Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.24.3 (collagenase)
 18,340 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Sera from patients with antiglomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) antibodies associated with Goodpasture syndrome (GP) or glomerulonephritis were tested by ELISA and electroimmunoblot against whole basement membrane collagen (type IV) isolated from bovine anterior lens capsule (ALC) and bacterial collagenase resistant domains of the collagen molecule, that is, the NC-1 and 7-S domains isolated from either ALC or bovine and human glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Reactivity was high with the NC-1 domain by both the ELISA and the electroimmunoblot techniques. Some of the anti-GBM sera reacted with both the NC-1 and 7-S domains of both human and bovine type IV collagen. At a time when the patients' sera reacted weakly with a collagenase digest of human GBM using a radioimmunoassay, the reactivity with the NC-1 domain was also low, but some of the sera continued to react with the 7-S domain. The data suggest that there may be heterogeneity in the nature of autoantibodies with respect to collagen type IV domain reactivity in the sera of patients with anti-GBM antibody disease.
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PMID:Heterogeneity of antibodies in Goodpasture syndrome reacting with type IV collagen. 767 59

Goodpasture's disease is a rare form of glomerulonephritis characterized by the production of autoantibodies to the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). In order to understand the development of autoimmunity to the GBM, it is important to examine mechanisms underlying T cell responses to the autoantigen. A MoAb P1, with the same specificity as patients' autoantibodies, was used to affinity-purify the antigen from collagenase-digested human GBM. This material was enriched in the NC1 domain of the alpha 3 chain of type IV collagen (alpha 3(IV)NC1), known to be the principal target of anti-GBM antibodies, but also contained lower quantities of alpha 4(IV)NC1. In proliferation assays, T cells from 11/14 patients with Goodpasture's disease showed significant responses (SI > or = 2.0) to affinity-purified human GBM. Peak responses were demonstrated at 7 or 10 days at antigen concentrations of 10-30 micrograms/ml. As in other autoimmune disorders, the presence of autoantigen-reactive T cells was also demonstrated in 5/10 healthy volunteers. Tissue typing revealed that all patients possessed HLA-DR2 and/or -DR4 alleles, while normal individuals whose T cells responded possessed DR2 and/or DR7 alleles. The specificity of the T cell response in Goodpasture's disease was further investigated using monomeric components of human GBM purified by gel filtration and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two antigenic monomer pools were obtained, which were shown by amino-terminal sequence analysis to contain alpha 3(IV)NC1 and alpha 4(IV)NC1, respectively. In all patients tested, significant T cell proliferation was observed in response to one or both of these alpha (IV)NC1 domains. These results demonstrate that patients with Goodpasture's disease possess T cells reactive with autoantigens known to be recognized by anti-GBM antibodies.
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PMID:Analysis of T cell responses to the autoantigen in Goodpasture's disease. 774 65

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a prototypical multifunctional cytokine, with growth being only one of its many functions. Its receptors and actions are germane to almost every cell in the body involved in tissue injury and repair, and its effects are best understood in the context of a cellular response to a changing environment. The broad areas in which TGF-beta plays a crucial role include cell proliferation and extracellular matrix production. TGF-beta is a key regulatory molecule in the control of the activity of fibroblasts and has been implicated in several disease states characterized by excessive fibrosis. In the kidney, TGF-beta promotes tubuloepithelial cell hypertrophy and regulates the glomerular production of almost every known molecule of the extracellular matrix, including collagens, fibronectin, tenascin, and proteoglycans, as well as the integrins that are the receptors for these molecules. Furthermore, TGF-beta blocks the destruction of newly synthesized extracellular matrix by upregulating the synthesis of protease inhibitors and downregulating the synthesis of matrix-degrading proteases such as stromelysin and collagenase. As will be discussed, there is a strong body of in vitro and in vivo evidence suggesting that persistent overproduction of TGF-beta 1 in glomeruli after the acute inflammatory stage of glomerulonephritis causes glomerulosclerosis. TGF-beta may also be important in a variety of other chronic renal disorders characterized by hypertrophy and sclerosis, such as diabetic nephropathy. In this review we will attempt to offer a basic understanding of the cellular and molecular biology of TGF-beta and its receptors, with special focus on the role of the TGF-beta system in the kidney during development, growth, and disease.
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PMID:The emerging role of transforming growth factor-beta in kidney diseases. 802 63

