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Sequences forming G-quadruplexes in the amyloid beta precursor human gene and its homologues
Stránská, Anna ; Šedrlová, Zuzana (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
The APP gene encodes the transmembrane protein amyloid beta precursor, which is expressed in many cell types, including neurons. Its functions have not yet been fully described, but it is clear that it is being cleaved before being exported to the extracellular space. It is degraded by various degradation pathways also undergoes homodimerization, which can produce particles with protective neuronal function as well as fragments that are toxic and cause nerve cell death. The formation of harmful amyloid beta plaques and their accumulation among neurons in the brain is closely linked to the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease manifested by death and loss of neurons, which leads to dementia, i.e. loss of cognitive functions. There is currently a lot of research that deals with the links between neurodegenerative diseases and the occurrence of G-quadruplexes in genes that are involved in disease manifestations. G-quadruplexes are non-canonical DNA and RNA nucleic acid secondary structures that arise in guanine-rich regions. They are important mainly in terms of their connection with biological processes such as the regulation of gene expression in genes and mainly in oncogenes because they occur in important regions of the gene such as the promoter. It is possible to stabilize them with small molecules, and it is this ability that is used in research into the therapeutic treatment of various diseases. A bioinformatics analysis of both the human gene and 346 other gene homologs was performed to determine the importance of G-quadruplexes localization and conservation in the human APP gene. For this purpose, the G4Hunter program was used, which provided information about the found sequences with the potential to form a G-quadruplex, such as their location or G4Hunter score. In vitro analysis was performed using thioflavin T reagent, which tested the ability of the found sequences to form G-quadruplexes under physiological conditions. The results confirmed the presence and evolutionary importance of G-quadruplexes found in the APP gene of Homo sapiens and their ability to assemble into quadruplex structures in the presence of salts such as sodium and potassium.
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Influence of makroelements from food on DNA and epigenetic profile
Veselý, Zdeněk ; Kouřilová, Xenie (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
The macroelements contained in food have an important function for the human body. They are involved in several of biochemical reactions in the body and their abundance can prevent serious diseases. The theoretical part of the bachelor thesis describes the function of minerals in the human body, the function of DNA and epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation or histone modification. The influence of nutrition and function of selected macroelements – sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium on epigenetic modifications and on the stability of G-quadruplexes was described. The aim of the experimental part of this work was to study the effect of these substances on DNA structures in vitro and to prepare them experimentally for in vivo studies.
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Polyphenols in nutritions and their effect on DNA
Osorio, Juan ; Černayová, Diana (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Epidemiologické studie prokázaly vliv konzumace rostlinných potravin v prevenci široké škály nemocí. Přírodní antioxidanty přítomné v těchto potravinách, mezi nimiž jsou velmi důležité polyfenoly, mohou být zodpovědné za tuto činnost podporující zdraví. Cílem bakalářské práce je ukázat interakci určitých polyfenolů s genetickým materiálem prostřednictvím různých signálních mechanismů, zejména pokud jde o stabilizaci nekanonické struktury DNA G-kvadruplex a poukázat tak na nejselektivnější látku pro inhibici biochemických procesy. Dále práce obsahuje podrobné informace, které mohou pomoci pochopit, jak mohou polyfenolové sloučeniny interagovat s DNA prostřednictvím epigenetických mechanismů a G4 struktur, a které faktory mohou ovlivnit jejich účinnost. Různé experimenty, biologickým a experimentálním opakováním, byly použity k potvrzení interakce mezi sloučeninami a DNA.
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Infuence of natural and synthetic G4-ligands to p53 transactivatio
Perná, Kristýna ; Smetana, Jan (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Secondary DNA structures, such as G-quadruplexes, occur in the promoters of human genes. Dysfunctions of these quadruplex structures have been observed in several cases of cancer, and therefore these structures are the subject of research for the design of new anticancer drugs. The p53 protein is an important regulatory protein in the process of cell cycle control and DNA repair. Mutations in the gene encoding this protein occur in more than 50 % of cancer cases. In this thesis, the influence of natural ligands binding to G-quadruplexes on the binding and activity of the p53 protein was investigated. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the structure and binding properties of p53 protein, the structure and role of G-quadruplexes and describes selected G4-ligands occurring in food - curcumin, quercetin, berberine and ellagic acid. The aim of the experimental part of this thesis was to determine the effect of these substances on the transactivation activity of the p53 protein in vivo based on their interaction with G-quadruplexes using yeast isogenic systems. The interaction between selected G-quadruplex structures and ligands was first verified in vitro using the ThT assay and circular dichroism.
