OBJECTIVE Protein Z (PZ) is a vitamin K-dependent coagulation factor without catalytic activity. Evidence points towards PZ as an independent risk factor for the occurrence of human peripheral arterial disease. However, the role of PZ in ischemia-driven angiogenesis and vascular healing processes has not been elucidated so far. APPROACH Angiogenic potency of PZ was assessed in established in ...

Define the height function h(a) = min{k + (ka mod p) : k = 1, 2, . . . , p − 1} for a ∈ {0, 1, . . . , p − 1.} It is proved that the height has peaks at p, (p+1)/2, and (p+c)/3, that these peaks occur at a = [p/3], (p−3)/2, (p− 1)/2, [2p/3], p − 3, p− 2, and p − 1, and that h(a) ≤ p/3 for all other values of a. 1. Heights on finite projective spaces Let p be an odd prime and let Fp = Z/pZ and F...

The antinociceptive effect of six novel synthetic pyrazolines (3-ethoxymethyl-5-ethoxycarbonyl-1H-pyrazole (Pz 1) and its corresponding 1-substituted methyl (Pz 2) and phenyl (Pz 3) analogues, and 3-(1-ethoxyethyl)-5-ethoxycarbonyl-1H-pyrazole (Pz 4) and its corresponding 1-substituted methyl (Pz 5) and phenyl (Pz 6) analogues) was evaluated by the tail immersion test in adult male albino mice....

The anticoagulant serpin, protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI), is catalytically activated by its cofactor, protein Z (PZ), to regulate the function of blood coagulation factor Xa on membrane surfaces. The X-ray structure of the ZPI-PZ complex has shown that PZ binds to a unique site on ZPI centered on helix G. In the present study, we show by Ala-scanning mutagenesis of the ZPI-binding...

BACKGROUND Protein Z (PZ) is a vitamin K-dependent coagulation factor without catalytic activity. Evidence points towards PZ as an independent risk factor for the occurrence of human atherosclerotic vascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of PZ in vascular arterial disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS PZ-deficient (PZ(-/-)) mice and their wild-type littermates (PZ(+/+)) ...