Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular

URI permanente desta comunidadehttps://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/11837

Navegar

Resultados da Pesquisa

Agora exibindo 1 - 10 de 14
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Extracellular nucleotide metabolism in Leishmania: influence of adenosine in the establishment of infection
    (Microbes and Infection, 2008-07) Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Marques-da-Silva, Eduardo de Almeida; Oliveira, Jamile Camargos de; Figueiredo, Amanda Braga; Lima Júnior, Djalma de Souza; Carneiro, Cláudia Martins; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco
    Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease with a variety of clinical forms, which are related to the Leishmania species involved. In the murine model, Leishmania amazonensis causes chronic non-healing lesions in Leishmania braziliensis- or Leishmania major-resistant mouse strains. In this study, we investigated the involvement of the pathway of extracellular nucleotide hydrolysis, with special focus on the role of extracellular adenosine, in the establishment of Leishmania infection. Our results show that the more virulent parasite—L. amazonensis—hydrolyzes higher amounts of ATP, ADP and AMP than the two other species, probably due to the higher expression of membrane NTPDase. Corroborating the idea that increased production of adenosine is important to lesion development and establishment of tissue parasitism, we observed that increased 5′-nucleotidase activity in L. braziliensis or addition of adenosine at the moment of infection with this parasite resulted in an increase in lesion size and parasitism as well as a delay in lesion healing. Furthermore, inhibition of adenosine receptor A2B led to decreased lesion size and parasitism. Thus, our results suggest that the conversion of ATP, a molecule with pro-inflammatory activity, into adenosine, which possesses immunomodulatory properties, may contribute to the establishment of infection by Leishmania.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Antimetastatic effect of the pharmacological inhibition of serine/arginine-rich protein kinases (SRPK) in murine melanoma
    (Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2018-10-01) Moreira, Gabriela Alves; Lima, Graziela Domingues de Almeida; Siqueira, Raoni Pais; Barros, Marcus Vinícius de Andrade; Adjanohoun, Abraham Landry Mahuvi; Santos, Viviane Corrêa; Barbosa, Éverton de Almeida Alves; Loterio, Robson Kriiger; Paiva, Janine Cerqueira de; Gonçalves, Victor Hugo Sousa; Viol, Lívia Cristina de Souza; Marques-da-Silva, Eduardo de Almeida; Silva Júnior, Abelardo; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Machado-Neves, Mariana; Ferreira, Rafaela Salgado; et al.
    The Serine/arginine-rich protein kinases (SRPK) are involved in pre-mRNA splicing control through the phosphorylation of the SR protein family of splicing factors. Over the last years, several studies have shown the relevance of SRPK for human cancers and their potential as promising drug targets. In this context, we have previously selected three trifluoromethyl arylamides (named here as SRVIC24, SRVIC30 and SRVIC36) with improved in vitro antileukemia effect and ability of impairing the cellular activity of SRPK. Given the increasing amount of reports on the implication of these kinases in metastatic cancers, in this study, we have evaluated the antimetastatic effect of these compounds and the known SRPK inhibitor (SRPIN340) on a murine model of metastatic melanoma. The compounds were able to impact the melanoma cell metastatic behavior by decreasing migration, invasion, adhesion, and colony formation in in vitro assays. Also, they presented antimetastatic in vivo activity, without apparent signs of systemic toxicity after treatments, as revealed by the histology of organs and analysis of key serum biochemical markers. Moreover, the effect of the treatments on SRPK1 nuclear translocation and SR protein phosphorylation was observed. Finally, molecular docking studies were carried out to gain structural information on the SRPK-compound complexes. Together, these data suggest that SRPK pharmacological inhibition should be considered as an interesting therapeutic strategy against metastatic cancers.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Label-free assay based on immobilized capillary enzyme reactor of Leishmania infantum nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (LicNTPDase-2-ICER-LC/UV)
    (Journal of Chromatography B, 2016-01-01) Vasconcellos, Raphael de Souza; Magalhães, Luana; Oliveira, Arthur Henrique Cavalcante de; Mariotini-Moura, Christiane; Firmino, Rafaela de Cássia; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Cardoso, Carmen Lúcia
    Nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase) is an enzyme belonging to the apyrase family that participates in the hydrolysis of the nucleosides di- and triphosphate to the corresponding nucleoside monophosphate. This enzyme underlies the virulence of parasites such as Leishmania. Recently, an NTPDase from Leishmania infantum (LicNTPDase-2) was cloned and expressed and has been considered as a new drug target for the treatment of leishmaniasis. With the intent of developing label-free online screening methodologies, LicNTPDase-2 was covalently immobilized onto a fused silica capillary tube in the present study to create an immobilized capillary enzyme reactor (ICER) based on LicNTPDase-2 (LicNTPDase-2-ICER). To perform the activity assays, a multidimensional chromatographic method was developed employing the LicNTPDase-2-ICER in the first dimension, and an analytical Ascentis C8 column was used in the second dimension to provide analytical separation of the substrates and products. The validated LicNTPDase-2-ICER method provided the following kinetic parameters of the immobilized enzyme: KM of 2.2 and 1.8 mmol L^−1 for the ADP and ATP substrates, respectively. Suramin (1 mmol L^−1) was also shown to inhibit 32.9% of the enzymatic activity. The developed method is applicable to kinetic studies and enables the recognition of the ligands. Furthermore, a comparison of the values of LicNTPDase-2-ICER with those obtained with an LC method using free enzyme in solution showed that LicNTPDase-2-ICER-LC/UV was an accurate and reproducible method that enabled automated measurements for the rapid screening of ligands.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Trifluoromethyl arylamides with antileukemia effect and intracellular inhibitory activity over serine/arginine-rich protein kinases (SRPKs)
    (European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2017-03-31) Siqueira, Raoni Pais; Barros, Marcus Vinícius de Andrade; Barbosa, Éverton de Almeida Alves; Onofre, Thiago Souza; Gonçalves, Victor Hugo Sousa; Pereira, Higor Sette; Silva Júnior, Abelardo; Oliveira, Leandro Licursi de; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Teixeira, Róbson Ricardo; Bressan, Gustavo Costa
    The serine/arginine-rich protein kinases (SRPKs) have frequently been found with altered activity in a number of cancers, suggesting they could serve as potential therapeutic targets in oncology. Here we describe the synthesis of a series of twenty-two trifluoromethyl arylamides based on the known SRPKs inhibitor N-(2-(piperidin-1-yl)-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)isonicotinamide (SRPIN340) and the evaluation of their antileukemia effects. Some derivatives presented superior cytotoxic effects against myeloid and lymphoid leukemia cell lines compared to SRPIN340. In particular, compounds 24, 30, and 36 presented IC50 values ranging between 6.0 and 35.7 μM. In addition, these three compounds were able to trigger apoptosis and autophagy, and to exhibit synergistic effects with the chemotherapeutic agent vincristine. Furthermore, compound 30 was more efficient than SRPIN340 in impairing the intracellular phosphorylation status of SR proteins as well as the expression of MAP2K1, MAP2K2, VEGF, and RON oncogenic isoforms. Therefore, novel compounds with increased intracellular effects against SRPK activity were obtained, contributing to medicinal chemistry efforts towards the development of new anticancer agents.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    E-NTPDase (ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase) of Leishmania amazonensis inhibits macrophage activation
    (Microbes and Infection, 2014-12-30) Souza Vasconcellos, Raphael de; Gomes, Rodrigo Saar; Carvalho, Luana Cristina Faria de; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco
    Leishmania amazonensis, the causal agent of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, is known for its ability to modulate the host immune response. Because a relationship between ectonucleotidase activity and the ability of Leishmania to generate injury in C57BL/6 mice has been demonstrated, in this study we evaluated the involvement of ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase) activity of L. amazonensis in the process of infection of J774-macrophages. Our results show that high-activity parasites show increased survival rate in LPS/IFN-γ-activated cells, by inhibiting the host-cell NO production. Conversely, inhibition of E-NTPDase activity reduces the parasite survival rates, an effect associated with increased macrophage NO production. E-NTPDase activity generates substrate for the production of extracellular adenosine, which binds to A2B receptors and reduces IL-12 and TNF-α produced by activated macrophages, thus inhibiting NO production. These results indicate that E-NTPDase activity is important for survival of L. amazonensis within macrophages, showing the role of the enzyme in modulating macrophage response and lower NO production, which ultimately favors infection. Our results point to a new mechanism of L. amazonensis infection that may pave the way for the development of new treatments for this neglected disease.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Evolutionary analysis of porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3) indicates an ancient origin for its current strains and a worldwide dispersion
