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Role of protein kinase C isoforms in cardioprotective mechanism of chronic hypoxia
Hlaváčková, Markéta ; Novák, František (advisor) ; Kopecký, Jan (referee) ; Novotný, Jiří (referee)
Cardiovascular diseases, particularly acute myocardial infarction, are one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. It is well known that adaptation to chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) confers long-lasting cardiac protection against acute ischemia/reperfusion injury. Protein kinase C (PKC) appears to play a role in its cardioprotective mechanism since the administration of general PKC inhibitor completely abolished the improvement of ischemic tolerance in IHH hearts. However, the involvement of individual PKC isoforms remains unclear. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the potential involvement of PKCδ and PKCε, the most prevalent PKC isoforms in rat heart, in the mechanism of IHH-induced cardioprotection. We showed that IHH up- regulated PKCδ protein in left ventricle, enhanced its phosphorylation on Ser643 and increased its co-localization with markers of mitochondrial and sarcolemmal membranes. PKCδ subcellular redistribution induced by IHH as well as the infarct size-limiting effect of IHH was reversed by acute treatment with PKCδ inhibitor rottlerin. These data support the view that PKCδ plays a significant role in IHH-induced cardioprotection. On the other hand, adaptation to IHH decreased the PKCε total protein level without affecting its...
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Development of a new sand fly exposure test to evaluate vector control tools
Willen, Laura Adrienne André ; Volf, Petr (advisor) ; Kopecký, Jan (referee) ; Valenzuela, Jesus G. (referee)
In the Mediterranean basin, human visceral leishmaniasis caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum is a zoonotic disease that gives rise to 1,200 to 2,000 new cases annually. The domestic dog constitutes its main reservoir, of which some may suffer from a severe chronic disease, canine leishmaniasis (CanL). The sand fly Phlebotomus perniciosus is considered to be the principle vector. Saliva of bloodfeeding vectors of diseases has been used in the past to assess host exposure to vector bites and to evaluate vector control tools. This Ph.D. focused on saliva of P. perniciosus to identify exposure markers that could be used in the preparation of a new vector exposure tool. The first part of this Ph.D. aimed at validating the use of a recombinant salivary protein of P. perniciosus - rSP03B - in endemic settings of CanL. During a cross-sectional study, no significant differences between the antibody (Ab) response against whole saliva or the rSP03B were observed between different regions across the Mediterranean basin. Furthermore, the rSP03B was shown to resemble the native protein. During a subsequent study this protein was used to assess the seasonal dynamics of the canine Ab response to P. perniciosus in an endemic area of L. infantum. This study elucidated that also in a heterogeneous...
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Antibiotic rezistance genes in soil actinobacteria
Patrmanová, Tereza ; Kopecký, Jan (advisor) ; Lichá, Irena (referee)
Actinobacteria are important members of the soil ecosystems, where they are involved in organic matter decomposition. It is worth mentioning that their secondary metabolism allows them to produce a variety of different compounds. These compounds include antibiotics, among them aminoglycosides have a place in clinical practice. These antibiotics are significant due to a broad spectrum of activities against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. However, their use currently carries a risk, mainly their toxicity and development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Resistance is the cause of low effectiveness of some of those antibiotics. Actinobacteria as aminoglycoside producers must protect themselves from these compounds, so a variety of resistance types was developed, out of which enzymatic inactivation is the most studied one. Actinobacteria have evolved several mechanisms, which contribute to a resistance to the agents with antimicrobial effects. Genes encoding antibiotic resistance are abundant in soil environment. Their variability is influenced by many factors, especially the selection of bacteria in soil contaminated with antibiotics and also with strains originating from human and animal waste. Significant role has a horizontal gene transfer, which allows distribution of resistence...
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Role of leptin and α1-adrenergic receptors in regulation of energy expenditure in A/J mice
Šárková, Jana ; Kopecký, Jan (advisor) ; Nováková, Olga (referee)
Obesity and associated disorders are becoming one of the most serious problems for healthcare systems in the developed countries. Possible treatment for obesity and the associated disorders would be to increase energy expenditure. It is known that leptin regulates food intake and energy expenditure, both among rodents and humans. Leptin acts directly on tissues and also indirectly by affecting hypothalamus and stimulation of sympathetic nervous system, involving α1-adrenergic receptors. The aim of the study was to establish if leptin and α1-adrenergic stimulation of peripheral tissues are important for resistance of A/J mice strain to obesity induced by high-fat diet. Unlike in mice of B6 strain, which are prone to obesity, in A/J mice, which are resistant to obesity, high-fat dietfeeding during two weeks after weaning led to increased leptin levels in blood. In A/J mice, phenylephrine, the agonist of α1-adrenergic receptors, induced increase of energy expenditure as measured by indirect calorimetry. Circadian rhytmus of leptin levels in blood changed in dependance on diet in A/J mice strain. The results support a hypothesis that leptin-dependent adrenergic stimulation is important for control of energy expenditure, and hence for susceptibility to obesity. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Gene pool of the secondary metabolism in soil bacterial communities
Patrmanová, Tereza ; Kopecký, Jan (advisor) ; Brabcová, Vendula (referee)
The need for new antibiotics and other biologically active compounds is the reason for an increased interest in secondary metabolites of soil bacteria. The phylum Actinobacteria has the dominant position in the soil environment thanks to the potential of producing a broad spectrum of antibiotics and the presence of a number of defense mechanisms preventing the effects of antibiotics. The aim of this thesis was to determine the number of copies of selected secondary metabolic genes in the soils of two sites using designed primers and primers from literature. The design of effective new primers for the detection of selected genes in the soil environment was not achieved in this work, and therefore only primers from literature that had been verified for their specificity were used. In samples taken from soil profiles of two sites, abundances of bacteria, actinobacteria, type II polyketide synthase genes and Erm methyltransferase genes mediating resistance to MLSB antibiotics (macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramins B) were determined by digital PCR. The comparison of the determined copy numbers gave an information about the structure of the bacterial community and the relative abundance of bacteria carrying selected secondary metabolic genes depending on the soil condition changes due to the...
