Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
 630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Primary cultures of peripheral lung lobes were grown in a highly supplemented medium. Human lung endothelial cells (HLE) were isolated from the mixed population by FACS. The cells proliferated rapidly and were serially cultivated for at least 16 passages. Both early and late passage cells were positive for the standard endothelial markers. Factor VIII related-antigen (Factor VIII R-Ag), angiotensin-converting enzyme, acetylated low-density lipoprotein labeled with 1,1'-dioctadecyl-1,3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI-Ac-LDL) uptake, and bound the lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin (UEA). Prostaglandin E2 was the major cyclooxygenase product of HLE, in contrast to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVE), which synthesized PGI2 in excess of PGE2. Factor VIII R-Ag exhibited a diffuse cytoplasmic as well as an extracellular fibrillar distribution in HLE, in contrast to a vesicular (Weibel-Palade body) cytoplasmic distribution in HUVE. The HUVE did demonstrate some extracellular fibrillar Factor VIII R-Ag as well. Urokinase was the predominant plasminogen activator (PA) secreted by HLE, whereas tissue PA was predominant in HUVE cultures. HLE formed tube-like structures within 2 h of plating on a Matrigel matrix whereas HUVE formed larger tube-like structures only after 1 or more days. The properties described here indicate that human lung microvessel endothelium can be isolated and continuously grown from small tissue segments and express a number of properties that differ from those of HUVE. These studies provide further support for the concept that endothelial cells from different sources can exhibit considerable heterogeneity relating to their phenotypic and biochemical properties.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 1992 Dec
PMID:Isolation, cultivation, and partial characterization of microvascular endothelium derived from human lung. 133 46

The secretion of plasminogen activator by seminiferous tubules at defined stages of the epithelial cycle is influenced both by neighboring spermatogenic cells and by hormones. We have used cRNA probes for urokinase-type (uPA) and tissue-type (tPA) plasminogen activators to analyze their mRNA levels in different stages of the epithelial cycle. Urokinase-type PA mRNA was most abundant in stages VII-VIII, while tPA mRNA levels showed smaller variations between the different stages. Both FSH and (Bu)2cAMP increased the steady-state level of tPA mRNA and tPA production without affecting those of uPA in stages VII-IX in vitro, whereas retinoic acid treatment selectively increased the concentration uPA mRNA and uPA production in stages II-VI. The results show that the expression of the uPA and tPA genes is differentially regulated in specific stages of the rat seminiferous epithelium.
Mol Endocrinol 1989 Jan
PMID:Regulation of urokinase- and tissue-type plasminogen activator gene expression in the rat seminiferous epithelium. 253 92

Proteolytic enzymes are required to mediate tumor cell invasion of adjacent tissues and spread of primary tumors to distant sites. Our objective was to examine the activities and molecular forms of plasminogen activator (PA) and matrix metalloproteases (MP) in primary and secondary growths of SC tumors of three human prostatic cell lines (Du-145, PC-3, and 1-LN-PC-3-1A [1-LN], a subline of PC-3) grown in nude mice. The plasminogen activator activities were 1.7 +/- 1.3 (+/- SD), 6.2 +/- 2.8, and 11.5 +/- 4.2 for Du-145, PC-3, and 1-LN in primary SC tumors, respectively. Urokinase was the predominant molecular form of PA found in each tumor as determined from its molecular size (predominantly 54 kDa with a minor activity of 33 kDa) and sensitivity to amiloride. Prominent MP activities of approximately 68, 76, and 96 kDa as well as lesser activities of about 56, 59, 63, 84, 165, and 180 kDa were found in 1-LN tumors, whereas only less active MP of 59, 68, and 96 kDa were detected in the parental PC-3 cells. Du-145 tumors expressed MP activities of 59 and 96 kDa. Treatment of 1-LN tumor extracts with p-aminophenylmercuric acetate (APMA) significantly reduced the MP activities of 76 and 165 kDa while increasing activities of 56, 59, 65, 68, and 84 kDa. The 76 and 165 kDa MP activities thus appear to be prominent proenzyme forms of MP expressed in the 1-LN tumor. Secondary growths of tumor were subsequently found near the site of initial injection of PC-3 and 1-LN cells following removal of the primary tumor. There was a 42% increase in PA activity in the PC-3 secondary tumors, but only an 8% increase in 1-LN secondary tumors. However, there was no difference in the activities or number of molecular forms of MP in extracts of PC-3 or 1-LN primary or secondary tumors. The substantial expression of MP activities in the more aggressive 1-LN subline of the human prostatic PC-3 cell line indicates that induction of certain MP may be an important regulatory event in prostate tumor progression.
Cell Mol Biol Res 1993
PMID:Plasminogen activator and metalloprotease activities of Du-145, PC-3, and 1-LN-PC-3-1A human prostate tumors grown in nude mice: correlation with tumor invasive behavior. 795 14

