Stage specific gene expression of serpins and their cognate proteases during myeloid differentiation.

Proteases and their serpin inhibitors are abundantly expressed in haemopoietic and peripheral blood cells. There is, however, relatively little information about the role played by serpins in the control of protease activity within these cells and in the pericellular region. The observation that mutations in the neutrophil elastase gene, which cause cyclic and severe congenital neutropenia, are associated with protease maldistribution gives some clue as to the potential importance of inhibitor proteins.

Daidzein and 17 beta-estradiol enhance nitric oxide synthase activity associated with an increase in calmodulin and a decrease in caveolin-1.

Isoflavones, such as daidzein, are proposed to possess vasculoprotective properties, perhaps through a mechanism similar to estrogen. Our experiments aimed to test the hypothesis that daidzein and 17 beta-estradiol enhance endothelium-dependent relaxation through an increase in NO synthesis due to an increase in activity or expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Male rats were treated with daidzein (0.

Murine serpin 2A is a redox-sensitive intracellular protein.

Murine serpin 2A is expressed at high levels in haemopoietic progenitors and down-regulated on differentiation. When it is constitutively expressed in the multipotent haemopoietic cell line, FDCP-Mix, it causes a delay in differentiation and increased clonogenic potential. The serpin is also dramatically up-regulated on T-cell activation.