Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.21.5 (thrombin)
 33,306 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Release of inflammatory mediators by mast cells can be modulated by certain cytokines and by nitric oxide. An in vitro platelet aggregation bioassay was used to assess the effects of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) on the release of platelet-activating factor and nitric oxide from resting or ionophore-activated peritoneal mast cells (PMC) from rat. PMC spontaneously released a substance that inhibits thrombin-stimulated platelet aggregation. The activity of this substance is abolished by addition of hemoglobin to the platelet suspension and augmented by preincubation of the PMC with L-arginine, suggesting that it is nitric oxide. Within minutes, IL-1 beta concentration-dependently (1 pg/ml-100 ng/ml) enhanced the release from activated PMC of nitric oxide, as measured by its ability to inhibit thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, and as confirmed with a biochemical assay for nitrite. This action of IL-1 beta was inhibited by pretreatment of PMC with a calmodulin antagonist (calmidazolium), an IL-1 receptor antagonist, or either of two nitric oxide synthase inhibitors (L-NAME and LY-83583). IL-1 beta also inhibited the release of platelet-activating factor from PMC through a nitric-oxide-dependent mechanism. These results demonstrate that IL-1 beta is a potent and rapid-acting modulator of mast cell reactivity, stimulating nitric oxide release while inhibiting the production of platelet-activating factor.
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PMID:Modulation of rat mast cell reactivity by IL-1 beta. Divergent effects on nitric oxide and platelet-activating factor release. 839 60

Markers of endothelium have been studied in a new endothelial cell line derived from human umbilical cord vein cells by microinjection of a recombinant gene that includes a deletion mutant of the human vimentin gene regulatory region controlling the large T and small t antigen coding region of the SV40 virus. In culture, this immortalized venous endothelial cell line (IVEC) demonstrated morphological characteristics of endothelium; uptake of acetylated low density lipoprotein and presence of the Factor VIII-related antigen. Treatment of IVEC cells with Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) at 10 U.ml-1 activates the expression of cell adhesion molecules such as endothelial leucocyte adhesion molecule (ELAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), as observed in primary culture. Prostacyclin secretion was induced in the IVEC cells by 100 nM PMA treatment and thrombin at 0.5 U/ml. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity detected in IVEC cells was present but lower than ACE activity in primary endothelial cells and was completely blocked by enalaprilat (1 microM), a specific ACE inhibitor. The presence of ACE mRNA was also demonstrated in IVEC cells by RT-PCR amplification. Our data demonstrate that endothelial cells immortalized by use of this recombinant gene retain the morphological organization and numerous differentiated properties of endothelium.
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PMID:Cell adhesion markers are expressed by a stable human endothelial cell line transformed by the SV40 large T antigen under vimentin promoter control. 840 41

The deposition of circulating immune reactants in blood vessels, an important event in the pathogenesis of certain types of vasculitis, requires an increase in permeability in the endothelial monolayer. An in vitro model to examine the integrity of endothelial cell monolayers and their response to inflammatory mediators has been developed. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were grown to confluence on an FITC-labelled matrix and monolayer integrity was assessed by the exclusion of a 125I-anti-FITC antibody. Alteration in endothelial monolayer permeability was associated with an increase in uptake of 125I-anti-FITC antibody, expressed as a percentage of the maximal uptake of antibody on to FITC-matrix from which endothelial cells had been stripped. We determined the effects on endothelial monolayer permeability of acute agonists (thrombin and histamine), cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-1 and IL-4) and combinations of acute agonists and cytokines. Addition of thrombin in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 15 U/ml led to an increased uptake of 125I-anti-FITC antibody from 2% to 15% relative to unstimulated endothelium. For other agonists and cytokines the increases in permeability were: (i) histamine (50-400 pmol/ml) increased uptake 5-22%; (ii) TNF (12.5-100 ng/ml) increased uptake 2-12%; (iii) IFN-gamma (125-250 U/ml) increased uptake 1.5-3%. IL-1 beta (50-100 U/ml) and IL-4 (50-100 U/ml) had no effect. Synergistic interactions on endothelial monolayer permeability were seen with the following combinations: (i) IL-4 (100 U/ml) and TNF (12.5 ng/ml) uptake 11%; (ii) IL-4 (100 U/ml) and IFN-gamma (125 U/ml) uptake 6.5%; (iii) TNF (12.5 ng/ml) and IFN-gamma (125 ng/ml) uptake 7%; (iv) thrombin (0.5 U/ml) and histamine (50 pmol/ml) uptake 13.5%; and (v) TNF (12.5 ng/ml) and thrombin (0.5 U/ml) uptake 8.5%. These observations suggest that interactions between cytokines and acute inflammatory mediators such as thrombin and histamine may be important in determining whether immune complexes are deposited in vessel walls. This model system may now be useful for the further investigation in vitro of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of immune complex-mediated vascular damage.
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PMID:Combinations of low concentrations of cytokines and acute agonists synergize in increasing the permeability of endothelial monolayers. 842 96

