A cell surface serine protease, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4), cleaves dipeptide from peptides containing proline or alanine in the N-terminal penultimate position. Two important incretin hormones, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), enhance meal-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, but are inactivated by DPP-4. Diabetes and hype...

The TGF-β homolog Decapentaplegic (Dpp) acts as a secreted morphogen in the Drosophila wing disc, and spreads through the target tissue in order to form a long range concentration gradient. Despite extensive studies, the mechanism by which the Dpp gradient is formed remains controversial. Two opposing mechanisms have been proposed: receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) and restricted extracellul...

The decapentaplegic (dpp) gene encodes a long-range morphogen that plays a key role in the patterning of the wing imaginal disc of Drosophila (Nellen, D., Burke, R., Struhl, G. and Basler, K. 1996. Direct and long-range action of a DPP morphogen gradient. Cell 85, 357-368.). The current view is that dpp is transcriptionally active in a narrow band of anterior compartment cells close to the ante...

BACKGROUND Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) is suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of DPP-IV presence in blood plasma and mononuclear cells with the disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Patients with active RA (n = 27) were examined at the study enrolment and a follow-up examination...

Appending anthracene units to [(bpy)2Ru(dpp)](2+) results in Ru(II) agents that exhibit dynamic photoreactivity towards DNA and protein. [(Anthbpy)(bpy)Ru(dpp)](2+) and [(Anthbpy)2Ru(dpp)](2+) are the first metal-organic Ru(II) agent with dpp ligands shown to photomodify DNA in the presence or absence of oxygen, while also binding protein in an oxygen-dependent manner.

DPP shapes up wing cel ls PP is not a savior for fly epithelial cells, according to new reports from Matthew Gibson and Norbert Perrimon (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) and from Jie Shen and Christian Dahmann (Max Planck Institute, Dresden, Germany). Once thought to be a survival factor in the wing imaginal disc, the DPP morphogen is now shown to regulate cell architecture. Previous experi...

In the pathogeneses of recurrent tonsillitis (RT) and tonsillar hypertrophy (TH), different immunological mechanisms are involved. Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) and aminopeptidase N (APN) participate in the regulation of the immune response during inflammation. In this study, the localization of DPP IV and the enzymatic activities of DPP IV and APN in 32 patients, 13 with RT and 19 with TH, ...

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) is a cell surface glycoprotein which has been implicated in hepatocyte-extracellular matrix interactions [Hixson, DeLourdes, Ponce, Allison & Walborg (1984) Exp. Cell Res. 152, 402-414; Walborg, Tsuchida, Weeden, Thomas, Barrick, McEntire, Allison & Hixson (1985) Exp. Cell Res. 158, 509-518; Hanski, Huhle & Reutter (1985) Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler 366, 1169-1176]...

The eye/antennal discs of Drosophila form most of the adult head capsule. We are analyzing the role of the BMP family member decapentaplegic (dpp) in the process of head formation, as we have identified a class of cis-regulatory dpp mutations (dpp(s-hc)) that specifically disrupts expression in the lateral peripodial epithelium of eye/antennal discs and is required for ventral head formation. H...

There is currently intense interest in the emerging group of proline-specific dipeptidases, and their roles in the regulation of biological processes. Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) is involved in glucose metabolism by contributing to the regulation of glucagon family peptides and has emerged as a potential target for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Two other proline-specific dipeptidase...