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)

This study investigated luteal function in vitro during early pregnancy and pseudopregnancy in the ferret. Corpora lutea taken from animals on Day 13 following the ovulatory stimulus (mating or gonadotropin treatment) were dissociated with collagenase and incubated with ovine prolactin (Prl), ovine luteinizing hormone (LH), total lipoprotein fraction from canine serum, canine high-density lipoproteins (HDL), canine low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or combinations of Prl, LH, HDL, and LDL. Total lipoproteins produced statistically definable increases in progesterone accumulation in incubation media at 5 microliter (approx. 50 micrograms protein) through 25 microliter (250 micrograms protein) of the total lipoprotein solution. LDL in doses of 1 or more microgram protein stimulated progesterone accumulation in 2-h incubations and a similar stimulation was observed in the presence of 60 or more micrograms HDL. Prl, LH or the combination of Prl and LH had no apparent stimulatory influence on progesterone accumulation in vitro. Prl in combination with LDL further stimulated progesterone output by luteal cells in short-term incubation relative to LDL alone. Prl and LH together with LDL produced an increase in stimulation over LDL alone, but, for the most part, this augmentation did not exceed that recorded in the presence of the combination of Prl and LDL. No interactions between HDL and luteotropic hormones were present. The results indicate that lipoproteins increase progesterone output from ferret luteal cells, presumably by providing substrate for steroid hormone synthesis. No direct role for LH in ferret luteal function emerged from these experiments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Role of lipoproteins and prolactin in luteal function in the ferret. 673 8

This paper describes a method for obtaining cultures of rat ventral prostate epithelial cells. The prostate is first perfused with a collagenase solution before removal from the animal; subsequent mincing and incubation in vitro produces a suspension of alveolar cell clumps. Upon incubation, these clumps attach to the surface of the culture dish and spread into discrete epithelial cell colonies, which both retain differentiated morphology, and secrete a species of plasminogen activator that is characteristic of prostatic tissue. These properties were not observed in cultures prepared from single cell suspensions of the same organ. Maintenance of epithelial colony integrity and secretory activity specifically required the continued presence of stromal cells, glucocorticoids and insulin. Androgenic steroids were much less effective than glucocorticoids in stimulating plasminogen activator secretion and in maintaining colony integrity, in spite of the well-established androgen dependence of prostatic tissue morphology in vivo and in organ culture. Furthermore, no effects of prolactin were observed, either when this hormone was tested alone or in conjunction with steroid hormones. Of 3 retinoids tested, retinal was highly cytotoxic at concentrations in the range of 1 microM, whereas retinol and retinoic acid were without detectable effect.
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PMID:The culture of hormone-dependent epithelial cells from the rat ventral prostate. 699 12

Epithelial cell-rich fractions of rat mammary gland were prepared using percoll gradients after collagenase dispersion. Their insulin-binding characteristics were similar to those of crude acini but superior to unfractionated isolated cells. Optimal binding was obtained after 60 min at 20 degrees C or 16 h at 4 degree C at pH 7.8 Binding at 37 degrees C was lower due probably to an enhanced rate of insulin degradation. 48 h after ovariectomy of 18-day pregnant rats insulin binding to acini doubled due to an increase in the number of insulin receptors. Progesterone but not bromocriptine (which prevented the rise in serum prolactin which occurred after ovariectomy) prevented this increase in insulin binding. These results illustrate that the change in serum progesterone rather than prolactin increases insulin binding to the mammary cell at parturition whilst insulin binding decreases in adipose tissue at the same time (Flint et al., Mol. Cell Endocrinol, 20, 101-111, 1981) enabling coordinated changes in the metabolism of these 2 tissues to take place during the perinatal period.
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PMID:Insulin binding to rat mammary gland at various stages of cell isolation and purification. 704 14

In order to study the hormonal characteristics of human prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas, in vitro monolayer and suspension cultures from human pituitary glands were established. Optimal conditions for cultures included enzymatic dispersion into viable single-cell suspensions with the use of 1% collagenase in phosphate-buffered saline solution. After pelleting the dispersed cells by centrifugation (800 rpm for 10 minutes), they were cultured in RPMI medium that contained 20% fetal calf serum and then incubated at 37degrees C in 5% CO2. Cells were subcultured weekly at a ratio of one plate to two. In an attempt to establish whether bromocriptine has a direct inhibitory effect on pituitary secretion of prolactin (PRL), variable doses of bromocriptine were added to duplicate plates. The addition of bromocriptine to the culture medium induced suppression of PRL within 7 days. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that either monolayer of suspension cultures of human PRL secreting adenomas can be established, and that bromocriptine in doses of 1 ng/plate or more has a direct inhibitory effect on the secretion of PRL.
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PMID:Monolayer and suspension culture of human prolactin-secreting pituitary adenoma. 743 30

