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Synthesis and characterization of binding ligands for the study of targeted lysosomal protein degradation
Sidej, Natan ; Konvalinka, Jan (advisor) ; Baszczyňski, Ondřej (referee)
Targeted protein degradation is a novel concept of chemical biology that has been formulated about 20 years ago. Its central postulate is based on the fact that instead of suppressing protein activity with low-molecular inhibitors, we can instead use molecular tools to hijack the host organism's own degradation pathways and force it to degrade chosen proteins by itself. This diploma thesis revolves around the preparation of biocompatible polymeric conjugates called "iBodies" that will be used to induce targeted lysosomal degradation of two model enzymes - Fibroblast activation protein α, and Glutamate carboxypeptidase II. First, a total of four low-molecular ligands were prepared and fully characterized by standard methods of organic synthesis. The first two are mannose-6-phosphonate derivatives that serve as the inducers of protein degradation via the cellular endosomal-lysosomal degradation pathway. The remaining two are known potent inhibitors of the chosen model enzymes that will serve as their targeting-ligands. The prepared compounds were then used to prepare a total of eight poly-N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide conjugates called iBodies, after which the polymeric conjugates were fully characterized by standard means of macromolecular chemistry. Afterwards, the obtained conjugates will be...
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Recognition by intrinsically-disordered proteins
Hub, Michal ; Novotný, Marian (advisor) ; Del Conte, Alessio (referee)
Intrinsic disorder is one of the many traits that can affect the functionality of multiple naturally occurring proteins in biological systems. This thesis reports on the latest findings on mechanisms that intrinsically disordered proteins or intrinsically disordered regions utilize in specific recognition at the molecular level. Here, the general characteristics of intrinsically disordered proteins are summarized, along with the extent of their abundance throughout different lifeforms and the variety of their molecular recognition mechanisms depicted on specific examples. Furthermore, this thesis focuses on protein transitions between ordered and disordered states induced by interaction with its' binding partner. In the last two chapters, characteristic features of intrinsically disordered proteins are described, and attention is paid to the way these features influence cellular signaling pathways such as interactional promiscuity, the role of signaling hubs, alternative splicing, and post- translational modification.
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Engineering and selection of protein binders recognising medically important cytokines
Huličiak, Maroš
Protein engineering attracts more attention as a powerful tool of biotechnology and medicine. Small, engineered proteins derived from protein molecules of stable fold, the so called scaffolds, are potential replacements of supplements of more widely used antibodies. In this thesis, I introduce utilization of two scaffold molecules designed in our laboratory for development of stable and specific protein binders of high affinity. This thesis discusses the development of binders interacting with medically important human cytokines and their cellular receptors, interleukin-10, interleukin-28 receptor, and interleukin-9 receptor alpha. Recombinant cytokine and receptor proteins were expressed in eukaryotic cells in high yields and quality and served as molecular targets for selections using various display methods of directed evolution. We demonstrated that application of ribosome and yeast display methods or their unconventional combination in a newly developed integrated pipeline leads to successful generation of high affinity and specificity binders based on newly designed protein scaffolds called 57aBi and 57bBi.
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Engineering and selection of protein binders recognising medically important cytokines
Huličiak, Maroš ; Schneider, Bohdan (advisor) ; Pichová, Iva (referee) ; Kukačka, Zdeněk (referee)
Protein engineering attracts more attention as a powerful tool of biotechnology and medicine. Small, engineered proteins derived from protein molecules of stable fold, the so called scaffolds, are potential replacements of supplements of more widely used antibodies. In this thesis, I introduce utilization of two scaffold molecules designed in our laboratory for development of stable and specific protein binders of high affinity. This thesis discusses the development of binders interacting with medically important human cytokines and their cellular receptors, interleukin-10, interleukin-28 receptor, and interleukin-9 receptor alpha. Recombinant cytokine and receptor proteins were expressed in eukaryotic cells in high yields and quality and served as molecular targets for selections using various display methods of directed evolution. We demonstrated that application of ribosome and yeast display methods or their unconventional combination in a newly developed integrated pipeline leads to successful generation of high affinity and specificity binders based on newly designed protein scaffolds called 57aBi and 57bBi.
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Porous silicon based optical sensors of chemical species for gas phase
Liška, Jiří ; Dian, Juraj (advisor) ; Červený, Václav (referee)
Title: Porous silicon-based optical sensors of chemical species for gas phase Author: Bc. Jiří Liška Department: Department of Inorganic Chemistry Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Juraj Dian, CSc. Abstract: Porous silicon is a nanostructured material, which is a suitable material for che- mical sensors due to its optical properties, especially photoluminescence and its quenching depending on the chemicals in the environment. Optical sensors based on porous silicon are the most studied group of sensors and have been successfully used for the detection of chemicals in both liquid and gas phases. In addition, the surface of porous silicon can be modified by a number of techniques, thereby modifying the recognition properties. In the case of combining multiple sensor elements of different properties, it is possible to measure multiple responses in the photoluminescent sensor array. The objectives of this thesis are: 1. Extension of electrochemical characterisation of initial silicon substrates using vol- tammetric techniques under different lighting conditions during the experiment, preparation of porous silicon samples from different types of crystalline silicon sub- strates (p-type, n-type), crystallographic orientation and doping degree. 2. Functionalisation of porous silicon surface with new chemical compounds by...
