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The effect of amoeba predation on the evolution of virulence in human pathogenic microorganisms
Drncová, Eliška ; Šuťák, Róbert (advisor) ; Konupková, Anežka (referee)
Amoebae act as one of the main regulators of microbial communities, where, as a result of their predation, selection pressure is exerted for the emergence of defence mechanisms to achieve resistance. This adaptation allows microorganisms to randomly infect the human body and successfully defend against components of innate immunity, especially macrophages, which, like amoebae, are phagocytic cells. The manifestation of virulence in opportunistic pathogens is due to conserved macrophage pathways used for degradation of ingested material, which the microorganism has already encountered in amoebae. Because of this similarity, amoebae can be used to investigate the interaction between a pathogen and its host, which includes research on the virulence mechanisms of many human microbial infections. Among the most extensively studied organisms whose pathogenicity results from long-term interaction with amoebae are the bacterium Legionella pneumophila and the microscopic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, with very different virulence strategies and manifestations. Understanding the evolutionary context and the advantages that microorganisms gain during interaction with amoebae informs us about the origins of virulence of opportunistic human pathogens.
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Danio rerio as a model of serious human diseases
Hason, Martina ; Bartůněk, Petr (advisor) ; Živný, Jan (referee) ; Divoký, Vladimír (referee)
(ENGLISH) Over the last five decades, zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become a useful vertebrate model organism for the field of developmental biology and disease control. Using zebrafish in xenotransplantation studies is becoming more popular and progressed towards drug screening of anti-cancer drugs. Zebrafish are particularly suitable for high-throughput pre-clinical drug screening, due to the small size of embryos and the striking evolutionary conservation of cancer- related pathways between human and zebrafish. The fast, large-scale evaluation of the cancer- drug response in vivo could facilitate progress in personalized cancer therapy. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of methods which would allow for rapid and sensitive evaluation of tumor cell growth to facilitate high-throughput screening of drugs in vivo. In our bioluminescent zebrafish transplantation model, we proposed and validated a new screening platform for pre-clinical drug discovery in zebrafish embryos. In our experiments we used the NanoLuc luciferase, which enabled us to rapidly screen inhibitors of cancer growth in a sensitive and quantitative way with very low background compared to the conventional fluorescence signal. In our screen we evaluated the in vivo drug response of 180 kinase inhibitors in zebrafish embryos...
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Macrophages and nitric oxide in leishmania - sandfly - host interactions
Kratochvílová, Tereza ; Kolářová, Iva (advisor) ; Fialová, Anna (referee)
Leishmania reside fagolysosome of macrophages immediately after their entry to host where they multiply and consequently infect other macrophages or eventually other cells. A synthesis of a reactive reactant of oxygen and nitrogen is one of the mechanisms that some mammal cells are equipped with and that also contributes to eradication of leishmania. Nitric oxide rising during a metabolic change of L-arginine under the catalysis of NO synthase is of a large importance. Beyond cytotoxic function, nitric oxide is involved in signalling pathways for a neurotransmission (nNOS) and vasorelaxation (eNOS). Not all types of macrophages have ability to produce NO (iNOS). It is a heterogeneous group differing in immunological function and also in physiology. A group of classical activated macrophages represents an effective APC capable of efficient killing of intracellular pathogens. In addition to NO, they also secrete an inflammatory cytokines, which evolve an immune reaction towards to Th1. Contrary to this, a group of alternative activated macrophages is not capable of any efficient antigen presentation and nitric oxide production but produces L-ornithine, which is a precursor of polyamines, which leishmania utilizes for its own intracellular growth. For the mouse model, status of resistance and/or...
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Exprese CD47 a jeho topologie na povrchu primárních buněk karcinomu močového měchýře při interakci s makrofágy
Rajtmajerová, Marie ; Drbal, Karel (advisor) ; Brdička, Tomáš (referee)
CD47 is a so-called "don't eat me" signal, which protects cells from phagocytosis. Its high expresion on tumor cells brings new perspective to the tumor therapy. Monoclonal antibodies, which are these days undergoing clinical trials, prevent CD47 binding to the SIRPA inhibitory receptor on macrophages, and so they enhance their phagocytic functional capacity. In this way they enable phagocytic removal of tumor cells. Overall expression, structural conformation and stoichiometry of CD47 on a particular cell predestine whether it will be phagocytised. The aim of the thesis is to develop and test methods to characterise expression parameters of CD47 via flow cytometry (FCM), quantitative PCR (qPCR) and microscopy. To achieve this goal I performed competition tests of commercially available antibodies in order to characterise their binding epitopes on cell lines. After performing tSNE analysis of primary BCa patient samples I correlated CD47 expression with other cell surface markers. I focused on CD47 expression in various differentiation stages of the tumor. To better understand the relationship between CD47 expression and differentiation status of cells I performed qPCR analysis of particular transcription factors. Using cell lines I examined method for phagocytosis quantification, which will be...
