Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a reactive oxygen specie (ROS), is most commonly associated with oxidative stress causing cytotoxic effects on living cells. Oxidative stress has been implicated in various conditions including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer. In addition H₂O₂ is produced as a defense mechanism against pathogens, as being released by activated phagocytes. In recent years, H₂O₂ has become established as an important regulator of signal transduction in eukaryotic cells. Hydrogen peroxide is generated both intracellularly and extracellularly in response to various stimuli including cytokines and growth factors. There are different mechanisms by which H₂O₂ is generated, facilitating signal transduction in cells; through NOX-system in miyochondria, via singlet oxygen, receptor/ligand interaction or by redox active metal ions. The HIV glycoprotein 120 (gp120) is associated with HIV dementia and it is known as a neurotoxin that causes neuronal damage. It has been proposed that free radicals may be involved in the pathogenesis caused by gp120. In addition the truncated form of thioredoxin (Trx80) is known to stimulate HIV replication in HIV infected cells, however, the exact mechanism is not known. A possible way both proteins may mediate their activity is by inducing H₂O₂ production. The aim of this study was to investigate H₂O₂ production induced by the proteins gp120 and Trx80. In order to detect H₂O₂ production an assay based on the fluorescent compound Amplex Red, was established. The assay was used to detect H₂O₂ released by gp120 and Trx80 in a cell-free environment, in a cell-system and in the presence of metal ions (copper ions) with a physiological reductant (ascorbate). We did not detect H₂O₂ production induced by gp120 and Trx80 respectively, using our assay, however, other ROS such as hydroxyl radicals may have been generated although they were not detectable with our method. Hence, further studies are needed in order to fully understand how gp120 and Trx80 mediate their activity.

Ribosomes are large ribonucleoprotein complexes which incorporate amino acids into peptide chains during translational process in all types of living cells. The eukaryotic ribosome is larger compared to its prokaryotic counterpart. The size differences are due to a larger protein part and that the rRNA contains eukaryote specific expansion segments (ES). Cryo-EM reconstruction has visualized many ES on the ribosomal surface which have given clues about function and structural features. However, the secondary structures of most ES are unknown or ill defined. In this thesis, the secondary and also to a certain extent the tertiary structures of several ES are determined by using computational methods and biochemical experimental techniques. The juxtaposition of ES6 close to ES3 in the Cryo-EM image of the yeast ribosome suggested that ES3 and ES6 might interact. A computational analysis of more than 2900 sequences shows that a complementary helical region of seven to nine contiguous base pairs can form between ES3 and ES6 in almost all analyzed sequences. Biochemical in situ experiments support the proposed interaction. Secondary structure models are presented for ES3 and ES6 in 18S rRNA and ES39 in 28S rRNA, where homologous structural elements could be modeled in the experimentally analyzed ribosomes from fungi, plants and mammals. The structure models were further supported by computational methods where the ES6 structure and the ES39 structure could be formed in more than 6000 and 900 sequences respectively. A tertiary structure model of ES3 and ES6 including the helical interaction is presented. An in vitro transcribed and folded ES6 sequence differed from that observed in situ, suggesting that chaperones, ribosomal proteins, and/or the tertiary rRNA interaction could be involved in the in vivo folding of ES6. An analysis of the similarities between ES39 structures suggests that it might be under selective constraint to preserve its secondary structure.

Trichome formation in Arabidopsis lyrata is a naturally occurring trait with phenotypic polymorphisms within wild populations. In Swedish accessions of A. lyrata, three genetic polymorphisms situated in the coding region of GL1, an important transcription factor in trichome production, have been identified, and these are candidates for being the cause of a glabrous phenotype. In this study a complementation test has been performed to clarify which mutation/mutations that are detrimental for trichome formation. A set of constructs has been transformed into A. thaliana, a close relative to A. lyrata, and subsequent generations of plants were examined for phenotype, genotype and gene expression. A SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) in the R3 MYB domain of GL1, resulting in a change of an alanine to aspartic acid, was identified as the critical polymorphism. The other two mutations, two indels, were harmless to protein function. The inserted constructs were under control of the native GL1 promoter. Plants that, because of the SNP, lacked trichome production, became totally glabrous.

