Microfibril-associated glycoprotein 2 (MAGP2) loss of function has pleiotropic effects in vivo.

Microfibril-associated glycoprotein (MAGP) 1 and 2 are evolutionarily related but structurally divergent proteins that are components of microfibrils of the extracellular matrix. Using mice with a targeted inactivation of Mfap5, the gene for MAGP2 protein, we demonstrate that MAGPs have shared as well as unique functions in vivo. Mfap5(-/-) mice appear grossly normal, are fertile, and have no reduction in life span.

The role of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in cigarette smoke-induced emphysema.

Rationale: Matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-9 is an elastolytic endopeptidase produced by activated macrophages that may be involved in the development of human pulmonary emphysema and could be inhibited with existing compounds. Mouse models have demonstrated that excess MMP-9 production can result in permanent alveolar destruction.

Objectives: To determine if MMP-9 causes cigarette smoke-induced emphysema using MMP-9 knockout mice and human samples.

Cigarette smoke induces nucleic-acid oxidation in lung fibroblasts.

Oxidative stress is widely proposed as a pathogenic mechanism for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the molecular pathway connecting oxidative damage to tissue destruction remains to be fully defined. We suggest that reactive oxygen species (ROS) oxidatively damage nucleic acids, and this effect requires multiple repair mechanisms, particularly base excision pathway components 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase (OGG1), endonuclease III homologue 1 (NTH1), and single-strand-selective monofunctional uracil-DNA glycosylase 1 (SMUG1), as well as the nucleic acid-binding protein, Y-box binding protein 1 (YB1). This study was therefore designed to define the levels of nucleic-acid oxidation and expression of genes involved in the repair of COPD and in corresponding models of this disease.

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of an oropharyngeal teratoma (epignathus) on a stillborn infant: a case report.

Oropharyngeal teratomas are rare congenital malformations that arise from all three basic germinal layers and form a high risk situation for the neonate. Their incidence is only sporadic and they are not associated with a high recurrence risk, although some cases of associated chromosomal aberrations have been described. In this case report we present the clinical course and the histopathological findings of a prenatal diagnosed stillborn infant with an oropharyngeal teratoma of the left maxilla by a 33-year-old primigravida woman at 40 weeks 5 days' gestation.

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase is necessary for distal airway epithelial repair and keratinocyte growth factor receptor expression after acute injury.

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is a protease produced by airway epithelial cells in various diseases. Since other MMPs are involved in bronchial epithelial repair, we investigated the role of MT1-MMP in naphthalene-induced small airway injury and repair in wild-type (WT) and MT1-MMP-knockout (KO) mice. The degree of injury was similar in both strains, but the MT1-MMP KO mice were unable to reconstitute a normal, fully differentiated airway epithelium 28 days after injury.