Experimental data suggest that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) act locally as antifibrotic factors in heart. We investigated the interrelationships of natriuretic peptides and collagen markers in 93 patients receiving thrombolytic treatment for their first acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Collagen formation following AMI, evaluated as serum levels of amin...

The vitamin K-dependent carboxylase catalyzes the posttranslational modification of specific glutamic acid residues to form gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues within the vitamin K-dependent proteins. This enzyme recognizes the gamma-carboxylation recognition site on the propeptide of the precursor forms of the vitamin K-dependent blood coagulation proteins. To purify this enzyme to homogeneity...

The serine protease cathepsin G is synthesized during the promyelomonocytic stage of neutrophil and monocyte differentiation. After processing, including removal of an amino-terminal propeptide from the catalytically inactive proform, the active protease acquires a mature conformation and is stored in azurophil granules. To investigate the importance of the proform-conformation for targeting to...

Bone turnover markers (BTM) are gaining ground in clinical practice but to fully use their potential there is a need for establishing valid reference intervals (RI). Consequently, the purpose of study was establish general RI as well suggested carboxy-terminal cross-linked telopeptide type I collagen (?-CTX), pro-collagen N-terminal propeptide (PINP), osteocalcin (OC) and bone-specific alkaline...

Aim to assess the prevalence of low muscle mass and bone density in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), depending on level glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).
 Material methods.The study included 187 (mean age 65.16 4.31 years), who were tested for fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, osteocalcin (OC), procollagen 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), C-terminal I collagen telopeptides (B-CTX), 25-h...

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO), a dimeric, membrane-bound glycoprotein found in the thyroid follicular lumen, catalyses the biosynthesis of thyroxine, and is also a major autoantigen in autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). TPO molecules undergo posttranslational modifications such as glycosylation, heme incorporation, dimer formation, and proteolytic processing in the N-terminal region. Due to propepti...

An asparagine-proline-isoleucine-arginine-leucine (NPIRL) and its related sequences in the N-terminal propeptides (NTPP) of severa1 plant vacuolar proteins, including that of sporamin from sweet potato (SPO) function as vacuole-targeting determinants in a manner that is distinct from the vacuoie-targeting determinant in the CTPPs of other plant vacuolar proteins. When the mutant precursor to sp...

Myostatin is a secreted protein that normally acts to limit skeletal muscle growth. As a result, there is considerable interest in developing agents capable of blocking myostatin activity, as such agents could have widespread applications for the treatment of muscle degenerative and wasting conditions. Myostatin normally exists in an inactive state in which the mature C-terminal portion of the ...