophan derivatives are able to be incorporated into Escherichia coli DHFR while still allowing the maintenance of a significant portion of its enzymatic activity.
Each of the six analogues A through F were relatively efficiently incorporated into the enzyme and well tolerated. Each maintained at least a third of their catalytic activity, measured through the consumption of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. Primarily, derivatives B, C, and D were able to retain the highest amount of activity in each position; B and D were the most tolerated in positions 30 and 47 with respective values of 68 ± 6.1 and 80 ± 12. The findings in this study illustrate that single tryptophan derivatives are able to be incorporated into Escherichia coli DHFR while still allowing the maintenance of a significant portion of its enzymatic activity.
ContributorsBaldwin, Edwin Alexander (Author) / Hecht, Sidney (Thesis director) / Chen, Shengxi (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Patients diagnosed with GBM, a highly migratory, heterogeneous, rapidly growing primary adult brain tumor are faced with a dismal prognosis. Recent research has shed light on cell-survival pathways that are induced after the DNA-damage response induced by TMZ. Autophagy, a major catabolic process meant to degrade damaged organelles and large misfolded proteins, has recently been shown to be activated by TMZ. However, a precise mechanism has not yet been determined. T98G cells treated with TMZ showed significant induction of unfolded protein response (UPR) markers such as GRP78, and LC3-II expression, indicating increased autophagosome formation. Additional experiments have used the autophagic inhibitor Bafilomycin A1 (Baf) to determine that autophagic flux is induced, supporting the conclusion that UPR induction by TMZ induces autophagy. Combination treatments with PI3K inhibitors PX-866 and BEZ235 with Baf as a means to shut down two critical mechanisms of GBM cell survival were explored in this research. PX-866 was found to inhibit autophagy, while BEZ235, was found to induce autophagy. The differential modulation of autophagy by these PI3K inhibitors offers new knowledge for utilizing more effective drug combinations to treat GBM and improve patient survival.
ContributorsSodoma, Andrej Michael (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Hecht, Sidney (Committee member) / Nhan, Tran L. (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The energy required in a eukaryotic cell is provided by mitochondria. Mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) coupled with oxidative phosphorylation generates ATP. During electron transport, electron leakage from the ETC produces reactive oxygen species (ROS). In healthy cells, there are preventive and defense mechanisms in place to manage ROS. Maintaining a steady balance of ROS is very important because overproduction of ROS can lead to several pathological conditions. There are several strategies to prevent ROS production. Addition of external antioxidants is widely used among them. Discussed in the first part of Chapter 1 is the mitochondrial ETC, ROS production and antioxidant strategies.
The second part of Chapter 1 is concerned with ribosomal protein synthesis in bacteria. Ribosome, the organelle that synthesizes proteins with exceptional fidelity, has a strong bias for α-L-amino acids. It has been demonstrated that reengineering of the peptidyltransferase center (PTC) of the ribosome could enable the incorporation of both α-D-amino acids and β-amino acids into full length protein.
Oxidative stress is a common cause of various neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Antioxidative strategies are used widely for the treatment of these disorders. Although several antioxidants demonstrated positive results in vitro as well as in in vivo models, none of them have been effective in clinical settings. Hence, there is an ongoing search for effective neuroprotective drugs. Described in Chapter 2 is the synthesis and biological evaluation of several methylene blue analogues as potentially effective antioxidants for the treatment of pathologies related to oxidative stress.
In Chapter 3, the synthesis and ribosomal incorporation of several rationally designed dipeptidomimetic analogues are discussed. The dipeptidomimetic analogues are structurally similar to the GFP chromophore and, therefore, highly fluorescent. In addition, the backbone of the dipeptidomimetic analogues resemble the peptide backbone of a dipeptide, due to which they can be incorporated into protein by modified ribosomes selected for the incorporation of dipeptides.
Discussed in Chapter 4 is the synthesis of the pdCpA derivatives of several β-amino acids. The pdCpA derivatives were ligated to tRNA-COH and were used as probes for studying the regio- and stereoselectivity of modified ribosomes.