A method for determining the plasminogen activation rate by urokinase via a cascade enzymatic reaction system is presented. A procedure of parameter estimation has been proposed for the determination of the activity of urokinase and the kinetic constants. Urokinase from urine has been successfully assayed through use of a plasminogen concentration lower than its saturating level. The methodology presented in this work may be adopted for the analysis of other cascade enzymatic reaction systems.
Biochem Mol Biol Int 1993 Apr
PMID:Plasminogen activation activity of urokinase determined via a cascade enzymatic reaction system. 833 12

We have previously demonstrated that collateral development takes place in a swine model of coronary artery occlusion. In this report we have examined the effect of coronary artery occlusion on urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator activity in the myocardium. Urokinase activity was increased four-fold in the ischemic heart compared to sham and unoperated controls. In contrast, the level of tissue plasminogen activator activity remained relatively constant. The increase in urokinase activity was associated with an upregulation of urokinase RNA levels and of the RNAs corresponding to the plasminogen activator inhibitors, PAI I and II. Urokinase has been shown to be an important angiogenic protease both in vivo and in cultured cells. Its increase during collateral development suggests that urokinase may play a role in angiogenesis in the ischemic heart.
J Mol Cell Cardiol 1995 Jun
PMID:Urokinase plasminogen activator activity is increased in the myocardium during coronary artery occlusion. 853 Dec 14

Urokinase is a serine protease involved in cancer growth and metastasis. Here we present the first urokinase crystal structure in complex with reversible inhibitors at 2.1 and 2.6 A resolution. These inhibitor complex structures have been obtained from crystals of engineered urokinase type plasminogen activator designed to obtain a crystal form open for inhibitor soaking. The mutant C122S loses its flexible A-chain upon activation cleavage and crystallizes in the presence of benzamidine, which was later displaced by the desired inhibitor. This new soakable crystal form turned out to be of great value in the process of structure-based drug design. The evaluated binding mode of amiloride, and UKI-1D revealed a new subsite of the primary specificity pocket of urokinase that will be employed in the future ligand optimisation process.
J Mol Biol 2000 Aug 11
PMID:Crystals of the urokinase type plasminogen activator variant beta(c)-uPAin complex with small molecule inhibitors open the way towards structure-based drug design. 1092 21

Accumulating evidence points towards a role for proteases and protease inhibitors in tissue remodelling and repair in a variety of organs. In particular-besides the matrix metalloprotease system-the plasminogen activator (PA)/plasmin system has been implicated in these processes in the heart. Urokinase type PA (u-PA) and PA inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) seem to modulate cardiac rupture and infarct healing. In this study we aimed to investigate whether inflammatory mediators can regulate the expression of components of the PA/plasmin system in human adult cardiac myocytes (HACM). We could demonstrate that HACM, isolated from pieces of myocardial tissue by mechanical dispersion and characterized by positive immunostaining for the cardiac markers troponin I, tropomyosin, cardiotin and myocardial muscle-actin, in vitro express PAI-1 and tissue type PA (t-PA) whereas u-PA was not detectable in these cells. PAI-1 protein production was increased up to twofold by interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and up to fivefold by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and oncostatin M (OSM). Similar changes were observed in PAI-1 transcript levels after cytokine treatment. t-PA production in HACM was not affected by these agonists. No effect of these cytokines on PAI-1 production in fibroblasts isolated from human myocardial tissue was seen. In an ex vivo model we could show that incubation of pieces of human myocardial tissue with these cytokines also resulted in an increase in PAI-1 in cardiac myocytes as evidenced by immuno-histochemistry. Furthermore we found increased PAI-1 expression in myocardial tissue from a patient suffering from acute myocarditis. Thus for the first time we provide evidence that inflammatory mediators modulate PAI-1 expression in human adult cardiac myocytes in vitro and ex vivo and could demonstrate that PAI-1 expression is increased in the in vivo setting under inflammatory conditions. If the effect on PAI-1 expression brought about by IL-1alpha, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta and OSM is not only operative under in vitro and ex vivo conditions but also in the in vivo setting one could speculate that these cytokines contribute to upregulation of PAI-1 in myocardial tissue and that PAI-1, when upregulated in myocardial tissue during inflammatory processes, could serve as a defence mechanism against excessive matrix degradation by proteases. Thus we propose a role for PAI-1 produced in the heart by cardiac myocytes in cardiac remodelling and repair processes.
J Mol Cell Cardiol 2002 Dec
PMID:Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 expression is regulated by the inflammatory mediators interleukin-1alpha, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, transforming growth factor-beta and oncostatin M in human cardiac myocytes. 1250 65

