PURPOSE This study was performed to examine the gelatinolytic and caseinolytic activities and the levels of two proteinase inhibitors, alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-antitrypsin) and alpha 2-macroglobulin, in the human aqueous humor. METHODS Aqueous humor samples were collected during elective surgery in patients with cataracts. Zymography with gelatin- and casein-containing gels was p...

BACKGROUND Inhalation anthrax is characterized by a systemic spread of the challenge agent, Bacillus anthracis. It causes severe damage, including multiple hemorrhagic lesions, to host tissues and organs. It is widely believed that anthrax lethal toxin secreted by proliferating bacteria is a major cause of death, however, the pathology of intoxication in experimental animals is drastically diff...

Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) expression is associated with a more differentiated phenotype, earlier stage of disease, and a better prognosis in breast cancer patients. To determine whether expression of FGF-2 can cause a less malignant phenotype, we engineered MDA-MB-231 cells, a highly dedifferentiated, invasive breast cancer cell line, to express different isoforms of FGF-2. Cells e...

An experimental model of infection with Nocardia brasiliensis, used as an example of a facultative intracellular pathogen, was tested. N. brasiliensis was injected into the rear foot pads of BALB/c mice to establish an infection. Within 30 days, infected animals developed a chronic actinomycetoma infection. Batch cultures of N. brasiliensis were used to purify P61, P38, and P24 antigens; P61 is...

BACKGROUND Many workers have reported halotolerant bacteria from saline conditions capable of protease production. However, antibiotic resistance and heavy metal tolerance pattern of such organisms is not documented very well. Similarly, only a few researchers have reported the pattern of pH change of fermentation medium during the course of protease production. In this study, we have isolated ...

BACKGROUND Cells in the trabecular meshwork (TM), the tissue responsible for draining aqueous humor out of the eye, are known to be highly phagocytic. Phagocytic function in TM cells is thought to play an important role in the normal functioning of the outflow pathway. Dysfunction of phagocytosis could lead to abnormalities of outflow resistance and increased intraocular pressure (IOP). However...

Hemorrhagic shock (HS) is associated with high mortality. A severe decrease in blood pressure causes the intestine, a major site of digestive enzymes, to become permeable - possibly releasing those enzymes into the circulation and peritoneal space, where they may in turn activate other enzymes, e.g. matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). If uncontrolled, these enzymes may result in pathophysiologic ...

Although the addition of the prosthetic group lipoate is essential to the activity of critical mitochondrial catabolic enzymes, its regulation is unknown. Here, we show that lipoylation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (αKDH) complexes is a dynamically regulated process that is inhibited under hypoxia and in cancer cells to restrain mitochondrial respiration. Mech...