Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.21.1 (chymotrypsin)
 10,938 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Matrix vesicles (MV), microstructures which rapidly accumulate Ca2+ and induce mineral formation in vitro, are linked to type II and X collagens and proteoglycans in the hypertrophic cartilage. However, the roles of these matrix proteins on MV function are not known. This led us to investigate the influence of type II and X collagen binding on Ca2+ uptake by MV. MV isolated from chicken growth plate cartilage were treated with pure bacterial collagenase and 1 M NaCl in synthetic cartilage lymph to selectively and completely remove associated type II and X collagens. Uptake of 45Ca2+ by these collagen-depleted vesicles was markedly reduced. Further treatment with detergent, which disrupted the membrane, restored Ca2+ uptake, indicating that the vesicle membrane structure and the nucleational core inside the vesicle lumen were still intact after the collagenase and 1 M NaCl treatments. Readdition of either native type II or X collagen to the collagenase, 1 M NaCl-treated MV stimulated their Ca2+ uptake to levels similar to those of untreated vesicles. Pepsin-treated type II and X collagens were less effective in stimulating Ca2+ uptake, indicating that non-triple helical domains of these collagens were involved. The pepsin treatment of these collagens also decreased their binding to annexin V (anchorin CII), one of three annexins found in MV, suggesting that annexin V is involved in mediating the binding of type II and X collagens to the MV surface. Furthermore, treatment of collagenase, 1 M NaCl-treated MV with chymotrypsin, which damaged annexin V as well as many other MV proteins, prevented the stimulation of Ca2+ uptake by these collagens. Thus, the interaction between type II and X collagens with MV activates the influx of Ca2+ into MV and may play an important role in calcification of the vesicles.
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PMID:Stimulation of calcification of growth plate cartilage matrix vesicles by binding to type II and X collagens. 815 77

Prourokinase (proUK)-annexin V chimeras expressed by the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris in a synthetic medium as part of a system designed to yield a novel thrombolytic agent are degraded, as it is thought, by various yeast proteases present in the culture supernatant. Minimization of proteolysis was therefore investigated to increase the yield of intact proUK-annexin V. Protease inhibitor screening study indicated several proteases including at least serine protease like chymotrypsin were involved in the proteolysis. Addition of more than 10% of peptone or more than 0.2 mol l(-1) of arginine to the medium was effective in minimizing proteolysis in shake-flask culture. Culture condition of higher pH was also effective, however, induced a cell death. Cell improvement by increasing the methanol utilization ability yielded greater tolerance to high pH. As a result, the culture condition with highly concentrated peptone solution fed under controlled conditions of pH 8.0 was established, which greatly reduced proteolytic degradation in fed-batch fermentation. These optimal conditions, which enabled fibrinolytic activity to reach 7800 IU ml(-1), could easily be applied in industrial scale production.
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PMID:High-level production of prourokinase-annexin V chimeras in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. 1623 35

Proteasome inhibitors are emerging as a new class of chemopreventive agents and have gained huge importance as potential pharmacological tools in breast cancer treatment. Improved understanding of the role played by proteases and their specific inhibitors in humans offers novel and challenging opportunities for preventive and therapeutic intervention. In this study, we demonstrated that the Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor from Vigna unguiculata seeds, named black-eyed pea trypsin/chymotrypsin Inhibitor (BTCI), potently suppresses human breast adenocarcinoma cell viability by inhibiting the activity of proteasome 20S. BTCI induced a negative growth effect against a panel of breast cancer cells, with a concomitant cytostatic effect at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and an increase in apoptosis, as observed by an augmented number of cells at the sub-G1 phase and annexin V-fluorescin isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) staining. In contrast, BTCI exhibited no cytotoxic effect on normal mammary epithelial cells. Moreover, the increased levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential in cells treated with BTCI indicated mitochondrial damage as a crucial cellular event responsible for the apoptotic process. The higher activity of caspase in tumoral cells treated with BTCI in comparison with untreated cells suggests that BTCI induces apoptosis in a caspase-dependent manner. BTCI affected NF-kB target gene expression in both non invasive and invasive breast cancer cell lines, with the effect highly pronounced in the invasive cells. An increased expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in both cell lines was also observed. Taken together, these results suggest that BTCI promotes apoptosis through ROS-induced mitochondrial damage following proteasome inhibition. These findings highlight the pharmacological potential and benefit of BTCI in breast cancer treatment.
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PMID:A Bowman-Birk inhibitor induces apoptosis in human breast adenocarcinoma through mitochondrial impairment and oxidative damage following proteasome 20S inhibition. 2755 92