Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P01034 (cystatin C)
 3,397 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 49-year-old man suffered from progressive dementia and seizures leading to death after 2 years. CT scans showed severe cortical-subcortical atrophy and hypodensity of the white matter. His father had died at about the same age with similar clinical signs. Two sisters and one brother were also affected. Neuropathological study revealed predominant involvement of the cerebral white matter with myelin loss, gliosis and type I lacunes. The small arteries and arterioles of the white matter and basal ganglia, and, to a lesser extent those of the subarachnoidal space, displayed fibrosis and replacement of the media by an eosinophilic, PAS positive, Congo Red negative, granular substance. Electron microscopy showed swollen myocytes surrounded by collagen, elastin and a compact electron-dense material. Immunofluorescence using antibodies against IgA, IgG, IgM, C1q and C3 stained the abnormal media weakly. In the cortex, there were diffuse senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated beta/A4 positive material in cortical senile plaques but not in arterial walls. Adventitial macrophages were, however, immunoreactive for gamma-trace. Systemic arterioles were normal. The vascular changes and leukoencephalopathy are comparable to those described in 'Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy' (CADASIL). Similar vascular changes were also observed in nonfamilial cases. An association with Alzheimer changes in the cortex has not been described previously. The relationship between both diseases and the role of each in the causation of the dementia is unclear.
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PMID:Autosomal dominant arteriopathic leuko-encephalopathy and Alzheimer's disease. 820 37

Adult schistosome parasites, living in the blood vessels of their mammalian hosts, protect themselves against immune damage in a variety of ways. In addition to the tegument, the intestinal epithelium of the blood-feeding worms is permanently exposed to both the innate and the acquired immune system. In this study, we investigated whether the Schistosoma gut-associated antigens CAA and CCA (circulating anodic antigen and circulating cathodic antigen, respectively), which are excreted in relatively large quantities into the host's circulation, might play a role in evading complement attack. Of several complement components tested, only purified C1q showed significant binding to CAA, a negatively charged highly glycosylated glycoprotein. CCA, also highly glycosylated, but neutral or slightly positively charged, did not bind to C1q. CAA bound only to the collagen-like stalks of C1q and not to the globular heads. No detectable interaction of CAA with precursor human C1 was found and CAA did not induce activation of C1 in whole human serum as assessed by consumption of hemolytic C4 activity. Also CAA could not induce activation of precursor C1 in vitro. These results suggest that CAA behaves like a receptor for C1q, and might be involved in protecting the vulnerable schistosome gut against complement-mediated attack.
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PMID:Schistosoma mansoni circulating anodic antigen but not circulating cathodic antigen interacts with complement component C1q. 822 56

We have screened 110 unrelated Alport syndrome kindreds for mutations in the exon 48 region of the COL4A5 collagen gene. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the PCR-amplified region of exon 48 revealed sequence variants in DNA from affected males and carriers of three unrelated kindreds. All three kindreds have classical Alport syndrome of the juvenile type. DNA-sequencing analyses demonstrated two different single base changes in the codon for arginine-1563 located in exon 48. In Utah kindred 2103, there was a substitution of C by T resulting in the change of the CGA codon for arginine to the translation stop codon TGA. In Utah kindred 2123 and in the Danish kindred A13, there was a C-->T mutation in the noncoding strand changing the same codon to CAA for glutamine. Both mutations were confirmed by allele-specific hybridization on PCR-amplified DNA from other family members.
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PMID:Mutations in the codon for a conserved arginine-1563 in the COL4A5 collagen gene in Alport syndrome. 845 72

Osteopontin (OPN) is an acidic phosphoprotein synthesized by osteoblasts and osteoclastic cells that are localized in the mineralized phase of bone matrix. OPN is thought to bind to the vitronection receptor on the osteoclast membrane and regulates bone resorption by the osteoclast. In this study, we investigated whether or not OPN can relate to osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in a co-culture system. When C57Black/6N mouse bone marrow cells suspended on ivory slices coated with collagen were inoculated onto a MC3T3-G2/PA6 cell layer, colonies containing TRAP(+) mononuclear and multinuclear cells were formed in the presence of 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and dexamethasone. At the end of culture period the number of TRAP(+) osteoclast-like cells were counted and the resorption pits were evaluated by reflected light microscopy. The mRNA of OPN was detected by in situ hybridization. Osteoclast-like cells expressed OPN mRNA. The addition of an OPN antisense oligomer (5' AAT CAC TGC CAA TCT CAT 3') at the start of the co-culture period decreased the number of TRAP(+) cells present after 7 d (30.3 +/- 3.4 vs 56.9 +/- 12.4), and the ratio of mononuclear and multinucleated cells was changed (77.6:23.2 vs 60.8:39.3). The total area of pits per ivory slice was also decreased by adding the OPN antisense oligomer (246813 vs 303139 microns2). These results showed that OPN can be an important mechanism for regulating differentiation and bone resorption.
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PMID:Osteopontin antisense deoxyoligonucleotides inhibit bone resorption by mouse osteoclasts in vitro. 937 15

