Search results for "Endopeptidase"
showing 10 items of 361 documents
Reduced penetrance of autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia in a high percentage of families: importance of genetic testing in the entire family.
2011
Abstract Background Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemias (ADHs) are characterised by increased plasma levels of total and LDL cholesterol, predisposing to premature atherosclerosis. ADHs comprise several diseases with undistinguishable phenotype, caused by mutations in different genes: LDLR, APOB and PCSK9. Genetic studies are usually performed in patients with altered cholesterol levels. However, some persons carrying pathogenic mutations are normocholesterolemic and there are no further studies about this subject. We have studied the frequency of families and individuals carrying ADH mutations who do not present the disease in Spanish population. Methods We have analysed genes known t…
Antibodies to Cathepsin G in Crohn's disease
1992
. Antibodies directed against antigens in human neutrophils have proved to be of great diagnostic value in certain systemic vasculitides. Recent reports have focused the attention on these antigens as targets of antibodies in sera of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We investigated the sera drawn from 60 patients suffering from biopsy proven Crohn's disease and 15 patients with active ulcerative colitis. Using sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with purified antigens and Western blotting the following antibodies could be demonstrated: cathepsin G (cat-G) antibodies IgG 38.3%, IgM 13.3%, IgA 23.3% and antibodies against human leucocyte elastase (HLE) IgG, IgA, IgM 3.3%. Lo…
Proteinase-3 mRNA expressed by glomerular epithelial cells correlates with crescent formation in Wegener's granulomatosis
2000
Proteinase-3 mRNA expressed by glomerular epithelial cells correlates with crescent formation in Wegener's granulomatosis. Background Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is characterized by systemic vasculitis with crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) and circulating autoantibodies directed against neutrophil cytoplasmic antigens (ANCA). Proteinase 3 (PR-3), a neutral serine proteinase in neutrophils implicated in the growth control of myeloid cells, has been identified as the target antigen for ANCA in WG. Since the kidneys are frequently involved in WG, we studied the in situ expression of PR-3 by renal parenchymal cells. Methods We assessed the expression of PR-3 in kidney biopsies of 15 patien…
DNA-fragmentation and apoptosis-related proteins of muscle cells in motor neuron disorders
2009
Apoptosis has been described as one of the mechanisms of muscle fiber loss in infantile spinal muscular atrophy. In order to investigate if muscle fiber-apoptosis plays a role in other denervating disorders as well, we studied DNA-fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis, by the TUNEL-method and, moreover, the expression patterns of apoptosis-related proteins in 2 patients suffering from ALS and in 6 patients with polyneuropathy. We identified DNA-cleavage in muscle fibers of all these patients. Furthermore, we found strong expression of bax and ICE promoting apoptosis in muscle fibers. However, also strong expression of the anti-apoptotic factor bcl-2 was found. Our findings indicate that de…
Apoptosis-related Proteins in Skeletal Muscle Fibers of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
1997
There is evidence that apoptosis in spinal muscular atrophies (SMA) is not restricted to motor neurons but also affects muscle fibers. Studying the expression of several apoptosis-associated proteins we found constant expression of bax in muscle fibers, which promoted cell death. The expression of bax correlated with defective innervation of muscle fibers was also indicated by upregulation of N-CAM. While in early-onset SMA atrophic as well as normo- and hypertrophic muscle fibers displayed expression of bax, muscle fibers in late-onset SMA and peripheral neuropathies showed bax-expression only in atrophic fibers. Other investigated apoptosis-associated factors comprised interleukin-1 beta …
Defects in the Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I Antigen Processing Machinery in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Association with Clinical Outco…
2005
AbstractPurpose: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I antigen defects, which are frequently present in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells may provide the tumor with an escape mechanism from immune surveillance. Scanty information is available about mechanisms underlying HLA class I antigen defects in both lesions and cell lines from HNSCC. In this study, we investigate the role of antigen processing machinery (APM) component abnormalities in the generation of deficient HLA class I surface expression of HNSCC cells.Experimental Design: Using immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and RT-PCR analyses we correlated the expression of the IFN-γ inducible proteasome subunits and of…
Association of microsatellite polymorphisms of the human 14q13.2 region with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Latvian and Finnish populations.
2007
A polymorphic microsatellite in intron 6 of the human proteasome core particle PSMA6 gene (HSMS006), and four other microsatellites localized upstream on human chromosome 14q13.2 (HSMS801, HSMS702, HSMS701, HSMS602), were genotyped in 104 type 2 diabetic patients and 129 age-matched control subjects from Latvia and replicated in 91 type 2 diabetic patients and 88 age-matched healthy control subjects from the Botnia Study in Finland. In type 2 diabetic patients from both populations the HSMS006 (TG)22 allele was two times more frequent compared to the control group. In the Latvian population the (CAA)8 allele of the HSMS602 marker was less frequent in the diabetic group, as was the (AC)24 al…
Prognostic significance of DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction, and tissue levels of aspartic, cysteine, and serine proteases in operable gastric carcinoma
2000
A consecutive series of 63 untreated patients undergoing surgical resection for stage I-IV gastric adenocarcinomas (GCs) has been prospectively studied. Our purpose was to analyze the predictive relevance of DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction (SPF), and tissue levels of lysosomal proteinases cathepsin D (CD), cathepsin B (CB), cathepsin L (CL), and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and that of the intracellular cysteine proteinase inhibitor stefin A on clinical outcome. All of the patients taking part in this study were followed up for a median of 73 months. DNA aneuploidy was present in 71% of the cases (45/63), whereas 9% of these (4/45) showed multiclonality. Both DNA ploidy and SPF w…
Plasma PCSK9 is a late biomarker of severity in patients with severe trauma injury.
2013
PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9) is a secreted protease that modulates cholesterol homeostasis by decreasing low-density lipoprotein receptor expression. Low levels of plasma lipoproteins are related to severity of illness and survival in patients of intensive care units (ICU).The aim of the study was to investigate the regulation of plasma PCSK9 and its association with plasma lipid parameters and clinical markers of severity during critical illness.The plasma biobank from the previously published HYPOLYTE prospective study was used to measure PCSK9 concentrations by ELISA at days 0 and 8 in 111 patients admitted to surgical ICU for severe multiple trauma. Patients wer…
A Novel Loss of Function Mutation of PCSK9 Gene in White Subjects With Low-Plasma Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
2007
Objectives— The PCSK9 gene, encoding a pro-protein convertase involved in posttranslational degradation of low-density lipoprotein receptor, has emerged as a key regulator of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In African-Americans two nonsense mutations resulting in loss of function of PCSK9 are associated with a 30% to 40% reduction of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The aim of this study was to assess whether loss of function mutations of PCSK9 were a cause of familial hypobetalipoproteinemia and a determinant of low-plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in whites. Methods and Results— We sequenced PCSK9 gene in 18 familial hypobetalipoproteinemia subjects and i…