Humans ; Podocytes ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator

OBJECTIVETo observe the urokinase receptor (uPAR) expression in atherosclerotic plaques of human femoral arteries.

METHODSHuman femoral artery samples were collected from patients underwent femoral endarterectomy. Normal internal mammary artery samples were taken from bypass surgery served as control. uPAR protein distribution at shoulders, lipid pool and rupture sites of a plaque and the association with macrophages and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were detected by immunohistochemistry methods.

RESULTSThere was no uPAR expression in intima or tunica media of normal internal mammary arteries. In atherosclerotic lesions of femoral artery, the mean optical density (A) of uPAR was 92 +/- 37 in intima and 46 +/- 28 in tunica media (P < 0.05). The intimal uPAR was coexisted with macrophages and SMCs. uPAR expression was observed at plaque shoulders and lipid pool, while the maximal expression was found at rupture sites.

CONCLUSIONThe increased expression of uPAR in atherosclerotic lesion and uPAR distribution at shoulders, lipid pool, as well as rupture sites of plaques suggest a role of uPAR in plaque rupture process.

Atherosclerosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Endarterectomy ; Femoral Artery ; pathology ; Humans ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; metabolism ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; metabolism

No abstract available.
Female ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/*enzymology ; Humans ; Male ; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1/*analysis ; Podocytes/*enzymology ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator/*analysis ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator/*analysis

PURPOSE: Increased expression of the hepatocytes growth factor (HGF) receptor (c-Met) and urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA) correlate with the development and metastasis of cancers. However, the mechanisms by which HGF/c-Met signaling mediate cancer progression and metastasis are unclear. Therefore, we investigated the roles of HGF/c-Met in tumor progression and metastasis in pancreatic cancer cell lines, L3.6PL and IMIN-PC2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To see the functional c-Met protein, we were performed immunoprecipitation for functional c-Met protein. And also performed western bolot analysis and gel zymography for the functional uPA protein. To see the inhibition effects of uPAR monoclonal antibody on invasiveness of two pancreatic cancer cell lines, we were carried out standard two chamber invasion assay. RESULTS: At first, we observed the HGF-mediated c-Met phosphorylation and cell growth. c-Met phosphorylation was increased in the HGF-treated cells in a dose dependent manner. HGF resulted in increments of cell growth and ERK phosphorylation. HGF treatment increased the uPA expression and the uPA activity. A monoclonal antibody 3936, specific to uPAR receptor, inhibited HGF- mediated tumor cell invasion in a dose dependent manner. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that functional c- Met and HGF/c-Met signaling up-regulate the activity of uPA and result in increments of invasion-metastasis in the pancreatic cancer cells.
Cell Line ; Hepatocytes* ; Humans* ; Immunoprecipitation ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pancreatic Neoplasms* ; Phosphorylation ; Plasminogen Activators* ; Plasminogen* ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of vacuum-assisted closure (V.A.C) on the expression of Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor(uPAR) protein in margin tissue of pigs with acute wounds and patients with chronic wounds.

METHODSAcute wounds were created on the two side of five male pigs' back, the experiment wounds on one side received V. A. C treatment and the control side received traditional treatment. Punch biopsies were taken from margin tissue of the wounds in 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 25 days after the V.A.C treatment. The uPA and uPAR positive cells were stained with immunohistochemical technique . Six human chronic wounds were also treated with the V. A. C treatment, and the samples of extravasate from those wounds were collected in 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 days after the treatment, and the levels of uPA and uPAR expression were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSThe expression of uPA and uPAR protein in margin tissues of pigs with acute wounds increased and peaked in 3 days after the treatment with V. A. C, then it presented rapidly downtrend, but the expression and staining in the experiment group were obviously higher than that of the control group. In the six chronic wounds, the high level expression of uPA and uPAR protein was decreased after the treatment with V. A. C.

CONCLUSIONThe V. A. C may increase the expression of uPA and uPAR protein in acute wound keratinocytes and decrease the high expression of uPA and uPAR in chronic wounds.

Adult ; Animals ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; metabolism ; Swine ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; metabolism ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathogenesis of unknown nosebleed patients. METHOD: The ELISA test were used to detected plasma Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) level in 19 cases unknown factor nosebleed patients and 36 health persons. RESULT: The results showed uPAR and uPA level in nosebleed group (before treatment) uPAR (0.14 +/- 0.04) microg/L, uPA (0.24 +/- 0.09) microg/L; (after treatment) uPAR (0.08 +/- 0.02) microg/L, uPA (0.18 +/- 0.07) microg/L. And normal group uPAR (0.07 +/- 0.03) microg/L, uPA (0.17 +/- 0.05) microg/L. The uPAR and uPA level in nosebleed group before treatment is higher than that in normal group (P <0.05). There is no significant difference between nosebleed group after treatment and normal group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The reasons of uPAR and uPA level high in unknown factor nosebleed patients were not clear, maybe relation to vascular endothelial cell, smooth muscle cell and neutrophil-monocytic release more uPAR and uPA. So uPAR and uPA density of nostril accumulation is more high in its microenvironment, that fibrinolytic system activated increase and result in its hyperactivity, and happened nosebleed when blood be in hypocoagulable state.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Epistaxis ; blood ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; blood ; metabolism ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; blood ; metabolism ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVESTo measure the plasma levels of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and study the relationship between the plasma levels of uPA, PAI-1 and the serum albumin (Alb), collagen type IV (CIV), the serum hyaluronic acid (HA), prothrombin time (PT) and prothrombin activity (PTA) in patients with different stages of liver cirrhosis following chronic hepatitis B.