The biochemical mechanism(s) by which germ cells can form specialized junctions with Sertoli cells in the seminiferous epithelium at various stages of the spermatogenic cycle is unknown. This study sought to examine the biochemical changes that are involved when germ cells are cocultured with Sertoli cells in vitro preceding the establishment of specialized Sertoli-germ cell junctions. While isolated germ cells were allowed to attach to Sertoli cells, media from both the apical and basal compartments of bicameral units were collected to assess serine and cysteine protease activity. The expression of selected serine and cysteine proteases and their corresponding inhibitors in these Sertoli-germ cell cocultures was also examined by RT-PCR. Using an [125I]-collagen film assay, a transient but significant increase in serine protease activity was noted in both the apical and basal compartments when germ cells began to settle onto the Sertoli cell monolayer preceding the formation of intercellular junctions. A specific tryptase (RNK-Tryp 2, a serine protease formerly cloned from a rat granular lymphocyte leukemia cell line, RNK-16, cDNA expression library) was shown to be expressed exclusively by Sertoli cells and not germ cells. Furthermore, Sertoli cell tryptase expression as well as urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA, also a serine protease) increased significantly when germ cells were adhering to Sertoli cells. The decline in total serine protease activity when Sertoli-germ cell junctions were being formed was accompanied by a concomitant increase in alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha2-MG, a nonspecific protease inhibitor) expression. No significant changes in cysteine protease activity in either the apical or basal compartment were noted. However, there was a transient but significant increase in cathepsin L expression when germ cells were adhering to Sertoli cells preceding cell junction formation. The subsequent reduction in cathepsin L expression after this transient increase was accompanied by a concomitant increase in cystatin C expression. These results suggest that proteases and their corresponding inhibitors are working synergistically and are likely to be involved in the adherence of germ cells to Sertoli cells and the subsequent formation of intercellular junctions.
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PMID:Interactions of proteases and protease inhibitors in Sertoli-germ cell cocultures preceding the formation of specialized Sertoli-germ cell junctions in vitro. 943 34

Cysteine proteases are proteolytic enzymes involved in many pathological processes and found in the lysosomes of cells; examples include the cathepsins B, H and L. The role of cysteine proteases is crucial in normal cellular metabolism, being fundamental to intracellular protein turnover, degradation of collagen, and cleaving of precursor proteins. Cysteine protease inhibitors, of which the cystatin superfamily are one example, constitute the final regulatory step in the control of cysteine proteases. Currently, cystatin C is the most frequently investigated family member and is involved in processes such as tumour invasion and metastasis, inflammatory processes and some neurological diseases. In such diseases the emphasis is placed on the fine balance and regulation of both the cysteine proteases and their inhibitors, with an imbalance resulting in a pathological state. In addition, the constant serum concentration of cystatin C means it has possible application as a replacement for creatinine in the measurement of glomerular filtration rate. To date, several assays have been developed and studies show a promising future for its use in the medical laboratory, and not just as a research tool. This review of cystatin C includes a brief history of its discovery and characterisation, provides a guide to some of the processes in which its role is fundamental, and highlights developments in its use as a clinical biomarker in the disease processes discussed.
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PMID:Diagnostic applications of cystatin C. 1120 65

