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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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Screening of biotechnological potential of selected members of the genus Geobacillus and other related genuses
Kouřilová, Xenie ; Brázda, Václav (referee) ; Obruča, Stanislav (advisor)
This diploma thesis deals with selected thermophilic representatives of genera Geobacillus, Saccharococcus and Bacillus, taking screening of its biotechnological potential into account. Bacteria from the first two genera came from Czech and German collection of microorganisms, while bacteria of genus Bacillus were natural isolates. Researched strains were examined from a viewpoint of carbon source utilization and furthermore, production of biosurfactants, extracellular hydrolytic enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase, xylanase), organic acids, antimicrobial agents and microbial plastics – polyhydroxyalkanoates was also tested. Bacteria S. thermophilus, G. uzenensis and G. zalihae evinced a substantial ability of biosurfactant production. Strains G. jurassicus, G. uzenensis, G. gargensis and G. lituanicus were capable of intensive production of all tested, technologically significant enzymes. Highest antimicrobial effects were reached with bacteria G. stearothermophilus and G. thermocatenulatus. Largest production of acetic acid was achieved with G. jurassicus and lactic acid with G. thermodenitrificans. Ability to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates was proved at genotype level by some cultures only, however at fenotype level, response was negative. On the contrary, bacteria genus Bacillus were able to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates, although in small amounts under given circumstances. With remaining researched metabolites, production ability was considerably lower, compared to genera Geobacillus and Saccharococcus.
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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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Comparison of biotechnological procedures for pure proteins preparation
Bušanski, Patrik ; Langová, Denisa (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
The production of recombinant proteins is a biotechnological process during which proteins are produced in foreign organisms by gen manipulation. To form a recombinant plasmid the gene encoding the desired protein is isolated and inserted into an expression vector. The plasmid is then transformed using physical or chemical method into a suitable host, where the recombinant gene is translated into amino acid sequence in the newly synthetized protein. The theoretical part of this bachelor thesis includes characteristics of proteins, methods of recombinant protein preparation and compares individual expression systems. Three isoforms of the p53 protein, which were synthesized in the E. coli microorganism, were selected for processing the experimental part. The transformed recombinant plasmid contained two tags for purification, HIS-tag and GST-tag, making it possible to compare the efficacy of the two purification methods. HIS-tag purification was found to work for all three isoforms better, with concentrations of recombinant proteins were several times higher than those of the GST-tag. The p53 proteins are about 50 kDa long, what was confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
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Analyses of inverted repeats in human patogen genomes
Hanzlíková, Anna ; Nováčková, Ivana (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Pathogens are organisms that cause various host diseases. These include prions, viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and animals. This bachelor thesis is focused specifically on viruses causing human diseases such as severe respiratory syndromes, liver diseases or cervical cancer. The aim of this bachelor thesis was to characterize the presence and location of inverted repeats in the genomes of organism using the web application Palindrome analyzer. Four viruses were selected, two of them are from the group of DNA viruses and two from the group of RNA viruses. In view of the outbreak of a pandemic in early 2020 caused by virus SARSCoV-2, is included in this bachelor thesis. Thus, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 were selected from RNA viruses and hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus were selected from the DNA viruses. The sequences of the viral genomes were obtained from the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology) database. Then, all four viruses were analyzed for the presence of inverse repeats, their location and size using the Palindrome analyzer, which is available online. The largest genome was SARS-CoV-2 of 29 903 bp, which also had the most inverse repeats.
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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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Analyses of inverted repeats in human patogen genomes
Dobrovolná, Michaela ; Kouřilová, Xenie (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Helminth parasites are highly prevalent in humans in developing countries. According to WHO, approximately 2 billion people are infected worldwide. The etiological agents of parasitic infections are mainly Nematodes (roundworms) and Platyhelminths (flatworms), causing inflammatory responses, malnutrition, and anemia that are the primary cause of mortality. Drug resistance is accelerated by the overuse of human anthelmintics, as well as poor infection prevention and control. The therapeutic potential of small molecule ligands binding G-quadruplexes (G4s) has been demonstrated. For instance, that it can be used to stabilize the quadruplex structures and eliminate drug-resistant pathogens. G4s are secondary structures formed in guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences, which can regulate the process of gene expression, DNA damage repair, transcription, and translation of oncogenes. Here we used the G4Hunter Web Tool to identify and compare G-quadruplex sequences (PQS) in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of six Platyhelminth and four Nematode species to identify targets for G4 ligands to predict new drug targets and more effective drugs. We found that PQS are nonrandomly distributed in these genomes. Most of the G-quadruplexes are in the proximity of genes, suggesting their role in genetic regulation. Interestingly, less infective Platyhelminthes were found enriched with PQS, compared to highly infective species with a lower PQS frequency. In contrast, a Nematoda, Ascaris lumbricoides, was found to be highly enriched in stable PQS. This highly infective species can tolerate high-stability G4 structures, which are not counter-selected at all in contrast to Caenorhabditis elegans.
