Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.23.5 (cathepsin D)
 4,130 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Malnutrition is a common finding in chronic pancreatitis and its pathogenesis is multifactorial. In 14 patients with chronic pancreatitis we assessed the dietary intake, some anthropometric indices and the concentration of some serum proteins. In muscle specimens obtained by needle biopsy we examined the DNA, RNA and non-collagen alkali-soluble protein (ASP) content. In muscle we determined also the activity of cathepsin D, an enzyme involved in intracellular myofibrillar catabolism. Protein and energy intake were lower than in the normal healthy population. Plasma protein content (an index of liver protein synthesis) was generally in the normal range, whereas anthropometry and the biochemical muscle indices were generally subnormal, suggesting a depressed muscle protein content and synthesis (evaluated, respectively, by the ASP: DNA and RNA: DNA ratios). Cathepsin D activity was lower than in controls, and the percentage of 'free' activity tended to be higher but not significantly. This study suggests that muscle protein content and synthesis are reduced in patients with chronic pancreatitis, whereas liver protein synthesis is generally preserved. Possibly as a consequence of metabolic abnormalities and/or of an inadequate protein and energy intake, the nutritional status was often abnormal in our patients and a nutritional support therapy was needed.
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PMID:Muscle biopsy studies on protein-energy malnutrition in patients with chronic relapsing pancreatitis. 242 50

The effective treatment of pancreatic cancer relies on the diagnosis of the disease at an early stage, a difficult challenge. One major obstacle in the development of diagnostic biomarkers of early pancreatic cancer has been the dual expression of potential biomarkers in both chronic pancreatitis and cancer. To better understand the limitations of potential protein biomarkers, we used ICAT technology and tandem mass spectrometry-based proteomics to systematically study protein expression in chronic pancreatitis. Among the 116 differentially expressed proteins identified in chronic pancreatitis, most biological processes were responses to wounding and inflammation, a finding consistent with the underlining inflammation and tissue repair associated with chronic pancreatitis. Furthermore 40% of the differentially expressed proteins identified in chronic pancreatitis have been implicated previously in pancreatic cancer, suggesting some commonality in protein expression between these two diseases. Biological network analysis further identified c-MYC as a common prominent regulatory protein in pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. Lastly five proteins were selected for validation by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Annexin A2 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2 were overexpressed in cancer but not in chronic pancreatitis, making them promising biomarker candidates for pancreatic cancer. In addition, our study validated that cathepsin D, integrin beta1, and plasminogen were overexpressed in both pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. The positive involvement of these proteins in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer will potentially lower the specificity of these proteins as biomarker candidates for pancreatic cancer. Altogether our study provides some insights into the molecular events in chronic pancreatitis that may lead to diverse strategies for diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.
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PMID:Quantitative proteomics analysis reveals that proteins differentially expressed in chronic pancreatitis are also frequently involved in pancreatic cancer. 1749 31