Copolymers composed of polar and nonpolar blocks, when blended with a base polymer in low concentrations, migrate to the base polymer surface during and after fabrication. Migration of these surface modifying additives (SMAs) dramatically changes the outermost surface molecular layers that comprise the region that determines biocompatibility. The blood compatibility of cardiopulmonary bypass and hemodialysis components have been improved by using SMA blended polymers or SMA coated surfaces. The particular SMAs used were a series of triblock copolymers with a general formulation of polycaprolactone-polydimethylsiloxane-polycaprolactone. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), refractive increments (RI), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to characterize the molecular weight of SMA and the bulk concentration of SMA after blending. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) proved that the surface of blended polymers was highly saturated with SMA. Results of in vitro experiments with human blood demonstrated that SMA blended polymers delay contact activation (kallikrein-like activity), reduce coagulation activity (thrombin-antithrombin [TAT] generation), and do not adversely affect complement activation (terminal complement complex [TCC] generation) or mononuclear cells activation (IL-1 beta production). Ex vivo canine AV shunt studies showed improvement of platelet compatibility of SMA blended polymers. Reduction of cellular and protein system activation by using components fabricated with SMA blood contacting surfaces can potentially result in reduced morbidity associated with extracorporeal circulation.
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PMID:Surface modifying additives for improved device-blood compatibility. 855 89

Proteolytically active forms of thrombin ( alpha- and gamma-thrombin) and thrombin receptor peptides inhibited the release of nitrite, a stable endproduct of nitric oxide, evoked by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta ) in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells while proteolytically inactive forms [D-Phe-Pro-Arg chloromethyl ketone-alpha-thrombin (PPACK-alpha-thrombin) and diisopropylphosphoryl-alpha-thrombin (DIP-alpha-thrombin)] had either no or only minimal inhibitory effects. Under bioassay conditions, perfusates from columns containing IL-1 beta-activated vascular smooth muscle cells or cells treated with IL-1 beta plus PPACK-alpha-thrombin relaxed detector blood vessels. These relaxations were abolished by the inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis, NG-nitro-L-arginine. No relaxations were obtained with untreated cells or IL-1 beta-treated cells in the presence of alpha-thrombin. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA and protein in vascular smooth muscle cells by IL-1 beta was impaired by alpha-thrombin. These results demonstrate that thrombin regulates the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase at a transcriptional level via the proteolytic activation of the thrombin receptor in vascular smooth muscle cells.
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PMID:Thrombin prevents the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in vascular smooth muscle cells by a proteolytically-activated thrombin receptor. 857 33

