Biomaterial Database

Cantharide acantholysis: endogenous protease activation leading to desmosomal plaque dissolution. 1988

B Bertaux, and C Prost, and M Heslan, and L Dubertret

Laboratory of Dermatology, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Creteil, France.

Using a method which allowed us to study the morphological consequences of the expression and the inhibition of proteases in living tissues, we demonstrated that the primary detectable cellular event in cantharide acantholysis is the dissolution of the dense plaque, leading to the detachment of tonofilaments from desmosomes. This process is inhibited by neutral serine protease inhibitors. This suggests that the desmosome-tonofilament complex, more precisely the desmosomal dense plaque, is the primary target of activated proteases during cantharide acantholysis, and can be disrupted by a specific epidermal protease-anti protease system. Cantharide acantholysis may be useful model for studying desmosomal turnover.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007382	Intermediate Filaments	Cytoplasmic filaments intermediate in diameter (about 10 nanometers) between the microfilaments and the microtubules. They may be composed of any of a number of different proteins and form a ring around the cell nucleus.	Tonofilaments,Neurofilaments,Filament, Intermediate,Filaments, Intermediate,Intermediate Filament,Neurofilament,Tonofilament
D010447	Peptide Hydrolases	Hydrolases that specifically cleave the peptide bonds found in PROTEINS and PEPTIDES. Examples of sub-subclasses for this group include EXOPEPTIDASES and ENDOPEPTIDASES.	Peptidase,Peptidases,Peptide Hydrolase,Protease,Proteases,Proteinase,Proteinases,Proteolytic Enzyme,Proteolytic Enzymes,Esteroproteases,Enzyme, Proteolytic,Hydrolase, Peptide
D011480	Protease Inhibitors	Compounds which inhibit or antagonize biosynthesis or actions of proteases (ENDOPEPTIDASES).	Antiprotease,Endopeptidase Inhibitor,Endopeptidase Inhibitors,Peptidase Inhibitor,Peptidase Inhibitors,Peptide Hydrolase Inhibitor,Peptide Hydrolase Inhibitors,Peptide Peptidohydrolase Inhibitor,Peptide Peptidohydrolase Inhibitors,Protease Antagonist,Protease Antagonists,Antiproteases,Protease Inhibitor,Antagonist, Protease,Antagonists, Protease,Hydrolase Inhibitor, Peptide,Hydrolase Inhibitors, Peptide,Inhibitor, Endopeptidase,Inhibitor, Peptidase,Inhibitor, Peptide Hydrolase,Inhibitor, Peptide Peptidohydrolase,Inhibitor, Protease,Inhibitors, Endopeptidase,Inhibitors, Peptidase,Inhibitors, Peptide Hydrolase,Inhibitors, Peptide Peptidohydrolase,Inhibitors, Protease,Peptidohydrolase Inhibitor, Peptide,Peptidohydrolase Inhibitors, Peptide
D002193	Cantharidin	A toxic compound, isolated from the Spanish fly or blistering beetle (Lytta (Cantharis) vesicatoria) and other insects. It is a potent and specific inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A). This compound can produce severe skin inflammation, and is extremely toxic if ingested orally.	Cantharides,Cantharidine
D002478	Cells, Cultured	Cells propagated in vitro in special media conducive to their growth. Cultured cells are used to study developmental, morphologic, metabolic, physiologic, and genetic processes, among others.	Cultured Cells,Cell, Cultured,Cultured Cell
D003896	Desmosomes	A type of junction that attaches one cell to its neighbor. One of a number of differentiated regions which occur, for example, where the cytoplasmic membranes of adjacent epithelial cells are closely apposed. It consists of a circular region of each membrane together with associated intracellular microfilaments and an intercellular material which may include, for example, mucopolysaccharides. (From Glick, Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1990; Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2d ed)	Desmosome
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000051	Acantholysis	Separation of the prickle cells of the stratum spinosum of the epidermis, resulting in atrophy of the prickle cell layer. It is seen in diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris (see PEMPHIGUS) and DARIER DISEASE.	Acantholyses
D012867	Skin	The outer covering of the body that protects it from the environment. It is composed of the DERMIS and the EPIDERMIS.
D012871	Skin Diseases	Diseases involving the DERMIS or EPIDERMIS.	Dermatoses,Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders,Dermatosis,Skin Disease