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)

MTX peptides in which the amino acid was linked to the alpha-carboxyl group have been prepared and examined for cytotoxicity before and after treatment with proteolytic enzymes. The alanine, aspartic acid and arginine derivatives (MTX-ala, MTX-asp and MTX-arg) were synthesized by a regio-specific route, following the general procedures of Rosowsky and Montgomery. Each compound was obtained in good yield, and purity was established by TLC, HPLC, absorbance spectra and elemental analyses. The MTX peptides were not hydrolyzed by a variety of proteolytic enzymes (e.g., trypsin, plasmin, urokinase, aminopeptidase). Pancreatic carboxypeptidase A, however, hydrolyzed MTX-ala readily, MTX-asp slowly and MTX-arg not at all. The MTX-ala and, to a lesser extent, MTX-arg were substrates for pancreatic carboxypeptidase B. MTX-arg was also hydrolyzed by the endogenous carboxypeptidase N in human serum. The cytotoxicity of these MTX peptides toward L1210 cells was measured in a microculture assay system using a tetrazolium dye. MTX-ala was weakly cytotoxic (ID50 = 2.0 x 10(-6)M) compared to MTX (ID50 = 2.4 x 10(-8)M). When MTX-ala was tested in the presence of carboxypeptidase A, the ID50 value improved to 8.5 x 10(-8)M. MTX-arg gave an ID50 of 5.0 x 10(-8)M, which was not unexpected in view of its susceptibility to hydrolysis by the carboxypeptidase activity present in the fetal calf serum of the culture medium. Inclusion of carboxypeptidase B lowered the ID50 value to 2.5 x 10(-8)M. Possible clinical uses of MTX peptides are discussed.
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PMID:Chemotherapeutic potential of methotrexate peptides. 307 29

Fibrinogen (FBG), together with its polymerized form fibrin, modulates cellular responses during wound repair and tissue remodeling. Thus, we sought to determine whether A549 lung epithelial type II-like cells would endocytose insoluble, surface-bound FBG as a potential mechanism of alveolar matrix remodeling. Surface-bound FBG was endocytosed into either lysosomes or late endosomes by A549 cells through arg-gly-asp-dependent binding to alphavbeta3 but not alpha5beta1 integrin receptors. Soluble FBG added to confluent monolayers of A549 cells was not endocytosed. Unlike the uptake of the extracellular matrix glycoproteins vitronectin and thrombospondin by other cell types, endocytosis of FBG by A549 cells was neither inhibited by heparin nor dependent on binding to cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans. FBG did not colocalize with endocytosed transferrin, whereas dextran showed partial colocalization with FBG in endocytic vesicles, suggesting nonclathrin-mediated endocytosis. Inhibition of actin filament polymerization blocked endocytosis of both dextran and FBG but not transferrin, providing further support that FBG is endocytosed via a nonclathrin pathway. Disruption of actin polymerization inhibited integrin-mediated cell spreading, which contributed to an overall reduction in FBG clearance that was most likely due to reduced cell migration and associated pericellular proteolysis. Trasylol inhibition of extracellular plasmin activity did not inhibit endocytosis of FBG. The endocytosed FBG was degraded to trichloroacetic acid-soluble fragments that showed an electrophoretic pattern distinctly different from plasmin-degraded FBG. Together, these results suggest that endocytosis of matrix-associated FBG by alveolar epithelial cells may be involved in the processes of alveolar tissue repair and matrix remodeling.
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PMID:Integrin alphavbeta3-mediated endocytosis of immobilized fibrinogen by A549 lung alveolar epithelial cells. 1115 45