BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF A PROTEASE INHIBITOR, NEWLY ISOLATED FROM ANIMAL TISSUES IN INFLAMMATION

摘要

It is first shown that the activity of specific SH-protease (termed Arthus protease) increases in a parallel with the development of cutaneous Arthus reaction and decreases as the reaction subsides, clearly due to local increase of specific protease inhibitor. The inhibitor, isolated in a highly purified state, is a polypeptide with a molecular weight of 12,500 + 300, and forms a loose complex with the Arthus protease in the local skin site, resulting in inactivation of the protease. The protease-inhibitor complexes seem separated readily by treatment with reduced glutathione or cysteine, and the protease becomes active.