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TY - CHAP AU - Bühling, Frank AU - Waldburg, Nadine AU - Gerber, Annegret AU - Häckel, Carsten AU - Krüger, Sabine AU - Reinhold, Dirk AU - Brömme, Dieter AU - Weber, Ekkehard AU - Ansorge, Siegfried AU - Welte, Tobias ED - Langner, Jürgen ED - Ansorge, Siegfried PY - 2002 DA - 2002// TI - Cathepsin K Expression in Human Lung BT - Cellular Peptidases in Immune Functions and Diseases 2 SP - 281 EP - 286 PB - Springer US CY - Boston, MA AB - Tissue remodeling is crucial in different lung diseases, in the embryonal development as well as in bronchial carcinoma. Cathepsins were proposed to be involved in the degradation of matrix proteins. Cathepsin K is one of the most potent matrix-degrading cysteine proteinases known as yet. The elastinolytic and collagenolytic activity of this papain-like protease is comparable with that of neutrophil elastase. We have investigated the cathepsin K expression in normal adult lung tissues, in embryonal lung tissue and in bronchial carcinoma. With help of specific anti-cathepsin K antibodies it could be shown that cathepsin K was expressed in bonchial epithelial cells. These data could be confirmed at mRNA level using a quantitative RT-PCR as well as by visualisation of the specific enzymatic activity in epithelial cell lines. During the embryonal development cathepsin K was expressed in the epithelial cells of the developing bronchi. The expression seemed to be upregulated in parallel with the development of the bronchial and alveolar lumen. In the later phase of lung development the cathepsin K expression was restricted to bronchial epithelial cells. Furthermore, using quantitative RT- PCR it could be shown that cathepsin K-mRNA was upregulated in lung tumor tissues in comparison to normal tissues from the same patients. These data suggest that cathepsin K may play an important role in matrix remodeling of the lung under physiological and pathological conditions. SN - 978-0-306-46826-1 UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-46826-3\_30 DO - 10.1007/0-306-46826-3_30 ID - Bühling2002 ER -