Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.36 (hyaluronidase)
 4,606 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The occurrence of anticomplementary activity and its correlation to serum thyroglobulin was investigated in 71 patients with thyroid diseases and 63 age and sex matched control subjects. The patients which were subgrouped according to thyroid function and characteristics of the goiter, were examined at the time of diagnosis. The anticomplementary activity was measured by a complement consumption (CC) assay. Sera from patients with Graves' disease and nontoxic diffuse goiter, showed stronger activity than sera from patients with nontoxic goiter. Seventeen of the patients and one of the controls were positive in the CC-assay. The percentage hemoglobin release in this assay was normally distributed using control sera but not for the patient group. There was no correlation either between CC-activity and serum concentrations of thyroglobulin or CC-activity and antibodies to the O-antigen of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 3, thyroid cytoplasma, thyroglobulin, nuclear factors, streptolysin O, streptococ hyaluronidase, and parietal cells, respectively. However, correlation between the levels of thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins and CC-activity, was noted (Rho = 0.511, P less than 0.05), which suggests that these immunoglobulins also are present as immune complexes. Thyroglobulin--antithyroglobulin complexes preformed in vitro at high thyroglobulin concentration, gave negative results in the CC-assay.
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PMID:Anticomplementary activity in diffuse and nodular goiters. 58 37

Polymorphism of hyaluronidase (EC 3.2.1.35) was detected in the serum from 6 out of 20 vertebrate species by electrophoretic analysis. Electrophoresis was performed on a hyaluronan-containing polyacrylamide gel, that visualizes hyaluronidase activity upon incubation at acid pH. No hyaluronidase activity was detected in the sera of horse, swine, cattle, goat, sheep, rabbit, chicken, Triton alpestris, Triton palmatus, Triton vulgaris, pleurodeles, axolotl, eel and dog-fish. The 6 positive sera were from man, mouse, rat, Syrian hamster, dog and Triton cristatus. In each of these species, the electrophoretic banding pattern of hyaluronidase was different, as was the activity per unit volume of serum. Furthermore, in mice, the 12 strains analyzed could be divided into 3 groups, containing the following numbers of hyaluronidase bands; 8 (BALB/c/J, BALB/c/By, ICFW, SW, XVIInc/Z), 5 (DBA/2 Mrc Ico, DBA/2 Mrc Ico nu/nu, B10.D2/nSn), and 1 (C57B/Rho Ico, C57BL/6/By, C57BL/6/J Ico, C57BL/6/J Ico nu/nu). Human serum generally displayed only 1 band, although there was a 2nd faint band in a few cases and a 3rd in 1 case. Rat serum displayed 4 bands, Syrian hamster serum, 3, and dog and Triton cristatus serum, 1.
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PMID:Polymorphism of hyaluronidase in serum from man, various mouse strains and other vertebrate species revealed by electrophoresis. 235 93

The human vocal folds are a complex layering of cells and extracellular matrix. Vocal fold extracellular matrix uniquely contributes to the biomechanical viscoelasticity required for human phonation. We investigated the adhesion of vocal fold stellate cells, a novel cell type first cultured by our laboratory, and fibroblasts to eight vocal fold extracellular matrix components: elastin, decorin, fibronectin, hyaluronic acid, laminin and collagen types I, III and IV. Our data demonstrate that these cells adhere differentially to said substrates at 5 to 120 min. Cells were treated with hyaluronidase and Y-27632, a p160ROCK-specific inhibitor, to test the role of pericellular hyaluronan and Rho-ROCK activation in early and mature adhesion. Reduced adhesion resulted; greater inhibition of fibroblast adhesion was observed. We modulated the fibronectin affinity exhibited by both cell types using Nimesulide, an inhibitor of fibronectin integrin receptors alpha5beta1 and alphavbeta3. Our results are important in understanding vocal fold pathologies, wound healing, scarring, and in developing an accurate organotypic model of the vocal folds.
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PMID:Differential cell adhesion to vocal fold extracellular matrix constituents. 1653 Oct 30

Cumulus cells surround the oocyte and regulate the production and assembly of the extracellular matrix (ECM) around the cumulus-oocyte complex for its timely interaction with sperm in the oviduct. We recently found that C-C chemokines such as CCL2, CCL7, and CCL9 are produced and stimulate integrin-mediated ECM assembly in the postovulatory cumulus to protect eggs and that prostaglandin E(2)-EP2 signaling in the cumulus cells facilitates fertilization by suppressing this chemokine signaling, which otherwise results in fertilization failure by preventing sperm penetration through the cumulus ECM. However, it remains unknown as to what mechanisms underlie chemokine-induced cumulus ECM assembly. Here we report that inhibition of EP2 signaling or addition of CCL7 augments RhoA activation and induces the surface accumulation of integrin and the contraction of cumulus cells. Enhanced surface accumulation of integrin then stimulates the formation and assembly of fibronectin fibrils as well as induces cumulus ECM resistance to hyaluronidase and sperm penetration. These changes in the cumulus ECM as well as cell contraction are relieved by the addition of Y27632 or blebbistatin. These results suggest that chemokines induce integrin engagement to the ECM and consequent ECM remodeling through the RhoA/Rho kinase/actomyosin pathway, making the cumulus ECM barrier resistant to sperm penetration. Based on these results, we propose that prostaglandin E(2)-EP2 signaling negatively regulates chemokine-induced Rho/ROCK signaling in cumulus cells for successful fertilization.
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PMID:RhoA/Rho kinase signaling in the cumulus mediates extracellular matrix assembly. 1934 61

Communication of cells with their extracellular environment is crucial to fulfill their function in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The literature data provide evidence that such a communication is also important in case of astrocytes. Mechanisms that contribute to the interaction between astrocytes and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are still poorly understood. Hyaluronan is the main component of ECM in the brain, where its major receptor protein CD44 is expressed by a subset of astrocytes. Considering the fact that functions of astrocytes are tightly coupled with changes in their morphology (e.g.: glutamate clearance in the synaptic cleft, migration, astrogliosis), we investigated the influence of hyaluronan cleavage by hyaluronidase, knockdown of CD44 by specific shRNA and CD44 overexpression on astrocyte morphology. Our results show that hyaluronidase treatment, as well as knockdown of CD44, in astrocytes result in a "stellate"-like morphology, whereas overexpression of CD44 causes an increase in cell body size and changes the shape of astrocytes into flattened cells. Moreover, as a dynamic reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton is supposed to be responsible for morphological changes of cells, and this reorganization is controlled by small GTPases of the Rho family, we hypothesized that GTPase Rac1 acts as a downstream effector for hyaluronan and CD44 in astrocytes. We used FRET-based biosensor and a dominant negative mutant of Rac1 to investigate the involvement of Rac1 activity in hyaluronidase- and CD44-dependent morphological changes of astrocytes. Both, hyaluronidase treatment and knockdown of CD44, enhances Rac1 activity while overexpression of CD44 reduces the activity state in astrocytes. Furthermore, morphological changes were blocked by specific inhibition of Rac1 activity. These findings indicate for the first time that regulation of Rac1 activity is responsible for hyaluronidase and CD44-driven morphological changes of astrocytes.
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PMID:Cleavage of Hyaluronan and CD44 Adhesion Molecule Regulate Astrocyte Morphology via Rac1 Signalling. 2716 67