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)

Basement membrane zone antigens, laminin, Type IV collagen, and Type V collagen each are enhanced selectively in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections by pretreatment with pepsin (1 mg pepsin/mL 0.5 M acetic acid). Highly specific antibodies to laminin, Type IV collagen, and Type V collagen each demonstrate intense linear staining of epithelial and endothelial basement membranes in fresh tissue, but this staining is diminished markedly and often completely abolished in paraffin-embedded tissue. Pretreatment of this paraffin-embedded tissue with standard immunoperoxidase enhancement technics such as trypsin fails to increase immunoreactivity of these antigens. Pretreatment with other proteases with known collagenolytic activities such as bacterial collagenase and Type IV collagenase is likewise ineffective. In contrast, pepsin pretreatment markedly enhances immunoreactivity of laminin, Type IV collagen, and Type V collagen. Previous immunocytochemical studies of the basement membrane useful in the distinction of invasive tumors from their benign counterparts, for example, tubular carcinoma of the breast from sclerosing adenosis, which only could be done prospectively in fresh tissue now can be performed retrospectively in paraffin-embedded tissue.
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PMID:Immunocytochemical enhancement of basement membrane antigens by pepsin: applications in diagnostic pathology. 643 97

Human vascular endothelial cells were isolated by collagenase digestion of umbilical veins. Hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies were raised by fusing a mouse myeloma cell line to spleen cells from mice immunized with the isolated endothelial cells. A clone was selected which produced an antibody binding strongly to human umbilical vein endothelial cells. This antibody, EN 3, was shown to be directed against a major antigen on the surface of the cells, and appeared to be distinct from other antigens previously described on vascular tissues. The antibody bound to a lesser extent to umbilical artery endothelial cells and syncytiotrophoblast. Capillary endothelial cells in adult oesophageal tissues and tonsil were also labelled by the antibody, as were capillaries in a seminoma and infiltrating duct carcinoma of the breast. This well defined distribution in some foetal, adult and malignant tissues suggests that there is structural heterogeneity amongst endothelial cells in different sites, which may be linked to differences in differentiation or function.
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PMID:A vascular endothelial cell antigen with restricted distribution in human foetal, adult and malignant tissues. 684 Aug 5