Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:Q07644 (polypeptide)
 72,197 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Robustoxin, a polypeptide consisting of a chain of 42 amino acid residues in a known sequence, has been isolated by cation exchange chromatography from the crude venom of the male funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus). Physiological activity or toxicity in the venom fractions was detected by production of fasciculation in mouse phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparations and by lethality in new-born mice. In the present experiments in Macaca fascicularis monkeys anaesthetized with pentobarbitone, robustoxin (5-30 micrograms/kg infused i.v. over 5 min) produced immediate disturbances in respiration (including dyspnoea and apnoea), blood pressure and heart rate followed by severe hypotension (mean systemic blood pressure less than 50 mmHg) or death due to respiratory and circulatory failure within 196 min. Robustoxin also produced lachrymation, salivation, generalized skeletal muscle fasciculation and a parallel increase in body temperature, and increased firing in skeletal motor and autonomic nerves. These effects closely resembled those produced by i.v. infusions over 5 min of 50 micrograms/kg of crude venom from male A. robustus spiders. Crude venom from female A. robustus spiders (500 micrograms/kg i.v. over 5 min) produced some of the effects elicited by robustoxin and crude venom from male spiders, but to a much less marked extent. It was concluded that robustoxin is responsible for the neurotoxic and lethal effects of human envenomation by male A. robustus spiders.
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PMID:Actions of robustoxin, a neurotoxic polypeptide from the venom of the male funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus), in anaesthetized monkeys. 272 33

Hypersensitivity resulting from the ingestion or inhalation of buckwheat allergen causes immediate manifestation of symptoms including urticaria, wheezing, dyspnea, anaphylactic shock, which is considered to be IgE-mediated type I hypersensitivity. Using sera of patients with buckwheat allergy the immuno-reactivity to purified buckwheat protein was investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting method. The incidence of positive RAST value to buckwheat was 80% in the patients and 66.6% in the RAST-positive controls, whereas the RAST-negative controls showed all negative. The sera of both patients and RAST-positive controls showed significantly higher levels of specific IgG antibodies against salt-soluble and salt-insoluble fractions of buckwheat protein than the RAST-negative controls. By means of IgG-immunoblotting analysis, ten polypeptide bands of salt-soluble fraction and six polypeptides bands of salt-insoluble fraction were detected in all sera of the patients. In contrast, the patterns of IgE-immunoblots varied depending on the sera used. Taken together, the immune activation to buckwheat protein in patients with buckwheat allergy is not restricted to IgE antibody formation but extends to other immunoglobulin class. IgG, which indicating that the overall immune activation to buckwheat protein may be the basic characteristics of buckwheat allergy. Additionally, other factor is necessary for the manifestation of symptoms.
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PMID:[Analysis of immune responses in buckwheat allergy]. 913 35

Ricin toxin, found in the bean of the castor plant, is one of the most toxic and easily produced plant toxin. It is composed of two polypeptide chains linked by a disulfide bond. The toxin irreversibly blocks protein synthesis. Oral intoxication is the most frequent mode of exposure, but direct contact and inhalation have also been described. A single intramuscular exposure was reported, related to an assassination event in 1978. The clinical signs of intoxication begin hours after the exposure, and include gastrointestinal signs, dyspnea, fever, vasculatory collapse, neurological signs, liver necrosis and renal failure. Treatment is mainly supportive. A vaccine has been developed and found effective in animal studies. Ricin may be used as a biological weapon due to its heat stability and worldwide availability. A more friendly use, which has been tested in clinical trials, is the incorporation of ricin-immunotoxin for the treatment of cancer patients.
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PMID:[Ricin--from a Bulgarian umbrella to an optional treatment of cancer]. 1190 87

General agreement exists that in asthma, airway smooth muscle contracts, narrowing the airway lumen and thereby causing airflow obstruction and dyspnoea. New evidence is emerging that airway smooth muscle may also fulfil an immunomodulatory role by providing a rich source of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, polypeptide growth factors, extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, cell adhesion receptors and co-stimulatory molecules. Together, the available data support a role for airway smooth muscle in actively perpetuating airway mucosal inflammatory processes including mast cell and leukocyte (T cell, neutrophil, eosinophil) activation and recruitment. Production of anti-inflammatory mediators by airway smooth muscle such as prostaglandin E(2) suggests that it is also capable of exerting a 'braking' effect on local inflammation. Recognition of this newly described property of airway smooth muscle makes it important to consider therapeutic targets for suppressing the synthesis and secretion of immunomodulatory mediators from this cell. However, it remains imperative to establish to what extent the secretory potential of airway smooth muscle is quantitatively important in vivo and in asthmatic subjects.
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PMID:Regulation of airway smooth muscle cell immunomodulatory function: role in asthma. 1451 34

