The urinary level of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) was reported to be a useful marker for the assessment of renal function. This enzyme was also detected at a high activity in seminal fluid. In our preliminary report, seminal NAG activity was 1,000 times higher than urinary NAG level in healthy volunteers. Moreover, the fraction ratio A to B isozymes was changed in seminal fluid indepen...

INTRODUCTION Prompt diagnosis and localization of pyelonephritis are of great importance in children. The urinary excretion of enzymes, and in particular N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), is considered a simple noninvasive marker for detection of renal tubular dysfunction due to pyelonephritis. This study was performed to determine the diagnostic value of urinary NAG in acute pyelonephriti...

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to have chemopreventive activity, but the mechanisms involved are not clearly understood. Although NSAIDs inhibit cyclooxygenase activity, they also increase the expression of a divergent member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, termed NSAID-activated gene 1 (NAG-1), a protein with an antitumorigenic and proapoptoti...

Metabolic acidosis secondary to lactic acidosis may occur in acute, severe asthma and its presence suggests that respiratory muscle fatigue and tissue hypoxia play a major part in the pathogenesis. Non-anion gap metabolic acidosis (NAG acidosis) has also been reported in acute asthma but its impact on the clinical outcome has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the p...

Amino sugar dynamics represent an important but under-investigated component of the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in old-growth Douglas-fir forest soils. Because fungal biomass is high in these soils, particularly in areas colonized by rhizomorphic ectomycorrhizal fungal mats, organic matter derived from chitinous cell wall material (or the monomeric building block of chitin, N-acetylgluco...

nAG (newt-Anterrior Gradient) protein is the key mediator of regrowth of amputated limbs in salamanders. In a previous work in our lab, a new nAG gene (suitable for humans) was designed and cloned. The cloned vector was transfected into primary human fibroblasts. The expression of nAG in human primary fibroblasts was found to suppress collagen expression. The current study shows that local inje...

The antitumorigenic activity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, is well established, but responsible molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. NSAIDs stimulate apoptosis by COX dependent and independent mechanisms in colorectal cells in culture. Identification of genes regulated by COX inhibitors could lead to a better understanding of their ...

Effects of Mercury Vapour Exposure at Low Concentrations on Urinary Activity of N-AcetylBeta-D-Glucosaminidase: Nobuo IS H I H A R A. Research Centre for Occupational Disease, Tohoku Rosai Hospital—Effects of exposure to mercury vapour less than 0.02 mg Hg/m3 on urinary N-Acetylbeta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity were studied in seven Japanese workers from 1991 to 1997. According to the recor...

Exactly why N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) excretion is increased in patients with nephrotic syndrome with glomerular lesions is poorly understood. Glomeruli contain less NAG than do proximal tubules. In this study, we have tried to measure the NAG isoenzymes automatically by use of the recently developed fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) system, followed by column chromatography...

The binding of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) to chicken egg lysozyme (E.C. 3.2.1.17) was investigated by high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction at room temperature. NAG was found to bind to lysozyme in a rapid precipitation preparation with 0.05 M NaCl buffer pH 6.0, but not 0.05 M NaCl buffer pH 5.0. Binding was indicated by significant and readily apparent changes in the diffraction pattern fro...