Search results for "elastase"
showing 10 items of 88 documents
Effect of age and asthma duration upon elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin levels in adult asthmatics
2003
In asthmatic subjects an imbalance between elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin (alpha1-PI) exists. This study aims to evaluate whether ageing per se affects the levels of elastase. Both young and elderly asthmatics with comparable severity and duration of disease, as well as young and elderly healthy subjects, underwent an induced sputum procedure to measure levels of elastase and alpha1-PI. The percentage of sputum neutrophils and eosinophils was higher in young and elderly asthmatics than in young and elderly controls. The levels of both total and active elastase were significantly higher in young and elderly asthmatics than in young and elderly controls, and directly correlated with the perc…
Neutrophil activation in severe, early-onset COPD patients versus healthy non-smoker subjects in vitro: effects of antioxidant therapy.
2011
<i>Background:</i> Neutrophils and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathogenesis of COPD. Severe, early-onset COPD is characterized by a rapid decline in the lung function at an early age; however, nothing is known about neutrophil activation in COPD patients. <i>Objectives:</i> The aim of this study was to evaluate peripheral blood neutrophil activation in severe, early-onset COPD patients versus healthy non-smokers and the effect of N-acetyl-<i>L</i>-cysteine (NAC) on neutrophil activation in vitro. <i>Methods:</i> Neutrophils were isolated from 15 severe, early-onset COPD patients and 15 age-matched healthy subjects and stimulat…
Cucurbitacin R Reduces the Inflammation and Bone Damage Associated with Adjuvant Arthritis in Lewis Rats by Suppression of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in…
2006
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cucurbitacin R on an experimental model of adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats. The treatment of arthritic rats with cucurbitacin R (1 mg/kg p.o. daily) modified the evolution of the clinical symptoms, whereas the histopathology of paws demonstrated a reduction in the signs of arthritis. Compared with the control group, radiography of the tibiotarsal joints of cucurbitacin R-treated rats showed a decrease in joint damage and soft tissue swelling of the footpad. The in vivo study of the expression of proinflammatory enzymes (nitric-oxide synthase-2 and cyclooxygenase-2) with the aid of the Western blot technique, and that of tumor necros…
LAAE-14, a new in vitro inhibitor of intracellular calcium mobilization, modulates acute and chronic inflammation.
2003
Abstract A new lipidic acid-amido ether derivative (LAAE-14) able to reduce dose-dependently the calcium increases mediated either by calcium ionophore ionomycin, by the endoplasmic reticular Ca 2+ -ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin, or by the chemotactic tripeptide N -formyl- l -methionyl- l -leucyl- l -phenylalanine (fMLP), in human neutrophils as well as in murine peritoneal macrophages, but not ATP, has been evaluated as a potential anti-inflammatory drug. This compound attenuated leukocyte activation by means of its inhibitory effect on the respiratory burst elicited in both types of cells by 12- O -tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate, by inhibition of the degranulation process induced by cyt…
Cultured Ito cells of rat liver express the alpha 2-macroglobulin gene.
1987
Ito cells were isolated from rat liver and kept in culture for up to 13 days. The capability of the Ito cells to synthesize a2-macroglobulin was analyzed at different times after isolation and by pulse-chase experiments. Newly synthesized a2-macroglobulin was determined by immunoprecipitation followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate/ polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography. a2-Macroglobulin synthesis was hardly detectable in Ito cells and their media 3 days after plating. However, 5 - 11 days after the isolation of the cells, increasing amounts of a2-macroglobulin were synthesized. The results of pulse-chase experiments performed on day 7 showed that radioactively labeled a2-macroglob…
Anti-inflammatory profile of dehydrocostic acid, a novel sesquiterpene acid with a pharmacophoric conjugated diene
2005
Sesquiterpene acids are natural products that, in contrast with the thoroughly studied sesquiterpene lactones, have received little pharmacological attention. A good source of this class of compounds is Inula viscosa (Asteraceae), a plant with documented anti-inflammatory effects. The present paper gives the results of our investigations on the biochemical mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory activity of one such compound, dehydrocostic acid. The most salient findings were that in vitro dehydrocostic acid inhibits leukotriene B(4) production (IC(50)=22 microM), elastase activity (IC(50)=43 microM) and bee venom phospholipase A(2) activity (IC(50)=17 microM). Furthermore, this sesqui…
Synthesis, structural aspects and bioactivity of the marine cyclopeptide hymenamide C
2001
Abstract Head-to-tail proline containing cyclopeptide hymenamide C [cyclo(Leu-Trp-Pro 3 -Phe-Gly-Pro 6 -Glu); 1 ], isolated from a marine sponge and for which a preliminary immunomodulating activity was reported, was efficiently synthesized by a three-dimensional orthogonal solid-phase strategy (Fmoc/tBu/Allyl) via anchoring the ω -carboxyl function of the glutamic acid to the solid support (PAC–PEG–PS). The linear precursor was entirely assembled and subsequently cyclized on resin, yielding a major product identical to the natural hymenamide C and a minor one, a geometric isomer of hymenamide C ( 2 ), differing for the geometry of peptide linkages at Pro residues. Both the ‘proline-rich’ c…
Analysis of Structure-Activity Relationships of the Bowman-Birk Inhibitor of Serine Proteinases
1993
Proteinase inhibitors are a class of the various dietary inhibitors of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis (Hayatsu et al., 1988). Schelp and Pongpaew (1988) have recently hypothesized that protection against cancer may result from an increase of endogenous proteinase inhibitors such as α2-macroglobulin induced by diets that are low in calories and fat. The Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI) of serine proteinases, a double-headed polypeptide-inhibitor of trypsin and chymotrypsin, is one of the most potent cancer chemopreventive agents (Yavelow et al., 1983, 1985). Recently, this property has been substantiated in an in vivo investigation using mice (St. Clair et al., 1990) that were exposed to dimethyl…
Fecal pancreatic elastase-1 levels in older individuals without known gastrointestinal diseases or diabetes mellitus
2011
Background - Structural changes occur in the pancreas as a part of the natural aging process. With aging, also the incidence of maldigestive symptoms and malnutrition increases, raising the possibility that these might be caused at least in part by inadequate pancreatic enzyme secretion due to degenerative processes and damage of the gland. Fecal elastase-1 is a good marker of pancreatic exocrine secretion. The aim of this study was to investigate the fecal elastase-1 levels among over 60 years old Finnish and Polish healthy individuals without any special diet, known gastrointestinal disease, surgery or diabetes mellitus. Methods - A total of 159 patients participated in this cross-section…
Bacillus thuringiensis elastases with insecticide activity
2015
The purpose of the research was a screening of proteases with elastase activity among Bacillus thuringiensis strains, their isolation, partially purification, study of physicochemical properties and insecticide activity in relation to the larvae of the Colorado beetle. The objects of the investigation were 18 strains of B. thuringiensis, isolated from different sources: sea water, dry biological product "Bitoksibatsillin" and also from natural populations of Colorado beetles of the Crimea, Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhiia regions of Ukraine. Purification of enzymes with elastase activity isolated from above mentioned strains was performed by gel-chromatography and insecticide activi…