| 349461. |
- Stefansson, Kristina, 1979-
(författare)
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Kallikrein-related peptidases in human epidermis : studies on activity, regulation, and function
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction. The outermost layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum (SC), plays a fundamental role in our defense against microorganisms, chemicals, and dehydration. The SC is composed of tightly packed keratinized skin cells, corneocytes. For a functioning skin it is essential that corneocytes are constantly shed (desquamated). Kallikrein-related peptidase (KLK) 5 and KLK7 may be important in the desquamation process through degradation of desmosomal proteins. Severe hereditary diseases, where inhibition of KLK5 and/or KLK7 is missing, points to the importance of regulation of protease activity. KLKs may be regulated in various ways: tissue expression, activation of proforms, specific inhibitors, and physico-chemical properties like pH. Besides their involvement in desquamation, KLKs may also be important in immune defense and inflammation by processing of mediators and via activation of proteinase-activated receptors (PARs). Aims. 1. To identify and characterize previously unknown proteases in the SC. 2. To further characterize KLK5 and KLK7 with special focus on activation mechanisms. 3. To identify new inhibitors of KLKs in human SC. 4. To further characterize KLKs regarding effects of various inhibitors and substrates. 5. To study possible functions of KLKs in inflammation, in particular via activation of PAR-2. Methods. Plantar SC was used as a source for purification of proteins. Recombinant proteins were produced in different expression systems (insect cells, yeast cells, and bacteria). Different activity assays and kinetic studies were performed. Tissue expression was studied by immunohistochemistry, immunoblot and PCR. PAR-2 activation was studied by measurement of intracellular [Ca2+] and immunofluorescense in KNRK-PAR2 cells. Results. Active KLK14 was purified from extracts of plantar SC. KLK14 showed a superior catalytic efficiency as compared to KLK5 when measuring trypsin-like activity. This indicated that KLK14, despite being present in low amounts in skin, may have great relevance for skin physiology. Among enzymes tested only KLK5 showed autocatalytic activity and is so far the only enzyme found in SC that can activate proKLK7. KLK5 could also activate proKLK14. This together with studies of pH dependence on activation placed KLK5 as a possible key activating enzyme in a proposed proteolytic cascade in the SC. In plantar SC extracts we have also identified the novel Kazal-type serine protease inhibitor 9 (SPINK9). Our results indicate that SPINK9 is preferentially expressed in palmo-plantar skin and specific for KLK5. Differences found regarding substrate specificity and inhibition profile can be useful in evaluating the contribution of individual KLKs to the proteolytic activity in crude SC extracts. One interesting finding was that KLK8, present at high protein levels in the epidermis, could not be inhibited by any protease inhibitor found in the extracts. PAR-2 activation studies showed that KLK5 and 14 but neither KLK7 nor 8 can activate PAR-2. Immunohistochemistry preferentially detected KLK14 in intraepidermal parts of the sweat ducts and in dermal sweat glands but we could also show coexpression of KLK14 and PAR-2 in the SC and stratum granulosum of the epidermis in inflammatory skin disorders. To summarize, KLK involvement in desquamation may be dependent on a proteolytic activation cascade regulated by an intrinsic pH gradient and specific inhibitors present in SC. Another possible function of KLKs is as mediators of inflammation through activation of PAR-2.
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| 349462. |
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| 349463. |
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| 349464. |
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| 349465. |
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| 349466. |
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| 349467. |
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| 349468. |
- Steffen, Ann-Charlott, 1977-
(författare)
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Radiolabeled HER-2 Binding Affibody Molecules for Tumor Targeting : Preclinical Studies
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Conventional cancer treatment based on radiotherapy or chemotherapy affects all dividing cells. By directing the therapy specifically to the tumor cells, normal cells can be spared. Tumor targeting molecules carrying a cytotoxic moiety is then an attractive approach.In this thesis, an affibody molecule with high affinity for the protein HER-2, that is strongly associated with aggressive forms of breast cancer, was selected. After radiolabeling with 125I, the affibody molecule, in monovalent and bivalent form, was tested in vitro in HER-2 overexpressing tumor cells and in transplanted tumors in mice.It was shown that the HER-2 targeting affibody molecule bound its target in a specific manner, both in vitro and in vivo. The small size of the affibody molecule resulted in fast clearance through the kidneys. An impressive tumor-to-blood ratio of 10 eight hours post injection was achieved and the tumors could easily be visualized in a gamma camera.The biologic effects of the bivalent affibody molecule and a monovalent affinity maturated version was measured and compared with the effects of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab. It was found that although all molecules target the same protein, the effects differed greatly.The affibody molecule was also labeled with the alpha-emitting radionuclide 211At. Specific decrease in survival was seen in HER-2 overexpressing cells receiving the 211At labeled affibody molecule. The sensitivity to the treatment differed between cell lines, probably as a result of differences between the cell lines in internalization and nuclear size. The 211At labeled affibody molecules were also tested in vivo, where stability of the 211At label was a problem. To circumvent this problem, more stable conjugation chemistry was tested, as well as strategies to prevent uptake of released 211At by normal organs.This thesis describes the selection and optimization of affibody molecules for medical use for the first time.