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Modulation of interactions of cytokines and their receptors
Kolářová, Lucie ; Schneider, Bohdan (advisor) ; Rozbeský, Daniel (referee) ; Osička, Radim (referee)
Protein-protein interactions and interactions with other molecules including DNA and RNA, play an important role in a range of biological activities and processes in all living cells. Understanding of protein-protein interactions, new approaches, and tools for their modulations are valuable for medicine, biotechnology, and drug development. We used the interleukin-10 family of cytokines as a model system for our research of biological interactions and modulation of their functions. A key prerequisite to study biological processes and a detailed understanding of biomolecular interactions is a recombinant protein that is stable under a broad range of conditions. Recombinant protein expression in sufficient yield and quality is often a challenging task. Therefore, we aimed at developing new approaches in protein design and production. In the first part of our study, we modified IL-24, a member of the IL-10 family to increase its expression and stability. We demonstrated that protein engineering is a powerful tool in research of difficult protein targets. In the second part of our study, we adopted new approaches in designing new protein scaffolds suitable for use in the ribosome and yeast display techniques. Protein scaffolds have become promising alternatives to antibodies in protein drug...
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Targeted modifications of the protein-protein interactions: Ternary complex of interferon-γ as a model system
Zahradník, Jiří ; Schneider, Bohdan (advisor) ; Obšilová, Veronika (referee) ; Vaněk, Ondřej (referee)
A key prerequisite for a deeper understanding of biological processes at molecular level is a detailed description of the three-dimensional structure of interaction partners and their complexes. We adopted the IFN-γ complex as our model system. Even though IFN-γ is one of the key modulators of the immunity response, which has been studied intensively for more than 60 years, the structure of the accessory receptor chain and the understanding of the IFN-γ complex is still lacking. In this work we firstly discussed the binary system between IFN-γ and its high affinity receptor R1 which is structurally known. Using a new innovative methodology we focused on the modulation of the affinity between IFN-γ and its receptor R1. Our approach was based on the modulation of protein - protein stability by mutating cavities in the proteins' structure and increasing the affinity about seven-fold. Secondly, we crystallized and solved the structure of the IFN-γ receptor 2, the accessory receptor molecule. Our analysis of variable residues on the surface of the structures of type II family receptors, to which receptor 2 belongs, revealed the putative binding site for IFN-γ. In the third part of our work, we crystallized IFN-γ from olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and solved its structure at 2.3 Å resolution (PDB...
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Development of instrumentation and high-throughput screening methods for peptide ligand discovery and validation
Kryštůfek, Robin ; Konvalinka, Jan (advisor) ; Jiráček, Jiří (referee)
Peptides are used as synthetically available and easily derivatizable scaffold upon which it is possible to develop ligands targeting broad spectrum of biological targets. A time-tested approach to peptide binder identification is the preparation and screening of combinatorial libraries. Bypassing of this complicated procedure is possible by using biological systems for presentation, identification and selection of peptides based on the principle of in vitro evolution - i.e. display techniques. There are two complementary automated solutions for peptide binder identification described in this work. First is the SPENSER parallel peptide synthesizer, developed as a part of this diploma project, which can be used for peptide ligand discovery and optimization as well as validation of ligands identified using display techniques. Several libraries consisting of a total of 1 052 peptides have been prepared and then used to describe its potential applications. A sample of 154 preparations, representing 14.6 % analytical coverage of the prepared libraries, showed an average purity of 67 ± 19 % according to LC-MS. The libraries presented illustrate that SPENSER is a suitable tool for the parallel synthesis of linear and disulfide-cyclized peptides with limited variability, or libraries consisting of short...
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Design, preparation and characterisation of polymer conjugates for protein recognition using peptide ligands
Kryštůfek, Robin ; Konvalinka, Jan (advisor) ; Hořejší, Václav (referee)
Antibodies stand as a cornerstone of many laboratory assays and are used as indispensable tools in biomedicine. iBodies polymer conjugates have been proposed as a possible alternative to antibodies in several traditionally immunological methods. iBodies are based on methacrylamide copolymers decorated with affinity anchors, reporters and targeting ligands which mediate conjugate specificity. The necessity to design ligands and their linkage is a significant obstacle to the generalization of this technology. One way of overcoming this obstacle is the development of secondary antibody mimetics which will use antibodies to obtain specificity for target identification and/or visualization. Based on the literature, several cyclic peptide Fc-binding ligands were designed with linker moieties for attachment to the polymer conjugate. Free and conjugated ligands were compared based on their interaction constants with human IgG. Conjugation with polymer carrier in all cases led to an increase in affinity. Human isotype specificity is dependent on the cyclization method, with single disulfide bridge cyclization exhibiting selectivity for IgG1-4 and IgM, and N→C cyclization leading to abolition of IgM binding. The polymer conjugates have been compared in terms of sensitivity and selectivity using dot blot with...
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Targeted modifications of the protein-protein interactions: Ternary complex of interferon-γ as a model system
Zahradník, Jiří
A key prerequisite for a deeper understanding of biological processes at molecular level is a detailed description of the three-dimensional structure of interaction partners and their complexes. We adopted the IFN-γ complex as our model system. Even though IFN-γ is one of the key modulators of the immunity response, which has been studied intensively for more than 60 years, the structure of the accessory receptor chain and the understanding of the IFN-γ complex is still lacking. In this work we firstly discussed the binary system between IFN-γ and its high affinity receptor R1 which is structurally known. Using a new innovative methodology we focused on the modulation of the affinity between IFN-γ and its receptor R1. Our approach was based on the modulation of protein - protein stability by mutating cavities in the proteins' structure and increasing the affinity about seven-fold. Secondly, we crystallized and solved the structure of the IFN-γ receptor 2, the accessory receptor molecule. Our analysis of variable residues on the surface of the structures of type II family receptors, to which receptor 2 belongs, revealed the putative binding site for IFN-γ. In the third part of our work, we crystallized IFN-γ from olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and solved its structure at 2.3 Å resolution (PDB...
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