METHODS72 cases with liver cirrhosis of different stages were classified according to child-pugh's categories A, B, C, in which there were 23 cases in child A, 29 cases in child B, and 20 cases in child C. The plasma levels of uPA, uPAR, PAI-1 and the serum levels of HA, CIV were detected by ELISA. The serum PCIII concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTSWith the progression of hepatic fibrosis, the plasma levels of uPA, uPAR and PAI-1 were (1.36+/-0.43) microg/L, (3.03+/-1.48) microg/L and (24.09+/-7.14) microg/L respectively in group A, (1.79+/-0.62) microg/L, (4.80+/-2.22) microg/L and (41.40+/-17.52) microg/L respectively in group B. The highest levels were in child C, whose levels were (1.88+/-0.64) microg/L, (4.82+/-2.02) microg/L and (52.60+/-16.87) microg/L respectively, compared with group A and group B, t value were from 2.81 to 7.38, all of P value were less than 0.01. There was negative correlation between the plasma levels of uPA and the serum PCIII (r=-0.4785, P<0.05) in child A, but, positive correlation between the plasma PAI-1 and the serum HA (r=0.5447, P<0.01) in child C. The value of PAI-1/uPA was significantly decreased in child A, but increased in child B and child C.

CONCLUSIONIn the late of liver cirrhosis, increased PAI-1 together with uPA, uPAR are associated with overall inhibition of matrix degradation. The plasma levels of uPA and PAI-1 were correlation to the progression of liver cirrhosis.

Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; complications ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 ; blood ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; blood ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; blood

AIMTo investigate the gene expression changes of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)/urokinase receptor (uPAR) in rat testes at postnatal stages and explore the effects of uPA/uPAR system on the rat spermatogenesis.

METHODSThe mRNAs of uPA and uPAR in rat testes were measured by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at postnatal days 0, 5, 10, 15, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49 and 56, respectively.

RESULTSThe tendencies of uPA and uPAR mRNA expression were similar at most postnatal stages except for D(0). The expression of uPAR mRNA in rats testes was relatively higher than that of uPA at postnatal D(0), and both were decreased until D(21), increased obviously at postnatal D(28), reached a peak at postnatal D(35), then declined sharply at postnatal D(42) and retained at a low level afterwards.

CONCLUSIONThe uPA/uPAR system may be strongly linked to spermiation and spermatogenesis via regulating germ cell migration and proliferation, as well as promoting the spermiation and detached residual bodies from the mature spermatids.

Aging ; genetics ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rats ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; genetics ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; Spermatogenesis ; Spermatozoa ; enzymology ; physiology ; Testis ; growth & development ; physiology ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo evaluate variations in the plasma tissue factor (TF) and urokinase type plasminogen activator (u-PA) system and their relationship with clinical cancer type, pathological classification and metastatic status in cancer patients.

METHODSPlasma levels of TF and its inhibitor (TFPI), as well as u-PA and its receptor (u-PAR) were measured using ELISA in 76 patients with malignant tumors and 24 patients with benign tumors.

RESULTSPlasma levels of TF and u-PAR in the malignant tumor group were significantly higher than those of the benign tumor group and the normal control. U-PA and u-PAR increased significantly in patients with esophageal and gastric cancer. However, most of these parameters except TFPI did not vary according to pathological classification. A significant elevation was evident in patients with local infiltration, lymph node involvement and distal metastasis, while u-PAR only increased in the latter two categories.

CONCLUSIONSBoth the TF and u-PA systems are activated in cancer patients. U-PA and its receptor might prove to be a clinically useful marker for disease progression.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; blood ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; Thromboplastin ; metabolism ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the plasma levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator(u-PA) and its soluble receptor(suPAR )in patients with multiple myeloma(MM) and to evaluate their clinical significance.

METHODSPlasma u-PA and suPAR levels in 34 MM cases were measured with enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The changes of plasma u-PA and suPAR levels in 6 MM cases were observed in succession before and after chemotherapy.

RESULTThe plasma u-PA and suPAR levels of MM patients were significantly higher than those of controls. The plasma u-PA and suPAR levels in the progress period was significantly higher than those in the stable period of MM patients as well as in controls (P<0.01), whereas there were no significant difference between the stable period of MM patients and controls (P>0.05). Among 6 cases,the plasma u-PA and suPAR levels after chemotherapy were significantly lower than those before chemotherapy (P<0.05). MM patients with tumor cells >20% in bone marrow smear had higher levels of plasma u-PA and suPAR than those with tumor cells <19% (P<0.05 P<0.01). The plasma u-PA and suPAR levels were positively correlated with the levels of serum globulin and the percentage of tumor cells in bone marrow,but negatively correlated with the levels of serum albumin.

CONCLUSIONPlasma u-PA and suPAR levels can serve as an index for clinical staging and assessing the therapeutic effect in MM patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Marrow Neoplasms ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; blood ; pathology ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; blood ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; blood