Plants produce a large diverse array of organic compounds that may function in protection against pathogens. Diverse antifungal compounds were reported to exist in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.); the indole alkaloid, gramine, and the pathogenesis-related proteins are some of them. Both the N-methyltransferase that is involved in gramine biosynthesis and PR-17a were studied in barley upon infestation by the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi).

The effect of infestation by R. padi on induction of PR-17a and N-methyltransferase was investigated in different barley lines, susceptible and resistant.

The gene expression of PR-17a was down-regulated in the susceptible cv. Golf and to some extent up-regulated at the first days in var. Lina and then down-regulated. The PR-17a was induced by the aphid infestation in the resistant line CI16145; the gene expression was stronger in the infested plants than in the controls. The different responses in resistant and susceptible lines indicate that the induced PR-17a may play a role in the resistance against aphid infestation. PR-17a was up-regulated systemically in the base in barley after infestation by R. padi.

In the susceptible varieties Lina and Golf, the accumulation of N-methyltransferase did not increase with time from 1 day to 7 days after infestation, as determined by western blots with antibody raised against NMT from barley. The NMT-gene was down-regulated after 7 days infestation in both variety Lina and Golf both locally in the first leaf and in the base. Barley line CI16145 had no accumulation of NMT as was seen by western blotting. There was no induction of NMT in barley upon aphid infestation.

BackgroundAll cells carry a transmembrane proteoglycan calledsyndecan. Syndecans influence many functions like cell migration, cell adhesionand cell proliferation and it is involved in cellular signaling andtumourigenesis.

The common features of differentiation in twomesenchymal tumor cell types, malignant mesothelioma cells and fibrosarcoma cells,are connected to the synthesis of syndecans. By studying the overexpression ofsyndecan-1 we hope to discover new features of the syndecan-1 molecule that wecan add to the puzzle of mesenchymal tumors.

Methods and findingsMalignant mesothelioma cells and fibrosarcoma cellswere cultured and transfected with full-length- and truncated syndecan-1 constructs.To detect the expression of syndecan-1 on RNA level Rt-Q-PCR was conductedfollowed by immunocytochemical analysis to establish the syndecan-1 expressionon protein level. The result showed a 2-7 fold increase of syndecan-1 in thetransfectants comparing to the control. The proliferation of transfectants was analyzedby cell proliferation assay and cell cycle analysis. All transfectants showed alower proliferation rate comparing to the controls and a slight increase inG0/G1 phase.

Because of the high structural similarities ofsyndecan family members, I studied how overexpression of syndecan-1 affected theother syndecans using Rt-Q-PCR. Syndecan-2 and -4 were downregulated in thetransfectants carrying syndecan-1 ectodomain, whereas the truncated versionshad the opposite effect. The expression of syndecan-bound heparan sulfate wasstudied by FACS and indicated an upregulation for heparan sulfate whenmeasuring internal- and membrane bound syndecans simultanesly.

ConclusionsIn this study I haveshown that overexpression of full-length syndecan-1 and the different truncatedvariants, had similar profound effects on mesenchymal cell proliferation. Syndecan-1also influences the other members of the syndecan family suggesting a complexregulation.

Since the discovery in 1989 of hepatitis C virus (HCV) as the infectious agent responsible for the vast majority of post-transfusion non-A non-B hepatitis, blood transfusions are no longer a source for HCV transmission in Sweden. Anti-HCV testing was implemented for all blood donations in 1992. Since then intravenous drug use (IDU) has become the major route of transmission in the western world. Six genotypes and more than 80 subtypes of HCV have now been identified world-wide. These genotypes and subtypes are determined by genetic divergences between the HCV strains. Subtypes 1a, 1b, 2b, 2c, and 3a have global spread, while the other subtypes have a more limited geographical distribution. Little was known on the prevalence of HCV among blood donors and on which genotypes and subtypes of HCV were circulating in Sweden before the testing of all blood donations was implemented. The prevalence of anti-HCV was therefore investigated in sera sent to the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI) from 412 patients; 241 were sampled between 1970 and 1991 before the universal screening in 1992, while 171 were sampled between 1992 and 2002. The samples derived from 193 (47%) blood donors, (104 sampled before, and 89 after 1992), and from seven other groups of patients. Two groups had suspected known routes of infection, intravenous drug use (IDU) 33 patients and hemodialysis, 16 patients, while it was unknown for the other patients. Anti-HCV was detected in 120 (29%) samples. The highest frequency was found among IDUs, (91%). Before general screening was implemented, 2.8% of the blood donors were positive for hepatitis C, whereas 28% of those sampled after 1992 were anti-HCV positive. Those latter samples were sent to SMI due to anti-HCV reactivity in a primary test at the blood centre. HCV RNA could be detected by PCR in 56 (47%) of the anti-HCV positive samples, the subtype could be determined by sequencing in 45 (80%) of those. The subtypes found were 1a in 31 %, 1b in 18%, 2b in 22%, and 3a in 27%. One sample was of subtype 2c. There was a tendency of increase of genotype 2 and a decrease in subtype 1a with time. 1a was found in 38% of the samples collected before 1992, while it was only found in 19% of the samples from 1992 or later. On the other hand genotype 2 was found in 17% sera sampled before 1992 and in 37% of the samples collected 1992 or later. It is not known if this genotype has recently been introduced into Sweden. Further analysis on larger series of samples is needed to confirm these preliminary results.

