Search results for "Teas"
showing 10 items of 619 documents
Alternatively spliced transcripts of the thymus-specific protease PRSS16 are differentially expressed in human thymus.
2004
The putative serine protease PRSS16 is abundantly expressed in the thymic cortex and the gene is encoded within the HLA I complex. Although its function is not yet defined, the very restricted expression points to a role in T-cell development in the thymus. In this study, we show that the PRSS16 mRNA is alternatively spliced to generate at least five transcripts. Apart from the full-length sequence, we found two other isoforms with all putative active site residues of the serine protease, suggesting that those variants may also be functional. Semi-quantitative analysis of the splice variants in different tissue samples revealed a strong correlation between the specific formation of alternat…
TMPRSS4 is a type II transmembrane serine protease involved in cancer and viral infections.
2012
Abstract Proteolytic enzymes are involved in almost all biological processes reflecting their importance in health and disease. The human genome contains nearly 600 protease-encoding genes forming more than 2% of the total human proteome. The serine proteases, with about 180 members, built the oldest and second largest family of human proteases. Ten years ago, a novel serine protease family named the type II transmembrane family (TTSP) was identified. This minireview summarizes the up-to-date knowledge about the still growing TTSPs, particularly focusing on the pathophysiological functions of the family member type II transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS) 4. Recent studies provided importa…
Overexpression of Septin 4, the Drosophila homologue of human CDCrel-1, is toxic for dopaminergic neurons
2007
parkin loss-of-function mutations are linked to autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism. Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that promotes degradation of specific target proteins by the proteasome. It has been proposed that loss of Parkin activity will result in accumulation of its substrates, thus leading to dopaminergic (DA) neuron death. In Drosophila, parkin mutations cause degeneration of a subset of DA neurons in the brain but no Parkin substrates have yet been described. Here we characterized the septin 4 gene, which encodes the Drosophila orthologue of human CDCrel-1, a Parkin substrate. We showed that Septin 4 overexpression causes age-dependent disruption of DA neuron integrity in …
Role of the metalloprotease Vvp and the virulence plasmid pR99 of Vibrio vulnificus serovar E in surface colonization and fish virulence.
2007
The virulence for eels of Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 serovar E (VSE) is conferred by a plasmid that codifies ability to survive in eel serum and cause septicaemia. To find out whether the plasmid and the selected chromosomal gene vvp plays a role in the initial steps of infection, the VSE strain CECT4999, the cured strain CT218 and the Vvp-deficient mutant CT201 (obtained in this work by allelic exchange) were used in colonization and virulence experiments. The eel avirulent biotype 1 (BT1) strain YJ016, whose genome has been sequenced, was used for comparative purposes. The global results demonstrate that the plasmid does not play a significant role in surface colonization because (i) CEC…
The shell-forming proteome of Lottia gigantea reveals both deep conservations and lineage-specific novelties
2013
19 pages; International audience; Proteins that are occluded within the molluscan shell, the so-called shell matrix proteins (SMPs), are an assemblage of biomolecules attractive to study for several reasons. They increase the fracture resistance of the shell by several orders of magnitude, determine the polymorph of CaCO(3) deposited, and regulate crystal nucleation, growth initiation and termination. In addition, they are thought to control the shell microstructures. Understanding how these proteins have evolved is also likely to provide deep insight into events that supported the diversification and expansion of metazoan life during the Cambrian radiation 543 million years ago. Here, we p…
Synthesis of phosphono dipeptides, inhibitors of cathepsin C
1998
Abstract Phosphono dipeptides containing glycine, glycylglycine or L-alanine at N-termini and racemic phosphonic acid analogues of aromatic amino acids, as well as racemic alicyclic aminophosphonates, exhibit moderate inhibitory activity towards cathepsin C. This activity is probably due to the binding of the phosphonate moiety by a positively charged part of the enzyme which is complementary to the carboxylate part of the synthetic dipeptide products of the enzymatic reaction.
Biological protective substances in Marthasterias glacialis (Asteroidea) epidermal secretion
1990
Marthasterias glacialis secretes a watery mucous liquid consisting of 14% carbohydrate and 86% protein. The mucous secretion possesses different biological active molecules responsible for lysozyme-like, protease and haemolytic activities. These substances could constitute a molecular barrier playing a protective role against the penetration by bacteria, fungi and parasites. The secretory apparatus consists of two unicellular glands, a large goblet cell and a granular cell, which open directly into the epidermis.
Delivery and therapeutic potential of human granzyme B
2010
Summary: Granzyme B (GzmB) is used by cytotoxic lymphocytes as a molecular weapon for the defense against virus-infected and malignantly transformed host cells. It belongs to a family of small serine proteases that are stored in secretory vesicles of killer cells. After secretion of these cytolytic granules during killer cell attack, GzmB is translocated into the cytosol of target cells with the help of the pore-forming protein perforin. GzmB has adopted similar protease specificity as caspase-8, and once delivered, it activates major executioner apoptosis pathways. Since GzmB is very effective in killing human tumor cell lines that are otherwise resistant against many cytotoxic drugs and …
Isolation of carcinoembryonic antigen N-terminal domains (N-A1) from soluble aggregates
2011
Abstract Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was identified as a prominent tumor-associated antigen in human colorectal cancer and it is still intensively investigated. However, its physiological role remains unclear. The CEA molecule is composed of seven highly hydrophobic, immunoglobulin-like domains, six of which contain a single disulphide bridge. The production of recombinant protein containing Ig-like domains in bacterial expression systems often results in partial degradation or insolubility due to aggregation hampering the analysis of their native structure and function. Here, we present a new method of expression and purification of CEA N-terminal domains (N-A1) fused to MBP in Escheric…
Lipid profile during pregnancy in HIV-infected women
2006
Purpose: We investigated the evolution of serum lipid levels in HIV-infected pregnant women and the potential effect of antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy using data from a national surveillance study. Method: Fasting lipid measurements collected during routine care in pregnancy were used, analyzing longitudinal changes and differences in lipid values at each trimester by protease inhibitors (Pls) and stavudine use. Multivariate analyses were used to control for simultaneous factors potentially leading to hyperlipidemia. Study population included 248 women. Results: Lipid values increased progressively and significantly during pregnancy: mean increases between the first and third tri…