Human calprotectin (CP) is an antimicrobial protein that coordinates Mn(II) with high affinity in a Ca(II)-dependent manner at an unusual histidine-rich site (site 2) formed at the S100A8/S100A9 dimer interface. We present a 16-member CP mutant family where mutations in the S100A9 C-terminal tail (residues 96-114) are employed to evaluate the contributions of this region, which houses three his...

BACKGROUND Alarmins, endogenous molecules released on tissue damage have been shown to play an important role in inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions including fracture repair andrheumatoid arthritis. However, the contribution of alarmins to the pathogenesis of tendon disease is not fully understood. METHODS We investigated expression of alarmin proteins (S100A9, high-mobility group box 1 ...

S100A8 and S100A9 are members of the S100 family of cytoplasmic EF-hand Ca2+-binding proteins and are abundantly expressed in the cytosol of neutrophils. In addition to their intracellular roles, S100A8/A9 can be secreted in the extracellular environment and are considered as alarmins able to amplify the inflammatory response. The intracellular activity of S100A8/A9 was shown to be regulated by...

UNLABELLED Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) has the potential to progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or to promote type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, NASH and T2DM do not always develop coordinately. Additionally, there are no definite noninvasive methods for NASH diagnosis currently. We established rat models of NAFL, NASH, and NAFL + T2DM to recapitulate different phenotyp...

There is recent and widespread interest in the damage-associated molecular pattern molecules S100A8 and S100A9 in cardiovascular science. These proteins have a number of interesting features and functions. For example, S100A8 and S100A9 (S100A8/A9) have both intracellular and extracellular actions, they are abundantly expressed in inflammatory and autoimmune states, primarily by myeloid cells b...

Proteins of S100 group, produced by phagocytes represent endogenous activators of innate immune responses. Role of these proteins in the etiopathogenesis of cholelithiasis remains unknown. The studies aimed at the morphometric evaluation of S100A8 and S100A9 protein expression in gallbladder mucosa in patients with acute and chronic calculous cholecystitis (n = 71). The presence of proteins was...

PURPOSE Pterygium is an ocular surface disease of unknown etiology associated with epithelial and fibrovascular outgrowth from the conjunctiva onto the cornea. S100 proteins are calcium-activated signaling proteins that interact with other proteins to modulate biological functions such as cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence o...

Intracellular Ca(2+)-binding S100A8/A9 proteins gain novel functions when released during inflammation. The exact outcome of their extracellular function depends on the local tissue environment in which they are released; both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory responses are described, modulating the immune system by binding Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 or the receptor for advanced glycation ...

Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated the prefrontal cortex (PFCTX) in descending modulation of pain and the placebo effect. This study was performed to elucidate comprehensive PFCTX gene expression in an animal model of persistent trigeminal pain. Adult male C57BL/6J mice received facial carrageenan injection and showed sustained increase in nociceptive responses. Microarray analyses...

Recent studies have highlighted key roles played by non-neoplastic host cells of the tumor microenvironment, and by secreted factors from tumor and host cells, in promoting malignancy. In this regard, damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecules such as S100A8 and S100A9, with well-known functions in inflammation, have been increasingly recognized not only as markers, but also as new ca...