Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Porcine C3a was generated in whole porcine serum by inulin activation of enzymes of the alternative complement pathway. The C3a anaphylatoxin was isolated according to the procedures previously described by Hugli. The complete amino acid sequence for porcine C3a was determined utilizing automatic sequencing techniques in addition to manual subtractive Edman degradation and carboxypeptidase A, B, or Y digestion of isolated peptides. Porcine C3a is composed of a polypeptide chain containing 77 amino acid residues and has a m.w. of approximately 9,000 daltons. This C3a molecule is devoid of threonine, tryptophan, and carbohydrates. The proposed primary structure for porcine C3a is as follows: (see article) Comparisons between the amino acid sequences of human and porcine C3a reveal that the six half-cystinyl and five aromatic residue positions are conserved. Conservation of these six half-cystinyl residue positions suggest that the disulfide arrangement remains identical in both anaphylatoxin molecules. Maintenance of three interconnected disulfide linkages helps to explain a near identity between the secondary structures of human and porcine C3a as indicated by circular dichroism measurements. Particular attention was focused on the COOH-terminal region of the anaphylatoxins since an arginyl residue at position 77 is functionally essential in both human and porcine C3a. Five residue positions at the carboxy termini were conserved in both C3a molecules, and the sequence Leu-Gly-Leu-Ala-Arg probably relates directly to anaphylatoxin activity. A total of 23 residue replacements occur between human and porcine C3a which accounts for a 30% difference in primary structure. Although the C3a molecules exhibit identical biologic activity, this rather large structural difference readily explains the absence of a detectable immunologic cross-reactivity.
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PMID:The primary structure of porcine C3a anaphylatoxin. 95 63

Incubation of either C3a, C3ades Arg, or synthetic analogues of the C-terminal sequence of C3a with purified rat peritoneal mast cells resulted in a rapid and dose-dependent histamine release. The natural factors C3a and C3ades Arg were the most active of the factors tested exhibiting EC50 values of 3.3 and 2.2 microM, respectively. The corresponding 21- and 22-residue C-terminal analogues of C3a (Y21R and Y21) were less potent than intact factor exhibiting EC50 values of 10.9 and 25.1 microM, respectively. Histamine was released in a nonlytic manner and the mast cell stimulation by both natural and synthetic factors was sensitive to pertussis toxin, neuraminidase, benzalkonium chloride, and to an excess of calcium. C3a stimulated the generation of inositol polyphosphates that was inhibited by either pertussis toxin or benzalkonium chloride. The C3a anaphylatoxin also directly stimulates purified G proteins (i.e., GTPase activity) in a dose-dependent manner. The evident correlation between efficiency of C3a and C3a analogues to stimulate purified G proteins and their capacity to induce cellular histamine release led us to conclude that C3a fails to activate mast cells via a mechanism involving specific receptors on the cell. Instead, we propose that C3a either causes direct activation of G proteins of the Gi subtype, with a subsequent activation of phospholipase C, or interacts with a binding site of the cell surface specific for cationic molecules that is coupled to the G protein cascade.
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PMID:A mechanism of action for anaphylatoxin C3a stimulation of mast cells. 137 70

Serine proteases in mast cell granules, such as chymase, atypical chymase, and tryptase, which are major proteins in the granules, may play important roles in the process of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated degranulation and in pathobiological alterations in tissues. Indeed, inhibitors of chymase, substrate analogs, and antichymase F(ab')2, but not inhibitors of tryptase, markedly inhibited histamine release induced by IgE-receptor bridging but not that induced by Ca ionophore. In contrast, inhibitors of metalloprotease inhibited histamine release induced not only by IgE-receptor bridging but also by Ca ionophore. These results suggest that chymase and metalloprotease are involved at different steps in the process of degranulation. The extents of inhibition of histamine release were closely correlated with the amounts of the inhibitors of chymase accumulated in the granules. After degranulation, the released proteases may in part contribute to pathobiological alterations in allergic disorders through generations of C3a anaphylatoxin and thrombin by human and rat tryptase, respectively, and those of angiotensin II and a chemotactic factor of neutrophils by human and rat chymase, respectively. Moreover, chymase and atypical chymase from rat were shown to destroy type IV collagen, and human tryptase was found to hydrolyze various plasma proteins, such as fibrinogen and high-molecular-weight kininogen. The biological activities of tryptase and chymase from rat may be regulated by their dissociation from and association with trypstatin, an endogenous inhibitor of these proteases.
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PMID:Biological functions of serine proteases in mast cells in allergic inflammation. 246 15

Tryptase, the dominant neutral protease of human pulmonary mast cell secretory granules, has the capacity in vitro to generate C3a anaphylatoxin from purified human C3. Only the alpha-chain of C3 is cleaved, and major fragments with apparent m.w. of 105,000, 39,500, 34,000, 29,000, and 9000 are detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions. Fragments of 34,000 and 9000 m.w. are detected without reduction. A portion of the 9000 m.w. protein corresponds to C3a by virtue of its co-migration in SDS polyacrylamide gels with purified C3a and with trypsin-generated C3a, by its detection in a radioimmunoassay for C3a, and by its contractile activity on the guinea pig ileum bioassay. In the presence of heparin, another component of the mast cell secretory granule, the rate of appearance and the distribution of C3 cleavage fragments as assessed in SDS polyacrylamide gels are not appreciably changed with the exception that no C3a material can be detected in the SDS polyacrylamide gels or by radioimmunoassay and bioassay of the unresolved reaction mixture. Enhanced catabolism of authentic C3a by tryptase occurs in the presence of heparin and by analogy when C3a is generated from C3 by tryptase in the presence of heparin. Whereas tryptase secreted by activated human mast cells may generate C3a, a potentially important additional mediator of immediate hypersensitivity events, the concomitant release of heparin may serve to down-regulate C3a irrespective of its mechanism of generation.
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PMID:Generation of C3a anaphylatoxin from human C3 by human mast cell tryptase. 633 18