Zinc a2 glycoprotein

In the adult mouse brain, perineuronal net (PNN), a highly structured extracellular matrix, surrounds subsets of neurons. The AZGP1 gene encodes zinc-2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is a lipid-mobilizing factor. However, its expression and distribution in the adult brain have been controversial. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that the secreted ZAG is localized to Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA)-positive PNNs around parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons in the hippocampus, cortex, and a number of other PNN-bearing neurons and co-localizes with aggrecan, one of the components of PNNs...

OBJECTIVES: Maternal obesity imposes significant health risks in the offspring including diabetes and dyslipidemia. We previously showed that the hypoglycaemic agent exendin-4 (Ex-4) administered from weaning can reverse the maternal impact of 'transmitted disorders' in such offspring. However daily injection for six-weeks was required and the beneficial effect may lapse upon drug withdrawal. This study aimed to investigate whether short term Ex-4 treatment during suckling period in a rodent model can reverse transmitted metabolic disorders due to maternal obesity...

BACKGROUND: Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a tumor with sizable metastases and local recurrence. It has a worse prognosis than bladder cancer. This study was designed to investigate the urinary potential tumor markers of UTUC. METHODS: Between January 2008 and January 2009, urine was sampled from 13 patients with UTUC and 20 healthy adults. The current study identified biomarkers for UTUC using non-fixed volume stepwise weak anion exchange chromatography for fractionation of urine protein prior to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis...

Zinc-a2-glycoprotien (AZGP1) involved in lipid metabolism and associated with adipose tissue atrophy in cachexia. And it also related to sperm motility and in turn fertilization. To ascertain whether there were mutations in the bovine AZGP1 gene, this study investigated variation of the AZGP1 gene through PCR-SSCP and sequencing. Four missense mutations were identified in 649 cattle from six independent populations. Haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium (LD) coefficients of these SNPs in three Chinese indigenous cattle breeds were analyzed...

Our previous study has shown that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its signalling pathway contribute to anti-β₂-glycoprotein I/β₂-glycoprotein I (anti-β₂GPI/β₂GPI)-induced tissue factor (TF) expression in human acute monocytic leukaemia cell line THP-1 and annexin A2 (ANX2) is involved in this pathway. However, its downstream molecules have not been well explored. In this study, we have established that interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinases (IRAKs) and tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factors (TRAFs) are crucial downstream molecules of anti-β₂GPI/β₂GPI-induced TLR4 signaling pathway in THP-1 cells and explored the potential mechanisms of their self-regulation...

The mechanism by which the adipokine zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) increases the mass of gastrocnemius, but not soleus muscle of diabetic mice, has been evaluated both in vivo and in vitro. There was an increased phosphorylation of both double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase and its substrate, eukaryotic initiation factor-2α, which was attenuated by about two-thirds in gastrocnemius but not soleus muscle of ob/ob mice treated with ZAG (50 μg, iv daily) for 5 d. ZAG also reduced the expression of the phospho forms of p38MAPK and phospholipase A2, as well as expression of the ubiquitin ligases (E3) muscle atrophy F-box/atrogin-1 and muscle RING finger protein, and the increased activity of both caspase-3 and casapse-8 to values found in nonobese controls...

The consequences of human lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection can be severe, including aseptic meningitis in immunocompetent individuals, hydrocephalus or chorioretinitis in fetal infection, or a highly lethal outcome in immunosuppressed individuals. In murine models of LCMV infection, CD8(+) T cells play a primary role in providing protective immunity, and there is evidence that cellular immunity may also be important in related arenavirus infections in humans. For this reason, we sought to identify HLA-A2 supertype-restricted epitopes from the LCMV proteome and evaluate them as vaccine determinants in HLA transgenic mice...

Factor XI (FXI) is a homodimeric plasma zymogen that is cleaved at two internal Arg(369)-Ile(370) bonds by thrombin, factor XIIa, or factor XIa. FXI circulates as a complex with the glycoprotein high molecular weight kininogen (HK). FXI binds to specific sites (K(d) = approximately 10 nM, B(max) = approximately 1,500/platelet) on the surface of stimulated platelets, where it is efficiently activated by thrombin. The FXI Apple 3 (A3) domain mediates binding to platelets in the presence of HK and zinc ions (Zn(2+)) or prothrombin and calcium ions...

Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular-weight, cysteine-rich protein that contains heavy metals such as cadmium and zinc. The biological function of MT in platelets is not yet understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically examine the inhibitory mechanisms of metallothionein in platelet aggregation. In this study, metallothionein concentration-dependently (1-8 microM) inhibited platelet aggregation in human platelets stimulated by agonists. Metallothionein (4 and 8 microM) inhibited phosphoinositide breakdown in [3H]-inositol-labeled platelets, intracellular Ca+2 mobilization in Fura-2 AM-loaded platelets, and thromboxane A2 formation stimulated by collagen...

The absolute requirement for the 85 kDa cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) in the PMA stimulation of proton efflux through the NADPH-oxidase-associated proton channel, has previously been demonstrated using a PLB-985 cell line deficient in cPLA(2) (PLB-D). The flux of protons in Chinese-Hamster ovary (CHO) cells that express the N-terminal 230-amino-acid (NT) fragment of gp91(phox) is activated by arachidonic acid (AA) added externally. To investigate the physiological role of cPLA(2), and the intracellular AA that it releases, in the activation of proton flux through the NT fragment of gp91(phox), this fragment was stably expressed in PLB-985 cells (PLB-985 NT) and in PLB-D cells (PLB-D NT)...

Enzymatic release of Zn(2+)-glycerophosphocholine (GPC)cholinephosphodiesterase, as an amphiphilic form, from bovine brain membranes was examined. Of various membrane hydrolases, bee PLA2 was the most effective in the release of the GPC cholinephosphodiesterase (amphiphilic form, 63-70%) from membrane. Compared to pancreatic PLA2, bee PLA2 was more efficient in the release of GPC cholinephosphodiesterase. In pH-dependent release of GP1-anchored phosphodiesterase, there was a similar pH-release profile between PLA2-mediated release and spontaneous one, implying the involvement of membrane disruption in the PLA2 action...

Hemorrhagic factor I (LHF-I) was previously purified from the venom of the bushmaster snake (Lachesis muta muta). In terms of biochemical and immunological properties, LHF-I is a glycoprotein (mol. wt 100,000, pI 4.7) consisting of two subunits; it loses its activity following mercaptoethanol treatment. LHF-I contains 0.7 g-atom zinc and 1.2 g-atom calcium per mole protein. The hemorrhagic and the proteinase activities are inhibited by EDTA; subsequent addition of Ca2+ or Mg2+ does not reverse the EDTA-induced inhibition of the hemorrhagic activity...

We demonstrate that zinc (0.1 to 0.3 mmol/L) induces aggregation of washed platelet suspensions. Higher concentrations (1 to 3 mmol/L) of zinc were needed to aggregate platelets in platelet-rich plasma obtained from blood anticoagulated with low-molecular-weight heparin, probably due to the binding of zinc to the plasma proteins. Zinc-induced aggregation of normal washed platelets required added fibrinogen and no aggregation occurred with thrombasthenic platelets or with normal platelets pretreated with a monoclonal antibody (10E5) that blocks the platelet fibrinogen receptor...