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a precancerous condition of the oral cavity. It is a collagen-related disorder induced by betel quid chewing, a habit that is common in Taiwan. However, the cumulative exposure to betel quids varies in OSF patients. It seems that there is individual susceptibility to betel quid-induced OSF. This study compared the association of OSF and polymorphisms of six collagen-related genes, collagen 1A1 and 1A2 (COL1A1 and COL1A2), collagenase-1 (COLase), transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), lysyl oxidase (LYOXase), and cystatin C (CST3), between patients with low and high exposure to betel quids. A total of 166 patients with OSF from a medical center and 284 betel quid chewers who were free of OSF and oral cancer, from the same hospital and five townships, were recruited. PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism assays were used to determine the genotypes of the six collagen-related genes situated on different chromosomes. We found that the genotypes associated with the highest OSF risk for collagen 1A1, collagen 1A2, collagenase-1, transforming growth factor beta1, lysyl oxidase, and cystatin C were CC, AA, TT, CC, AA, and AA, respectively, for the low-exposure group, and TT, BB, AA, CC, GG, and AA, respectively, for the high-exposure group. A trend was noted for an increased risk of OSF with increasing number of high-risk alleles for those with both high and low exposures for betel quid. The cell selection mechanism of oral fibroblasts is proposed to explain the effect of the modification of cumulative betel quid exposure on the risk profiles of collagen-related genes. These results imply that susceptibility to OSF could involve multigenic mechanisms modified by the betel quid-exposure dose.
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PMID:Interaction of collagen-related genes and susceptibility to betel quid-induced oral submucous fibrosis. 1210 Nov 12

A cystein protease inhibitor was identified in the basic fraction of bovine milk. We have reported in our previous study that the milk basic protein (MBP) fraction suppressed osteoclast-mediated bone resorption in vitro. Since osteoclasts secreted cystein protease to digest collagen in the bone matrix, we identified the cystein protease inhibitor in MBP. A 12-kDa inhibitor was purified from MBP by papain affinity gel chromatography and subsequent Hi-Load Superdex 75 gel filtration chromatography. The N-terminal sequence of the 18 amino acid residues of the inhibitor corresponded to bovine cystatin C. The 12-kDa cystein protease inhibitor in MBP therefore seemed to be cystatin C. Purified cystatin suppressed bone resorption with the use of isolated osteoclasts in vitro. Cystatin in MBP is suggested as one of the factors inhibiting bone resorption.
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PMID:Cystatin C in milk basic protein (MBP) and its inhibitory effect on bone resorption in vitro. 1259 44

Human atherosclerotic lesions overexpress the lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin S (Cat S), one of the most potent mammalian elastases known. In contrast, atheromata have low levels of the endogenous Cat S inhibitor cystatin C compared with normal arteries, suggesting involvement of this protease in atherogenesis. The present study tested this hypothesis directly by crossing Cat S-deficient (CatS(-/-)) mice with LDL receptor-deficient (LDLR(-/-)) mice that develop atherosclerosis on a high-cholesterol diet. Compared with LDLR(-/-) mice, double-knockout mice (CatS(-/-)LDLR(-/-)) developed significantly less atherosclerosis, as indicated by plaque size (plaque area and intimal thickening) and stage of development. These mice also had markedly reduced content of intimal macrophages, lipids, smooth muscle cells, collagen, CD4(+) T lymphocytes, and levels of IFN-gamma. CatS(-/-)LDLR(-/-) monocytes showed impaired subendothelial basement membrane transmigration, and aortas from CatS(-/-)LDLR(-/-) mice had preserved elastic laminae. These findings establish a pivotal role for Cat S in atherogenesis.
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PMID:Deficiency of cathepsin S reduces atherosclerosis in LDL receptor-deficient mice. 1263 96

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by extensive remodeling of the extracellular matrix architecture of the arterial wall. Although matrix metalloproteinases and serine proteases participate in these pathologic events, recent data from atherosclerotic patients and animals suggest the participation of lysosomal cysteine proteases in atherogenesis. Atherosclerotic lesions in humans overexpress the elastolytic and collagenolytic cathepsins S, K, and L but show relatively reduced expression of cystatin C, their endogenous inhibitor, suggesting a shift in the balance between cysteine proteases and their inhibitor that favors remodeling of the vascular wall. Extracts of human atheromatous tissue show greater elastolytic activity in vitro than do those from healthy donors. The cysteinyl protease inhibitor E64d limits this increased elastolysis, indicating involvement of cysteine proteases in elastin degradation during atherogenesis. Furthermore, inflammatory cytokines augment expression and secretion of active cysteine proteases from cultured monocyte-derived macrophages, vascular smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells and increase degradation of extracellular elastin and collagen. Cathepsin S-deficient cells or those treated with E64d show significantly impaired elastolytic or collagenolytic activity. Additionally, recent in vivo studies of atherosclerosis-prone, LDL receptor-null mice lacking cathepsin S show participation of this enzyme in the initial infiltration of leukocytes, medial elastic lamina degradation, endothelial cell invasion, and neovascularization, illustrating an important role for cysteine proteases in arterial remodeling and atherogenesis.
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PMID:Lysosomal cysteine proteases in atherosclerosis. 1517 58


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