Mammary cells were prepared from lactating mice by collagenase digestion in order to examine the reaction of prolactin (PRL) with its cellular receptors. Cells were treated with 10% acetic acid following PRL binding. Between 5 and 12.5% acetic acid, the dissociation of PRL remained constant. The ratio of dissociated PRL was comparable to that of tissue slices or disrupted cells with this treatment. In subcellular membranes, about 81% of PRL bound to plasma membrane receptors was dissociated by acid treatment while PRL dissociated from intracellular membrane receptors was about 21%. Based on the nature of their PRL dissociation, PRL receptors were classified as acid-sensitive or acid-insensitive. The reaction of PRL with either species was reversible and saturable, and was dependent on temperature and time. Both species showed high PRL-binding affinity. However, acid-insensitive receptor was unstable at 37 degrees C. The level of acid-sensitive receptor was close to that of acid-insensitive receptor in late pregnancy. During the first 3 days of lactation, the level of acid-sensitive receptor increased more slowly than that corresponding to acid-insensitive receptor. The above criteria suggest that the postpartum increase in PRL binding is characterized especially by an increase in the level of acid-insensitive PRL receptor located mainly on intracellular membrane.
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PMID:Characterization of plasma and intracellular membrane prolactin receptor in lactating mouse mammary cells. 795 76

The neuropeptides are involved in the immune response and in hormonal homeostasis. In this review, we analyse the interactions between the cytokine, the neuropeptide and the hormonal networks in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We first consider pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction in RA. An inappropriate response to cortisol in chronic inflammation has been reported, i.e., a decrease of the corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH) secretion by the hypothalamus. In contrast, the immunostimulant hormone prolactin (PRL) is upregulated. PRL is released by the pituitary after stimulation by neuropeptides [serotonin, thyroid-releasing-hormone (TRH), or vasoactive-intestinal-peptide (VIP)], and is down-regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6). The decreased testosterone concentration observed in male RA patients is associated with HLA B 15. Thus, an altered sex hormone status and a genetic predisposition are related to HLA antigens, and increase the subject's susceptibility to the development of RA. The terminal C fibres release neurotransmitters such as substance P, neurokinin A and calcitonin-gene-related-peptide (CGRP) within the joints, and contribute to local inflammation, synoviocyte proliferation and collagenase production. The parasympathetic system may attenuate the immune response through the neuropeptide VIP. In contrast, the beta 2 adrenergic fibres of the sympathetic nervous system increase joints degradation in RA. This review presents the currently extensive knowledge regarding the immune-neuro-hormonal network, and its implication in the pathogenesis of RA.
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PMID:Modulation of the immune response by the neuro-endocrine axis in rheumatoid arthritis. 795 11

The skin of an anuran tadpole undergoes region-dependent metamorphic changes: the body (head and body trunk) transforms into the adult type, while the tail falls into programmed cell death. The present study was undertaken to investigate the regional specificity of metamorphosis at a molecular level, focusing on genes of collagen and collagenase that are known to be activated in their synthesis at metamorphosis. A cDNA probe utilized for collagen was Hf677 (a clone of human type I collagen alpha 1 chain). A probe for collagenase gene was cloned in the present study from a cDNA library of bullfrog tadpole skin, characterized and named Tc1. Tc1 contained the consensus sequence of zinc-metalloproteinases and showed a high homology to mammalian collagenases. Using these recombinant DNAs as probes, RNA blot analyses were performed for the body and tail skin of tadpoles that had been in spontaneous metamorphosis, induced to metamorphosis by the injection of thyroid hormone, or had been induced to grow by prolactin treatment. Collagenase gene was activated irrespective of regions of the skin, body or tail at the early metamorphic climax stage, although the extent of activation was region-dependent. In contrast, metamorphic changes of collagen gene expression showed a clear regional dependency. The transcription level in body skin was enhanced at the onset of metamorphosis while that in tail skin was markedly suppressed. Thyroid hormone was shown to be responsible for this region-dependent expression of collagen genes at metamorphosis. Prolactin, a suppressor hormone of amphibian metamorphosis, enhanced the transcription of collagen genes and suppressed that of collagenase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Regionally and hormonally regulated expression of genes of collagen and collagenase in the anuran larval skin. 798 Oct 43

