Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.24.11 (CD10)
 9,792 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purpose of present study was to determine whether peptidase activity affects the release of substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) from spinal cord slices. When slices were exposed to various inhibitors of endopeptidase 24.11, the resting and capsaicin-stimulated release of SP were less than 0.04% and 0.20% total content per minute, respectively. Resting CGRP release was approximately 0.10% and stimulated release was 0.40%. The combination of 20 microM bacitracin, 100 microM phenylalanylalanine (Phe-Ala), and 50 microM p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (PCMS) significantly increased both resting and stimulated release of SP and CGRP at least two- or threefold. Doubling the concentration of PCMS and Phe-Ala did not further improve peptide release. These results demonstrate that recovery of peptides released from spinal cord slices is dependent in part on activity of multiple peptidases in the tissues.
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PMID:Peptidase inhibitors improve recovery of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide release from rat spinal cord slices. 882 7

The interaction between components of the nervous system and multiple target cells in the cutaneous immune system has been receiving increasing attention. It has been observed that certain skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis have a neurogenic component. Neuropeptides released by sensory nerves that innervate the skin and often contact epidermal and dermal cells can directly modulate functions of keratinocytes, Langerhans cells (LC), mast cells, dermal microvascular endothelial cells and infiltrating immune cells. Among these neuropeptides the tachykinins substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and somatostatin (SOM) have been reported to effectively modulate skin and immune cell functions such as cell proliferation, cytokine production or antigen presentation under physiological or pathophysiological conditions. Expression and regulation of their corresponding receptors that are expressed on a variety of skin cells as well as the presence of neuropeptide-specific peptidases such as neutral endopeptidase (NEP) or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) determine the final biological response mediated by these peptides on the target cell or tissue. Likewise, skin cells like keratinocytes or fibroblasts are a source for neurotrophins such as nerve growth factor that are required not only for survival and regeneration of sensory neurons but also to control responsiveness of these neurons to external stimuli. Therefore, neuropeptides, neuropeptide receptors, neuropeptide-degrading enzymes and neurotrophins participate in a complex, interdependent network of mediators that modulate skin inflammation, wound healing and the skin immune system. This review will focus on recent studies demonstrating the role of tachykinins, CGRP, SOM and VIP and their receptors and neuropeptide-degrading enzymes in mediating neurogenic inflammation in the skin.
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PMID:Neuropeptides in the skin: interactions between the neuroendocrine and the skin immune systems. 958 47

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of protease inhibitors on the absorption of calcitonin from different regions of the intestine in rats. The absorption experiments were investigated by in-situ use of closed intestinal loops in rats and stability of calcitonin was examined in mucosal homogenates and intestinal fluids. The intestinal absorption of calcitonin was evaluated by measurement of its hypocalcaemic effect. No substantial hypocalcaemic response was observed when calcitonin was administered into the jejunum or colon. A slight hypocalcaemic effect was observed after administration of calcitonin into the ileum. Of the co-administered protease inhibitors, bacitracin (20mM) strongly promoted calcitonin absorption from the jejunum, ileum and colon. A significant hypocalcaemic effect was also obtained after intestinal administration of calcitonin with soybean trypsin inhibitor (10mgmL(-1)), camostat mesylate (20mM) or aprotinin (2mgmL(-1)). In the stability experiment, bacitracin reduced the degradation of calcitonin in the different intestinal homogenates. Soybean trypsin inhibitor significantly reduced the degradation of calcitonin in the fluids of the small intestine. We also examined the different endopeptidases in gut luminal fluids and the different exopeptidases in gut mucosal homogenates of rats. The ranking order for the total endopeptidase activity of the intestinal fluids was jejunum > ileum > colon. That for total exopeptidase activity of the intestinal mucosa was jejunum > ileum > colon. These results suggest that endo- and exopeptidases might be responsible for the hydrolysis of calcitonin and that protease inhibitors might usefully improve absorption of calcitonin to the systemic circulation from the large intestine.
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PMID:Use of protease inhibitors to improve calcitonin absorption from the small and large intestine in rats. 975 57

Substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) are colocalized in renal pelvic sensory nerves. Increasing renal pelvic pressure results in an increase in afferent renal nerve activity that is blocked by a substance P receptor antagonist but not by a CGRP receptor antagonist. CGRP potentiates the effects of substance P by preventing the metabolism of substance P. Therefore, we examined whether CGRP enhanced the afferent renal nerve activity responses to substance P and increased renal pelvic pressure, a stimulus known to increase substance P release. Combined administration of substance P and CGRP into the renal pelvis resulted in an increase in afferent renal nerve activity (1392+/-217%. s; area under the curve of afferent renal nerve activity versus time) that was greater (P<0.01) than that produced by substance P (620+/-156%. s) or CGRP (297+/-96%. s) alone. Likewise, CGRP enhanced the afferent renal nerve activity response to increased renal pelvic pressure. During renal pelvic administration of the neutral endopeptidase inhibitor thiorphan, the afferent renal nerve activity response to substance P plus CGRP was similar to that produced by either neuropeptide alone. Because these studies suggested that CGRP potentiated the afferent renal nerve activity responses to substance P, we examined whether the afferent renal nerve activity response to CGRP was blocked by a substance P receptor antagonist, RP67580. RP67580 blocked the afferent renal nerve activity response to CGRP by 85+/-12% (P<0.02). We conclude that CGRP activates renal pelvic sensory nerves by retarding the metabolism of substance P, thereby increasing the amount of substance P available for stimulation of substance P receptors.
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PMID:CGRP activates renal pelvic substance P receptors by retarding substance P metabolism. 993 Nov 54

The role of neuropeptides in initiating and modulating airway inflammation was examined in a human bronchial epithelial cell line (i.e. BEAS-2B). At a range of concentrations, exposure of BEAS-2B cells to Substance P (SP) or calcitonin gene related protein resulted in immediate increases in intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)), the synthesis of the transcripts for the inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-8 and TNFalpha after 2 h exposure, and the release of their proteins after 6 h exposure. Addition of thiorphan (100 nM), an inhibitor of neutral endopeptidase, enhanced the levels of SP-stimulated cytokine release. Stimulation of IL-6 by SP occurred in a conventional receptor-mediated manner as demonstrated by its differential release by fragments SP 4-11 and SP 1-4 and by the blockage of IL-6 release with the non-peptide, NK-1 receptor antagonist, CP-99 994. In addition to the direct stimulation of inflammatory cytokines, SP (0.5 microM), in combination with TNFalpha (25 units/ml), synergistically stimulated IL-6 release. BEAS-2B cells also responded to the botanical irritant, capsaicin (10 microM) with increases in [Ca(2+)](i) and IL-8 cytokine release after 4 h exposure. The IL-8 release was dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium. Capsaicin-stimulated increases of [Ca(2+)](i) and cytokine release could be reduced to control levels by pre-exposure to capsazepine, an antagonist of capsaicin (i.e. vanilloid) receptor(s) or by deletion of extracellular calcium from the exposure media. The present data indicate that the BEAS-2B human epithelial cell line expresses neuropeptide and capsaicin-sensitive pathways, whose activation results in immediate increases of [Ca(2+)](i) stimulation of inflammatory cytokine transcripts and the release of their cytokine proteins.
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PMID:Neuropeptides and capsaicin stimulate the release of inflammatory cytokines in a human bronchial epithelial cell line. 1065 23