    (Virus Genes, 2018-03-03) Saraiva, Giuliana Loreto; Vidigal, Pedro Marcus Pereira; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Bressan, Gustavo Costa; Silva Júnior, Abelardo; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria de
    Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3) is an emerging virus that was identified in the United States in 2016. Since its first identification, PCV3 has been identified in Brazil, China, United States, Poland, and Republic of Korea. In this study, we used molecular phylogenetic analysis of available sequences to address questions surrounding the emergence of PCV3 in porcine world industry. Our data indicate that PCV3 did not emerge through recombination events among currently known circoviruses and that its speciation is not a recent evolutionary event. The most common recent ancestor analysis suggests that PCV3 lineages have emerged over the past 50 years. PCV3 is not genetically closely related with other Porcine circovirus and it has been evolving undetected for some time in swine and probably in bovine population. We also found groups of genetically related isolates of PCV3 originated from different countries that may be associated with dispersal routes, suggesting that PCV3 has already been circulating in pig-producing countries for some time before its first detection.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    The Genome of Anopheles darlingi, the main neotropical Malaria vector
    (Nucleic Acids Research, 2013-06-12) Maciel, Talles Eduardo Ferreira; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Carvalho, Carlos Roberto de; Pereira, Maristela; Ribeiro, Carlos Alexandre Gomes; Neves, Rogério de Oliveira; Astolfi-Filho, Spartaco; Marinotti, Osvaldo; Cerqueira, Gustavo C.; Almeida, Luiz Gonzaga Paula de; Ferro, Maria Inês Tiraboschi; Loreto, Elgion Lucio da Silva; Zaha, Arnaldo; Teixeira, Santuza M. R.; Wespiser, Adam R.; Almeida e Silva, Alexandre; Schlindwein, Aline Daiane; Pacheco, Ana Carolina Landim; Silva, Artur Luiz da Costa da; et al.
    Anopheles darlingi is the principal neotropical malaria vector, responsible for more than a million cases of malaria per year on the American continent. Anopheles darlingi diverged from the African and Asian malaria vectors ∼100 million years ago (mya) and successfully adapted to the New World environment. Here we present an annotated reference A. darlingi genome, sequenced from a wild population of males and females collected in the Brazilian Amazon. A total of 10 481 predicted protein-coding genes were annotated, 72% of which have their closest counterpart in Anopheles gambiae and 21% have highest similarity with other mosquito species. In spite of a long period of divergent evolution, conserved gene synteny was observed between A. darlingi and A. gambiae. More than 10 million single nucleotide polymorphisms and short indels with potential use as genetic markers were identified. Transposable elements correspond to 2.3% of the A. darlingi genome. Genes associated with hematophagy, immunity and insecticide resistance, directly involved in vector–human and vector–parasite interactions, were identified and discussed. This study represents the first effort to sequence the genome of a neotropical malaria vector, and opens a new window through which we can contemplate the evolutionary history of anopheline mosquitoes. It also provides valuable information that may lead to novel strategies to reduce malaria transmission on the South American continent. The A. darlingi genome is accessible at
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Potential antileukemia effect and structural analyses of SRPK inhibition by N-(2- (Piperidin-1-yl)-5-(Trifluoromethyl)Phenyl) isonicotinamide (SRPIN340)
    (Plos One, 2014-04-08) Siqueira, Raoni Pais; Barbosa, Éverton de Almeida Alves; Polêto, Marcelo Depólo; Righetto, Germanna Lima; Seraphim, Thiago Vargas; Salgado, Rafael Locatelli; Ferreira, Joana Gasperazzo; Oliveira, Leandro Licursi de; Laranjeira, Angelo Brunelli Albertoni; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Kobarg, Jörg; Oliveira, Eduardo Basílio de; Teixeira, Robson Ricardo; Borges, Júlio César; Silva Júnior, Abelardo; Bressan, Gustavo Costa; et al.
