proteases play a key role in protein digestion in ticks and other haematophagous insects. our understanding of blood meal digestion in digestive system of ticks can be very useful for better understanding of basic rules for control of ticks. cells of the midgut endocytose blood components. blood proteins uptake by midgut cells, suggesting the presence of proteases in the midgut cells. in this s...

Cathepsin K, a lysosomal papain-like cysteine protease, forms collagenolytically highly active complexes with chondroitin sulfate and represents the most potent mammalian collagenase. Here we demonstrate that complex formation with glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) is unique for cathepsin K among human papain-like cysteine proteases and that different GAGs compete for the binding to cathepsin K. GAGs p...

This is a retrospective study on 162 node-negative patients, with both biochemical and clinical factors being measured for determination of prognostic markers. Steroid receptors were measured on all tumors, while tumor size, histological grade, ploidy status, and cell cycle kinetics indicators could not be found or measured on 25 or less of the patient group. The primary focus of this study was...

Cysteine proteinases expressed by schistosomes appear to play key roles in the digestion of host hemoglobin, the principal source of amino acid nutrients utilized by these parasites. We have shown previously that the predominant cysteine proteinase activity in soluble extracts and excretory/secretory (ES) products of adults of Schistosoma mansoni and S. japonicum is cathepsin L-like in its subs...

Objective(s): It is known that extremely low frequency-pulsed electromagnetic fields (ELF-PEMF) influence multiple cellular and molecular processes. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells have a significant part in the emergence and pathophysiology of several ocular disorders, such as neovascularization. This study assessed the impact of ELF-PEMF on the proangiogenic features of RPE cells. Mate...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by deposits of βamyloid peptide (Aβ) and insoluble hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. Cathepsin D (CTSD) is the main lysosomal protease and it has been suggested as hyperphosphorylated Tau-degradating enzyme. Oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives, Snitrosoglutathione (GS...

The relative levels of mRNAs for cathepsins B, D, H, L, and S in eight normal murine tissues and three murine melanoma variants, B16Fl, B16-F10, and B16a, have been analyzed by RNA dot blot and densitometry. A direct correlation was observed between the levels of cathepsin B mKNA and the metastatic potentials of these three melanoma variants. The relative amount of cathepsin B mRNA in BIda, whi...

A tetrahydroquinoline oxocarbazate (PubChem CID 23631927) was tested as an inhibitor of human cathepsin L (EC 3.4.22.15) and as an entry blocker of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus and Ebola pseudotype virus. In the cathepsin L inhibition assay, the oxocarbazate caused a time-dependent 17-fold drop in IC(50) from 6.9 nM (no preincubation) to 0.4 nM (4-h preincubation). Slowl...