Direct Binding of the EGF-like Domain of Neuregulin-1 to Integrins (alphavbeta3 and alpha6beta4) Is Involved in Neuregul...
Published in JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry
Published in JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Human rotavirus is the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and children under the age of 5 years in both developed and developing countries. Human lactadherin, a milk fat globule membrane glycoprotein, inhibits human rotavirus infection in vitro, whereas bovine lactadherin is not active. Moreover, it protects breastfed infants agains...
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Integrins are activated by signaling from inside the cell (inside-out signaling) through global conformational changes of integrins. We recently discovered that fractalkine activates integrins in the absence of CX3CR1 through the direct binding of fractalkine to a ligand-binding site in the integrin headpiece (site 2) that is distinct from the clas...
The prototypic acute phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) is not only a marker but also a potential contributor to inflammatory diseases. CRP exists as the circulating native, pentameric CRP (pCRP) and the monomeric isoform (mCRP), formed as a result of a dissociation process of pCRP. mCRP is highly pro-inflammatory, but pCRP is not. The mechani...
Published in AJP Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology
Hepatic stellate cells (HSC), the key fibrogenic cells of the liver, transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts upon phagocytosis of apoptotic hepatocytes. Galectin-3, a β-galactoside-binding lectin, is a regulator of the phagocytic process. In this study, our aim was to study the mechanism by which extracellular galectin-3 modulates HSC phagocytosis a...
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Secretory phospholipase A2 group IIA (sPLA2-IIA) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Catalytic activity of this enzyme that generates arachidonic acid is a major target for development of anti-inflammatory agents. Independent of its catalytic activity, sPLA2-IIA induces pro-inflammatory signals in a receptor-mediat...
Published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics
We have previously reported the use of one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial technology to develop a disulfide cyclic, Arg-Gly-Asp-containing octapeptide LXW7 (cGRGDdvc), that targets αvβ3 integrin with high affinity and specificity. αvβ3 integrin is known to be overexpressed in many cancers and in tumor vasculature, and it has been establishe...
Published in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Increased concentrations of secreted phospholipase A2 type IIA (sPLA2-IIA), have been found in the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It has been shown that sPLA2-IIA specifically binds to integrin αvβ3, and initiates a signaling pathway that leads to cell proliferation and inflammation. Therefore, the interaction between integri...
Published in Thrombosis and Haemostasis
It has been questioned whether there are receptors for urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) that facilitate plasminogen activation other than the high affinity uPA receptor (uPAR/CD87) since studies of uPAR knockout mice did not support a major role of uPAR in plasminogen activation. uPA also promotes cell adhesion, chemotaxis, and proliferat...
Published in Genome Biology
The integrins are a superfamily of cell adhesion receptors that bind to extracellular matrix ligands, cell-surface ligands, and soluble ligands. They are transmembrane alphabeta heterodimers and at least 18 alpha and eight beta subunits are known in humans, generating 24 heterodimers. Members of this family have been found in mammals, chicken and z...
Published in Journal of Autoimmunity
The C-terminal domain of the fibrinogen gamma chain (gammaC) has been shown to bind to the integrins alphaIIbbeta3, alphaMbeta2 and alphaVbeta3. It has also been reported that a peptide derived from the alphaMbeta2-binding site of gammaC can suppress an animal model of multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here we hav...
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Integrin αvβ3 plays a role in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) signaling (integrin-IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) cross-talk). The specifics of the cross-talk are, however, unclear. In a current model, "ligand occupancy" of αvβ3 (i.e. the binding of extracellular matrix proteins) enhances signaling induced by IGF1 binding to IGF1R. We recently reported t...
Published in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Four "one-bead one-compound" (OBOC) combinatorial libraries were designed, synthesized, and screened against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. A novel cyclic peptide 1 (LXY1) with high binding specificity to alpha3 integrin was identified. Molecular interactions between alpha3 integrin and 1 were characterized by using a series of K562 cells transfec...
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is an important non-collagenous cartilage protein that is essential for the structural integrity of the cartilage extracellular matrix. The repeated modular structure of COMP allows it to "bridge" and assemble multiple cartilage extracellular matrix components such as collagens, matrilins, and proteoglycan...
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a critical role in cancer metastasis, and is regulated by growth factors such as transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and fibroblast growth factors (FGF) secreted from the stromal and tumor cells. However, the role of growth factors in EMT has not been fully established. Several integrins are upregul...
Published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics
The αvβ3 integrin, expressed on the surface of various normal and cancer cells, is involved in numerous physiologic processes such as angiogenesis, apoptosis, and bone resorption. Because this integrin plays a key role in angiogenesis and metastasis of human tumors, αvβ3 integrin ligands are of great interest to advances in targeted therapy and can...
Published in Blood
Coagulation activation by tissue factor (TF) is implicated in cancer progression, cancer-associated thrombosis and metastasis. The role of direct TF signaling pathways in cancer, however, remains incompletely understood. Here we address how TF contributes to primary tumor growth by using a unique pair of isotype-matched antibodies that inhibit eith...
Published in Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
We previously showed that the kringle domains of plasmin and angiostatin, the N-terminal four kringles (K1-4) of plasminogen, directly bind to integrins. Angiostatin blocks tumor-mediated angiogenesis and has great therapeutic potential. Angiostatin binding to integrins may be related to the antiinflammatory action of angiostatin. We reported that ...
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Plasmin is a major extracellular protease that elicits intracellular signals to mediate platelet aggregation, chemotaxis of peripheral blood monocytes, and release of arachidonate and leukotriene from several cell types in a G protein-dependent manner. Angiostatin, a fragment of plasmin(ogen), is a ligand and an antagonist for integrin alpha(9)beta...
The chemokine domain of fractalkine (FKN-CD) binds to the classical RGD-binding site of αvβ3 and that the resulting ternary complex formation (integrin-FKN-CX3CR1) is critical for CX3CR1 signaling and FKN-induced integrin activation. However, only certain cell types express CX3CR1. Here we studied if FKN-CD can activate integrins in the absence of ...