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the main cause of acute dyspnea in patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a polypeptide, released by ventricular myocytes in direct proportion to wall tension, which lowers renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activation. For the diagnosis of CHF, both BNP and the biologically inactive NT-proBNP have similar accuracy. Threshold values are higher in an elderly population, and in patients with renal dysfunction. They might also have a prognostic value. Studies have demonstrated that the use of BNP or NT-proBNP in dyspneic patients early following admission to the ED, reduced the time to discharge and total treatment cost. BNP and NT-proBNP should be available in every ED 24 h a day, because the literature strongly suggests the beneficial impact of an early appropriate diagnosis and treatment in dyspneic patients. The purpose of this review is to indicate recent developments in biomarkers of heart failure and to evaluate their impact on clinical use in the emergency setting.
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PMID:Differential diagnosis of acute dyspnea: the value of B natriuretic peptides in the emergency department. 1866 34

Anthrax is a disease caused by infection with spores from the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. After entering the body, the spores germinate into bacteria and secrete a toxin that causes local edema and, in systemic infections, cardiovascular collapse and death. The toxin is a tripartite polypeptide, consisting of protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF), which have key roles in the bacterial pathogenesis and disease progression. PA facilitates transfer of LF and EF to the cytosol. Lethal toxin is a zinc metalloproteinase, which has the capacity to inactivate mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase (MEK) and stimulates the release of sepsis-related cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1beta. Edema factor is a calmodulin (CaM)-dependent adenylate cyclase, which increases levels of cyclic AMP, causing impaired neutrophil function and disruption of water balance that ultimately results in massive tissue edema. Together, the toxins effectively inhibit host innate and adaptive immune responses, allowing the bacteria to grow unrestrained and overwhelming any resistance. Clinically, inhalational anthrax presents in a biphasic pattern with initial nonspecific "flu-like" symptoms nausea and vomiting 1 to 4 days after exposure, followed by severe illness with dyspnea, high fever and circulatory shock. The latter symptoms represent a terminal stage and treatment is often ineffective when started at that time. Key indicators of early anthrax cardiovascular-related pathogenesis include mediastinal widening in association with pleural effusion and edema. In this review, we describe the current understanding of anthrax toxins on cellular function in the context of cardiovascular function and discuss potential therapeutic strategies.
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PMID:Anthrax toxin: pathologic effects on the cardiovascular system. 1927 4

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the main cause of acute dyspnea in patients presented to an emergency department (ED), and it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a polypeptide, released by ventricular myocytes directly proportional to wall tension, for lowering renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activation. For diagnosing CHF, both BNP and the biologically inactive NT-proBNP have similar accuracy. Threshold values are higher in elderly population, and in patients with renal dysfunction. They might have also a prognostic value. Studies demonstrated that the use of BNP or NT-proBNP in dyspneic patients early in the ED reduced the time to discharge, total treatment cost. BNP and NT-proBNP should be available in every ED 24 hours a day, because literature strongly suggests the beneficial impact of an early appropriate diagnosis and treatment in dyspneic patients.Etiologic diagnosis of febrile patients who present to an ED is complex and sometimes difficult. However, new evidence showed that there are interventions (including early appropriate antibiotics), which could reduce mortality rate in patients with sepsis. For diagnosing sepsis, procalcitonin (PCT) is more accurate than C-reactive protein. Thus, because of its excellent specificity and positive predictive value, an elevated PCT concentration (higher than 0.5 ng/mL) indicates ongoing and potentially severe systemic infection, which needs early antibiotics (e.g. meningitis). In lower respiratory tract infections, CAP or COPD exacerbation, PCT guidance reduced total antibiotic exposure and/or antibiotic treatment duration.
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PMID:Useulness of B Natriuretic Peptides and Procalcitonin in Emergency Medicine. 1957 5

The patient was a 48-year-old woman, admitted for pleural effusion detected on chest X-ray in July 2005. Computer tomography(CT)scan showed massive pericardial and pleural effusion. We performed pericardial drainage, and the cytological diagnosis of the pericardial effusion was class V. Because endoscopic examination revealed advanced gastric cancer, we diagnosed it as gastric cancer complicated with carcinomatous pericarditis. The serum tissue polypeptide antigen(TPA) level was markedly elevated. In August 2005, we started combination chemotherapy using oral S-1(100mg/body/day; day 1- 21)and intravenous CDDP(100mg/body/day; day 8)for 5 weeks. After 2 courses, TPA was reduced and pericardial effusion disappeared. However, after 3 courses, pericardial effusion recurred. We changed treatment to weekly docetaxel. After 2 courses, we changed it to paclitaxel/CDDP. However, TPA was increased and pleural effusion and dyspnea occurred. There- fore, we changed to a course of combination chemotherapy using oral S-1(100mg/body/day; day 1-14)and intravenous CPT-11(100mg/body/day; day 1 and 8)for 4 weeks from March 2006. After 10 courses, we were unable to control pleural effusion, and dyspnea recurred. She died in December 2006. Gastric cancer complicated with carcinomatous pericarditis has a poor prognosis, but systemic chemotherapy mainly with S-1 was effective.
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PMID:[A case of advanced gastric cancer with carcinomatous pericarditis effectively treated by S-1/CDDP combined therapy]. 2330 25