Relationship between plasma protein S levels and apolipoprotein C-II in Japanese middle-aged obese women and young nonobese women.

: Protein S, a nonenzymatic cofactor to activated protein C, presents in two forms in plasma, free form and in a complex with C4b-binding protein. The aim of this study was to determine the association of plasma protein S levels with the variables related to cardiovascular disease risk. The relationships between plasma protein S levels with lipids, inflammation markers, and adiposity were first examined on middle-aged obese women (n = 62), then on young nonobese women (n = 160) to verify the findings in the obese women.

Resveratrol, a phytoestrogen found in red wine, down-regulates protein S expression in HepG2 cells.

Unlabelled: INTRODUATION: Resveratrol, a phytoestrogen present at a high concentration in red wine, has been reported to possess many health benefit effects that are protective against age-related diseases. Protein S (PS), an important anticoagulant factor in the protein C (PC) anticoagulant pathway, is mainly synthesized by hepatocytes, and its plasma level is decreased in high-estrogen conditions such as pregnancy and oral contraceptive use. The aim of this study was to investigate whether resveratrol affects PS expression in HepG2 cells.

Daily exercise fluctuations and dietary patterns during training predict visceral fat regain in obese women.

Background: Visceral adiposity is an essential component of metabolic syndrome. Reduction of excessive visceral fat prevents metabolic syndrome and improves atherosclerotic diseases. This study aimed to identify dietary patterns and physical exercise during the training-education period that predict visceral adiposity regain during the follow-up period.

Subcutaneous fat accumulation shows a beneficial correlation with serum cholesterol in postmenopausal Japanese women.

This study aimed to investigate whether accumulation of subcutaneous abdominal fat has a beneficial correlation with lipid metabolism in premenopausal and/or postmenopausal Japanese women. The study enrolled 146 premenopausal women, ranging in age from 19 to 54 years, and 82 postmeno-pausal women, ranging in age from 47 to 66 years. Fat distribution, including abdominal visceral fat area (VFA) and abdominal subcutaneous fat area (SFA), were measured in an outpatient clinic by magnetic resonance imaging.

Determination of the mRNA sequence of cathepsin Y, a cysteine endopeptidase from rat spleen, 1 and confirmation of its ubiquitous expression.

A cysteine endopeptidase from rat spleen was purified, characterized and its gene cloned. This enzyme was originally recognized by its action of producing kinin-potentiating peptide from a plasma protein. We named it cathepsin Y due to its localization, acidic pH optimum and the presence of the same set of active site amino acids as in other thiol cathepsins.