    Dysregulation of pre-mRNA splicing machinery activity has been related to the biogenesis of several diseases. The serine/arginine-rich protein kinase family (SRPKs) plays a critical role in regulating pre-mRNA splicing events through the extensive phosphorylation of splicing factors from the family of serine/arginine-rich proteins (SR proteins). Previous investigations have described the overexpression of SRPK1 and SRPK2 in leukemia and other cancer types, suggesting that they would be useful targets for developing novel antitumor strategies. Herein, we evaluated the effect of selective pharmacological SRPK inhibition by N-(2-(piperidin-1-yl)-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)isonicotinamide (SRPIN340) on the viability of lymphoid and myeloid leukemia cell lines. Along with significant cytotoxic activity, the effect of treatments in regulating the phosphorylation of the SR protein family and in altering the expression of MAP2K1, MAP2K2, VEGF and FAS genes were also assessed. Furthermore, we found that pharmacological inhibition of SRPKs can trigger early and late events of apoptosis. Finally, intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence emission, molecular docking and molecular dynamics were analyzed to gain structural information on the SRPK/SRPIN340 complex. These data suggest that SRPK pharmacological inhibition should be considered as an alternative therapeutic strategy for fighting leukemias. Moreover, the obtained SRPK-ligand interaction data provide useful structural information to guide further medicinal chemistry efforts towards the development of novel drug candidates.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Retrospective study on Porcine circovirus-2 by nested pcr and real time pcr in archived tissues from 1978 in brazil
    (Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, 2011-03-14) Silva, Fernanda Miquelitto Figueira da; Silva Júnior, Abelardo; Peternelli, Ethel Fernandes de Oliveira; Viana, Vinícius Winter; Chiarelli Neto, Orlando; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Vargas, Marlene Izabel; Nero, Luís Augusto; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria de
    Porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2) infection is currently considered an important disease of swine. The pathogenic agent was first described in Brazil in 2000. This study detected the PCV-2 DNA in four Brazilian pig tissues collected between 1978 and 1979. This observation is the oldest description of this virus in Brazil.
  • Imagem de Miniatura
    Item
    Splicing regulators and their roles in cancer biology and therapy
    (BioMed Research International, 2015-04-01) Silva, Maria Roméria da; Moreira, Gabriela Alves; Silva, Ronni Anderson Gonçalves da; Barbosa, Éverton de Almeida Alves; Siqueira, Raoni Pais; Teixera, Róbson Ricardo; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria; Silva Júnior, Abelardo; Fietto, Juliana Lopes Rangel; Bressan, Gustavo Costa
    Alternative splicing allows cells to expand the encoding potential of their genomes. In this elegant mechanism, a single gene can yield protein isoforms with even antagonistic functions depending on the cellular physiological context. Alterations in splicing regulatory factors activity in cancer cells, however, can generate an abnormal protein expression pattern that promotes growth, survival, and other processes, which are relevant to tumor biology. In this review, we discuss dysregulated alternative splicing events and regulatory factors that impact pathways related to cancer. The SR proteins and their regulatory kinases SRPKs and CLKs have been frequently found altered in tumors and are examined in more detail. Finally, perspectives that support splicing machinery as target for the development of novel anticancer therapies are discussed.