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Influence of storage on the microbial composition of French Saint-nectaire cheese
Šislerová, Lucie ; Mikulíková, Renata (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
The aim of my work is the comparison of microbial composition between farmtype and dairytype of Saint-nectaire cheese and the influence of storage time and temperature on the development of microbial composition, content of fatty acids and aromatic substances. Selected microorganisms were identified by RT-PCR. In addition, Penicillium roqueforti and fuscoglaucum have been identified in the Saint-nectaire farm type compared to the dairy type. In both types of cheese, the highest amount of selected microorganisms was detected in fresh cheese. When stored at 20 °C, an increase over fresh cheese occurred in the following microorganisms: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Cladosporium herbarum and Penicillium commune and camemberti, and the presence of contaminants and pathogens was noted. After one week of storage at 20 °C, they were Micrococcus luteus, Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus, and after another two weeks of storage, Listeria monocytogenes was identified. The fatty acid and volatile compounds were compared for five samples: fresh cheese, cheese stored in the refrigerator for one week and three weeks and cheese stored at 20 °C for one week and three weeks. The content of bound and free fatty acids was measured, both by GC-FID. The content of bound fatty acids was comparable in all measured samples. The highest content of free fatty acids was in the cheese after three weeks of storage at 20 °C. The most common fatty acid is palmitic acid. Volatiles were determined by HS-SPME-GC-MS. The most volatiles were identified in the cheese after three weeks at 20 °C and in the cheese after one week in the refrigerator. The most represented groups were alcohols, ketones and acids.
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Use of molecular techniques to characterize yeasts of the genus Metschnikowia
Schneiderwindová, Nicole ; Brázda, Václav (referee) ; Němcová, Andrea (advisor)
This diploma thesis deals with the possibilities of implementation and use of molecular methods for the characterization of yeasts of the genus Metschnikowia and the application of methods in biotechnology or the food industry. The theoretical part focuses on a brief description of yeast, specially selected species that were used during the practical part of the work, the possibilities of their use, and especially on a detailed description of all molecular techniques used. The practical part focuses on the optimization of the molecular methods, namely the method of pulsed gel electrophoresis and the method of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Initially, yeast was cultured under optimal conditions that are specific to this genus. Furthermore, their DNA was isolated using isolation techniques, which were subsequently processed using PFGE and PCR–DGGE methods. The DNA isolation procedure needed to be optimized the most. Several optimizations of the concentration of lysis enzymes, especially the lyticase enzyme, were performed. It was also necessary to determine the correct ratio of low-melting agarose and isolated DNA, which was essential for the correct consistency of the isolated DNA blocks and their further application in PFGE analysis. Finally, the PFGE method was optimized, which brought the correct distribution of chromosomes, and it was possible to describe the individual chromosomes according to their size according to the standard used CHEF of the yeast Hansenula wingei. To properly optimize the DGGE analysis process itself, it was first necessary to isolate the yeast DNA using a kit, then it was used as a template for the PCR reaction. The annealing temperature was also optimized for the individual groups of primers. The amplicons obtained by this reaction were separated by the DGGE method. This technique mainly required the optimization of basic parameters such as the range of the denaturation gradient or the total separation time. According to the measurement results, it can be determined that the process of yeast DNA isolation and their subsequent analysis using molecular methods of pulsed gel electrophoresis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was successful. We were able to describe the genome and determine the number of chromosomes in all used yeast species of the genus Metschnikowia at least partially.