We investigated the chemotactic action of PDGF and urokinase on human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells in culture. Cells were put in collagen-coated transwells with 8-micro m perforations, incubated for 4 h with test compounds, then fixed, stained, and counted as migrated nuclei by microscopy. Cells from all culture conditions showed some basal migration (migration in the absence of stimuli during the assay), but cells preincubated for 24 h in 10% FBS or 20 ng/ml PDGF showed higher basal migration than cells quiesced in 1% FBS. PDGF(BB), PDGF(AA), and PDGF(AB) were all chemotactic when added during the assay. PDGF chemotaxis was blocked by the phosphatidyl 3'-kinase inhibitor LY-294002, the MEK inhibitor U-0126, PGE(2), formoterol, pertussis toxin, and the Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632. Urokinase alone had no stimulatory effect on migration of quiescent cells but caused a dose-dependent potentiation of chemotaxis toward PDGF. Urokinase also potentiated the elevated basal migration of cells pretreated in 10% FBS or PDGF. This potentiating effect of urokinase appears to be novel. We conclude that PDGF and similar cytokines may be important factors in airway remodeling by redistribution of smooth muscle cells during inflammation and that urokinase may be important in potentiating the response.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2003 Jun
PMID:Urokinase potentiates PDGF-induced chemotaxis of human airway smooth muscle cells. 1257 95

Urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA), a trypsin-like serine proteinase, plays an important role in normal tissue re-modelling, cell adhesion, and cell motility. In addition, studies utilizing normal animals and potent, selective uPA inhibitors or genetically modified mice that lack functional uPA genes have demonstrated that uPA can significantly enhance tumor initiation, growth, progression and metastasis, strongly suggesting that this enzyme may be a promising anti-cancer target. We have investigated the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of peptidomimetic inhibitors of uPA and solved high resolution X-ray structures of key, lead small molecule inhibitors (e.g. phenethylsulfonamidino(P4)-D-seryl(P3)-L-alanyl(P2)-L-argininal(P1) and derivatives thereof) in complex with the uPA proteinase domain. These potent inhibitors are highly selective for uPA. The non-natural D-seryl residue present at the P3 position in these inhibitors contributes substantially to both potency and selectivity because, due to its D-configuration, its side-chain binds in the S4 pocket to interact with the uPA unique residues Leu97b and His99. Additional potency and selectivity can be achieved by optimizing the inhibitor P4 residue to bind a pocket, known as S1sub or S1beta, that is adjacent to the primary specificity pocket of uPA.
J Mol Biol 2003 Apr 18
PMID:Crystals of urokinase type plasminogen activator complexes reveal the binding mode of peptidomimetic inhibitors. 1268 1

There is little understanding of the effect that reactive oxygen metabolites have on cellular behavior during the processes of invasion and metastasis. These oxygen metabolites could interact with a number of targets modulating their function such as enzymes involved in basement membrane dissolution, adhesion molecules involved in motility or receptors involved in proliferation. We investigated the effect of increased scavenging of superoxide anions on the expression of the urokinase receptor (uPAR) in PC-3M human prostate cancer cells. Urokinase receptor is a GPI-linked cell surface molecule which mediates multiple functions including adhesion, proliferation and pericellular proteolysis. Addition of the superoxide scavenger 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy (TEMPOL) to PC-3M cultures stimulated expression of uPAR protein peaking between 48 and 72 hours. Cell surface expression of the uPAR was also increased. Surprisingly, uPAR transcript levels increased only slightly and this mild increase did not coincide with the striking degree of protein increase. This disparity indicates that the TEMPOL effect on uPAR occurs through a post-transcriptional mechanism. TEMPOL presence in PC-3M cultures reduced intracellular superoxide-type species by 75% as assayed by NBT dye conversion; however this reduction significantly diminished within hours following TEMPOL removal. The time gap between TEMPOL treatment and peak uPAR protein expression suggests that reduction of reactive oxygen metabolites in prostate cancer cells initiates a multistep pathway which requires several hours to culminate in uPAR induction. These findings reveal a novel pathway for uPAR regulation involving reactive oxygens such as superoxide anion.
Mol Cancer 2006 Jun 06
PMID:The superoxide scavenger TEMPOL induces urokinase receptor (uPAR) expression in human prostate cancer cells. 1675 81


1 2 Next >>