Some forms of glomerulonephritis (GN) in humans appear consequent to autoimmunity. Experimental autoimmune GN (EAG) has been described in sheep, but attempts to develop EAG in other mammals have resulted only in antibody and proteinuria but no GN. We have developed a model of EAG in an inbred mammalian species to further study pathogenetic mechanisms. We immunized Brown Norway (BN) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats with glomerular basement membrane (GBM) or collagenase solubilized GBM (csGBM). Circulating and bound anti-GBM antibody developed in all rats. Only interstitial nephritis occurred in BN rats despite amounts of glomerular and serum anti GBM antibodies similar to WKY animals. One hundred percent of WKY rats immunized with csGBM/acid developed reproducible severe GN at two to three weeks with proteinuria and decreased kidney function which progressed to glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis. Antigen in acid was a requisite for induction of EAG. EAG rats had positive tests for delayed type hypersensitivity, their T cells underwent antigen specific transformation, and T cells and macrophages were present histologically. Passive transfer of EAG serum to naive rats resulted in fixation to recipient GBM but no proteinuria or GN. This new model of EAG in rats appears dependent on genetic factors, may involve cellular immunity in pathogenesis, requires exposure of the nephritogenic antigen, and is highly similar to rapidly progressive GN in humans.
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PMID:Proliferative autoimmune glomerulonephritis in rats: a model for autoimmune glomerulonephritis in humans. 837 73

After in vivo administration of purified antibody against cultured mesangial cell (anti-MC IgG), glomerular basement membrane (GBM) was selectively bound. The glomerular bound anti-MC IgG exhibited a monospecificity for a 109-kDa antigen extracted from cultured mesangial cells and normal GBM. The antigen was not digestible by collagenase, heparitinase, or chondroitinase and was revealed by immunoelectron microscopy of a normal glomerular component to be predominantly distributed along the lamina rara externa of GBM and to be absent in mesangium. The ample expression of the antigen in puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis implies that it represents a significant sclerotic material in glomerulonephritis. Abnormal production of GBM components by mesangial cells may play an important role in glomerulosclerosis.
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PMID:Coexpression of a novel glomerular basement membrane matrix material in mesangial cell culture and glomerulosclerosis. 854 99

Angiotensin II (Ang II) has growth-stimulatory properties on different renal cell types. However, possible growth effects of this vasoactive peptide on endothelial cells isolated from the glomerular microvasculature have not been formally investigated. Therefore, we isolated and characterized primary cultures of rat glomerular endothelial cells. We used a simple technique in which collagenase-treated glomeruli were sparsely plated in several 96-well culture plates and microscopically screened for cobblestone-like outgrowth. After two limiting dilutions, homogeneous cultures were obtained. Cells were characterized by positive staining for the endothelial markers factor VIII, CD 31, endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1, and the lectin Bandeiraea simplificifolia. Ang II stimulated the synthesis and release of endothelin-1 in culture supernatants. Moreover, in contrast to syngeneic mesangial cells, glomerular endothelial cells expressed angiotensin-converting enzyme. Ang II stimulated a mild but significant proliferation of quiescent cells, as measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation and direct cell counting. This mitogenesis was transduced by losartan-blockade angiotensin type 1 receptors. Moreover, Ang II mediated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 and induction of transcripts for the immediate early gene Egr-1. Our results indicate that Ang II is a moderate mitogen for primary cultures of rat glomerular endothelial cells and activation of these metabolically active cells may play a role in the pathophysiology of several types of glomerulonephritis. Moreover, remodeling of glomerular endothelial cells by Ang II may be important in the progression of structural renal damage during the course of hypertensive injury.
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PMID:Angiotensin II is mitogenic for cultured rat glomerular endothelial cells. 861 66

We examined metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -3, and -9 mRNA expression by peripheral blood monocytes from 50 patients with immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, 20 with membranous nephropathy, 10 with minimal-change nephrotic syndrome, five with focal glomerulosclerosis, 30 with non-IgA proliferative glomerulonephritis, and 40 healthy normal controls who were comparable with regard to age and sex. Monocytes from patients with IgA nephropathy expressed a higher level of MMP-9 mRNA than those from patients with other forms of glomerulonephritis or from healthy controls (MMP-9 to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase ratio: IgA nephropathy, 1.68 +/- 0.24; membranous nephropathy, 0.22 +/- 0.08; minimal-change nephrotic syndrome, 0.24 +/- 0.06; focal glomerulosclerosis, 0.32 +/- 0.08; non-IgA proliferative glomerulonephritis, 0.30 +/- 0.12; and healthy controls, 0.16 +/- 0.04). When the biopsy specimens were classified into four grades according to the severity of glomerular and interstitial pathology, highly significant differences were observed among MMP-9 mRNA levels in monocytes from all four groups of patients with IgA nephropathy (grade I, 0.44 +/- 0.09; grade II, 1.06 +/- 0.26; grade III, 2.22 +/- 0.68; grade IV, 2.86 +/- 0.88). In addition, MMP-9 mRNA levels from patients with IgA nephropathy correlated with urinary protein excretion (P < 0.001). However, we detected minimal mRNA expression of MMP-1, -2, and -3 by peripheral blood monocytes from patients with IgA nephropathy or other forms of glomerulonephritis and from normal healthy controls. Our results suggest that increased MMP-9 mRNA expression in circulating monocytes may contribute to the progression of IgA nephropathy.
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PMID:Increased mRNA expression of metalloproteinase-9 in peripheral blood monocytes from patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy. 871 19

