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The imbalance of cathepsin B-like activity in acromegalic patients--preliminary report
Jacek Daroszewski1, Marek Bolanowski, Marcin Kaluzny
1Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Isotope Therapy, Medical University Wroclaw, Poland. daro48@o2.pl
Insights
Cysteine protease (CP) and inhibitor (CPI) activities are elevated in acromegaly patients. These findings suggest CP may play a role in acromegaly complications and could serve as an additional diagnostic marker.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Endocrinology
- Pathophysiology
Background:
- Acromegaly results from excess growth hormone (GH), leading to increased mortality and comorbidities.
- Standard GH and IGF-1 measurements may not fully capture disease activity, necessitating organ-specific assessments.
- Cysteine proteases (CP), including cathepsin B, are implicated in various pathologies, but their role in acromegaly is unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cathepsin B-like and cysteine peptidase inhibitor (CPI) activities in acromegaly patients.
- To determine if CP and CPI activities correlate with disease markers like GH and IGF-1.
- To explore the potential of the cathepsin system as an adjunctive parameter for acromegaly assessment.
Main Methods:
- Assayed serum cathepsin B activity using N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-beta-naphthylamide (BANA) as a substrate.
- Measured cysteine peptidase inhibitor (CPI) activity by assessing papain inhibition.
- Compared activities in 29 acromegaly patients against 15 healthy controls.
Main Results:
- Serum cathepsin B activity was significantly higher in acromegaly patients (median: 1.38 U/ml) compared to controls (median: 0.93 U/ml; p=0.000017).
- Serum CPI activity was also elevated in acromegaly patients (median: 93.08 U/ml) versus controls (median: 82.55 U/ml; p=0.00285).
- No significant correlations were found between cathepsin B or CPI activity and GH or IGF-1 levels, or between cathepsin B and CPI activities themselves.
Conclusions:
- Cathepsin B and CPI activities are demonstrably increased in acromegaly.
- The cathepsin system warrants further investigation as an adjuvant marker for assessing acromegaly complications.
- CP may contribute to the pathogenesis of organ-specific complications in acromegaly and potentially influence IGF-1 action.
Objective:
Acromegaly is a rare disease due to growth hormone (GH) excess. Patients must be carefully follow up because of mortality and co-morbidity increased risks. Since routinely used GH and insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) estimations are not always sufficient, patients require assessment of organ- or tissue-specific tests. Cysteine proteases (CP), including cathepsin B, have been tested in a number of pathologies in respect of a role in pathogenesis and potential utility in the disease activity and prognosis assessment. There is lack of data on CP activity in acromegaly.
Materials And Methods:
In present study cathepsin B-like and cysteine peptidase inhibitor (CPI) activities have been tested in 29 acromegaly patients and in 15 healthy controls. Cathepsin B activity was assayed with N-bansoyl-DL-arginine-beta-naphthylamide (BANA) as substrate by the Barrett method. CPI activity was determined by measuring the inhibition of papain.
Results:
Serum cathepsin B activity (median: 1.38 U/ml) and CPI activity (median: 93.08 U/ml) were higher in acromegaly then in controls (0.93 U/ml and 82.55 U/ml, p=0.000017 and 0.00285, respectively). Neither cathepsin B nor CPI activity was correlated with GH or IGF-1 level. No correlation was recorded between cathepsin B and CPI activity.
Conclusion:
It was shown for the first time that cathepsin B and CPI activities are increased in acromegaly. These findings suggest to study cathepsin system as an adjuvant parameter in the assessment of the overall acromegaly complications. Moreover, CP may be involved in pathomechanism of organ complications in acromegaly and may interfere with IGF-1 action.
