Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.21.7 (plasmin)
 9,023 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the normal myocardium matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are present in the latent form. To examine whether MMP are activated following infarction or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), we extracted and measured MMP activity in tissue derived from 7 explanted, failing human hearts due to either previous myocardial infarction (MI) or DCM. MMP activity in infarcted left ventricle (LV), noninfarcted LV and right ventricle (RV) from MI patients, as well as tissue from either ventricle of DCM patients, were compared to the activity of donor heart tissue. SDS-PAGE and dye-binding assays were used to determine total protein concentration, while collagenase activity was measured by SDS-PAGE type substrate gels embedded with type I gelatin (zymography). Accuracy of the zymographic technique was shown for tissue samples as small as 0.05 mg and was comparable to results obtained by a spectrophotometric method. After normalization for total protein concentration, we found 3 +/- 1% collagenase activity in normal atrial tissue which could be activated to 80-90% by trypsin or plasmin, indicating that collagenase is normally inactive or in a latent form in human heart. In endo- and epimyocardium of infarcted LV, on the other hand, collagenase activity was 85-95% and 10-20%, respectively, while 5-10% and 3-5%, respectively, in noninfarcted LV. In DCM, collagenolytic activity in the endo and epimyocardium was 75 +/- 5 and 35 +/- 5% in the LV and 35 +/- 7 and 20 +/- 5% in the RV, respectively. Thus, in dilated failing human hearts secondary to previous MI or DCM, MMP activity is increased. This is particularly the case within the endomyocardium of the infarcted and noninfarcted portions of either ventricle with MI and in both ventricles in DCM. This suggests that an activation of collagenase throughout the myocardium may contribute to its remodeling that includes ventricular dilatation and wall thinning.
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PMID:Matrix metalloproteinase activity expression in infarcted, noninfarcted and dilated cardiomyopathic human hearts. 871 34

Annexins are a family of 13 proteins known to bind phospholipids (PL) in a Ca(2+)-dependent way. They are ubiquitous proteins and share a similar structure characterized by a conserved C-terminal domain with Ca(2+) binding sites and a variable N-terminal domain. Depending on Ca(2+) concentration, they have been reported to participate in a variety of membrane-related events such as exocytosis, endocytosis, apoptosis and binding to cytoskeletal proteins. They have also been reported to regulate protein activities. This review will focus on annexins in the heart, and particularly on annexins A2, A5, A6 and A7. Annexin A2 has been found in endothelial cells and reported to play a central role in control of plasmin-mediated processes. Annexin A5 is mainly localized in cardiomyocytes. However, it could be relocated to interstitial tissue in ischemic and failing hearts or it could be externalized and exhibit a proapoptotic effect in cardiomyocytes. Annexin A6 is the most abundant annexin in the heart, and has been localized in various cell types including myocytes. Overexpression of annexin A6 has underlined physiological alterations in contractile mechanics leading to dilated cardiomyopathy, whereas knockout has been found to induce faster changes in Ca(2+) transient and increased contractility, suggesting a negative inotropic role for annexin A6. Annexin A7 is expressed in heart and skeletal muscle. In annexin A7 null mutant mice decreases in the force-frequency relationship were observed in adult cardiomyocytes, consistent with regulation of Ca(2+) handling. In conclusion, while annexin A2 was involved in regulation of fibrin homeostasis, alterations in expression and activity of annexins A5, A6 and A7 have been associated with regulation of Ca(2+) handling in the heart, but the target of each annexin has not yet been identified.
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PMID:Annexins and Ca2+ handling in the heart. 1572 59

Abnormalities of baseline hemostatic variables have been related to a hypercoagulable state in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Given that physical exercise leads to an activation of coagulation physiologically, this study addressed the question of whether the exercise-induced hemostatic activation is enhanced in patients with CHF. Ten patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction < 40%) and 10 healthy individuals (matched for sex, age and body mass index) were subjected to a maximal exercise test on a bicycle ergometer. Healthy subjects performed a second exercise test at a submaximal intensity level, in which oxygen consumption (VO2) was adjusted to the peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) of the corresponding patient. Exercise testing had only marginal effects on markers of thrombin formation in patients and healthy individuals alike. In patients with CHF, exercise-induced changes in fibrinopeptide A, an index of fibrin formation, paralleled those observed in controls after submaximal exercise whereas most pronounced changes occurred in healthy subjects after maximal exercise. Plasmin-antiplasmin complexes increased almost three-fold with maximal exercise in both groups, thus indicating a marked formation of plasmin. Maximal physical exercise does not induce an exaggerated formation of thrombin and fibrin in CHF patients. The fibrinolytic response to exercise in terms of plasmin formation is not compromised in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:Exercise-induced hemostatic activation in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm. 1827 36