The second part of Chapter 1 is concerned with ribosomal protein synthesis in bacteria. Ribosome, the organelle that synthesizes proteins with exceptional fidelity, has a strong bias for α-L-amino acids. It has been demonstrated that reengineering of the peptidyltransferase center (PTC) of the ribosome could enable the incorporation of both α-D-amino acids and β-amino acids into full length protein.
Oxidative stress is a common cause of various neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Antioxidative strategies are used widely for the treatment of these disorders. Although several antioxidants demonstrated positive results in vitro as well as in in vivo models, none of them have been effective in clinical settings. Hence, there is an ongoing search for effective neuroprotective drugs. Described in Chapter 2 is the synthesis and biological evaluation of several methylene blue analogues as potentially effective antioxidants for the treatment of pathologies related to oxidative stress.
In Chapter 3, the synthesis and ribosomal incorporation of several rationally designed dipeptidomimetic analogues are discussed. The dipeptidomimetic analogues are structurally similar to the GFP chromophore and, therefore, highly fluorescent. In addition, the backbone of the dipeptidomimetic analogues resemble the peptide backbone of a dipeptide, due to which they can be incorporated into protein by modified ribosomes selected for the incorporation of dipeptides.
Discussed in Chapter 4 is the synthesis of the pdCpA derivatives of several β-amino acids. The pdCpA derivatives were ligated to tRNA-COH and were used as probes for studying the regio- and stereoselectivity of modified ribosomes.
ContributorsRoy Chowdhury, Sandipan (Author) / Hecht, Sidney (Thesis advisor) / Gould, Ian (Committee member) / Gust, John Devens (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Many natural and synthetic quinones have shown biological and pharmacological activity. Some of them have also shown anticancer activity. Ubiquinone (CoQ10) which is a natural quinone, is a component of the electron transport chain and participates in generation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Cellular oxidative stress is key feature of many neurodegenerative diseases such as Friedreich's ataxia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The increased generation of reactive oxygen species damages cell membranes and leads to cell death. Analogues of ubiquinone in the form of pyrimidinols and pyridinols, were effective in protecting Friedreich's ataxia lymphocytes from oxidative stress- induced cell death. There were some structural features which could be identified that should be useful for the design of the analogues for cellular protection against oxidative stress. There are quinones such as doxorubicin, daunomycin and topopyrones which have anticancer activity. Here I evaluated topopyrone analogues which poison both topoisomerases I and II. The topopyrone analogues were lethal to human breast cancer cells, but these analogues were not as potent as camptothecin.
ContributorsRaghav, Nidhi (Author) / Hecht, Sidney M. (Thesis advisor) / Gould, Ian R (Committee member) / Williams, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Mutations in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) have traditionally been detected by the primer extension assay, which is a tedious and multistage procedure. Here, we describe a simple and straightforward fluorescence assay based on binary deoxyribozyme (BiDz) sensors. The assay uses two short DNA oligonucleotides that hybridize specifically to adjacent fragments of rRNA, one of which contains a mutation site. This hybridization results in the formation of a deoxyribozyme catalytic core that produces the fluorescent signal and amplifies it due to multiple rounds of catalytic action. This assay enables us to expedite semi- quantification of mutant rRNA content in cell cultures starting from whole cells, which provides information useful for optimization of culture preparation prior to ribosome isolation. The method requires less than a microliter of a standard Escherichia coli cell culture and decreases analysis time from several days (for primer extension assay) to 1.5 h with hands-on time of ∼10 min. It is sensitive to single-nucleotide mutations. The new assay simplifies the preliminary analysis of RNA samples and cells in molecular biology and cloning experiments and is promising in other applications where fast detection/ quantification of specific RNA is required.
ContributorsGerasimova, Yulia V. (Author) / Yakovchuk, Petro (Author) / Dedkova, Larisa (Author) / Hecht, Sidney (Author) / Kolpashchikov, Dmitry M. (Author) / Biodesign Institute (Contributor)
Created2015-08-19