Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.22.54 (calpain 3)
 430 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Calpains are calcium-dependent intracellular nonlysosomal proteases that are believed to participate in signal transduction. In vertebrates, five different calpains have so far been identified, of which three, mu-, m-, and mu/m-calpain, are ubiquitously expressed while the other two, nCL-1 (p94) and nCL-2, exhibit a restricted tissue distribution. We have identified two new vertebrate calpain genes, Capn5 and Capn6. The human and mouse amino acid sequences of these new calpains are the most divergent of the vertebrate calpains identified. They possess most of the residues conserved in calpain family members but the C-terminal region lacks any homology to the calmodulin-like domain of other vertebrate calpains. They both exhibit significant homology over the entire coding region to the protein encoded by the gene tra-3, involved in nematode sex determination, and Capn5 may represent its vertebrate orthologue. The predicted Capn6 protein lacks critical active site residues and may not be proteolytically active. Both genes are differentially expressed in human tissues with highest RNA levels for Capn5 occurring in the testis, liver, trachea, colon, and kidney, while Capn6 is highly expressed only in the placenta sample of the 50 tissues examined. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the vertebrate calpains arose through a series of gene duplication events that began before the initial divergence of the vertebrate and invertebrate lineages. The discovery of these two new calpains highlights a hitherto unknown complexity of the calpain family with subclasses perhaps possessing different modes of regulation.
 ...
PMID:A new subfamily of vertebrate calpains lacking a calmodulin-like domain: implications for calpain regulation and evolution. 933 74

For a long time now, two ubiquitously expressed mammalian calpain isoenzymes have been used to explore the structure and function of calpain. Although these two calpains, mu- and m-calpains, still attract intensive interest because of their unique characteristics, various distinct homologues to the protease domain of mu- and m-calpains have been identified in a variety of organisms. Some of these 'novel' calpain homologues are involved in important biological functions. For example, p94 (also called calpain 3), a mammalian calpain homologue predominantly expressed in skeletal muscle, is genetically proved to be responsible for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A. Tra-3, a calpain homologue in nematodes, is involved in the sex determination cascade during early development. PalB, a key gene product involved in the alkaline adaptation of Aspergillus nidulans, is the first example of a calpain homologue present in fungi. These findings indicate various important functional roles for intracellular proteases belonging to the calpain superfamily.
 ...
PMID:Structure and physiological function of calpains. 939 12

A 94 kDa large subunit thiol-protease, as identified by anti-calpain antibodies, has been isolated from skeletal muscle junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). This protease cleaves specifically the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RyR)/Ca2+ release channel at one site resulting in the 375 kDa and 150 kDa fragments. The 94 kDa thiol-protease degrades neither other SR proteins nor the ryanodine receptor of cardiac nor brain membranes. The partially purified 94 kDa protease, like the SR associated protease, had an optimal pH of about 7.0, was absolutely dependent on the presence of thiol reducing reagents, and was completely inhibited by HgCl2, leupeptin and the specific calpain I inhibitor. However, while the SR membrane-associated protease requires Ca2+ at a submicromolar concentration, the isolated thiol-protease has lost the Ca2+ requirement. The 94 kDa thiol-protease had no effect on ryanodine binding but modified the channel activity of RyR reconstituted into planar lipid bilayer: in a time-dependent manner, the channel activity decreases and within several minutes the channel is converted into a subconducting state. The protease-modified channel activity is still Ca2+-dependent and ryanodine sensitive. This 94 kDa thiol-protease cross react with anti-calpain antibodies thus, may represent the novel large subunit of the skeletal muscle specific calpain p94.
 ...
PMID:Identification, characterization and partial purification of a thiol-protease which cleaves specifically the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor/Ca2+ release channel. 943 Jun 19

A study was conducted to examine the effects of bird age and muscle tissue type on calpain and calpastatin activities in turkey skeletal muscle. Enzymatic activities of calpains and calpastatin were found to vary with bird age and muscle type. Breast muscle from younger birds (age 5 wk) had higher mu-calpain, m-calpain, and calpastatin activities (P < 0.05) than breast muscle from older birds (9, 13, and 17 wk of age). Thigh muscle calpain activities were not affected by bird age, but thigh calpastatin activity was found to increase with age, with muscle from 17-wk-old birds having 35% higher activity than muscle from 13-wk-old birds. When extracted from 9-wk-old turkeys, breast muscle mu-calpain activity was 30% higher than thigh muscle mu-calpain. By 13 wk of age, breast muscle mu-calpain activity was 20% less than thigh mu-calpain. Thigh muscle m-calpain and calpastatin activities were found to be significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that found in breast muscle, with some values more than double in older birds (17 wk of age).
 ...
PMID:Effects of age and tissue type on the calpain proteolytic system in turkey skeletal muscle. 949 7

