Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Vascular cell procoagulant activity may be important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In previous studies, we described the ability of the atherogenic metabolite homocysteine to activate endothelial cell Factor V, a key coagulation cofactor for thrombin generation. The present study was designed to investigate Factor V activity and Factor Xa-catalyzed prothrombin activation by control and atherosclerotic aorta from normal and hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Factor Xa generated ninefold more thrombin on atherosclerotic aortic segments than on control segments. Atherosclerotic segments activated 125I-prothrombin with Factor Xa in the presence of the thrombin inhibitor dansyl arginine-4-ethylpiperidine amide and cleaved 125I-Factor V. This suggests that increases in vessel-wall Factor V activity and Factor Xa-catalyzed prothrombin activation result from activation of vessel-wall Factor V. 125I-Factor Va peptides generated by atherosclerotic aorta were very similar in molecular weight to those generated by homocysteine-treated cells. When vascular endothelium was mechanically removed by brushing, atherosclerotic vessels still generated four- to fivefold more thrombin than control vessels. These data and results from immunocytochemical studies suggest that Factor V in atherosclerotic vessels is associated with both endothelium and other cells of the lesion. In contrast, Factor V in control vessels is associated primarily with endothelium. The increases in Factor V activity and thrombin formation in the blood vessel wall of hypercholesterolemic rabbits may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and its complications.
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PMID:Formation of factor Va by atherosclerotic rabbit aorta mediates factor Xa-catalyzed prothrombin activation. 316 15

The mechanisms of inflammation responsible for the myocardial tissue damage seen after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have not been clearly identified. Recent lines of evidence, demonstrating depressed sera levels of individual complement components in patients after myocardial infarction, have suggested involvement of the complement (C) system in micro- and macrovascular injury subsequent to AMI. The present study assessed the role of complement as a mediator of myocardial inflammation by quantifying products of complement activation including, the terminal complement complex (TCC) the cytolytic component of the complement system, C1rC1s-C1 inhibitor complex and C3bBbP complex, formed following activation of the classical and alternative pathway, respectively, and anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a in 41 patients following AMI. Plasma TCC and C1rC1s-C1 inhibitor complex concentrations increased up to 32-fold (P less than 0.001) and 8-fold (P less than 0.001), respectively, while the C3bBbP complex, C3a des-Arg and C5a des-Arg each increased over 2-fold (P less than 0.001) 16 h after AMI, and were only minimally detectable during non-inflammatory myocardial conditions. Furthermore, TCC concentrations increased over 150% (P less than 0.001) one day after patients reinfarcted, subsequent to hospitalization for a primary AMI. These results demonstrate activation of complement after AMI and suggest that inflammatory mediators of the complement system may contribute to myocardial tissue damage during the infarction process.
Atherosclerosis 1988 Mar
PMID:Detection of the terminal complement complex in patient plasma following acute myocardial infarction. 325 20

Eight men were given 2 casein meals, one with and one without a supplement of arginine and glycine, to measure the effect on plasma amino acids, insulin and glucagon. Supplementation resulted in increased levels of plasma glucagon, glycine and arginine, a tendency to decreased insulin and significantly lower insulin/glucagon ratio, tryptophan and tyrosine. The data suggest that insulin and glucagon, which control cholesterol metabolism, respond to dietary and postprandial plasma amino acid levels of arginine and glycine.
Atherosclerosis 1988 May
PMID:Testing a mechanism of control in human cholesterol metabolism: relation of arginine and glycine to insulin and glucagon. 328 27

Apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] is a glycoprotein with Mr approximately equal to 280,000 that is disulfide linked to apolipoprotein B in lipoprotein(a) particles. Elevated plasma levels of lipoprotein(a) are correlated with atherosclerosis. Partial amino acid sequence of apo(a) shows that it has striking homology to plasminogen. Plasminogen is a plasma serine protease zymogen that consists of five homologous and tandemly repeated domains called kringles and a trypsin-like protease domain. The amino-terminal sequence obtained for apo(a) is homologous to the beginning of kringle 4 but not the amino terminus of plasminogen. Apo(a) was subjected to limited proteolysis by trypsin or V8 protease, and fragments generated were isolated and sequenced. Sequences obtained from several of these fragments are highly (77-100%) homologous to plasminogen residues 391-421, which reside within kringle 4. Analysis of these internal apo(a) sequences revealed that apo(a) may contain at least two kringle 4-like domains. A sequence obtained from another tryptic fragment also shows homology to the end of kringle 4 and the beginning of kringle 5. Sequence data obtained from two tryptic fragments show homology with the protease domain of plasminogen. One of these sequences is homologous to the sequences surrounding the activation site of plasminogen. Plasminogen is activated by the cleavage of a specific arginine residue by urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator; however, the corresponding site in apo(a) is a serine that would not be cleaved by tissue plasminogen activator or urokinase. Using a plasmin-specific assay, no proteolytic activity could be demonstrated for lipoprotein(a) particles. These results suggest that apo(a) contains kringle-like domains and an inactive protease domain.
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PMID:Partial amino acid sequence of apolipoprotein(a) shows that it is homologous to plasminogen. 347 6

Thrombospondin (TSP) is a multifunctional platelet glycoprotein synthesized by a variety of cells in culture including monocytes and macrophages. We now report that 125I-TSP binds specifically, saturably, and reversibly to mouse peritoneal macrophages and to cells of the monocyte-like human cell line U937 with dissociation constants of 6.7-14.5 X 10(-8) M and 3-4 X 10(5) binding sites per cell. TSP mediates an adhesive interaction between thrombin-stimulated platelets and both U937 cells and human blood monocytes. Using a sensitive rosetting assay, we found that monocytes were not rosetted by resting platelets whereas greater than 90% were rosetted by thrombin-stimulated platelets. Monoclonal and polyclonal anti-TSP antibodies markedly inhibited rosetting as did TSP itself. Neither control antibodies nor heparin, fibronectin, fibrinogen, nor the fibronectin adhesion tetrapeptide Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser inhibited rosetting. TSP may thus serve as a molecular bridge linking activated platelets with monocytes at sites of early vascular injury. Such interaction may be of critical importance in the regulation of thrombosis and the initiation of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Thrombospondin binds to monocytes-macrophages and mediates platelet-monocyte adhesion. 381 52

The effect of various chemical and enzymatic modifications of low density lipoprotein (LDL) on its ability to activate the isolated human plasma lysolecithin acyltransferase (LAT) was studied. Removal of all lipids from LDL resulted in the complete loss of LAT activation. Removal of only neutral lipids by extraction with heptane retained up to 50% of the original activity, which was not increased further by reconstitution of the LDL with the extracted lipids. Hydrolysis of the diacylphosphoglycerides of the LDL with phospholipases resulted in complete loss of LAT activation which was partially restored by the addition of egg lecithin. Hydrolysis of more than 4% of LDL protein by trypsin led to a linear decrease in activity with complete loss of activity occurring when about 25% of the LDL protein is hydrolyzed. Modification of the arginine groups of LDL reversibly inhibited the activation of LAT. Modification of lysine residues of LDL by acetylation, acetoacetylation or succinylation also abolished its ability to activate lysolecithin acylation.
Atherosclerosis 1985 Jan
PMID:Role of low density lipoprotein in the activation of plasma lysolecithin acyltransferase activity. Effect of chemical and enzymatic modifications of the lipoprotein on enzyme activity. 392 84

Rats fed a semipurified diet containing casein developed higher levels of circulating triglycerides and cholesterol than animals fed a soy protein-containing diet. The increased serum lipid levels in non-fasted rats were associated largely with the d less than 1.006 g/ml lipoprotein particles (e.g. chylomicrons or very low density-like lipoproteins). In addition, casein-fed rats exhibited higher levels of circulating insulin and depressed hepatic 7 alpha-hydroxylase levels compared to soy-fed rats. Supplementation of the casein diet with arginine, to give an arginine/lysine ratio comparable to that in the soy diet, resulted in a reduction of d less than 1.006 g/ml lipids, a reduction in serum insulin levels and an elevation in hepatic 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity. Supplementation of the soy diet with lysine also resulted in modification of these parameters toward those observed with casein diets, albeit the effects were less dramatic. The results suggest that the hyperlipidemia associated with feeding casein-based diet is associated with decreased rates of clearance of chylomicron-like lipoproteins and their component triglycerides and cholesterol. Furthermore, this is largely prevented by addition of arginine to diets containing casein as the sole protein source.
Atherosclerosis 1985 Aug
PMID:Effects of casein and soy protein on hepatic and serum lipids and lipoprotein lipid distributions in the rat. 393 24