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Signaling effects of adenylate cyclase toxin action on phagocytes
Černý, Ondřej
The adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) plays a key role in the virulence of Bordetella pertussis. CyaA penetrates CR3-expressing phagocytes and catalyzes the uncontrolled conversion of cytosolic ATP to the key second messenger molecule cAMP. This paralyzes the capacity of neutrophils and macrophages to kill bacteria by oxidative burst and opsonophagocytic mechanisms. Here we show that CyaA suppresses the production of bactericidal reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in neutrophils and macrophages, respectively. The inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is most-likely achieved by the combined PKA-dependent inhibition of PLC and Epac-dependent dysregulation of NADPH oxidase assembly. Activation of PKA or Epac interfered with fMLP-induced ROS production and the inhibition of PKA partially reversed the CyaA-mediated inhibition of ROS production. CyaA/cAMP signaling then inhibited DAG formation, while the PIP3 formation was not influenced. These results suggest that cAMP produced by CyaA influences the composition of target membranes. We further show here that cAMP signaling through the PKA pathway activates the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 and suppresses the production of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in macrophages. Selective activation of PKA interfered with LPS- induced iNOS expression...
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Přítomnost nízkomolekulárních imunomodulátorů ve slinách klíštěte \kur{Ixodes ricinus}
HAUSEROVÁ, Simona
Ticks use proteinaceous molecules contained in their saliva to suppress immune response of the host to complete their succesful feeding. In some ticks (e.g. Rhipicephalus sanguineus) presence of non-proteinaceous molecules was discovered. The aim of this work was to determine the amount of these molecules in the saliva of Ixodes ricinus tick. Namely, prostaglandin E2 and adenosine were analyzed. The second aim of this work was to evaluate the role of both low molecular weight components (or at least one of them) in the suppression of TNF-alfa cytokine production in suitable cells by ticks saliva.
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Exprese CD47 a jeho topologie na povrchu primárních buněk karcinomu močového měchýře při interakci s makrofágy
Rajtmajerová, Marie ; Drbal, Karel (advisor) ; Brdička, Tomáš (referee)
CD47 is a so-called "don't eat me" signal, which protects cells from phagocytosis. Its high expresion on tumor cells brings new perspective to the tumor therapy. Monoclonal antibodies, which are these days undergoing clinical trials, prevent CD47 binding to the SIRPA inhibitory receptor on macrophages, and so they enhance their phagocytic functional capacity. In this way they enable phagocytic removal of tumor cells. Overall expression, structural conformation and stoichiometry of CD47 on a particular cell predestine whether it will be phagocytised. The aim of the thesis is to develop and test methods to characterise expression parameters of CD47 via flow cytometry (FCM), quantitative PCR (qPCR) and microscopy. To achieve this goal I performed competition tests of commercially available antibodies in order to characterise their binding epitopes on cell lines. After performing tSNE analysis of primary BCa patient samples I correlated CD47 expression with other cell surface markers. I focused on CD47 expression in various differentiation stages of the tumor. To better understand the relationship between CD47 expression and differentiation status of cells I performed qPCR analysis of particular transcription factors. Using cell lines I examined method for phagocytosis quantification, which will be...
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The role of nitric oxide in helminthoses
Šmídová, Barbora ; Macháček, Tomáš (advisor) ; Leštinová, Tereza (referee)
Nitric oxide (NO) is a small gaseous molecule produced mainly by activated macrophages, but some other cells as well, in reaction to an infection. Since late 80s, when the effect of NO on schistosomes was demonstrated, many experiments have been conducted examining both the effect of NO on other helminths and its role in helminthoses. In vitro experiments center mainly upon direct effects of NO on helminths - loss of motility and viability in particular. On the other hand, in vivo studies focus on the course of infection and pathological changes in hosts. However, in vitro and in vivo data do not always corroborate. Moreover, the effects of NO differ not only across helminth genera but also for developmental stages of the same parasite.
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Immune system, nitric oxide and parasites
Oreský, Matej ; Hrdý, Ivan (advisor) ; Macháček, Tomáš (referee)
Nitric oxide belongs to smallest known molecules. It has been known since the mid- 17th century, but only in the second half of the 20th century its significance in medicine began to be discovered. Already in the 19th century, nitroglycerin was used to treat heart disease, and the connection with nitric oxide was later found. Nitric oxide works, for example, as a signaling molecule in biosystems, acts as a vasodilator in endothelial tissue but also has a number of pathophysiological effects. Because of its radical nature, it plays an important role in the immune system in the non-specific response. By reaction with certain radicals in the body, strong reactive compounds such as peroxynitrite can form. However, some intracellular parasites have been found to be able to resist the effects of the immune system associated with the NO molecule. They could, besides other things, serve proteins from the family of flavodiiron proteins to this purpose. At the end this review focuses on the group of flavodiiron proteins and the interaction of three parasites with the immune system of the host: Entamoeba, Giardia and Trichomonas. Key words: Nitric oxide, NO synthase, macrophage, Trichomonas vaginalis, Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica, flavodiiron protein
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