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)

Interactions of receptor-bound bovine thyrotropin (bTSH) and immunoglobulins G from sera of patients with Graves' (G-IgG) or Hashimoto's (H-IgG) disease with porcine thyrocytes were studied by immunocytochemistry. Porcine thyroid fragments were fixed and prepared for immunoreaction or enzymatically dissociated with collagenase and dispase II. The dispersed cells were cultured in primary monolayer in a hormone-free medium or in a medium with bTSH (150 micrograms/ml) for 7 days. After immunostaining the thyrocytes in fragments and monolayers were stained with periodic acid Schiff (PAS) or with PAS and haemalum. Cultivation of the isolated thyrocytes in bTSH-enriched medium leads to a monolayer with globular aggregates, i.e., reconstructed three-dimensional follicles. Follicular cells in these monolayers and in fragments give a weak to moderate immunoreaction to anti-bTSH and a strong reaction to G-IgG and H-IgG (vs. control IgG). Precipitate is found particularly in the perinuclear area and to a lesser degree throughout the cytoplasm. Cells cultured in the absence of bTSH show minimal immunoreaction to anti-bTSH, but moderate reaction to G-IgG and H-IgG. Preincubation with bTSH leads to a strong reduction of immunoreaction to G-IgG but does not affect reaction to H-IgG. Morphological results indicate that G-IgG and H-IgG interact with the same cellular sites as bTSH. Hashimoto's disease antibodies bind to a determinant on the TSH receptor separate from the one on which TSH and Graves' IgG bind.
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PMID:Immunocytochemical localization of bovine thyrotropin and thyroid auto-antibodies in porcine thyrocytes. 197 9

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent angiogenic mitogen, plays a crucial role in angiogenesis under various pathophysiological conditions. We have recently demonstrated that VEGF(165), one of the VEGF isoforms, binds connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and that its angiogenic activity is inhibited in the VEGF(165).CTGF complex form (Inoki, I., Shiomi, T., Hashimoto, G., Enomoto, H., Nakamura, H., Makino, K., Ikeda, E., Takata, S., Kobayashi, K. and Okada, Y. (2002) FASEB J. 16, 219-221). In the present study, we further examined the susceptibility of the VEGF(165).CTGF complex to matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -9, and -13), ADAMTS4 (aggrecanase-1), and serine proteinases, and evaluated the recovery of the angiogenic activity of VEGF(165) after the treatment. Among the MMPs, MMP-1, -3, -7, and -13 processed CTGF of the complex into the major NH(2)- and COOH-terminal fragments, whereas VEGF(165) was completely resistant to the MMPs. On the other hand, elastase and plasmin cleaved both CTGF and VEGF(165) of the complex, but they were completely resistant to ADAMTS4. By digestion of the immobilized VEGF(165).CTGF complex with MMP-3 or MMP-7, both NH(2)- and COOH-terminal fragments of CTGF were dissociated and released from the complex into the liquid phase. The in vitro angiogenic activity of VEGF(165) blocked in the VEGF(165).CTGF complex was reactivated to original levels after CTGF digestion of the complex with MMP-1, -3, and -13. Recovery of angiogenic activity was further confirmed by in vivo angiogenesis assay using a Matrigel injection model in mice. These results demonstrate for the first time that CTGF is a substrate of MMPs and that the angiogenic activity of VEGF(165) suppressed by the complex formation with CTGF is recovered through the selective degradation of CTGF by MMPs. MMPs may play a novel role through CTGF degradation in VEGF-induced angiogenesis during embryonic development, tissue maintenance, and/or pathological processes of various diseases.
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PMID:Matrix metalloproteinases cleave connective tissue growth factor and reactivate angiogenic activity of vascular endothelial growth factor 165. 1211 4

Usually thyroid cells isolated from tissue obtained by surgery or thyroid cell lines are used to investigate the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases. Isolation and cultivation of thyrocytes from fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) has not yet been published. The aim of this study was to isolate and cultivate thyrocytes from samples of FNAB. FNAB samples were obtained from nine adults and nine children with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). The aspiration material was filtered resulting in small samples of tissue on the surface of the filter membrane. These tissue fragments were digested by collagenase I and dispase II. The yielding cells were cultivated for 3 weeks in Ham's F12 Kaighn's Modification medium in presence of 1 mU/mL bovine thyrotropin (TSH), 10 microg/mL human insulin, 6 microg/mL transferrin, and 10(-8) M hydrocortisone. Finally, isolated thyroid cells were characterized by determination of gene expression of thyrotropin receptor (TSHR), thyroperoxidase (TPO), and thyroglobulin (Tg) using a nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Thyroid cells obtained by FNAB can be maintained over a time period of approximately 3 weeks. Depending on the sample size a final number of 1000-14,000 cells was gained per FNAB. In addition, all cells isolated by the described method expressed TPO mRNA. TSHR mRNA was found in 4 samples, whereas 15 samples were Tg mRNA-positive. There were no differences with respect to the expression TSHR and TPO mRNA between samples from adults and children. The isolation and cultivation of thyroid cells obtained by FNAB has been established. In contrast to surgical specimen, this technique provides an easy access to thyrocytes derived from individual patients allowing repeated sampling to investigate the time progression of the chronic disease or the effect of treatment over time.
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PMID:Isolation of thyroid cells obtained by fine-needle aspiration biopsy. 1618 6