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Mutant p53 protein and its binding and transactivation properties
Vojsovič, Matúš ; Němcová, Andrea (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
The "genome guardian" protein p53 plays an important role in cancer growth. P53 mutations occur in more than 50 % of human cancers. Mutated proteins significantly affect the proper functioning of cells. Due to the mutation, proteins can gain, but also lose, some of their functions, which also help them in modulating cell metabolism. Mutant forms of p53 may be involved in indirect binding or direct binding to DNA. They appeared to have a lower binding activity to the DNA than non-mutated p53. The experimental part of the thesis focuses on measuring the binding properties of selected p53 mutants using gel retardation analysis and using an atomic force microscope and monitoring the transactivation potential. The results were compared with the wild-type form of p53. It has been found that binding to the most common types of local DNA structures reduces the binding activity of p53 mutants over the wild-type. P53 mutants has been shown to have a lower intensity of transactivation than the wild-type p53 by studying their transactivation abilities and also they are able to reduce the intensity of transactivation when co-expressed with p53.
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Analyses of inverted repeats localization in bacterial genomes
Šedý, Michal ; Zemanová, Jana (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Inverted repeats (IR) are common part of DNA of all living prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Inverted repeats plays an important role in the regulation of basics cells processes. They are responsible for formation of cruciform structures. Inverted repeats also cause genomic instability and can be a source of numerous mutations. Cruciform structures can be recognized by DNA-binding proteins and can also act as a transcriptional regulators. Using the Palindrome Analyser tool, the frequency of IR and localization of inverted repeats in bacterial genomes was analyzed. The frequency of IR across the bacterial genome is variable. The frequency of short inverted repeats shows an approximately quadratic dependence on the %GC content in the genome with a minimum of about 50% of GC content. The localization of inverted repeats with respect to “annotated features” show a non-random distribution. The frequency of IR for most features is higher “outside” than “inside”.
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Influence of various cosmetic polysaccharides as prebiotics on skin microbiome
Pelánová, Lenka ; Brázda, Václav (referee) ; Němcová, Andrea (advisor)
The presented master thesis deals with the monitoring of the influence of polysaccharides which are used as an additive in the cosmetic products, on the monitored types of bacteria which are part of the skin microbiome. And it also deals with the study the effect of polysaccharides as prebiotics on selected species of bacteria that are part of the skin microbiome. Two polysaccharides were selected to determine the effects on the skin microbiome: Nanomoist and PoLevan S. The first part of the thesis focuses on the literature search which deals with skin anatomy, skin diseases and skin microbiome and its function. The experimental part is focused on monitoring changes in the quantity of selected microorganisms of the skin microbiome, before and after application of polysaccharides to the skin using qPCR. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Cutibacterium acnes, Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus were monitored. The PCR products were detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis was detected on the skin to the greatest extent, especially after the application of the polysaccharides Nanomoist and PoLevan S. Thus, a positive effect of both polysaccharides on the growth of this bacterium was found.
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Bioinformatic analysis of PHA synthases of thermophilic bacteria
Brondová, Zuzana ; Brázda, Václav (referee) ; Obruča, Stanislav (advisor)
The thesis deals with bioinformatics analysis, the aim of which was to find a suitable producer of PHA for new generation industrial biotechnologies from the collection of found thermophilic bacteria. Part of experiments was the finding of several thermophilic bacteria based on the similarity of the protein sequence of the phaC gene of the bacterium Cupriavidus necator. The next part of thesis was a literature search of the abilities of these thermophilic bacteria focused on culture conditions and the spectrum of usable substrates. Subsequently, five bacteria were selected for use in NGBI based on the information obtained. Freely available databases were used during the experimental work, and evolutionary analysis were performed in MEGA X and Operon-mapper. Rubrobacter xylanophilus with collection number DSM 9941 was selected from the collection of bacterial strains as the most promising PHA producer for NGIB. The high culture temperature of up to 70 ° C and a large amount of utilized carbohydrate substrates were considered decisive. An interesting result of the analysis was to find the gene sequences of two classes of PHA synthase – I. and III. class, as for a single bacterial strain from the entire collection. Additional genes linked to PHA metabolism were found in genome analysis.
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