Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0014070 (encephalomyelitis)
 13,017 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The capacity of interferon beta to alter the course of multiple sclerosis has promoted a new therapeutic concept, based upon the modulation of the immune response rather than its suppression. As the proteasome plays a crucial role in the control of the inflammatory process and immune cell survival, targeting the proteasome appears as a novel approach for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory autoimmune diseases. We have previously shown that ritonavir, an HIV-1 protease inhibitor used in AIDS therapy, can modulate the proteasome function by inhibiting the chymotrypsin-like activity and enhancing the trypsin-like activity. We have, therefore, explored its therapeutic potential on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an experimental model of multiple sclerosis, in Lewis rats and SJL mice. Daily administration of ritonavir during autoimmune antigen stimulation prevented clinical symptoms of EAE in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This protection was accompanied by an inhibition of the mononuclear cell infiltration into the central nervous system usually observed in EAE. Despite a complete absence of clinical symptoms during first EAE induction, ritonavir-treated animals became resistant to further induction of EAE, suggesting an immune mechanism of protection. These results suggest that proteasome modulation using ritonavir or analogues may be of interest for patients with multiple sclerosis.
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PMID:Protection against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by a proteasome modulator. 1149 58

The human retroviral-like aspartic protease 1 (ASPRV1) is a mammalian retroviral-like enzyme that catalyzes a critical proteolytic step during epidermal differentiation; therefore, it is also referred to as skin-specific aspartic protease (SASPase). Neutrophil granulocytes were also found recently to express ASPRV1 that is involved in the progression of acute chronic inflammation of the central nervous system, especially in autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Thus, investigation of ASPRV1 is important due to its therapeutic or diagnostic potential. We investigated the structural characteristics of ASPRV1 by homology modeling; analysis of the proposed structure was used for interpretation of in vitro specificity studies. For in-vitro characterization, activities of SASP28 and SASP14 enzyme forms were measured using synthetic oligopeptide substrates. We demonstrated that self-processing of SASP28 precursor causes autoactivation of the protease. The highest activity was measured for GST-SASP14 at neutral pH and at high ionic strength, and we proved that pepstatin A and acetyl-pepstatin can also inhibit the protease. In agreement with the structural characteristics, the relatively lower urea dissociation constant implied lower dimer stability of SASP14 compared to that of HIV-1 protease. The obtained structural and biochemical characteristics support better understanding of ASPRV1 function in the skin and central nervous system.
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PMID:Biochemical Characterization of Human Retroviral-Like Aspartic Protease 1 (ASPRV1). 3264 Jun 72