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

An improved sensitive assay for collagenase, which uses [3H]telopeptide-free collagen as a substrate, was used to measure changes in serum collagenase levels in 96 women and ten men (18-35 years old). Both latent and active forms of collagenase were detected in serum by molecular sieve chromatography; these forms had a relative molecular weight (Mr) of 65,000 and 45,000, respectively. Only latent collagenase was detected in crude serum after destroying inhibitors by treatment with 3 M potassium thiocyanate. Collagenase levels in males were lower than in nongravid females (34 +/- 5 versus 53 +/- 5 U/dL; mean +/- SEM; 1 unit = 1 microgram collagen digested per minute at 30C). During pregnancy there was no significant change in serum collagenase levels until the onset of spontaneous labor in full-term pregnancies (37-42 weeks), at which point there was a 66% increase over the nongravid level to a value of 88 +/- 5 U/dL. There was a further rise at one day postpartum, and high levels continued for at least four days. Women in premature labor (24-36 weeks) exhibited an eightfold increase in the level of serum collagenase to 405 +/- 110 U/dL; 16 of 17 patients in this group had collagenase levels above the 95th percentile for women at 16-40 weeks but not in labor. This evaluation of serum collagenase may provide a key for detecting premature labor. It is suggested that the increase in serum collagenase arises from the lower uterine segment and cervix.
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PMID:High levels of serum collagenase in premature labor--a potential biochemical marker. 243 51

Preterm labour and prematurity are still a main cause of perinatal morbidity nowadays. The aim of our study was to assess the role of MMP-8 as a predictive marker of preterm delivery. Four groups of patients were involved to the study: I - pregnant women at 24-34 weeks of gestation with any symptoms of threatened preterm labour; II - threatened preterm labour patients between 24-34 weeks of gestation; III - preterm vaginal delivery patients; IV - healthy term vaginal delivery patients. Serum concentration of total MMP-8 was measured using two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. There were no significant differences in the median concentrations of total MMP-8 between physiological pregnancy and threatened preterm labour patients with existing uterine contractility. No significant differences of total MMP-8 were either found between healthy term and preterm labouring patients. The studies on a larger population are needed to reject the hypothesis that preterm labour is connected with increased MMP-8 plasma concentrations of women in preterm labour and threatened preterm delivery.
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PMID:Total matrix metalloproteinase-8 serum levels in patients labouring preterm and patients with threatened preterm delivery. 2107 40