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)

Acute asthma is characterized by a decrease in the pH of the exhaled breath condensate and bronchoconstriction. These perturbations may injure the epithelium in a chronic, intermittent pattern, leading to subepithelial fibrosis. We used an in vitro three-dimensional model of the bronchial mucosa to elucidate the response to a repeated chemical or physical insult to the epithelium in the postcontraction phase. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcriptase--polymerase chain reaction to assess the production of the following proteins: matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 3, MMP-9, tissue inhibitor of MMP-1, transforming growth factor beta 1, thrombospondin 1, tenascin, and fibronectin. The presence of the epithelium enhanced the degree of tissue contraction (50.1 +/- 4.4% of original area versus 75.4 +/- 2.3%). In the absence of injury, tenascin, fibronectin, MMP-3, and tissue inhibitor of MMP-1 are actively expressed. However, the chronic chemical wound markedly inhibited the expression of all proteins. We conclude that the epithelium, wound type, and age of the tissue (contracting versus postcontraction) impact the expression of key proteins in an in vitro model of subepithelial fibrosis in asthma.
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PMID:Expression of matrix proteins in an in vitro model of airway remodeling in asthma. 1263 76

The debilitating destruction of joint tissues seen in osteoarthritis (OA) is due, in large part, to the degradative activity of metalloproteinase (MP) enzymes that target extracellular matrix (ECM) components within articular cartilage. Although successful in suppressing the pain and inflammation associated with this disease, conventional OA therapeutics do not inhibit the underlying tissue catabolism, allowing the disease to progress into irreversible ECM loss and chronic disability. Therapeutic inhibition of metalloproteinase activity is not a new concept, however, its transfer into clinical use has been frustrating. Disappointing results from clinical trials with small molecule inhibitors of metalloproteinases have highlighted the critical importance of inhibitor specificity, and the need to identify the individual metalloproteinases responsible for joint destruction. We discuss strategies of inhibition using small molecule inhibitors and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) engineered to increase inhibitory specificity, and present new data using of new reagents such as ribozymes and inhibitory RNAs that repress expression of specific enzymes. Recent data has implicated the disease stage-dependent involvement of matrix metalloproteinase-1, -2, -3, -9, -13, ADAM-17/TACE (tumor-necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme), and ADAMTS-5 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin 1 motifs) as major in vivo mediators of the ECM degradation seen in OA, and as such, they represent promising therapeutic targets. We conclude that the concept of molecular polypharmacy, in which the relevant enzymes are selectively targeted with multiple directed therapies, may offer a new therapeutic strategy that prevents joint destruction and minimizes toxicities.
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PMID:Molecular targets in osteoarthritis: metalloproteinases and their inhibitors. 1730 7

Although human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are a powerful tool for cell therapy, prolonged culture times result in replicative senescence or acquisition of tumorigenic features. To identify a molecular signature for senescence, we compared the transcriptome of senescent and young hMSCs with normal karyotype (hMSCs/n) and with a constitutional inversion of chromosome 3 (hMSC/inv). Senescent and young cells from both lineages showed differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with higher levels in senescent hMSCs/inv. Among the 30 DEGs in senescent hMSC/inv, 11 are new candidates for biomarkers of cellular senescence. The functional categories most represented in senescent hMSCs were related to cellular development, cell growth/proliferation, cell death, cell signaling/interaction, and cell movement. Mapping of DEGs onto biological networks revealed matrix metalloproteinase-1, thrombospondin 1, and epidermal growth factor acting as topological bottlenecks. In the comparison between senescent hMSCs/n and senescent hMSCs/inv, other functional annotations such as segregation of chromosomes, mitotic spindle formation, and mitosis and proliferation of tumor lines were most represented. We found that many genes categorized into functional annotations related to tumors in both comparisons, with relation to tumors being highest in senescent hMSCs/inv. The data presented here improves our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the onset of cellular senescence as well as tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Identification of new genes associated to senescent and tumorigenic phenotypes in mesenchymal stem cells. 2925 2

The phenomenon of vasculogenic mimicry in melanoma has been recently described to be an important factor relating to melanoma progression. Large scale gene expression profiling by real-time quantitative RT-QPCR of a panel of 40 normal tissues and 54 cancer cell lines revealed that two genetically related melanoma cell lines, one derived from a primary lesion Hs.688(A) and one derived from a lymph node metastasis Hs.688(B), displayed a unique expression pattern when compared to other cancer cell lines and tissue samples in the panel. Quantitative-RT-PCR data indicated that these melanoma cells expressed a number of activated endothelial cell-associated genes such as tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases TIMP-2, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-1, MMP-2), thrombospondin 1 (TSP1), proto-oncogene c-MET and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). To examine the gene expression profile of these unique melanoma cells in greater depth, cDNA libraries were made from isolated microsome complexes to enrich those transcripts that were destined to be translated into cell surface or secreted proteins. High throughput sequencing analysis revealed that this library contained over 7000 cDNAs and was enriched by over 80% of secreted or membrane-bound proteins. The presence in the cDNA library of genes such as acetyl LDL receptor, tumor endothelial markers-1, 5 and 8 (TEMs), flow-induced endothelial G protein coupled receptor-1 and VEGF-related protein (VRP), all of which are known to be expressed uniquely by endothelial cells, supported the hypothesis that Hs.688(A) and Hs.688(B) cells were mimicking an activated vascular phenotype. Ultimately the goal is to investigate the biological roles of endothelial cell-associated genes in the behavior of Hs.688(A) and Hs.688 (B) melanoma cells.
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PMID:The Melanoma Vascular Mimicry Phenotype Defined in Gene Expression and Microsome Sequencing Analysis. 3139 28