胱抑素C与心血管疾病的关系

胱抑素C(Cystatin C)是一种低分子量的分泌性蛋白质,与肾小球滤过率(GFR)密切相关,是肾小球滤过功能的一个理想指标。作为一种半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂,胱抑素C与同型半胱氨酸、组织蛋白酶等相互作用,而参与了动脉粥样硬化、动脉瘤及心肌梗塞等心血管疾病的病理过程。     

血清半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂C在肾移植患者肾功能监测中的临床应用

目的针对肾移植术后稳定期患者,进行血清半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂C(Cystatin C)和血清肌酐(SCr)的灵敏度的比较。方法在HITACHI-7600-020型自动生化分析仪上采用微粒子颗粒增强透射免疫比浊分析法等方法测定肾移植术后稳定期患者的Cystatin C、SCr等指标。结果对数据用SPSS 11.5软件包进行χ2检验,P<0.01,故可以认为2种检测指标间的差异有统计学意义,即Cystatin C与SCr相比有较好的敏感度。结论血清Cystatin C在稳定期肾移植患者中敏感性与SCr差异存在统计学意义,且优于SCr,能更敏感,更及时的反映GFR的变化,可作为稳定期肾移植患者判断急、慢性排斥和免疫抑制剂的毒性的最重要的观察指标之一。     

探讨尿视黄醇结合蛋白对高血压早期肾损害的作用研究

目的:探讨尿视黄醇结合蛋白(RBP)、尿N-乙酰-β-D-氨基葡萄糖苷酶(NAG)、尿胱蛋白酶抑制剂C(Cystatin C)的测定对原发性高血压早期肾损害诊断的敏感性及临床意义.方法:选择2011年4月～2011年11月在新疆自治区人民医院肾病科住院的原发性高血压患者69例作为观察组,另设健康体检者30例为对照组.尿RBP、Cystatin C测定采用酶联免疫法(ELISA)检测,尿NAG测定采用对硝基苯酚(PNP)比色法检测.结果:观察组中尿RBP、NAG、CystatinC的测定含量明显高于正常对照组(P＜0.001),通过ROC曲线、诊断试验结果显示:尿RBP的曲线下面积为0.962,95％可信区间为0.921～0.983,较尿NAG、Cystatin C更具有敏感性(P＜0.001).结论:检测尿RBP有助于高血压肾损害的早期监测,对预防高血压性肾病的发生、发展具有重要的临床价值.     

慢性心力衰竭患者胱抑素C的变化及意义

目的:观察慢性心力衰竭(Chronic Heart Failure,CHF)患者血清胱抑素C(Cystatin C)水平变化,探讨其与CHF之间的意义.方法:研究对象包括从2008年9月-2009年8月本院入选的CHF组70例,正常对照组30例,采用双抗夹心ELISA法检测血清Cystatin C含量,CHF患者心力衰竭程度按NYHA法分级,记录住院期间及出院6个月内全因病死率和因慢性心衰发作再入院率.结果:CHF组患者血清Cystatin C含量明显高于对照组,心功能Ⅳ级组血清Cystatin C浓度高于心功能Ⅱ、Ⅲ级组.根据慢性心衰患者血清中位数Cystatin C浓度,分为Cystatin C＞1.2mg/l组和Cystatin C＜1.2mg/l组.两组患者住院期间全因死亡率比较中未发现有明显差异;但高血清Cystatin C浓度组患者较低血清Cystatin C浓度组患者在住院期间死亡有增加的趋势.追踪随访6个月,高血清Cys C浓度组患者出院期间全因死亡率、因心衰再住院率有明显高于低浓度组,有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论:Cystatin C与CHF的发生有密切关系,可以诊断CHF及反映CHF近中期预后一个很有前途的指标.     