Vascular resistance in the mammalian pulmonary circulation is affected by many endogenous agents that influence vascular smooth muscle, right ventricular myocardium, endothelial function, collagen and elastin deposition, and fluid balance. When the balance of these agents is disturbed, e.g. by airway hypoxia from high altitude or pulmonary obstructive disorders, pulmonary hypertension ensues, as characterized by elevated pulmonary artery pressure (P(PA)). Among neuropeptides with local pulmonary artery pressor effects are endothelin-1 (ET-1), angiotensin II (AII), and substance P, and among mitigating peptides are calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), adrenomedullin (ADM), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and ET-3. Moreover, somatostatin28 (SOM28) exacerbates, whereas SOM14 decreases P(PA) in hypoxic rats, with lowering and increasing of lung CGRP levels, respectively. Pressure can also be modulated by increasing or decreasing plasma volume (VIP and ANP, respectively), or by induction or suppression of vascular tissue remodeling (ET-1 and CGRP, respectively). Peptide bioavailability and potency can be regulated through hypoxic up- and down- regulation of synthesis or release, activation by converting enzymes (ACE for AII and ECE for ET-1), inactivation by neutral endopeptidase and proteases, or by interaction with nitric oxide (NO). Moreover, altered receptor density and affinity can account for changed peptide efficacy. For example, upregulation of ET(A) receptors and ET-1 synthesis occurs in the hypoxic lung concomitantly with reduced CGRP release. Also, receptor activity modifying protein 2 (RAMP2) has been shown to confer ADM affinity to the pulmonary calcitonin-receptor-like receptor (CRLR). We recently detected the mRNA encoding for RAMP2, CRLR, and the CGRP receptor RDC-1 in rat lung. The search for an effective, lung selective treatment of pulmonary hypertension will likely benefit from exploring the imbalance and restoring the balance between these native modulators of intrapulmonary pressure. For example, blocking of the ET-1 receptor ET(A) and vasodilation by supplemental CGRP delivered i. v. or via airway gene transfer, have proven to be useful experimentally.
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PMID:The role of endogenous lung neuropeptides in regulation of the pulmonary circulation. 1119 57

We have investigated the pro- and anti-inflammatory effects of ricinoleic acid (RA), the main active principle of castor oil, in an experimental model of blepharitis induced by intradermal injection of carrageenan in the guinea-pig eyelid and its possible capsaicin-like mode of action on acutely dissociated rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons in vitro. Topical treatment with RA (10-100 mg/guinea-pig) or capsaicin (1-10 mg/guinea-pig) caused eyelid reddening and oedema. At lower doses (0.3-3 mg/guinea-pig and 0.009-0.09 mg/guinea-pig for RA and capsaicin, respectively) both drugs significantly potentiated the eyelid oedema induced by carrageenan. The tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonist FK 888 (0.59 mg/kg s.c.) abolished the potentiation of carrageenan-induced eyelid oedema induced by either RA or capsaicin. The neutral endopeptidase inhibitor, thiorphan (1.3 mg/kg i.v.) significantly enhanced the potentiation of carrageenan-induced eyelid oedema produced by RA. This potentiating effect was abolished by FK 888. Repeated (8 days) topical application of RA (0.9 mg/guinea-pig) or capsaicin (0.09 mg/guinea-pig) inhibited the carrageenan-induced eyelid oedema. This anti-inflammatory effect was accompanied by a reduction (75%-80% of SP and 46%-51% of NKA) in tachykinin content of the eyelids, as determined by radioimmunoassay. In dissociated rat DRG neurons, RA (0.1 mM for 5 min) significantly inhibited the inward currents induced by application of capsaicin (1 microM) and/or low pH (5.8), without inducing any currents by itself or changing voltage-dependent currents. Moreover, after 24-h incubation, RA (0.1 mM) significantly decreased the capsaicin (1 microM)-induced calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) release from rat DRG neurons, whereas acute drug superfusion did not evoke CGRP release by itself. Summarizing, RA possesses capsaicin-like dual pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties which are observed upon acute and repeated application, respectively. However, unlike capsaicin, RA does not induce inward current in DRG neurons and it is devoid of algesic properties in vivo.
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PMID:Pro- and anti-inflammatory actions of ricinoleic acid: similarities and differences with capsaicin. 1153 59

