Involvement of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator in Acantholysis Induced by Pemphigus IgG

Neutrophil Activation Potentiates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator potentiates lipopolysaccharide-induced neutrophil activation.

Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serine protease that catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin. Although increased circulating levels of uPA are present in endotoxemia and sepsis, conditions in which activated neutrophils contribute to the development of acute organ dysfunction, the ability of uPA to participate directly in LPS-induced neutrophil activation has not been exam...

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator promotes paracellular transmigration of neutrophils via Mac-1, but independently of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor.

BACKGROUND Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS Using in vivo microscopy on the mouse cremaster muscle, I/R-elicited firm adherence and transmigration of neutrophils were found to be significantly diminished in uPA-deficient mice an...

Dynamic assembly of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator signaling receptor complex determines the mitogenic activity of urokinase-type plasminogen activator.

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) receptor (uPAR) functions in concert with co-receptors, including integrins, FPR-like receptor-1/lipoxin A4 receptor, and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), to initiate cell signaling. uPAR co-receptors may be dynamically organized into a multiprotein signaling receptor complex. In Chinese hamster ovary-K1 (CHO-K1) cells, uPA-binding to u...

A Hypothesis Concerning a Potential Involvement of Ceramide in Apoptosis and Acantholysis Induced by Pemphigus Autoantibodies

Autoimmune diseases affect more than 50 million Americans, resulting in significant healthcare costs. Most autoimmune diseases occur sporadically; however, endemic pemphigus foliaceus (EPF) is an autoimmune skin disease localized to specific geographic loci. EPF, and the related diseases pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF), are characterized by skin lesions and autoantibodies t...