BACKGROUND Extracapsular extension (ECE) of disease from cervical lymph nodes (LNs) is an important prognostic factor for head and neck cancers; moreover, the presence of ECE has been shown to be a criterion for the addition of chemotherapy to postoperative radiation. METHODS We reviewed the frequency of ECE in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry database, particul...

Endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE) is the key enzyme in the production of the potent vasoconstrictor endothelin from its inactive precursor big endothelin. To date, no other physiological peptide substrate has been identified for ECE. Here, by using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with rat ECE-1 cDNA, we have established that ECE can hydrolyse the vasodilator bradykinin. The hydro...

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is secreted from endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) after intracellular hydrolysis of big ET-1 by endothelin converting enzyme (ECE). The metallopeptidase called ECE-1 is widely thought to be the physiological ECE, but unequivocal evidence of this role has yet to be provided. Endothelial cells express four isoforms of ECE-1 (ECE1a, ECE-1b, ECE-1c, and ECE-1d...

BACKGROUND Endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) processes big endothelin-1 (ET-1) to ET-1, a peptide implicated in atheroma formation. ECE-1 exists in 2 isoforms (ECE-1alpha and ECE-1beta), the result of alternative splicing of a common gene. Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is a genetically distinct metallopeptidase that degrades the natriuretic peptides. These peptides mediate antiproliferative ...

Recent gene targeting studies have revealed unexpected roles for endothelins in the development of neural crest-derived tissues. Endothelin converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) catalyzes the proteolytic activation of big endothelin-1 to endothelin-1(ET-1) in vitro. However, the importance of ECE-1 cleavage in the multiple endothelin pathways in vivo is unknown. Here we generated a targeted null mutation...

BACKGROUND The lung expresses large amounts of endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1), which catalyzes a step in the biosynthesis of potent vasoactive endothelin-1 (ET-1) from the inactive intermediate big ET-1. Because there has been no report concerning a possible relationship between ET-1 and ECE-1, we investigated the effects of ET-1 on ECE-1 expression in cultured rat pulmonary endothelial...

AIM To evaluate the role of preoperative multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. Specifically, the accuracy of MP-MRI in detecting extracapsular extension (ECE) and individuating the side of the index lesion have been explored. METHODS Thirty-five consecutive patients undergoing radical prostatectomy have been retrospectively analyzed...

The distribution of endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) mRNA and protein was investigated in human kidney excised because of renal tumors. ECE-1 immunoreactivity was detected by immunohistochemistry throughout the different areas of the kidney in the vascular and tubular structures. In the cortex, ECE-1 immunostaining was present in the endothelial surface of arcuate and interlobular arterie...

In this paper, the typical electrical and computer engineering (ECE) curriculum is examined to determine its effectiveness at presenting embedded programming skills. The software concepts and programming techniques necessary for embedded systems are somewhat different than those seen in other engineering domains. Thus, it makes sense to specifically address embedded programming needs within the...