The present minireview of the place of cystatin C in clinical medicine emphasizes, and discuss the evidence, that cystatin C-based GFR-estimating equations do not require the use of vague terms like race and sex, that cystatin C-based GFR-esti mating equations are useful for both children and adults, including the elderly, that the best GFR-estimation requires simultaneous use of both cystatin ...

AIM To study the cellular transport of L68Q cystatin C, the cystatin variant causing amyloidosis and brain haemorrhage in patients suffering from hereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy (HCCAA). METHODS Expression vectors for wild-type and L68Q cystatin C were constructed and used to transfect mouse NIH/3T3 cells. Stable cell clones were isolated after cotransfection with pSV2neo. Clones exp...

To elucidate the molecular requirements for cancer cell internalization of the extracellular cysteine protease inhibitor cystatin C, 12 variants of the protein were produced and used for uptake experiments in MCF-7 cells. Variants with alterations in the cysteine cathepsin binding region ((Δ1-10)-, K5A-, R8G-, (R8G,L9G,V10G)-, (R8G,L9G,V10G,W106G)-, and W106G-cystatin C) were internalized to a ...

Cystatin C is believed to prevent tumor progression by inhibiting the activities of a family of lysosomal cysteine proteases. However, little is known about the precise mechanism of cystatin C function in prostate cancer. In the present study, we examined the expression of cystatin C and its association with matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) and androgen receptor (AR) in a tissue microarray co...

AIMS Cystatin C, a novel marker of renal function, has been implicated as a prognostic marker in cardiovascular disease. We investigated the prognostic value of cystatin C in acute heart failure (AHF) in comparison to other markers of renal function and NT-proBNP. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with cystatin C measurements (n = 480) from a prospective multicentre study on AHF were included. All...

Hereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy (HCCAA) is an autosomal dominant condition in which the patients suffer at an early age from repeated cerebral haemorrhages. The development of HCCAA is directly linked to a Leu-68-->Gln (L68Q) mutation in the cystatin C protein sequence. The concentration of cystatin C in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of HCCAA patients is markedly diminished and cultivated ...

Cystatin C, an established marker of renal dysfunction, is gaining importance in dysfunction of other organs (systems) as well. Preliminary studies indicated a role for cystatin C as a prognostic marker in coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of the study was to assess the of serum cystatin C levels in CAD cases and its comparison with controls. Comparison of serum cystatin C levels in CAD sp...

BACKGROUND Cystatin SN is a secreted protein and a cysteine proteinase inhibitor. It has been considered to be a tumor marker for gastrointestinal tract cancer in several functional researches. However, the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Cystatin SN expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has not been elucidated. METHODS In our study, the expression of Cyst...

BACKGROUND Serum cystatin C, a cysteine protease inhibitor, has been suggested as a new marker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). This study explored the possibility of replacing the creatinine clearance (CrCl) estimation of GFR with cystatin C in early detection of renal impairment in cancer patients on chemotherapy. METHODS Serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations as well as 24-h Cr...

Cystatin C is one of a family of proteinase inhibitors of cathepsins and other cysteine proteinases. Among warm-blooded vertebrates, small functional regions of cystatin amino acid sequences are well conserved among species, but major portions of cystatin amino acid sequences vary evolutionarily. Although considerable attention has been given to mammalian and avian cystatins, little data exist ...