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)

Thyrocytes are known for their ability to iodinate thyroglobulin from which the thyroid hormones are generated. In the intact thyroid gland the iodination process is almost exclusively executed at the apical plasma membrane of thyroid epithelial cells. Here, we show that freshly isolated thyrocytes iodinated polypeptides other than thyroglobulin and that one of the major iodinated polypeptides was the mature form of the lysosomal protease cathepsin D (CD). The detection of mature CD as an iodinated polypeptide suggested that a fraction of the lysosomally maturated enzyme was delivered to the apical plasma membrane where it became available for iodination. After labeling of thyrocytes with [35S]methionine/cysteine overnight part of the mature CD was released into the culture medium. This was abolished by inhibiting maturation of CD with NH4Cl, indicating that mature CD appeared in the medium after its proteolytic maturation in an acidic compartment. Besides CD other soluble lysosomal polypeptides like the beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase and the sphingolipid-activating protein D (Sap D) were iodinated and partially secreted as mature polypeptides. In contrast, the membrane-associated lysosomal ceramidase was iodinated and partially secreted as immature single-chain enzyme and not as fully maturated two-chain enzyme. These data indicate that a portion of mature CD and other soluble lysosomal enzymes is delivered from lysosomes to the cell surface whereas some membrane-associated enzymes from the terminal lysosomal compartment are efficiently excluded from this process.
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PMID:Iodination of mature cathepsin D in thyrocytes as an indicator for its transport to the cell surface. 965 Jul 83

We have identified the aspartic protease cathepsin D as a novel intracellular target protein for the lipid second messenger ceramide. Ceramide specifically binds to and induces CTSD proteolytic activity. A-SMase deficient cells derived from Niemann-Pick patients show decreased CTSD activity that was reconstituted by transfection with A-SMase cDNA. Ceramide accumulation in cells derived from A-ceramidase defective Farber patients correlates with enhanced CTSD activity. These findings suggest that A-SMase-derived ceramide targets endolysosomal CTSD.
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PMID:Ceramide as an activator lipid of cathepsin D. 1084 58

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are immune suppressive cells that are hallmarks of human cancer. MDSCs inhibit cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and NK cell functions to promote tumor immune escape and progression, and therefore are considered key targets in cancer immunotherapy. Recent studies determined a key role of the apoptosis pathways in tumor-induced MDSC homeostasis and it is known that ceramide plays a key role in regulation of mammalian cell apoptosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the efficacy and underlying molecular mechanism of ceramide in suppression of MDSCs. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with LCL521, a lysosomotropic inhibitor of acid ceramidase, significantly decreased MDSC accumulation in vivo. Using a MDSC-like myeloid cell model, we determined that LCL521 targets lysosomes and increases total cellular C16 ceramide level. Although MDSC-like cells have functional apoptosis pathways, LCL521-induced MDSC death occurs in an apoptosis- and necroptosis-independent mechanism. LCL521 treatment resulted in an increase in the number of autophagic vesicles, heterolysosomes and swollen ERs. Finally, concomitant inhibition of cathepsin B and cathepsin D was required to significantly decrease LCL521-induced cell death. Our observations indicate that LCL521 targets lysosomes to activate cathepsin B and cathepsin D, resulting in interrupted autophagy and ER stress that culminates in MDSC death. Therefore, a ceramidase inhibitor is potentially an effective adjunct therapeutic agent for suppression of MDSCs to enhance the efficacy of CTL-based cancer immunotherapy.
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PMID:Ceramide activates lysosomal cathepsin B and cathepsin D to attenuate autophagy and induces ER stress to suppress myeloid-derived suppressor cells. 2788 Jul 32