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)

The metabolic change of human recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) was investigated by the use of 125I-labeled IL-2 (125I-IL-2). After intravenous injection into mice, the distribution of 125I-IL-2 in various organs revealed that the major portion of injected 125I-IL-2 was rapidly accumulated in the kidney. Simultaneous injection of an excess amount of cold IL-2 greatly reduced the distribution of 125I-IL-2 to the kidney, suggesting that the accumulation of 125I-IL-2 by the kidney was a specific reactivity between 125I-IL-2 and the kidney. The gel filtration profile of 125I-IL-2 in the serum specimens remained the same as that of the originally injected sample, and differed completely from that in the urine specimens, suggesting that 125I-IL-2 was metabolized in the kidney. To confirm this notion, 125I-IL-2 was incubated in vitro with kidney homogenate, which degraded 125I-IL-2 in acidic pH. After subcellular fractionation, the cytosol fraction of the kidney was shown to hydrolyze 125I-IL-2 with an optimal pH of 4. The reactivity of the kidney cytosol fraction with 125I-IL-2 was inhibitable by pepstatin, an acid protease inhibitor, but not by TLCK or TPCK. Additional experiments using a heat-treated kidney cytosol fraction plus cathepsin D, and pepstatin inhibition on the degradation of 125I-IL-2 by cathepsin D, a major acid protease in the kidney, resulted in the identification of this enzyme to be responsible for the degradation of 125I-IL-2. Overall, these results demonstrated that the kidney is the organ to metabolize IL-2 and that cathepsin D, a renal acid protease, is involved in the degradation of IL-2.
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PMID:Role of the kidney in metabolic change of interleukin-2. 267 96

Lysosomal proteinases are increased in the tissue lesions of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and have been implicated in the degradation of myelin proteins. The cellular origins of the increased proteinases are not known but reactive astrocytes found in areas of increased activity are candidate cells. To evaluate the potential of astrocytes as the source of these proteinases, cathepsin B (CB) and cathepsin D (CD) levels were measured in lysates of cultured astrocytes from neonatal rats. Because astrocytes are activated by inflammatory mediators in demyelinating lesions the effect of activation on proteinase levels was examined. Culture supernatants from mononuclear leukocytes stimulated with either concanavalin A or phytohemagglutinin (PHA) induced significant increases in the astrocytic proteinases. Neither PHA alone, interleukin-1, interleukin-2, nor gamma-interferon induced significant increases. Fractions of the supernatant from PHA stimulated mononuclear leukocytes were tested and activity was found in fractions corresponding to a molecular weight of 45-50,000. These studies demonstrate that astrocytes contain significant amounts of CB and CD activity which can be increased by a factor or factors released by activated mononuclear leukocytes.
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PMID:Activation of astrocytic lysosomal proteinases by factors released by mononuclear leukocytes. 271 Feb 77

Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) causes an antigen-dependent defect in the ability of macrophages to activate helper T cells, and this drug-induced impairment is mediated through the peripheral CB2 receptor. Various requirements for the processing of the antigen, lysozyme, were examined to determine where along the pathway THC exerts its influence. A THC-exposed macrophage hybridoma inefficiently stimulated interleukin-2 secretion by a helper T cell hybridoma in response to native lysozyme and its reduced form, suggesting that disulfide bond reduction was unaffected. Cell surface expression of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules was normal on THC-exposed macrophages. The drug-exposed macrophages also competently presented a lysozyme peptide to the T cells, indicating that the class II molecules were functional. The proteolytic activity of two thiol cathepsins was unaltered, but aspartyl cathepsin D activity was significantly increased in THC-exposed macrophages. Thus, selective up-regulation of aspartyl cathepsin activity accompanied the deficiency in lysozyme processing and may contribute, at least in part, to the antigen-dependent processing defect in THC-exposed macrophages.
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PMID:Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol selectively increases aspartyl cathepsin D proteolytic activity and impairs lysozyme processing by macrophages. 1070 85

We have attempted to elucidate an involvement of cathepsin E (CE) in major histocompatibility complex class II-mediated antigen presentation by microglia. In primary cultured murine microglia, CE was localized mainly in early endosomes and its expression level was markedly increased upon stimulation with interferon-gamma. Pepstatin A, a specific inhibitor of aspartic proteases, significantly inhibited interleukin-2 production from an OVA-(266-281)-specific T helper cell hybridomas upon stimulation with native OVA presented by interferon-gamma-treated microglia. However, pepstatin A failed to inhibit the presentation of OVA-(266-281) peptide. The possible involvement of CE in the processing of native OVA into antigenic peptide was further substantiated by that digested fragments of native OVA by CE could be recognized by OVA-specific Th cells. Cathepsin D also degraded native OVA into antigenic peptide, whereas microglia prepared from cathepsin D-deficient mice retained an ability for antigen presentation. On the other hand, the requirement for cysteine proteases such as cathepsins S and B in the processing of invariant chain (Ii) was confirmed by immunoblot analyses in the presence of their specific inhibitors. In conclusion, CE is required for the generation of an antigenic epitope from OVA but not for the processing of Ii in microglia.
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PMID:Involvement of cathepsin E in exogenous antigen processing in primary cultured murine microglia. 1171 10

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a 15 kDa cytokine secreted by T-cells. Consequence to its natural function as locally secreted short-term messenger, its half-life in circulation is short and provided mainly by fast renal clearance due to its low molecular weight and its proteolytic susceptibility. These are common characteristics for most cytokines, resulting in low clinical utility. In this study we report the construction of an IL-2 fusion-protein comprising a protective anti-hIL-2 single chain antibody that was selected from a phage display library and the hIL-2. This IL-2 fusion-protein is fully human and resistant to inactivation by the ubiquitous lysosomal protease-cathepsin D, which is implicated in the in vivo inactivation of IL-2. In contrast, the native IL-2 lost practically all of its activity under these conditions. This resistance is due to the interaction of the single chain domain with its epitope on IL-2 thus masking possible cleavage sites. We suggest that this 45 kDa proteolysis resistant IL-2 fusion-protein upon further increase of its molecular weight by common fusion techniques to at least 75 kDa will exhibit significantly longer half-life in vivo and a higher clinical utility than either the native IL-2 or any of its reported long T/2 derivatives.
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PMID:Construction of proteolysis resistant human interleukin-2 by fusion to its protective single chain antibody. 1284 61