Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038002 (splenomegaly)
 9,873 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are a family of antioxidant proteins that reduce peroxide levels by using reducing agents such as thioredoxin. These proteins were characterized to have a number of cellular functions, including cell proliferation and differentiation and protection of specific proteins from oxidative damage. However, the physiological roles of the peroxiredoxins have not been determined. To clarify the physiological relevance of this protein type, we generated a mouse model deficient in Prx II, which is abundantly expressed in all types of cells. The Prx II-/- mice were healthy in appearance and fertile. However, they had splenomegaly caused by the congestion of red pulp with hemosiderin accumulation. Heinz bodies were detected in their peripheral blood, and morphologically abnormal cells were elevated in the dense red blood cell (RBC) fractions, which contained markedly higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The Prx II-/- mice had significantly decreased hematocrit levels, but increased reticulocyte counts and erythropoietin levels, indicative of a compensatory action to maintain hematologic homeostasis in the mice. In addition, a labeling experiment with the thiol-modifying reagent biotinylated iodoacetamide (BIAM) in Prx II-/- mice revealed that a variety of RBC proteins were highly oxidized. Our results suggest that Prx II-/- mice have hemolytic anemia and that Prx II plays a major role in protecting RBCs from oxidative stress in mice.
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PMID:Peroxiredoxin II is essential for sustaining life span of erythrocytes in mice. 1258 29

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania are important human pathogens that differentiate inside host macrophages into an amastigote life cycle stage. Although this stage causes the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis, only few proteins have been implicated in amastigote intracellular survival. Here we compare morphology, infectivity and protein expression of L. donovani LD1S grown in host free (axenic) culture, or exclusively propagated in infected hamsters, with the aim to reveal parasite traits absent in axenic but selected for in hamster-derived amastigotes through leishmanicidal host activities. Axenic and splenic amastigotes showed a striking difference in virulence and the ability to cause experimental hepato-splenomegaly in infected hamsters. 2D-DIGE analysis revealed statistically significant differences in abundance for 152 spots, with 14 spots showing fivefold or higher abundance in splenic amastigotes. Proteins identified by MS analysis include the anti-oxidant enzyme tryparedoxin peroxidase, and enzymes implicated in protein and amino acid metabolism. Analysis of parasite growth in vitro in minimal medium demonstrated increased survival of hamster-derived compared with axenic parasites under conditions that mimic the nutrient poor, cytotoxic phagolysosome. Thus, our comparative proteomics analysis sheds important new light on the biochemistry of bona fide amastigotes and informs on survival factors relevant for intracellular L. donovani infection.
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PMID:Quantitative proteome profiling informs on phenotypic traits that adapt Leishmania donovani for axenic and intracellular proliferation. 2150 62