Purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) are binuclear hydrolases that catalyse the hydrolysis of a range of phosphorylated substrates. Human PAP is a major histochemical marker for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. In patients suffering from this disorder, PAP activity contributes to increased bone resorption and, therefore, human PAP is a key target for the development of anti-osteoporotic drugs. This ma...

The mechanism by which bi-and trivalent cations affect human liver phosphatidatephosphohydrolase (PAP) activity was investigated. Bivalent cations up to 1 mM increased PAP activity whereas at higher concentrations the activity of the enzyme decreased. The stimulatory concentration for trivalent cations such as Al3+ and Cr3+, however, was much lower being 2 m M and 1 m M, respectively. All catio...

BACKGROUND The pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) is increased in the serum of active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and its levels seem to be correlated with disease activity. Our aim was to evaluate the usefulness of serum and fecal PAP measurements to predict relapse in patients with inactive IBD. MATERIALS AND METHODS We undertook a 12-month prospective study that included 6...

We have previously reported the purification of a 37-kd platelet-agglutinating protein (PAP p37) from the plasma of a patient with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) that was shown to be present in a subset of TTP patients. The platelet agglutination induced by PAP p37 has been shown to be inhibited by IgG from normal human adults and the same TTP patient after recovery. To elucidate the...

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer and leading cause of death from cancer among women in Nigeria owing to late presentation. This is attributed to lack of an effective national cervical cancer screening programme or poor utilization of the few existing services. Objective: This study was undertaken to determine the perception of female employees of the Jos University Teaching...

Apoptosis is an active form of programmed cell death (PCD) that plays critical roles in the development, differentiation and resistance to pathogens in multicellular organisms. Ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) are able to induce apoptotic cell death in mammalian cells. In this study, using yeast as a model system, we showed that yeast cells expressing pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP), a si...

Background: Bleeding during or immediately after the intercourse can be seen in women with benign cervical changes such as polyps, ectropion or infection of the cervix. But, sometimes, important diseases such as cancer of the cervix can be associated with post coital bleeding (PCB). The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of microscopic pre-cancerous lesions of the cer...