Excessive activation of gelatinases (MMP-2/-9) is a key cause of detrimental outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases. A single-dimension zymography has been widely used to determine gelatinase expression and activity, but this method is inadequate in resolving complex enzyme isoforms, because gelatinase expression and activity could be modified at transcriptional and posttranslational levels. In...

Migration of tumor cells is usually assessed as single cell locomotion in vitro using Boyden chamber type assays. In vivo, however, carcinoma cells frequently invade the surrounding tissue as coherent clusters or nests of cells. We have called this type of movement "cohort migration" and developed a two-dimensional in vitro cohort migration model, in which human rectal well-differentiated adeno...

METHODS. Primary rabbit corneal fibroblasts embedded in a three-dimensional collagen gel were incubated with or without all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), the RAR-a agonist Am580, the RAR-b agonist AC55649, or the RAR-c agonist R667. Collagen degradation was determined by measurement of hydroxyproline produced in acid hydrolysates of culture supernatants. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression ...

Proteases are being widely used in various industries like detergent, leather, food and pharmaceuticals.Protease was purified to homogeneity from the seeds of Artocarpus heterophyllus. The enzyme found be a tetramer having molecular mass 74 kDa. Gelatin zymography showed clear band proteolysis. isolated serine protease, as indicated by its inhibition with PMSF. stable at broad pH temperature ra...

Protease stimulation in cultured normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) due to sulfur mustard (SM) exposure is well documented. However, the specific protease(s) stimulated by SM and the protease substrates remain to be determined. In this study, we observed that SM stimulates several proteases and the epidermal-dermal attachment protein laminin-5 is one of the substrates. We propose that ...

METHODS. In vitro capsular bags were prepared from human donor eyes and maintained in a 5% CO2 atmosphere at 35°C. To investigate expression of active TGF2, capsular bags were incubated in serum-free EMEM for 2, 28, or more than 100 days and analyzed by ELISA (n 4 at each time point). To study underlying mechanisms, match-pair experiments were also performed, so that the medium was supplemented...

This article was focused on the evaluation of protein biomarkers related to thrombosis, hypoxia, angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling in tear fluid patients with non-penetrating corneal trauma. 32 injures were enrolled study, control group consisted 15 healthy patients. Samples collected from volunteers use a disposable end micropipette. Protein levels D-dimer, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1...

OBJECTIVES Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) is expressed by different cell types in the joints and plays a relevant anti-inflammatory role in various diseases. This pilot study aimed to evaluate PPARγ expression in monocytes/macrophages isolated from RA patients as compared with healthy subjects, the relationships between PPARγ expression, MMP-9 activity and disease, and...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to the irreversible destruction of cartilage and bone. An important step in the destruction of tissue is the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM), whose major components are type II collagen and aggrecan in cartilage, and type I collagen in bone. The synovial fluid of RA patients often contains high concentrations of pr...

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 are gelatinases that take part in several reproductive processes. The aim of this study was to measure levels MMP-2 fractionated stallion ejaculates, evaluate the association between these components semen quality, sperm longevity during cooled storage. Semen quality were assessed separately for sperm-rich fractions (HIGH), sperm-poor (LOW), whole ejac...