There is increasing evidence that the cutaneous nervous system modulates physiological and pathophysiological effects including cell growth and differentiation, immunity and inflammation as well as tissue repair. Both cutaneous nervous fibers and inflammatory cells are able to release neuromediators and thereby activate specific receptors on target cells in the skin or transient immunocompetent cells. Cutaneous neuromediators include classical neurotransmitters such as catecholamines and acetylcholine being released from the automatic nervous system or cutaneous cells. On the other hand neuropeptides including substance P, calcitonin gene related peptide (CRGP), vasointestinal peptide (VIP) or proopiomelanocortin (POMC) derived peptides such as alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (alphaMSH) may be released from sensory or autonomic nerve fibers and several epidermal as well as dermal cells. Neuropeptides are known to activate a variety of cutaneous cells through high affinity neuropeptide receptors or by direct activation of intracellular G-protein signalling cascades. Via the modulation of transcription factor activation (NF-kappaB, AP-1, STAT-3) they regulate the expression of adhesion molecules and proinflammatory cytokines in different cells and thereby function as modulators of immune and inflammatory reactions. Accordingly, neuropeptides such as CGRP or alphaMSH in vitro were found to downregulate costimulatory molecule expression on dendritic cells and in vivo via the generation of suppressor T-lymphocytes to induce hapten specific tolerance. Proteinases such as tryptase or neural endopeptidase inactivate neuropeptides in the extracellular space or at the cell surface thereby terminating neuropeptide induced inflammatory or immune responses. Proteinase-activated receptors (PAR) are recently described receptors that may have high impact in regulating cutaneous neurogenic inflammation. In the skin PAR-2 being expressed on sensory neurons and endothelial cells is self activated by tethered peptide ligands that are exposed after extracellular amino-terminal cleavage by trypsin or mast cell tryptase. PAR-2 agonists were found to induce the release of CGRP and SP which mediate vasodilation, plasma extravasation as well as the expression of adhesion molecules on vascular endothelial cells and thus elicit neurogenic inflammation. These findings indicate that the neuromediator network including neuropeptide receptors as well as proteinases play an important role in the maintenance of tissue integrity and the regulation of inflammatory and immune responses in the skin.
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PMID:Neuromediators--a crucial component of the skin immune system. 1241 63

This study was performed to test whether biosynthesis of tachykinins plays a pivotal role in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced airway alteration by analyzing preprotachykinin-I (PPT-I, a precursor of tachykinins) gene expression. Brown-Norway rats (11-12 wk old) were divided into four groups: control; LPS; dimethylthiourea (DMTU, an effective hydroxyl radical scavenger); and DMTU+LPS. Each animal in the control group received saline treatment. Forty-nine animals in the LPS group were further divided into seven subgroups to test effects of doses and length of the LPS treatment. Total RNA extracted from nodose ganglia and lungs was used to assay relative amount of PPT-I mRNA using the real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. In addition, LPS-induced alterations in airway responses to bronchial constrictors, neutral endopeptidase (NEP) gene expression, leukocyte counts, and SP and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) levels were determined. LPS (4 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) raised significantly PPT-I mRNA level after 4 h in nodose ganglia and 12 h in the lung, and this elevation sustained for 5 d. Also, LPS caused significant increases in NEP mRNA, SP and CGRP levels, airway reactivity to capsaicin and SP, and neutrophil counts, but a significant decrease in macrophage count. Our data support that LPS-induced bronchial hyperreactivity to capsaicin is related closely to the upregulation of tachykinin gene expression, but not the upregulation of NEP.
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PMID:Lipopolysaccharide induces preprotachykinin gene expression. 1273 85

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stabilization of salmon calcitonin (sCT) by PEGylation in nasal mucosa. Degradation of native sCT in the homogenates of rat nasal mucosa was investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The initial cleavage of sCT was due to tryptic-like endopeptidase activity, and the subsequent degradation followed the sequential pattern of aminopeptidase activity. To prepare PEGylated sCT resistant to the proteolytic degradation, the lysine residues susceptible to tryptic activity were selectively PEGylated by controlling reaction pH. The PEGylated sCT showed strong resistance against enzymatic degradation in rat nasal mucosa, with 56-fold prolonged half-life compared with that of native sCT. In the MALDI-TOF MS spectrum, the PEGylated sCT did not show any degradation peak for incubation of 120 min in the homogenates of rat nasal mucosa. The improved stability may be responsible for enhancing nasal absorption of PEGylated sCT.
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PMID:Stability of PEGylated salmon calcitonin in nasal mucosa. 1470 83


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