Normal post-ejaculatory proteolytic changes in human seminal plasma rapidly distort its electrophoretic protein pattern. This invalidates the electrophoretic evaluation of the content in the secretion from the accessory sex glands. Both agarose and sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) were used to study the proteolytic changes and how they could be modified by vario

Liquefaction of coagulated human semen was inhibited by o-phenanthroline; subsequent addition of Zn2+ reversed this inhibition, but not if the coagulum was repeatedly washed before Zn2+ was added. No liquefaction of the coagulum occurred when Fe2 was added (in a 1:3 molar ratio to o-phenanthroline), and the gel repeatedly washed. This o-phenanthroline-depleted coagulum was liquefied by resuspended

From liquefied human seminal plasma, we purified the predominant basic protein which appears following liquefaction of coagulated semen. The protein was purified in the presence of di-isopropylfluorophosphate to retard its degradation. Heparin-Sepharose® chromatography was followed by gel filtration (Biogel® P 60) and by fast performance liquid chromatography on a reversed phase column (C8). The b

α1-Antitrypsin is a glycoprotein that separates into five electrophoretic fractions, viz. M2, M4, M6, M7 and M8. Con A-Sepharose separates the protein into three fractions according to the branching degree of the three oligosaccharide chains. The Con A affinity is identical for M4 and M7 and for M6 and M8. Within each pair the proteins were isolated by rapid chromatofocusing. The M7 and M8 have th

The predominant basic protein in liquefied human seminal plasma is the major degradation product of the gel-forming protein secreted by the seminal vesicles. The amino acid sequence of this basic protein is presented. The basic protein contains 52 amino acid residues. It is devoid of cysteine, methionine, tryptophan, and leucine, but contains seven histidine residues located in the NH2-terminal ha

ABSTRACT We studied patients and their relatives with partial deficiency, approximately 50% of normal plasma levels, of α1‐antichymotrypsin (ACT), an acute phase reactant with anti‐cathepsin G activity. Six of eight ACT deficient individuals, over 25 years of age, had liver and three of eight lung manifestations, varying from severe disease to subtle laboratory abnormalities. The ACT of deficient

ACT (α1-antichymotrypsin), a serine antiproteinase with specificity against neutrophil cathepsin G, is homologous with α1-antitrypsin, plasminogen activator inhibitor and angiotensinogen, all with known amino-terminal microheterogeneity. Here we report that the two predominant isoforms of desialylated ACT obtained on isoelectric focusing correspond to a microheterogeneity at the amino terminus of

Magneto-optical (MO) effects, viz. magnetically induced changes in light intensity or polarization upon reflection from or transmission through a magnetic sample, were discovered over a century and a half ago. Initially they played a crucially relevant role in unveiling the fundamentals of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. A more broad-based relevance and wide-spread use of MO methods, howev

Immunohistochemical identification of the most prevalent type of neuroendocrine (NE) cells in the human prostate gland can be made with polyclonal antisera against human thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH). A TSH‐like peptide was characterized by analysis of prostatic tissue homogenates with sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel (SDS‐PAGE) electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting. A single pro

Objectives.: To assess the comparability of the Tandem-R and IMx serumprostate-specific antigen (PSA) assays across levels of the ratio of free-to-total serum PSA found in a community-based population of healthy men. Methods.: Banked serum samples from the baseline component of the Olmsted CountyStudy of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men were thawed and analyzed using the Tandem-R and I

Objectives: To understand the comparability of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) determinations across assays and storage time. Methods: Serum PSA levels were determined for men aged 40 to 79 years from the clinical subset of the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men on fresh samples and after a median of 32 months on banked samples, frozen at -70 °C. Baseline se

ABSTRACT: Secretory leucocyte protease inhibitor, SLPI, is a low‐molecular‐weight, acid‐stable protein present in the liquid part of fresh human ejaculate but not demonstrable in the gel structure. No fragmentation of SLPI occurred during gel dissolution, but a slow proteolytic cleavage of SLPI was seen on incubation of the liquified semen at 37°C. The same pattern of degradation products was seen

Protein C is a vitamin K-dependent protein circulating in plasma as a zymogen to an anticoagulant serine protease. After its activation, protein C cleaves and inactivates coagulation factors Va and VIIIa. Human protein C is synthesized in liver and undergoes extensive post-translational modification during its synthesis. Recently, the protein C inhibitor was demonstrated to be synthesized in sever

Objective: To validate the hypothesis that men displaying serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) slopes ≤2.0 pg/mL/mo after prostatectomy, measured using a new immuno-polymerase chain reaction diagnostic test (NADiA ProsVue), have a reduced risk of clinical recurrence as determined by positive biopsy, imaging findings, or death from prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: From 4 clinical sites, we

Evidence of reduced prostate cancer mortality from randomized trials in Europe supports early detection of prostate cancer with prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Yet PSA screening has generated considerable controversy: it is far from clear that the benefits outweigh risks, in terms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. One way to shift the ratio of benefits to harm is to focus on men at highest risk

Background. The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system is involved in tissue remodelling processes and is up-regulated in many types of malignancies. We investigated whether serum levels of different forms of soluble uPA receptor (suPAR) are associated with survival and in particular with prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality. Methods. Using time-resolved fluorescence immunoas