Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.17 (lysozyme)
 21,489 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effects of two co-carcinogenic phorbol esters (phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and phorbol dibutyrate (PDBu] and a synthetic diacylglycerol (OAG, 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol), which all stimulate protein kinase C, were compared with two inactive phorbol compounds (4 alpha-phorbol and 4 alpha-phorbol didecanoate (4 alpha-PDD)) on three functional properties of stimulated human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs): release of granular enzymes lysozyme and beta-glucuronidase, chemokinesis, and changes in cytoplasmic free calcium [Ca2+]i. PMA, PDBu and the diacylglycerol, OAG, all caused a dose-dependent and slow (max by 15 min) release of small amounts of lysozyme with much less beta-glucuronidase and no release of cytoplasmic lactate dehydrogenase. Release was unaffected by removal of extracellular Ca2+. PMA, PDBu and OAG inhibited random movement of the cells, did not cause chemokinesis and induced a slow reduction in the basal [Ca2+]i, as measured by the quin-2 method. PMA, PDBu and OAG increased the capacity of five independently-acting stimulants (N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe, leukotriene B4, C5a des-Arg, platelet activating factor and A23187) to cause release of lysozyme and beta-glucuronidase but strongly inhibited PMN chemokinesis induced by the same five agents and reduced the stimulant-induced increases in [Ca2+]i. PMA was always more potent than PDBu and much more potent than OAG in eliciting these stimulatory or inhibitory effects on human PMNs. In all tests, 4 alpha-phorbol and 4 alpha-PDD were inactive. The results confirm that stimulation of the diacylglycerol/protein kinase C system in human PMN, either by active phorbol esters or the synthetic diacylglycerol, causes bidirectional effects on human PMN function. In particular, activation of the C-kinase causes inhibition of stimulated neutrophil motility, whereas the secretory functions of the cells are enhanced.
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PMID:Divergent effects of co-carcinogenic phorbol esters and a synthetic diacylglycerol on human neutrophil chemokinesis and granular enzyme secretion. 347 47

Vitamin D and retinoids cooperate to inhibit the proliferation and induce the differentiation of human myelomonocytic U937 leukemia cells. In the present work, we investigated the role of TGF-beta as an endogenous mediator of this process. We found that the TGF-beta1 precursor began to accumulate in cell culture supernatants soon after the addition of 1alpha,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD) and retinoids. We used neutralizing antibodies (AbTGF-beta) and antisense oligonucleotide (AS Oligo) to inhibit its possible effects. Our data demonstrated that AbTGF-beta partially inhibit the expression of the differentiated phenotype, as assessed by measurement of phagocytic activity, response to the chemotactic peptide fMLP, and lysozyme secretion. AS Oligo was also inhibitory, and the effects of AS Oligo and AbTGF-beta were cumulative. Cell growth inhibition induced by VD and retinoids was completely reversed, and differentiation was reduced by about 75% when both inhibitors were associated. Time course experiments based on the delayed addition of AbTGF-beta and AS Oligo showed that TGF-beta1 was required for cell differentiation 24 h after the addition of inducers. Studies on TGF-beta receptors revealed that, while the expression of type II receptor was stable, the level of type I TGF-beta receptor mRNA and the expression of the protein began to decline early during the differentiation process. As a whole, these results support the notion that an autocrine TGF-beta pathway, activated by VD and retinoids in U937 cells, is involved in the early steps of the process leading to cell growth arrest and differentiation.
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PMID:Transforming growth factor-beta1 is an autocrine mediator of U937 cell growth arrest and differentiation induced by vitamin D3 and retinoids. 988 97