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Influence of natural polyphenolic substances on p53 protein expression
Bušanski, Patrik ; Němcová, Andrea (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
The tumor suppressor protein p53 is one of the major regulators of the cell cycle after DNA damage. In addition to stopping the cycle and repairing DNA, it can, in extreme cases, induce programmed cell death - apoptosis. Mutations in the gene encoding p53 are present in more than 50% of cancer cases. This thesis examines alternative natural polyphenolic substances that could increase the level and expression of p53 protein in tumor cells. These substances could be an alternative to non-specific cytostatics, which bring many undesirable additional effects during treatment. In the theoretical part of the thesis the structure and properties of the p53 protein and describes alternative therapeutic approaches with a focus on polyphenolic substances is explained. The aim of the experimental part was to determine the effect of curcumin and resveratrol in comparison with often used cytostatic drug, doxorubicin, on cell viability of tumor cells and on p53 protein levels. The effect of these substances on the binding of p53 to DNA in yeast systems was also examined. It was found that doxorubin efficiency is many times higher than the examined polyphenolic agents, but resveratrol was showing some potential as a suitable alternative in the treatment of tumors, thanks to the ability to activate apotosis. It was clearly demonstrated that there is an association between induced programmed death and increased p53 protein expression after resveratrol treatment.
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Aflatoxins in food and their influence on DNA and cell lines
Šislerová, Lucie ; Pernicová, Iva (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Aflatoxins present a great danger due to their high toxicity and carcinogenicity, which is not easily avoided in everyday life. Intoxication with aflatoxins causes a wide range of diseases ranging from mild diseases to organs necrosis or death. Aflatoxins mostly affect the liver, where it degrades and the formation of subsequent metabolites, which are the most toxic to the body. For this reason, their precise determination and understanding of the principle of their effect is very important. In this work, methods for monitoring and closer determination of aflatoxin effects on human cells were calibrated. The methods that were used are: MTT viability assays, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Next, the amount of aflatoxins present in different foods with different storage conditions was measured. For this analysis were used ELISA assays RIDASCREEN Aflatoxin Total and RIDA Aflatoxin column. Calibrated methods were compared with the methods already used to determine the effect of aflatoxins and the results of the ELISA tests were compared with the limits of aflatoxin levels permitted by the Czech legislation. None of the controlled foods contained above-the-limit concentration of aflatoxins, which in the Czech Republic is set at 4-10 µg/l (varies for different types of food). Foods that were poorly stored but not visibly affected by fungi showed the highest levels of aflatoxins. The LD50 value for aflatoxin B1 was determined to 12,25 µM. The type of cell death caused by aflatoxins was determined by flow cytometry and these data were further confirmed by fluorescence microscopy images.
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P53 protein isoforms production and purification in the bacterial expression system
Vadovičová, Natália ; Obruča, Stanislav (referee) ; Brázda, Václav (advisor)
Apart from the p53 protein, the TP53 tumor-suppressor gene is expressed as another eleven protein isoforms with the use of alternative splicing, alternative promotors and alternative translational initiation sites. Abnormal expression of these isoforms has been observed in tumor tissues. The binding properties as well as the biological functions are also modulated, due to sequential and therefore structural differences from the p53 protein. p53 is regulated by these isoforms in both suppressive and supportive manner. Explanation of the p53 isoform regulation mechanism in cells could lead to desired alternative splicing of the chosen isoforms, and modulation of isoform expression could be used in cancer treatment based on p53 therapy. Basic information about p53 protein is summarised in the theoretical part of this master thesis, supplemented with recent advances in the field of p53 isoforms, as well as the Gateway cloning method. The main goal of the experimental part was p53 isoform production in a bacterial expression system. Prior to the protein production, DNA sequences coding twelve p53 isoforms were prepared using PCR and Gateway cloning. In total, twelve entry clones and eight expression clones were prepared by cloning the isoforms’ sequences. After the protein production and purification, the detection using SDS-PAGE and Western Blotting was performed with five p53 protein isoforms: p53, 40p53, 40p53 and 40p53. DNA binding properties of p53 protein isoforms will be tested in subsequent research.
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