Nearly homogeneous preparations of stromal cells derived from human proliferative endometrium can be obtained by treating endometrial fragments with collagenase in order to disperse stromal elements, filtering the mixture a 25 microns opening sieve to separate them from gland, and incubating the dispersed cells to culture dishes. Exposure of stromal cell cultures to db-cAMP, 8-Br-cAMP or forskolin in RPMI 1640 medium containing 2% ct-FCS and 0.1 U/ml insulin induces the expression of prolactin (PRL), evident from 1) its secretion to the culture medium, measured by radioimmunoassay and by Western blot analysis, 2) the incorporation of 35S-methionine in a protein precipitated with a PRL antibody and co-migrating with authentic PRL during electrophoresis, and 3) the synthesis of PRL mRNA determined by Northern blot analysis. The cAMP effect on PRL production is enhanced by progestins, which by themselves are weak PRL inducers under similar experimental conditions. As expected from previous findings in our laboratory, showing that addition of PRL to the culture medium induces decidualization of endometrial stromal cells, cAMP derivatives not only induce PRL but also provoke differentiation of the fibroblast-like stromal cells to the decidual phenotype, as evident from morphologic changes and by the expression of products characteristic of decidual cells, e.g. IGFBP-1, desmin, hsp 27 and laminin. These findings suggest a PRL-mediated, progesterone-enhanced decidualization mechanism initiated by physiologic agents increasing cAMP levels in stromal cells.
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PMID:Mechanisms involved in the decidualization of human endometrial stromal cells. 798 67

The purpose of this study was to develop a primary culture system using serum-free medium for rat placental trophoblast cells and to investigate the factors that control rat placental lactogen-II (rPL-II) secretion in vitro. The placentae of day 13 pregnant rats were dissociated in Medium 199 containing 0.1% collagenase and 0.002% DNAase. Dissociated cells were fractionated into five segments by centrifugation through a 40% Percoll density gradient and incubated on rat tail collagen bed in medium SFM-101 for up to 7 days. Fraction B at the Percoll gradient density of 1.05 g ml-1 was enriched with rPL-II-producing cells and the time course of rPL-II secretion was characterized by a rapid increase in the first 2 days, remaining at high values (mean: 14-16 ng micrograms-1 DNA) for the following 2-3 days and decreasing thereafter. The rPL-II-producing cells from faction B identified by immunocytochemical examination accounted for approximately 69% of total cultured cells and consisted of a few giant cells and polygonal cells. Growth factors (bovine insulin, 0.1-20 micrograms ml-1; recombinant human insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, IGF-II, 0.1-1.0 micrograms ml-1; murine epidermal growth factor (EGF), 0.001-10 micrograms ml-1), rat pituitary hormones (rat growth hormone, rat prolactin, 0.1-10 micrograms ml-1) and hypothalamic hormones (human growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), LHRH, 0.1-10 micrograms ml-1) were individually added to the culture medium to investigate the putative factors that directly control rPL-II secretion by the trophoblast cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Stimulation of rat placental lactogen-II (rPL-II) secretion by cultured trophoblasts by insulin: development of a rat placental cell culture system and effects of peptide hormones on rPL-II secretion in vitro. 810 35

Transgenic female mice bearing human transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF alpha) cDNA under the control of the mouse mammary tumor virus enhancer/promoter became pregnant but failed lactation. TGF alpha mRNA was detected in the mammary glands of these mice by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. By the use of collagenase-dissociated mammary epithelial cells, the binding of prolactin to its receptor was determined before and after parturition. At the end of pregnancy, the binding in TGF alpha transgenic (TGF alpha [+]) mice was small and its amount was comparable to that in the TGF alpha negative (TGF alpha [-]) mice. On the day of parturition, prolactin binding in TGF alpha (+) mice increased approximately 1.9-fold (insignificant), while that in TGF alpha (-) mice elevated over 5.3-fold (P < 0.01). The binding sites per cell were also higher in TGF alpha (-)mice. Radioimmunoassay of prolactin suggested that in TGF alpha (+) mice the low level of prolactin binding after parturition was not due to masking effect of serum prolactin. Among six TGF alpha (+) mice assayed, one mother with the highest prolactin binding activity (3.7-fold increase) initiated lactation, but the others did not. As there was little difference between groups in the growth and synthesis in the mammary glands, it was concluded that the failure of lactation in TGF alpha (+) mice is principally due to the lack of elevation of mammary prolactin receptor after parturition. At present, the role of TGF alpha in this process is obscure; however, TGF alpha was revealed not to interfere with the binding of prolactin to the receptor.
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PMID:Cause of failure of lactation in mouse mammary tumor virus/human transforming growth factor alpha transgenic mice. 817 Oct 44


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