S. cerevisiae Ada2 and Bre1 has a role in histone post-translational modifications. Deletion of these genes causes deficiency in acetylation (Ada2) or ubiquitination (Bre1) of histones. Further, mutants lacking these genes or homologous genes showed different phenotypes in human and S. cerevisiae while treated with DNA damaging agents 4-NQO and MMS. Bre1 deficient cells showed 4-NQO sensitivity in S. cerevisiae and resistance in human cells. Since it has been shown that S. pombe is more close to mammals in chromatin regulation we wanted to examine S. pombe response against MMS and 4-NQO. By homologous recombination, genes were deleted and mutants were treated with different concentration of both the genotoxins. In accordance with a previous study, Ada2Δ showed sensitivity to MMS while Brl1Δ & Brl2Δ grew as wild type. Surprisingly, unlike S. cerevisiae, S. pombe showed resistance to 4-NQO and has a phenotype similar to the one found in human cells.

Cellular structures and compartmentalization is the result of a dynamic steady state exchange between its components. This thesis is focused in investigations of dynamic properties of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled proteins in live cells using confocal laser microscopy in combination with bleaching techniques such as fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP).

Studies of dynamic properties of c-Myc in living cells showed that c-Myc is shuttling between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. c-Myc also enters the nucleoli during certain conditions. Nucleolar c-Myc is dynamically associated to structural component(s) of nucleoli, but can exchange with soluble pools in the nucleoplasm and cytoplasm.

Photobleaching experiments showed that a significant fraction of HIV-1 Vpr is dynamically associated with the NE and rapidly exchanges between the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm. The yeast two-hybrid system, pull-down experiments and co-immunoprecipitating was used to show that Vpr interacts specifically and directly with a domain in the N-terminal portion of the NPC protein hCG1. The results suggest that the specific interaction of HIV-1 Vpr with the nucleoporin hCG1 results in the dynamic retention of Vpr at the nuclear envelope.

The distribution and dynamic properties of NPC proteins was investigated in NIH/3T3 cells, lacking the pore membrane protein gp210. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and FRAP experiments showed that the absence of gp210 from nuclear pores of NIH/3T3 cells did neither alter the distribution nor dynamic properties of POM121 and NUP107 (two NPC proteins stably integrated in the NPC).

Degradation of the integral nuclear pore membrane protein POM121 during apoptosis was investigated in relation to other apoptotic events. POM121 cleavage, which is the earliest sign of dismantling of the nuclear membrane, is due to caspase-3-dependent cleavage at aspartate-531. Loss of nuclear compartmentalization in live cells undergoing apoptosis was monitored as appearance of GFP-NLS in the cytoplasm. The time of appearance of cytoplasmic GFP-NLS correlated with caspase-3-dependent cleavage of POM121. Both events occured concomitantly with collapsing of chromatin against the nuclear periphery, but preceded the onset of nucleosomal DNA fragmentation.

Translocation ability of the cell-penetrating peptide, transportan, into living cells was investigated. Recombinantly expressed GFP was purified and conjugated to chemically synthesized transportan via a disulfide bond and added to tissues culture cells. Transportan was able to internalize a 27 kDa protein such as GFP in a native folded state into living cells.