Calpain is thought to be involved in muscular degradation in progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD), especially Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies. To assess the expression of calpain genes in skeletal muscles of patients with myopathies, we examined mRNA levels of three calpain isoforms by the quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method in biopsied muscles from control, PMD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. There was a statistically significant increase in calpain 1 and calpain 2 mRNA levels in PMD and ALS patients as compared to controls. In contrast, there was a decrease in expression of calpain 3 mRNA in PMD, but it was not statistically significant. Expression of calpain 1 and calpain 2 positively correlated with each other, but not with calpain 3. These results indicate that expression of calpain 1 and calpain 2, but not calpain 3, are upregulated in diseased human muscles, likely playing a regulatory role in the process of myofibrillar degradation at the transcriptional as well as posttranslational level.
 ...
PMID:Expression of three calpain isoform genes in human skeletal muscles. 956 61

p94 (calpain3), a muscle-specific member of the calpain family, has been shown to be responsible for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A (LGMD2A), a form of autosomal recessive and progressive neuromuscular disorder. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of LGMD2A, we constructed nine p94 missense point mutants found in LGMD2A and analyzed their p94 unique properties. All mutants completely or almost completely lose the proteolytic activity against a potential substrate, fodrin. However, some of the mutants still possess autolytic activity and/or connectin/titin binding ability, indicating these properties are not necessary for the LGMD2A phenotypes. These results provide strong evidence that LGMD2A results from the loss of proteolysis of substrates by p94, suggesting a novel molecular mechanism leading to muscular dystrophies.
 ...
PMID:Functional defects of a muscle-specific calpain, p94, caused by mutations associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A. 964 72

Two siblings originating from Reunion Island were affected by a limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) type 2A and carried the same two mutations in the calpain gene: 946-1 AG-->AA, affecting a splice site, and S744G. They demonstrated the clinical variability possible with calpain-3 mutations. Onset was around 20 years of age in each of them. The girl's symptoms mimicked a metabolic myopathy, while her brother, at the same age, presented a classical phenotype of LGMD in an advanced functional stage.
 ...
PMID:Pseudometabolic expression and phenotypic variability of calpain deficiency in two siblings. 965 29

Recent studies indicate that calpain, a cytosolic Ca2+-dependent protease, constitutes a large family comprising ubiquitous, tissue-specific, and atypical calpains. p94 is a homologue of the catalytic large subunit of calpain, expressed predominantly in skeletal muscle. Recently, p94 has been found to interact with connectin/titin, a muscle elastic protein, and its gene has been identified as being responsible for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A. The loss of function of a calpain species eventually leads to the activation of proteases including other calpain species responsible for muscle degradation. p94 does not form a complex with the small subunit of calpain (30K), but exists as a homodimer. This, together with other results, led us to consider a novel mechanism for the activation of calpain, a Ca2+-induced subunit rearrangement.
 ...
PMID:Skeletal muscle-specific calpain, p49: structure and physiological function. 976 16

p94, a skeletal muscle-specific calpain, has attracted much attention because its gene is responsible for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A. p94, however, has not been characterized at the protein and enzyme levels, owing to its very rapid autolysis. In the present study, a purification procedure for p94 was first established by using a recombinant inactive p94 expressed in COS cells in which the active site cysteine residue was changed to serine [p94(C129S)]. The isolation of native p94 from rabbit skeletal muscle by the established method with conventional procedures was extremely difficult because p94 became highly unstable in a crude extract on the addition of NaCl for separation. Purification of native p94 was possible with an antibody-affinity column but only as an inactive enzyme; p94(C129S) was purified as a homodimer. Characterization of p94, especially autolysis, was performed with partly purified native p94 and p94(C129S). The autolysis of p94, which consisted at least partly of an intermolecular reaction, proceeded in three consecutive steps; 60 and 58 kDa fragments were produced as intermediates before a stable 55 kDa fragment appeared. Autolysis of p94 was regarded as a degradative step rather than for the activation of the enzyme. All the autolysis cleavage sites were located in the p94-specific insertion sequence 1 region, which explains why p94 is unstable compared with the other calpains. The autolysis sites in p94 clearly showed a different specificity relative to the autolytic and proteolytic cleavage sites of the ubiquitous mu- and m-calpains, in its preference for residues at the P3 to P1' sites, indicating a distinct substrate specificity and function for the muscle enzyme.
 ...
PMID:Purification of native p94, a muscle-specific calpain, and characterization of its autolysis. 979 99

The ketomethylene phenylalanal and alanal analogues of Cbz-Val-Phe-H and Cbz-Val-Ala-H have been prepared and the Ki values versus chicken gizzard smooth muscle calpain were determined. The ketomethylene isosteres were significantly less potent than the corresponding dipeptide aldehydes, and this loss in activity is attributed to the absence of a critical interaction between the P1-P2 amide bond and the peptide binding region of calpain.
 ...
PMID:The synthesis of ketomethylene pseudopeptide analogues of dipeptide aldehyde inhibitors of calpain. 1002 15


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>