Vascular endothelium is involved in both active and passive processes in haemostasis, but inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) have been reported to convert the comparatively inert endothelial cell to an inflammatory state. Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) in the presence of heparin has effects opposite to IL-1 on cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC); therefore, we have investigated the modulation of IL-1-induced effects by the c combination of aFGF and heparin (aFGF/heparin). First passage HUVEC were cultured for 6 days in the presence of 20% human serum with and without the addition of 625 pM human recombinant aFGF (hr aFGF) and 7 microM heparin. On day 5, recombinant IL-1 beta was included for 24 h. The following day the cells were washed and measurements made of the release of prostacyclin, von Willebrand factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, and thrombospondin, both in the resting state and following stimulation for 60 min with 1 U/ml thrombin. Tissue-type plasminogen activator was assayed in HUVEC lysates. Similar experiments were performed to assess effects on the expression of vascular adhesion molecule, intracellular adhesion molecule, and E-selectin using an ELISA on cells in situ. This study indicates that aFGF/heparin in the culture medium of HUVEC abrogates the measured responses to IL-1. These data imply that routine endothelial cell culture with aFGF/heparin may cause artefacts, the effects of FGF and Il-1 may involve common pathways, and FGF/heparin may offer an approach to design therapeutics to counter the adverse effects of IL-1.
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PMID:Fibroblast growth factor and heparin protect endothelial cells from the effects of interleukin 1. 861 63

Acute inflammatory illnesses, including the sepsis syndrome, often include a component of coagulation. A human whole blood culture system was developed so that the relationship between coagulation activation and cytokine responses in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could be evaluated. In the absence of LPS stimulation, coagulation activation resulted in a novel pattern of cytokine production. During a 4-hour culture of coagulating blood, significant production of interleukin-8 (IL-8; >2,000 pg/mL) was observed, whereas other proinflammatory cytokines including IL-1 beta, IL-6, or tumor necrosis factor a were undetectable or less than 35 pg/mL. The cytokine profile was distinct from that of fully anticoagulated, LPS-stimulated blood, which showed levels of all the indicated proinflammatory cytokines > or = 2,000 pg/mL over the same time period. Over 24 to 48 hours, the coagulation-induced cytokine response was characterized by marked and sustained IL-8 production, limited IL-6 generation (with kinetics delayed relative to IL-8), and minimal or undetectable tumor necrosis factor alpha levels. The magnitude of the whole blood IL-8 response correlated with the level of coagulation activation as determined by measurement of thrombin-antithrombin III complex formation. The combined stimuli of coagulation activation and LPS challenge induced a synergistic enhancement of IL-8 production but not of IL-6. Coagulation-induced cytokine production and the synergistic production of IL-8 by coagulation and LPS could be attenuated by hirudin or tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI). Studies to elucidate mechanisms implicated (1) the TFPI third Kunitz and carboxy-terminus as important structural components for TFPI regulation of coagulation activation and (2) thrombin as a candidate mediator of the mononuclear cell cytokine response to coagulation activation. In summary, a unique aspect of the crosstalk between the coagulation and cytokine cascades in whole blood is shown with the identification of IL-8 as a key proinflammatory participant.
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PMID:The proinflammatory cytokine response to coagulation and endotoxin in whole blood. 865 18

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is regarded as an important mediator of inflammation because of its potent and specific chemotactic activity on neutrophils. In the present investigation, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) stimulated with thrombin were found to produce IL-8, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. After stimulation with 10 U/ml thrombin for 24 hr, the level of IL-8 in the conditioned medium was 14 ng/ml, or enough to elicit PMN chemotaxis in vitro. Northern blot analysis revealed that thrombin as well as IL-1 beta elevates the level of IL-8 mRNA preceding the formation of IL-8 protein. A synthetic peptide SFLLRN [human thrombin receptor-activating peptide (TRAP)] was found to mimic the action of thrombin. Preincubation with anti-thrombin compounds such as hirudin and antithrombin-III-heparin almost completely suppressed the action of thrombin without affecting the actions of other stimuli including IL-1 beta, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and TRAP. Diisopropylfluorophosphate-treated thrombin did not stimulate IL-8 production. Calphostin-C, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, attenuated the production of IL-8 by thrombin, TRAP and PMA, but left the action of IL-1 beta unchanged. These results strongly suggest that catalytic activation of thrombin receptor by thrombin results in PKC-dependent IL-8 production accompanied by an increase in IL-8 mRNA level.
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PMID:Thrombin stimulates production of interleukin-8 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. 870 54