阿司匹林对糖尿病大鼠肾缺血再灌注损伤时Cystatin C 的影响

目的:评价阿司匹林对糖尿病大鼠肾缺血再灌注损伤后Cystatin C(蛋白酶抑制肽C)的影响。方法:32只成年Sprague-Dawley大鼠经链脲霉素(streptozotocin,STZ)腹腔注射建立糖尿病模型后随机分为4组,实验组分别经胃灌注10 mg/kg、20 mg/kg、30 mg/kg的阿司匹林,对照组灌注等量生理盐水15 d后建立肾缺血30 min再灌注2 h模型。抽取动脉血用ELISA法检测Cystatin C水平,取肾脏做病理切片和免疫组化检测。结果:各实验组血清Cystatin C水平明显低于对照组(P0.05),实验组之间差异不显著(P0.05)。HE染色实验组与对照组未见明显组织病理学差异。免疫组化显示对照组Cystatin C蛋白表达增多,而实验组表达不显著。结论:低剂量阿司匹林降低STZ诱导的糖尿病大鼠肾缺血再灌注后血浆Cystatin C水平,具有肾保护作用。     

颗粒酶B和胱天蛋白酶-3对肌动蛋白水解作用的体外研究(英)

已知凋亡过程的基本变化之一是细胞骨架的异常,后者在某种程度上决定凋亡细胞的形态学特征.为揭示凋亡相关蛋白酶——颗粒酶B和胱天蛋白酶-3对胞浆型肌动蛋白的水解作用,采用成年猕猴脑组织粗提物作为无细胞体系,以外源性颗粒酶B触发凋亡途径的终末反应. 经一系列免疫印迹分析发现: 孵育12 h方见β-肌动蛋白被剪切,产生41 ku和15 ku水解片段,并证明该水解反应为颗粒酶B依赖;颗粒酶B活化的内源性胱天蛋白酶-3和重组胱天蛋白酶-3均不能水解脑提取物中的β-肌动蛋白,尽管胱天蛋白酶-3可作用于纯化的肌动蛋白,产生15 ku片段. 以上结果提示,内源性β-肌动蛋白对凋亡相关蛋白酶,尤其胱天蛋白酶-3不敏感,这可能与该蛋白质的空间结构特征或脑组织中存在的某种蛋白酶抑制因子有关.     

颗粒酶B和胱天蛋白酶-3对肌动蛋白水解作用的体外研究

已知凋亡过程的基本变化之一是细胞骨架的异常,后者在某种程度上决定凋亡细胞的形态学特征.为揭示凋亡相关蛋白酶--颗粒酶B和胱天蛋白酶-3对胞浆型肌动蛋白的水解作用,采用成年猕猴脑组织粗提物作为无细胞体系,以外源性颗粒酶B触发凋亡途径的终末反应.经一系列免疫印迹分析发现:孵育12 h方见β-肌动蛋白被剪切,产生41 ku和15 ku水解片段,并证明该水解反应为颗粒酶B依赖;颗粒酶B活化的内源性胱天蛋白酶-3和重组胱天蛋白酶-3均不能水解脑提取物中的β-肌动蛋白,尽管胱天蛋白酶-3可作用于纯化的肌动蛋白,产生15 ku片段.以上结果提示,内源性β-肌动蛋白对凋亡相关蛋白酶,尤其胱天蛋白酶-3不敏感,这可能与该蛋白质的空间结构特征或脑组织中存在的某种蛋白酶抑制因子有关.     

细胞迁移相关蛋白酶的研究进展

蛋白酶在胚胎发育、免疫防御、损伤修复、血管新生及肿瘤转移等相关细胞迁移过程中发挥关键作用.近年,蛋白酶影响肿瘤细胞侵袭、迁移的机制研究渐成热点,但肿瘤细胞免疫逃逸、增生、迁移、侵袭、异位定植等机制仍不明确,因此对相关蛋白酶的功能和作用机制的研究愈显重要.本文从蛋白酶的正常生理功能入手,综述肿瘤细胞迁移中相关蛋白酶的研究进展,以期为靶向肿瘤浸润和迁移过程的蛋白酶抑制剂类新药筛选和研发提供线索和新思路.     

