The complete amino acid sequence of human neutrophil elastase has been determined. The protein consists of 218 amino acid residues, contains two asparagine-linked carbohydrate side chains, and is joined together by four disulfide bonds. Comparison of the sequence to other serine proteinases indicates only moderate homology with porcine pancreatic elastase (43.0%) or neutrophil cathepsin G (37.2...

We wanted to identify the inhibitors of neutrophil elastase, quantify their activities in the upper airways of neonates, and relate these to the presence of active elastase and the likelihood of elastolytic injury occurring due to inhibitory capacity being overwhelmed. Activities of neutrophil elastase and its inhibitors were measured in tracheal aspirates from 17 infants, 10 of whom subsequent...

Characterization of glucocorticoid receptors in leukemia cells is important to understand mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance but has been impeded by receptor fragmentation in cytosol extracts. We recently found that formation of 52- and 30-kilodalton (kD) glucocorticoid receptor fragments in cytosol of leukemia cells is due to proteolysis and is blocked by diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP)....

Fibrosing alveolitis complicating systemic sclerosis (FASSc) carries a better prognosis than lone cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (CFA). We wanted to determine whether this improved prognosis is associated with differential neutrophil migration and activation in the lower respiratory tract. We therefore compared bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) neutrophil numbers and levels of neutrophil-derived e...

BACKGROUND Neutrophil elastase (NE) was found to increase the respiratory mucin gene, MUC5AC, although the molecular mechanisms of this process remain unknown. We attempted to determine the signal transduction pathway through which NE induces MUC5AC gene expression in bronchial epithelial cells. METHODS A fragment of 1.3 Kb MUC5AC promoter which had been cloned into the pGL3-Basic luciferase ...

PURPOSE To explore the value and significance of neutrophil elastase (NE) in diagnosis of type III prostatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS The prospective study recruited 123 patients diagnosed with type III prostatitis (IIIA, 36 cases; IIIB, 87 cases) and 84 healthy controls, between April 2008 and July 2012. NE concentrations in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS), EPS routine examination, bact...

Pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases is associated with excessive elastase release through neutrophil degranulation. In the present study, inhibition of human neutrophil degranulation by four flavonoids (myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, galangin) was evaluated by using released elastase as a biomarker. Inhibitory potency was observed in the following order: quercetin > myricetin > kae...

We characterized the elastase and antielastase activity of the alveolar fluid of seven patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and thirteen normal volunteers. Alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) concentrations were 60-fold higher in ARDS as compared to normal lavage fluid (2,140 +/- 498 nM; 36.1 +/- 4.2 nM, respectively). ARDS fluid antineutrophil elastase activity was also consider...

WAP (whey acidic protein) is an important whey protein present in milk of mammals. This protein has characteristic domains, rich in cysteine residues, called 4-DSC (four-disulfide core domain). Other proteins, mainly present at mucosal surfaces, have been shown to also possess these characteristic WAP-4-DSC domains. The present review will focus on two WAP-4-DSC containing proteins, namely SLPI...

Human neutrophil and Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastases were compared for their ability to degrade hog gastric mucin, which was used as a model substrate. P. aeruginosa elastase was more active than neutrophil elastase, and 2 to 10 peptide bonds were hydrolyzed within 5 min. The results demonstrate that both elastases degrade mucins actively at concentrations comparable to physiological levels of...