Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In a previous study, we reported that fragment Bb of bovine complement factor B activated bovine monocytes, as demonstrated by the uptake of 3H-deoxyglucose. In the present study, the effects of Bb on the production of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide by bovine monocytes was investigated. The production of superoxide was measured by the superoxide dismutase inhibitable reduction of cytochrome c. The change in absorbance was determined by a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 550 nm. Hydrogen peroxide production was measured by the horse-radish peroxidase-dependent oxidation of phenol red. The resulting color change was measured by a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 620 nm. Fragment Bb (20 micrograms/mL) induced the generation of 0.96 +/- 0.2 (mean +/- SEM) nanomoles of superoxide/2.5 x 10(5) monocytes at 5 min. The production of superoxide peaked at 15 min (1.24 +/- 0.3 nanomoles). The production of hydrogen peroxide was also rapid: 0.195 +/- 0.05 nanomoles/2.5 x 10(5) monocytes at 5 min with a peak at 15 min (0.250 +/- 0.04 nanomoles). These observations show that fragment Bb, which has serine protease activity, induces bovine monocytes to generate reactive oxygen intermediates such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide.
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PMID:Bb fragment of bovine complement factor B: stimulation of the oxidative burst in bovine monocytes. 217 93

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a naturally occurring inhibitor of the pro-inflammatory interleukin-1-mediated activation of the interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R). Although wild-type IL-1Ra is used for treatment of inflammatory diseases, its effect is moderate and/or short-lived. The objective of this study was to generate IL-1Ra mutants with enhanced antagonistic activity for potential therapeutic use. Using a directed evolution approach in which libraries of IL-1Ra gene mutants were generated and screened in functional assays, mutants with desired properties were identified. Initially, diversity was introduced into the IL-1Ra using random mutagenesis. Mutations resulting in enhanced antagonistic activity were identified by screening in a reporter cell assay. To further enhance the antagonistic activity, selected mutations were recombined using the DNA recombination technology Fragment-INduced Diversity (FIND). Following three rounds of FIND recombination, several mutants with up to nine times enhanced antagonistic activity (mean IC50 +/- SEM value: 0.78 +/- 0.050 vs. 6.8 +/- 1.1 ng/ml for mutant and wild-type, respectively) were identified. Sequence analysis identified the mutations D47N, E52R and E90Y as being most important for this effect, however, the mutations P38Y, H54R, Q129L and M136N further enhanced the antagonistic function. Analysis of identified mutations in protein models based on the crystal structure of the IL-1Ra/IL-1R complex suggested that mutations found to enhance the antagonistic activity had a stabilizing effect on the IL-1Ra mutants or increased the affinity for the IL-1R. Finally, the therapeutic effect of one mutant was compared to that of wild-type IL-1Ra in collagen-induced arthritis in mice. Indeed, the enhanced antagonistic effect of the mutants observed in vitro was also seen in vivo. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that directed evolution of IL-1Ra is an effective means of generating highly potent therapeutic proteins.
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PMID:Development of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist mutants with enhanced antagonistic activity in vitro and improved therapeutic efficacy in collagen-induced arthritis. 1856 90