Molecular cloning, prokaryotic expression and expression at different developmental stages of cathepsin B gene in mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley ( Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

昆虫组织蛋白酶B在昆虫代谢过程中发挥重要作用.本研究利用RACE技术克隆了扶桑绵粉蚧Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley组织蛋白酶B基因的开放阅读框(ORF)序列,命名为PsCb(GenBank登录号:JQ727999).生物信息学分析表明,该基因的开放阅读框包含927 bp的片段,编码308个氨基酸.多序列比对表明,该基因编码的蛋白在N端变异较大,在C端保守性高.组织蛋白酶B基因的系统进化树结果表明扶桑绵粉蚧组织蛋白酶独自成为一支.原核表达电泳检测到一条大约35 kDa的目的条带,与预测的蛋白分子量相符.组织蛋白酶B基因在扶桑绵粉蚧各个虫态均有表达,卵期表达量相对较低,2龄若虫期达到最高峰,然后下降.本研究为进一步研究该基因的功能并开发出组织蛋白酶抑制剂,从而研制出扶桑绵粉蚧杀卵剂和胚胎发育抑制剂等提供理论依据.     

蛋白酶B.P与几种试剂蛋白酶的比较

蛋白酶B.P与国内外几种试剂蛋白酶比较,证明其酶种单一,只含有蛋白酶,不含DNA酶和RNA酶,与蛋白酶K和蛋白酶E相似。蛋白酶B.P除含有碱性蛋白酶外还含有较高的中性蛋白酶活性,它可以广泛地水解多种天然蛋白,应用于微生物细胞蛋白的水解,提取DNA和RNA,还可水解叶肉细胞蛋白,提取叶绿体DNA,是我国第一个碱性生化试剂蛋白酶。     

Medullary thyroid carcinoma: from molecular studies to clinical decision

The paper is focused on guidelines of practice in inherited medullary thyroid cancer, diagnosed on the basis of DNA analysis. Identification of RET mutation implies further steps of diagnostic procedure, some of them - USG, FNAB and calcitonin level tests - are common for all types of mutation, other are related to ascertained type of mutation. In asymptomatic RET mutation carriers, prophylactic thyroidectomy is indicated. In MEN2B inherited cancer reveals its symptoms quickly and shows dynamic progress. In MEN2A/FMTC the clinical picture is diversified - in some patients the course of disease is mild, however in some other cases the progression of disease and even death occur regardless of the proper treatment. Unfortunately, there are no molecular prognostic markers in medullary thyroid carcinoma. Recent papers and also our own unpublished results show that gene expression profile, is similar in MEN2A and sporadic cancer. This group differs from MEN2B by its expression profile. In conclusion it is to be emphasized that although inherited medullary thyroid carcinoma is a rare disease, the diagnostic algorithm is well established and maximizes the chance for early diagnosis. Moreover, it needs to be stressed that DNA analysis results inform us not only about the necessity of further therapy, but also suggest different ways of proceeding in particular type of mutation.     

Long non-coding RNA DIO3OS/let-7d/NF-κB2 axis regulates cells proliferation and metastasis of thyroid cancer cells