Elastin preparations from intimal layers and the media of normal and atherosclerotic human aortae were analyzed for protein and lipid content. In atherosclerotic aortae, elastin from plaques was compared with elastin from adjacent normal appearing areas of the same aorta. Arterial elastin purified by alkaline extraction appeared to be a protein-lipid complex containing free and ester cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides. The lipid component of normal arterial elastin was small (1-2%). With increasing severity of atherosclerosis, there was a progressive accumulation of lipid in intimal elastin from plaques, reaching a mean lipid content of 37% in severe plaques. The increase in the lipid content of plaque elastic preparations was mainly due to large increases in cholesterol, over 80% of which was cholesteryl ester. This deposition of cholesterol in plaque elastin accounted for 20-34% of the total cholesterol content of the plaque. The increased lipid deposition in plaque elastin was associated with alterations in the amino acid composition of plaque elastin. In elastin from plaque intima, the following polar amino acids were increased significantly: aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, lysine, histidine, and arginine; whereas, cross-linking amino acids: desmosine, isodesmosine, and lysinonorleucine were decreased significantly. The amino acid and lipid composition of elastin from normal appearing aortic areas was comparable to that of normal arterial elastin except for intimal elastin directly adjacent to and medial elastin directly below the most severe plaques.The data indicate that the focal lipid deposition in early atherosclerotic plaques is due to a large extent to lipid accumulations in altered elastin protein of localized intimal areas. Continued lipid deposition in altered elastin appears to contribute substantially to the progressive lipid accumulation in the plaque. The study suggests that elastin of intimal elastic membranes may play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:The protein and lipid composition of arterial elastin and its relationship to lipid accumulation in the atherosclerotic plaque. 509 73

The effect of varying the compositions of dietary proteins on the relative cholesterolaemic effects of animal and vegetable proteins was investigated in rabbits. In experiments using high fat diets, the amino acid compositions of dietary proteins (soya or casein) were altered by blending them 1:1 (w/w) with gelatin. This reduced the differences in amino acid compositions and also made soya more and casein less hypercholesterolaemic. In experiment 2a, soya protein was compared with dried skim milk in low fat diets and in experiment 2b, these proteins were supplemented with lysine or arginine, respectively, so that the lysine:arginine ratio of soya was similar to dried skim milk and vice-versa. Serum cholesterol was significantly higher in milk-fed than soya-fed rabbits and was not influenced by reversing the lysine:arginine ratio. In the three experiments, parameters of cholesterol kinetics were estimated from the die-away curve of injected [4 14-C]cholesterol. There were no significant effects of diet on the parameters of cholesterol kinetics. It was concluded that the lysine:arginine ratio of the diet is not the major determinant of the cholesterolaemic properties of proteins, but that the overall amino acid composition is primarily concerned.
Atherosclerosis 1983 Jun
PMID:The effect of dietary lysine to arginine ratio on cholesterol kinetics in rabbits. 641 Oct 98

A lot of over 60 atherosclerotics with clinical manifestations of senile depressive illness was studied comparatively with a lot of subjects of the same age with essential arterial hypertension (EAH). As concerns the behaviour of the catecholamine content in CSF and blood, the total catecholamines are approxiately equal in the two lots, but with a clear difference of the catecholamine fractions. The CSF catecholamines behaviour in old atherosclerotics is characterized by the presence of increased values of noradrenaline (NA) and of adrenaline (A), with increased statistical significance, but without modifications of the adrenaline percentage (A %) from the total catecholamines, comparatively to the values found in normal subjects. The serotonin (5-HT) content of the CSF in men with atherosclerotic senile depressive illness was lower even than in subjects with coronary atherosclerosis. In atherosclerosis protides modifications precede the histologic changes. In CSF, GLU, ALA, TYR increase in old subjects. In blood, GLU, ALA, TYR, HIS, LEU, SER increase in the same subjects. ARG decreases with age. THR is higher in men than in women. In the urine of all the men as well as of all the women of more than 60 years, GLN and ALA have increased values. LYS increases with age. GLN and ARG are higher in men than in women.
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PMID:Pattern of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood biogenic amines and of the CSF, blood and urine amino acids as pathogenetic ground of the senile depressive illness. 677 91


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