Background. The aim of this study was to show the importance of the bone marker procollagen type 1 aminoterminal propeptide (P1NP) in detecting bone metastases in women suffering from breast cancer. We furthermore investigated to what degree P1NP is correlated to the degree of bone metastases, and if P1NP is increased in patients with metastases other than bone. Patients and Methods. We analyze...

Matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-2 plays a key role in many biological and pathological processes related to cell migration, invasion, and mitogenesis. MMP-2 is synthesized as a zymogen that is activated through either a conformational change or proteolysis of the propeptide. Several activating enzymes for pro-MMP-2 have been proposed, including metalloproteases and serine proteases. The mechanism ...

Thermolysin-like proteases (TLPs), a large group of zinc metalloproteases, are synthesized as inactive precursors. TLPs with a long propeptide (∼200 residues) undergo maturation following autoprocessing through an elusive molecular mechanism. We report the first two crystal structures for the autoprocessed complexes of a typical TLP, MCP-02. In the autoprocessed complex, Ala205 shifts upward by...

Proline-rich Gla protein 2 (PRGP2) is one of four known vertebrate transmembrane gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) proteins. Members of this protein family are broadly expressed in fetal and adult human tissues and share a common architecture consisting of a predicted propeptide and Gla domain, a single-pass transmembrane segment, and tandem Pro/Leu-Pro-Xaa-Tyr (PY) motifs near their C termini. ...

The failure of an osseous fracture to heal, or the development of a nonunion, is common; however, current diagnostic measures lack the capability of early and reliable detection of such events. Analyses of radiographic imaging and clinical examination, in combination, remain the gold standard for diagnosis; however, these methods are not reliable for early detection. Delayed diagnosis of a nonu...

This study was undertaken to determine the fate of circulating NH2-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP) in rats. Radiolabeled PINP showed a biphasic serum decay curve after intravenous injection. 79% of the material disappeared from the blood during the initial alpha-phase (t1/2 alpha = 0.6 min), while the remaining 21% was eliminated with a t1/2 beta of 3.3 min. The major site of u...