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Local metabolism of glucocorticoids in female Prague hereditary hypertriglyceridemic rats
Klusoňová, Petra ; Pácha, Jiří (advisor) ; Kopecký, Jan (referee) ; Haluzík, Martin (referee)
11-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11HSD1) is an oxidoreductase which catalyzes conversion of inactive 11-oxo steroid derivatives into active 11-hydroxy forms. 11HSD1 elevates intracellular level of active glucocorticoid (GC) hormones: cortisol in human tissues and corticosterone in rodents, therefore local level of active GCs can be set independently from systemic secretion driven by hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). Chronic systemic excess of GCs results in development of Cushing's syndrome which is characterised by central obesity and other metabolic disturbances. Despite normal serum levels of GCs, the patients with idiopathic obesity also develop metabolic syndrome. It was suggested that GCs could be elevated locally in target tissues due to enhanced 11HSD1 activity. This hypothesis was confirmed in transgenic rodent models. Prague hereditary hypertriglyceridemic (HHTg) rats represent a non-obese model of metabolic syndrome without genetic manipulations or specific mutations. The strain was bred by cross-mating of Wistar rat individuals with elevated serum levels of triglycerides (TGs). The strain exhibit hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension. When kept on high carbohydrate diet HHTg rats exhibit alterations in glucose homeostasis. Since there are no data that would describe...
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Study of metabolic syndrome in mice model: roles of dietary lipids, adipose tissue and AMP-activated protein kinase
Medříková, Daša ; Kopecký, Jan (advisor) ; Houštěk, Josef (referee) ; Novotný, Jiří (referee)
Obesity and associated metabolic disorders, e. g. metabolic syndrome, represent a considerable health threat for modern society. Due to sedentary lifestyle, high caloric intake and changes in composition of diet, prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. One of the possible causes contributing to higher prevalence of obesity in recent population could be the change of fatty acids (FA) composition of dietary lipids, with the shift in the content of n-6 and n-3 FA toward n-6 FA. In contrast to n-6 FA, n-3 FA are known for their anti-atherogenic, anti-obesogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. In our experiments in mice, the capability of naturally occurred and chemically modified n- 3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in prevention and reversal of specific parts of metabolic syndrome was demonstrated. A specific chemical derivative of docosahexaenoic acid was proven to be very effective in preventing and improving metabolic conditions of animals exposed to high-fat (HF) diet challenge. Further, the involvement of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a master regulator of lipid metabolism, in skeletal muscle thermogenesis induced by HF-feeding was investigated. Activation of AMPK in the HF-fed mice is most possibly caused by increased leptin levels and represents an important link...
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Impact of stable ghrelin receptor agonists and antagonists on food intake regulation
Holubová, Martina ; Maletínská, Lenka (advisor) ; Kopecký, Jan (referee) ; Sobotka, Luboš (referee)
The thesis is focused on the effect of ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1a) agonists and antagonist on food intake regulation. Ghrelin is the only known periferally produced orexigenic hormone and the only known acylated hormone. GHS-R1a agonists and antagonists could be useful in the treatment of cachexia and obesity, respectively. In the first part of the thesis, newly designed peptidic GHS-R1a agonists were characterized. The agonists were stabilized by replacing octanoylated Ser3 with a fatty acid coupled to diaminopropionic acid by a stable amide bond. Other noncoded amino acids were also incorporated. Ghrelin analogs were modified by replacing the octanoyl group with another fatty acid, incorporation of the second fatty acid or shortening the peptide chain. Most of the tested GHS-R1a agonists were found to possess high affinities for GHS-R1a (Ki = 10-9 - 10-10 nM) and to activate signaling pathways of ghrelin. After subcutaneous (SC) administration to mice, agonists showed significant and prolonged orexigenic effect. In the second part of the thesis, acute and long-term effects of pseudopeptide GHS-R1a agonist JMV1843 were tested in lean C57BL/6 mice. Acute SC administration of JMV1843 to fed mice increased food intake in a dose-dependent manner (ED50 = 1.94 mg/kg). JMV1843 was stable in blood serum in...
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