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| 349469. |
- Steffen, Karin, 1989-
(författare)
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Genomics and metabolomics in the North Atlantic deep-sea sponge Geodia barretti
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sponges are among the earliest diverging taxa in the animal tree of life. They are sessile, filter-feeding animals found in marine and freshwater habitats. Many species are characterized by a close, specific and consistent association with microbes, mainly Bacteria and Archaea. This feature has been known for a long time and is suggested to be a factor contributing to the rich and diverse chemical output of the sponges. This thesis explored the effect of the habitat, specifically water mass or depth on sponges, their associated microbes, and their combined chemical output. The focal species of this thesis was the North Atlantic deep-sea high microbial abundance (HMA) demosponge Geodia barretti.In Paper I, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were used to quantify variation in prokaryotic community composition and chemical output in three sponge species. Water masses structured the prokaryotic community composition in the HMA species G. barretti and Stryphnus fortis. The community composition of the low microbial abundance (LMA) sponge Weberella bursa was unaffected by depth. Untargeted metabolomic data was modelled by depth. This allowed for identification of individual compounds varying with depth. Among those compounds were many putative osmolytes as well as diketopiperazines. Bioactive peptides and brominated tryptophan derivatives were unaffected by depth.In Paper II the diversity of the barrettide peptide family was explored in DNA sequencing data and chemical profiles across a wide selection of sponge species and G. barretti in particular. Five new barrettides were predicted and one sequence, barrettide C, was confirmed by solid phase peptide synthesis and co-elution with a native extract, antifouling bioassays and NMR structure elucidation. The confidence gained from sequence analysis and validating predictions lead us to suggest barrettides are a family of antifouling peptides in G. barretti.In Paper III, a reduced representation sequencing approach was used to evaluate the Stacks de novo pipeline in HMA sponges with the help of a whole genome assembled for this purpose. With this data, gene flow and connectivity were investigated in G. barretti populations sampled across the North Atlantic. The de novo pipeline was found to assemble and retain many putatively microbial loci and should thus only be used with reservations in HMA sponges. However, regarding biological inferences, strong population structure was recovered despite the apparent contamination.
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| 349470. |
- Steffen, Karin, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Sea for yourself: evaluating the ddRADseq Stacks de novo pipeline with a reference genome in the deep-sea sponge Geodia barretti
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Reduced representation sequencing appraches such as ddRADseq allow to assess population connectivity and infer population summary statistics, both with and without a reference genome. However, as ddRADseq employs total DNA indiscriminate of the origin, the method warrants validation prior to application in microbial rich systems. One example of a complex system are sponges such as the North Atlantic high microbial abundance sponge Geodia barretti. This species is known to maintain large, putatively disjoint populations across the deep-sea, but its dispersal capabilities remain unclear as larvae have never been observed. To study the effect of microbial contamination on data processing and population genetic inference in ddRADseq, we produced a reference genome of G. barretti and collected 163 individuals across its habitat range and bathymetry (35–1560 m) in the North Atlantic. We processed the data with Stacks2 both with and without a reference genome (de novo and hybrid/‘reference-integrated’ approach). We found that strong population structures are recovered by both approaches and across different population genetic analyses (fastStructure, PCA, FST). Compared to previous work using microsatellites in shallow populations, we found only very weak population structure across large geographic stretches (>1000 km). However, over a third (34%) of the final loci produced by the de novo pipeline did not map to the reference genome indicating that these might be of microbial origin. For comparably complex systems this means that de novo RRS genotyping approaches may contain a considerable amount of off-target loci potentially biasing the results.
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