Sandbox Reserved 484: Difference between revisions

Cathepsin B has been very involved in the field of medicine.  It has been implicated in diseases such as invasive cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.  In invasive cancers, the over-expression of cathepsin B messenger Ribonucleic acid (mRNA) has been seen in many human tumours such tumors in brain, colon, prostate, and thyroid.  Studies have found that the increased expression of Cathepsin B in premalignant lesions suggests that the enzyme has a significant role in the transformation of pre-malignant lesions to malignant tumours.  Also, Cathepsin B has been shown to be involved in the processes of tumour growth, vascularisation, invasion, and metastasis [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastasis metastasis].  The tumour tissue extracts can provide useful clinical information to predict disease free and survival in breast, prostate, lung, colorectal and other cancer patients.  In neurodegenerative diseases, Cathepsin B can act as an inhibitor to the amyloid plaques which form in Alzheimer's disease.  Inhibitors of Cathepsin B can be used as therapeutic agents to reduce the dangerous beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's patients.  Cathepsin B plays a major role in cardiovascular diseases such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restenosis], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neointima neointima] formation,[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneurysm aneurysm] formation, and atherosclerosis. Cathepsin B is expressed in macrophages, but it can also be expressed in smooth muscle cells and human umbilical venous endothelial cells.  Research has shown that the relocation of Cathepsin B from the lysosome into the cytosol, where it may act as cleavage enzymes in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis apoptosis], can lead to the formation of the necrotic core and can be involved in an atherosclerosis-stimulating role. Inhibition of Cathepsin B reduces lysosomal degradation of modified LDL, therefore allowing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foam_cell foam cell] formation, which can be important as an atherosclerosis-protective role for cathepsin B.  Also, Cathepsin B has been involved in the degradation [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myofibril myofibrillar proteins] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocardial_infarction myocardial infarction].