Thrombosis frequently occurs during atherogenesis and in response to vascular injury. Accumulating evidence supports a role for inflammation in the same situation. The present study therefore sought links between thrombosis and inflammation by determining whether thrombin, which is present in active form at sites of thrombosis, can elicit inflammatory functions of human monocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), two major constituents of advanced atheroma. Human alpha-thrombin (EC50, approximately equal to 500 pmol/L) potently induced interleukin (IL)-6 release from SMCs. The tethered-ligand thrombin receptor appeared to mediate this effect. Furthermore, alpha-thrombin also rapidly increased levels of mRNA encoding IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in SMCs. In contrast, only alpha-thrombin concentrations of > or = 100 nmol/L could stimulate release of IL-6 or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) in peripheral blood monocytes or monocyte-derived macrophages. Lipid loading of macrophages did not augment thrombin responsiveness. Likewise, only alpha-thrombin concentrations of > or = 100 nmol/L increased levels of IL-6, IL-1 beta, MCP-1, or TNF alpha mRNA in monocytes. Differential responses of SMCs and monocytes to thrombin extended to early agonist-mediated increases in [Ca2+]i. SMCs and endothelial cells, but not monocytes, contained abundant mRNA encoding the thrombin receptor and displayed cell surface thrombin receptor expression detected with a novel monoclonal antibody. Thus, the level of thrombin receptors appeared to account for the differential thrombin susceptibility of SMCs and monocytes. These data suggest that SMCs may be more sensitive than monocytes/macrophages to thrombin activation in human atheroma. Cytokines produced by thrombin-activated SMCs may contribute to ongoing inflammation in atheroma complicated by thrombosis or subjected to angioplasty.
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PMID:Thrombin potently stimulates cytokine production in human vascular smooth muscle cells but not in mononuclear phagocytes. 875 6

The effects of and interactions between the six inflammatory mediators interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumour necrosis factor (TNF), gamma-interferon (INF-gamma), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), bradykinin (BK) and thrombin on prostanoid biosynthesis in primary cultures of human, dental, pulp fibroblasts were examined. IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and TNF-beta caused a time- and concentration-dependent enhancement of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) formation in the fibroblasts. The onset of action was delayed 1-2 h and maximal response was seen after 24 h. In contrast, BK and thrombin caused a burst of PGE2 formation with maximal response after 10 min. BK (1 microM) and thrombin (3 U/ml) synergistically potentiated IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta stimulated PGE2 formation in 24 h cultures. The effect of BK and thrombin on IL-1 beta enhanced PGE2 formation was seen both at suboptimal and optimal concentrations of IL-1 beta without affecting the sensitivity to IL-1 beta. BK and thrombin also synergistically potentiated the stimulatory effect of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta on PGE2 formation. The synergistic interactions between BK and IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha were seen after 2-4 h of treatment. BK analogues with affinity to BK B2-receptors, but not to BK B1-receptors, were able to synergistically potentiate IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha-enhanced PGE2 production. The synergistic stimulation of PGE2 formation by IL-1, TNF and BK was abolished by indomethacin and flurbiprofen. Preincubation with IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha for 24 h resulted in a substantial amplification of the PGE2 response to a subsequent 24 h challenge with BK in the absence of cytokine. Similarly, when the pulp fibroblasts were preincubated with or without IL-1 beta or TNF-alpha for 24 h and then challenged with exogenous arachidonic acid for 60 min, PGE2 formation was significantly enhanced in cytokine pretreated cells. BK potentiated cytokine induced amplification of the PGE2 response to arachidonic acid. gamma-IFN and TGF-beta did not enhance PGE2 formation, nor did these cytokines potentiate IL-beta or TNF-alpha-induced PGE2 production. These data show that proinflammatory mediators such as BK and thrombin act in concert with IL-1 and TNF in stimulating prostanoid formation in human pulpal fibroblasts and that the action of BK is linked to BK B2-receptors. The results are compatible with the view that enhanced metabolism of arachidonic acid, probably due to increased activation or de novo synthesis of cyclooxy-genase(s), is involved in the mechanism by which IL-1, TNF, BK and thrombin interact.
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PMID:Bradykinin and thrombin synergistically potentiate interleukin 1 and tumour necrosis factor induced prostanoid biosynthesis in human dental pulp fibroblasts. 877 76


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