Due to the steadily rising morbidity and mortality, thyroid cancer remains the most commonly seen endocrine cancer. The present study attempted to investigate the mechanism from the perspective of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) regulation. We identified 53 markedly increased lncRNAs in thyroid cancer samples according to TCGA data. Among them, high lncRNA DIO3OS expression was a risk factor for thyroid cancer patients’ poorer overall survival. DIO3OS showed to be considerably increased within thyroid cancer tissue samples and cells. Knocking down DIO3OS within thyroid carcinoma cells suppressed cancer cell viability, the capacity of DNA synthesis, cell invasion, as well as cell migration; besides, proliferating markers, ki-67 and PCNA, were decreased by DIO3OS knockdown. Cancer bioinformatics analysis suggested that NF-κB2 might be related to DIO3OS function in thyroid cancer carcinogenesis. NF-κB2 was positively correlated with DIO3OS, and DIO3OS knockdown decreased NF-κB2 protein levels. Knocking down NF-κB2 within thyroid carcinoma cells suppressed cancer cell viability, the capacity of DNA synthesis, cell invasion, cell migration, and the protein levels of proliferating markers. Let-7d directly targeted DIO3OS and NF-κB2; DIO3OS knockdown upregulated let-7d expression. The overexpression of let-7d suppressed cancer cell viability, the capacity of DNA synthesis, cell invasion, cell migration, as well as the protein levels of proliferating markers. Let-7d inhibition remarkably attenuated the functions of DIO3OS knockdown in NF-κB2 expression and thyroid cancer cell phenotype. In conclusion, DIO3OS/let-7d/NF-κB2 axis regulates the viability, DNA synthesis capacity, invasion, and migration of thyroid cancer cells. The clinical application of this axis needs further in vivo and clinical investigation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s12079-020-00589-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Immunolocalization of human cystatins in neutrophils and lymphocytes

Summary The endogenous inhibitors of cysteine proteinases, cystatin A and cystatin B, have been localized in sections of human liver by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Cystatin A was localized in neutrophils and cystatin B was found in lymphocytes. Both types of cell were present in the blood vessels and within the sinusoids between the parenchymal cells. Cystatin A was also found in some of the parenchymal cells surrounding the blood vesscts but, in contrast to the uniform fluorescence of the leucocytes, the staining in the parenchymal cells was granular and rather irregular.     

Immunolocalization of human cystatins in neutrophils and lymphocytes

The endogenous inhibitors of cysteine proteinases, cystatin A and cystatin B, have been localized in sections of human liver by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Cystatin A was localized in neutrophils and cystatin B was found in lymphocytes. Both types of cell were present in the blood vessels and within the sinusoids between the parenchymal cells. Cystatin A was also found in some of the parenchymal cells surrounding the blood vessels but, in contrast to the uniform fluorescence of the leucocytes, the staining in the parenchymal cells was granular and rather irregular.     

Structural transition of kidney cystatin in dimethylnitrosamine-induced renal cancer in rats: identification as a novel biomarker for kidney cancer and prognosis

In our study, renal cancer is induced in rats making use of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN). G1 – Group 1 were control rats and G2 – Group 2 rats were given a single intra-peritoneal injection of DMN of 50 mg/kg body weight resulting in 100% incidences of renal tumors after 12 months. SEM and histopathology confirmed the presence of renal cancer in the DMN-treated rats. Making use of ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-100HR column, a thiol protease inhibitor was isolated from kidney of control rats known as Rat kidney Cystatin (RKC) as well as from kidney of cancerous rat called as Cancerous Rat Kidney Cystatin (CRKC). Both these inhibitors were characterized, and interestingly, it was found that CRKC showed greater anti-papain activity and also it was stable in a broad pH and temperature range thus implying that CRKC is more stable as compared to RKC. UV and fluorescence spectroscopy point out in structural difference between RKC and CRKC which was further confirmed by Circular dichroism (CD) and FTIR spectroscopy. Our study clearly showed that kidney cystatin is structurally modified in the case of renal cancer and performs its role in a more efficacious manner.     

KIF20B promotes the progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma by stimulating cell proliferation

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common urinary system cancer with high morbidity and mortality rate. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a highly aggressive and common type of RCC. More and effective therapeutic targets are badly needed for the treatment of ccRCC. Kinesin family protein (KIF)20B, also named M-phase phosphoprotein 1, was reported as a microtubule-associated, plus-end-directed kinesin. KIF20B was involved in multiple cellular processes such as cytokinesis. Multiple studies indicated the oncogenic role for KIF20B in several types of tumors, including breast cancer and bladder cancer. However, the possible role of KIF20B in the progression of renal carcinoma is still unknown. Herein, our study demonstrated that KIF20B was relatively highly expressed in ccRCC tissues. In addition, KIF20B was inversely related to the clinical features including tumor size and T stage. We further found that inhibition of the KIF20B expression by a specific short hairpin RNA obviously reduces proliferation of ccRCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Our study reveals the involvement of KIF20B in ccRCC progression. Generally, KIF20B is a promising novel therapeutic for the treatment of clear cell RCC.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma in urban born blacks: frequency and relation to hepatitis B virus infection.

Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is far less common in urban born than in rural born southern African blacks, who also have a high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. A case-control study was carried out to determine the relative frequency of hepatocellular carcinoma and its relation to hepatitis B virus infection in urban born blacks. Three hundred and ninety two black patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and matched controls seen at two city hospitals were classified by questioning as urban born or rural born. The ratio of rural born to urban born blacks among the controls was 1.1:1.0 (207/185), whereas in the patients with cancer the ratio was 4.8:1.0 (324/68) (p less than 0.0001). Analysis of the prevalence of hepatitis B markers in 62 urban born and matched rural born blacks with hepatocellular carcinoma showed no differences in the frequency of current or past hepatitis B virus infection. It is concluded that urban born blacks are less likely than rural born blacks to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, but when they do the tumour is equally likely to be related to infection with hepatitis B virus. The findings lend further support to an important role for chronic hepatitis B virus infection in the aetiology of hepatocellular carcinoma.     

Cathepsin B may be a potential biomarker in cervical cancer

Cathepsin B is a protease which is able to digest extracellular matrix. It is currently unknown whether cathepsin B plays a role in cervical cancer development and progression. With Q-PCR and Western blotting, we observed cathepsin B expression in cervical cancer cell line Hela cells. After the gene was silenced in HeLa cells with SiRNA, we confirmed that cathepsin B expressions at both mRNA and protein levels were significantly reduced. At the same time, cell proliferation, migration and invasion of the HeLa cells were significantly decreased compared to control cells. In addition, a significant regression of tumor growth in nude mice which received the siRNA targeted cathepsin B HeLa cells was observed. We further studied the expression of cathepsin B in a series of 169 clinical samples, including 56 invasive cervical squamous carcinoma, 85 CINs and 28 normal cervical tissues. It was found that cathepsin B expression in invasive carcinomas was significantly higher than that in the CINs and normal tissues (P<0.01). In addition, cathepsin B expression in the invasive carcinomas was positively correlated to tumor invasion depth and lymphatic metastasis. Our results indicate that cathepsin B may be a potential biomarker for further strategical clinical studies in cervical cancer.     

Silencing of cystatin M in metastatic oral cancer cell line MDA-686Ln by siRNA increases cysteine proteinases and legumain activities, cell proliferation and in vitro invasion

Cystatins are inhibitors of lysosomal cysteine proteinases. Cystatin M demonstrates more diverse tissue distribution, target specificity and biological function than other cystatins from the same family. We utilized small interference RNAs (siRNA) to silence cystatin M gene expression in a metastatic oral cancer cell line (MDA-686Ln) that expresses a high level of cystatin M. We tested four different siRNAs targeted to different sites of the cystatin M mRNA, and found three out of the four siRNAs were effective in suppressing cystatin M expression by >50% at both mRNA and protein levels, as measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. We used siRNA-#1, which demonstrated highest efficiency of silencing cystatin M, to evaluate the phenotypic outcome of silencing cystatin M in MDA-686Ln cells. Cystatin M inhibition significantly increased the enzymatic activities of cathepsins B and L and legumain while reducing cysteine protease inhibitor activity both in the media and intracellularly. MDA-686Ln cells treated with siRNA#1 demonstrated markedly increased proliferation rate, in vitro motility and Matrigel invasiveness. Collectively, our data show that silencing of cystatin M in tumor cells not only increases their invasion and motility via cysteine-proteinase-dependent pathways, but also renders them hyperproliferative through a currently unknown mechanism.