X-linked Alport syndrome (AS) is a heritable disorder which is associated with mutations in the type IV collagen alpha 5 (IV) chain gene (COL4A5) located on chromosome X. Following renal transplantation, an average of 6% of male AS patients develop anti-GBM nephritis. We studied the specificity of the antibodies against type IV collagen in the serum of a patient with COL4A5 partial deletion. The specificity of these alloantibodies was determined against collagenase-digested GBM, as well as against recombinant non-collagenous (NC1) domains of the type IV collagen alpha 1(IV)-alpha 6(IV) chains expressed in escherichia coli. Immunoblotting and ELISA demonstrated that these antibodies bound specifically to the NC1 domain of alpha 5(IV) collagen. There was no binding to the NC1 domain of the other chains, including the Goodpasture antigen. Competitive ELISA confirmed the results obtained by ELISA and immunoblotting. This patient developed alloantibodies directed against antigens present in the grafted kidney, but absent from his Alport kidney. The pathogenesis of post-transplantation glomerulonephritis in the Alport patient studied is thus similar to that of Goodpasture syndrome, with the exception that the pathogenic antibodies are targeted to another alpha chain of type IV collagen.
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PMID:Identification of post-transplant anti-alpha 5 (IV) collagen alloantibodies in X-linked Alport syndrome. 891 11

One of the major causes of glomerular sclerosis which precedes renal failure is an increase in glomerular extracellular matrices (ECMs). Glomerular ECMs which are composed of mesangial matrix and basement membrane play an important role in physical, mechanical and structural functions of the glomerulus. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the enzymes which degrade both the collagenous and noncollagenous components of the ECMs. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are inhibitors of MMPs. The regulations by MMPs and TIMPs are considered to contribute to maintain homeostasis in the production and degradation of ECMs in the glomeruli. In the glomeruli of patients with glomerulonephritis, the imbalance between production and degradation of ECMs is supposed to cause the increase in ECMs and glomerular sclerosis. In this study, serum concentrations of MMP-1, -2, and -3, TIMP-1 and 2 and type IV collagen were measured in patients with IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis and membranous nephropathy. In patients with IgA nephropathy and lupus nephritis which are mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, the levels of MMP-3 and TIMP-2 were increased. On the other hand, the levels of type IV collagen, MMP-2 and TIMP-1 were increased in patients with membranous nephropathy in which the thickening of basement membrane is characteristic. These differences may be caused by the difference of the pathogenesis of these diseases. The present results suggest that the imbalance between the metabolism of ECMs occurs in patients with glomerulonephritis and contributes to the progression of glomerulonephritis.
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PMID:Changes in serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinases, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases and type IV collagen in patients with various types of glomerulonephritis. 909 Jul 49

Human nephritogenic antigen induces anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody glomerulonephritis in rats. This antigen was purified from collagenase-solubilized renal basement membrane by means of gel filtration and affinity chromatography using a rabbit antibody. Western blots of the purified nephritogenic antigen using epitope-defined monoclonal antibodies showed that it contains the NC1 domains of the a1 to a6 chains of type IV collagen. Nephritogenicity was thought to be a feature of the NC1 domains of the a3 to a5 chains, because the a6 chain is not located in the glomerular basement membrane, and because an NC1 fraction consisting of the NC1 domains of the a1 and a2 chains was poorly nephritogenic. Autoantibodies in the sera of patients with Goodpasture's syndrome were detected by ELISA using the purified nephritogenic antigen. These results indicate that the nephritogenic antigen contains the Goodpasture antigen, defined as the antigen reactive with sera from patients with Goodpasture's syndrome.
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PMID:Purification and characterization of human nephritogenic antigen that induces anti-GBM nephritis in rats. 927 35


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