We investigated whether artepillin C, a major component of Brazilian propolis, acts as a neurotrophic-like factor in rat PC12m3 cells, in which nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth is impaired. When cultures of PC12m3 cells were treated with artepillin C at a concentration of 20 microM, the frequency of neurite outgrowth induced by artepillin C was approximately 7-fold greater than that induced by NGF alone. Artepillin C induced-neurite outgrowth of PC12m3 cells was inhibited by the ERK inhibitor U0126 and by the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. Although artepillin C-induced p38 MAPK activity was detected in PC12m3 cells, phosphorylation of ERK induced by artepillin C was not observed. On the other hand, artepillin C caused rapid activation of ERK and the time course of the activation was similar to that induced by NGF treatment in PC12 parental cells. However, NGF-induced neurite outgrowth was inhibited by artepillin C treatment. Interestingly, inhibition of ERK by U0126 completely prevented artepillin C-induced p38 MAPK phosphorylation of PC12m3 cells. These findings suggest that artepillin C-induced activation of p38 MAPK through the ERK signaling pathway is responsible for the neurite outgrowth of PC12m3 cells.

No abstract

SummaryMilk plasminogen-activator was partially purified from human transitional milk collected at about 10 days after delivery, by a five-step procedure involving chloroform treatment, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and column chromatography on Sephadex G-150, CM Sephadex C-50 and DEAE Sephadex A-50. This gave milk-activator with a maximum purification factor of about 2,400-fold with respect to the skimmed milk. The CM Sephadex-step preparation showed, on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, a single plasminogen-activator activity band located between the bands of albumin and prealbumin of human serum. This preparation exhibited no kinin forming activity. The activator hydrolyzed acetyl-glycyl-L-lysine methyl ester with similar order kinetic constants to urokinase, and was inhibited strongly by diisopropyl-fluorophosphate. The molecular weight of the activator as estimated by gel filtration was approximately 86,000, the isoelectric points as estimated by gel isoelectric focusing were pH 7.2, 6.9 and 6.6, and the activator activity was not quenched by antiurokinase globulin, indicating that the milk-activator is a different entity from urokinase.

Thermally induced human eccrine sweat was collected both by simple scraping (SS) and by a polyethylene sweat collector that covered the Vaseline-coated skin of the back to minimize epidermal contamination (CS, clean sweat). Using synthetic chromogenic Kabi S-series substrates, we demonstrated a variety of proteases in both SS and CS, the former being higher than the latter to varying extents. The higher enzyme activity in SS is mainly due to epidermal contamination because abundant protease activity was eluted from the nonperspiring stripped and unstripped skin in vivo and from the stripped stratum corneum itself. The electrophoretic separation of sweat protein has shown that CS contains at least 7 and SS 15 gelatinolytic proteinases. Although some CS proteinases could be derived from the sweat duct, the sweat secretory coil itself is responsible for at least two proteinases at 78 and 25 kilodaltons. The identity and function of these enzymes remain to be studied.

SummaryProtease-like activity which split plasminogen-free fibrin was demonstrated in 2 M KSCN extracts of the lung and spleen of conventional rats. The activity was virtually undetectable in tissue extracts from germ-free rats. The extracts from the conventional rat tissues split fibrin and fibrinogen remarkably at neutral pH, but not casein, when examined using fibrin, fibrinogen-agar and casein-agar plates. The fibrinolytic activity was inhibited by STI and DFP, indicating a serine protease nature. The activity was not inhibited by TLCK, t-AMCHA or dansyl-L-arginine-methylpiperidine amide (a selective synthetic thrombin inhibitor, OM189). It was neither activated nor inhibited by cysteine, KCN or iodoacetic acid. The results obtained indicate that the protease-like activity of the lung and spleen extracted with 2 M KSCN from conventional rats has properties which differ from those of trypsin, plasmin, plasminogen-activator, thrombin, and cathepsin A, B and C.