The term innate immunity refers to a number of evolutionary ancient mechanisms that serve to defend animals and plants against infection. Genetically tractable model organisms, especially Drosophila, have contributed greatly to advances in our understanding of mammalian innate immunity. Essentially, nothing is known about immune responses in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Using high-density cDNA microarrays, we show here that infection of C. elegans by the Gram-negative bacterium Serratia marcescens provokes a marked upregulation of the expression of many genes. Among the most robustly induced are genes encoding lectins and lysozymes, known to be involved in immune responses in other organisms. Certain infection-inducible genes are under the control of the DBL-1/TGFbeta pathway. We found that dbl-1 mutants exhibit increased susceptibility to infection. Conversely, overexpression of the lysozyme gene lys-1 augments the resistance of C. elegans to S. marcescens. These results constitute the first demonstration of inducible antibacterial defenses in C. elegans and open new avenues for the investigation of evolutionary conserved mechanisms of innate immunity.
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PMID:Inducible antibacterial defense system in C. elegans. 1241 2

We previously reported that lysozyme accounts for anti-HIV activity associated with the beta-core fraction of human chorionic gonadotropin [Lee-Huang, S., Huang, P. L., Sun, Y., Kung, H. F., Blithe, D. L. & Chen, H. C. (1999) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96, 2678-81]. To define the structural and sequence requirements for anti-HIV activity, we carried out peptide fragmentation and activity mapping of human lysozyme. We identified two peptides that consist of 18 and 9 amino acids of human lysozyme (HL18 and HL9), corresponding to residues 98-115 and 107-115. HL18 and HL9 are potent inhibitors of HIV-1 infection and replication with EC(50)s of 50 to 55 nM, comparable to intact lysozyme. Scrambling the sequence or substitution of key arginine or tryptophan residues results in loss of antiviral activity. HL9, with the sequence RAWVAWRNR, is the smallest peptide we identified with full anti-HIV activity. It forms a pocket with its basic residues on the surface of the molecule. HL9 exists as an alpha-helix in native human lysozyme, in a region of the protein distinct from the muramidase catalytic site. Monte Carlo peptide folding energy minimizing simulation modeling and CD studies indicate that helical propensity does not correlate with antiviral activity. HL9 blocks HIV-1 viral entrance and replication, and modulates gene expression of HIV-infected cells, affecting pathways involved in survival, stress, TGFbeta, p53, NFkappaB, protein kinase C and hedgehog signaling.
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PMID:Structural and functional modeling of human lysozyme reveals a unique nonapeptide, HL9, with anti-HIV activity. 1577 91

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are complex multifactorial immunological disorders characterized by dysregulated immune reactivity in the gut and imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory reactivity. The therapeutic effect of the immunomodulatory drug glatiramer acetate (GA, Copaxone, copolymer 1) has been established in several IBD models, including trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, as well as in a spontaneous colitis model. In the present study we investigated the mechanism of action of GA and cells specifically induced by it. Immunization of naive mice by GA, generated a lymphocyte population of the Th2/3 subtype, that drastically reduced disease manifestations upon their adoptive transfer to mice with DSS colitis. This was demonstrated by the substantial decrease in weight loss, intestinal bleeding and diarrhea, as well as by the prevention of macroscopic and microscopic colonic damage. In contrast, adoptive transfer of control lysozyme-specific cells did not induce any beneficial effect on the disease. Moreover, GA-specific short-term T-cell lines, either exogenously labeled or genetically marked, adoptively transferred by the intraperitoneal route to colitis-induced mice, localized in the inner layers of the colon and secreted in situ the regulatory cytokine TGF-beta. These results demonstrate the accumulation of GA-specific Th2/3 cells secreting regulatory cytokines in the injured colon, and thus draw a direct linkage between the therapeutic effect of GA in IBD and an immunomodulatory effect at the site in which the pathological process occurs.
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PMID:The therapeutic effect of glatiramer acetate in a murine model of inflammatory bowel disease is mediated by anti-inflammatory T-cells. 1771 54

Cell-specific targeting to renal tubular cells is an interesting approach to enhance the accumulation of drugs in the kidney. Low molecular weight proteins are rapidly filtered and extensively accumulate in proximal tubular cells. We therefore have used lysozyme (LZM, 14 kDa) as a tubular cell-specific carrier for the delivery of kinase inhibitors. Two different kinase inhibitors (LY364947 and erlotinib, directed to either the TGF-beta receptor kinase or the EGF receptor) were individually conjugated to LZM via a novel platinum-based linker (Universal Linkage System; ULS). The cellular handling and pharmacological efficacy of the conjugates were evaluated in cultured proximal tubular cells (HK-2 cells). Both conjugates were efficiently internalized via endocytosis. TGF-beta or EGF activated HK-2 cells showed a strong activation of the studied kinases and the conjugates inhibited these events, as was demonstrated by Western blotting of phosphorylated downstream mediators and quantitative gene expression analysis. In conclusion, we have developed tubular cell-specific kinase inhibitor-LZM conjugates via a novel linker strategy, which both showed to be effective in vitro. Future in vivo studies should show their potential for the treatment of renal diseases.
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PMID:Intervention in growth factor activated signaling pathways by renally targeted kinase inhibitors. 1879 87

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and recurring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, associated with a dysregulation of the mucosal immune system. There is an increasing prevalence of IBD; however, current pharmaceutical treatments are only moderately effective and have been associated with potential long-term toxicity. Lysozyme, a well-known antimicrobial protein found in large quantities in hen egg white, is a promising alternative for the treatment of IBD. A porcine model of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis was used to examine the effect of hen egg lysozyme (HEL) supplementation on intestinal inflammation. Treatment with DSS resulted in weight loss, severe mucosal and submucosal inflammation, colonic crypt distortion, muscle wall thickening, down-regulation of mucin gene expression, and increased gastric permeability, but these symptoms were attenuated following supplementation with HEL and restored to basal levels observed in untreated control animals. Treatment with HEL also significantly reduced the local expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-6, IFN-gamma, IL-8, and IL-17 while increasing the expression of the anti-inflammatory mediators IL-4 and TGF-beta, indicating that HEL may function as a potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulator. Furthermore, the concomitant increases in TGF-beta and Foxp3 levels suggest that HEL may aid in restoring gut homeostasis by activating regulatory T cells, which are important in the regulation of the mucosal immune system. These results suggest that HEL is a promising novel therapeutic for the treatment of IBD.
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PMID:Hen egg lysozyme attenuates inflammation and modulates local gene expression in a porcine model of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. 1923 58

The objective of the present study was to investigate the correlation between macrophage activity and apoptosis in the polar forms of leprosy because the immunopathological phenomena involved in these forms are still poorly understood. For this purpose, 29 skin biopsy samples obtained from patients with the polar forms of leprosy were analyzed. Macrophage activity and apoptosis were evaluated by immunohistochemistry using lysozyme, CD68, iNOS and caspase 3 as markers. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's linear correlation test were used for statistical analysis. The results suggest that the apoptosis rate is under the direct influence of macrophage activity in lesions of patients with the tuberculoid form. In contrast, in lepromatous lesions other factors seem to induce programmed cell death, possibly TGF-beta. Further studies are necessary to identify additional factors involved in the immunopathogenesis of leprosy.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical evaluation of macrophage activity and its relationship with apoptotic cell death in the polar forms of leprosy. 2051 Mar 45

Alemtuzumab has been recently introduced for induction therapy in organ transplantation. However, the pathogenesis and molecular mechanism of the impact of such induction therapy on bacterial infections remain to be clarified. We found the alterations of Paneth cells including abnormal Paneth cell granules and expression of lysozyme and defensin 5 in response to lymphocyte depletion by alemtuzumab. Lymphocyte depletion resulted in decreased expression of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-10 and TGF-beta in the intestine. The diversity of gut bacteria varied significantly between different times of alemtuzumab treatment. Abnormal expression of granule peptides might result in impairment of host gut microflora. The alterations in bacterial microflora had almost reversed 56days after alemtuzumab treatment, which was consistent with our results that Paneth cells were recovered to secrete antimicrobial peptides to govern gut microflora. These findings indicated the associations between changes of Paneth cell function and gut microflora and supported the important role of Paneth cells to barrier impairment with the use of alemtuzumab in organ transplantation.
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PMID:Influence of alemtuzumab on the intestinal Paneth cells and microflora in macaques. 2060 28