TIMP2 Human ELISA Kit

Objective/Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a pivotal role in the development and progression of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The action of MMPs depends on a balance between tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) and compounds that may prolong protease activity, such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). Methods: The study was designed to analyse gene expression and protein concentration of MMPs, TIMPs, and NGAL in AAA walls and intraluminal thrombi (ILTs) of patients on simvastatin (n = 10) and not on statins (n = 10). The patients were matched by age, sex, and AAA diameter. Expression of MMP2, MMP9, TIMP1, TIMP2, and NGAL was investigated by real time polymerase chain reaction, and MMP2, MMP9, MMP9/TIMP1, MMP9/TIMP2, and MMP9/NGAL protein levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: MMP2 and MMP9 protein and mRNA levels were comparable in the simvastatin and non-statin groups (p > .05); however, there was a significant decrease in TIMP1 mRNA in AAA tissue (p = .04). Moreover, a significant increase in MMP9/TIMP2 complex concentration in ILTs of patients on simvastatin was noted (median 94.71 ng/mL in the simvastatin group vs. 36.80 ng/mL in the non-statin group; p = .01). No significant difference was observed for NGAL mRNA or protein content in AAA and ILT. Conclusion: Simvastatin treatment in patients with AAAs may influence the concentration of proteases and their inhibitors (TIMPs) in aneurysmal wall tissue and ILTs. Thus, further studies should be undertaken to understand the different influence of statin therapy on the components of the MMP/TIMP system in AAAs and ILTs. (C) 2015 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ageing drives changes in neuronal and cognitive function, the decline of which is a major feature of many neurological disorders. The hippocampus, a brain region subserving roles of spatial and episodic memory and learning, is sensitive to the detrimental effects of ageing at morphological and molecular levels. With advancing age, synapses in various hippocampal subfields exhibit impaired long-term potentiation(1), an electrophysiological correlate of learning and memory. At the molecular level, immediate early genes are among the synaptic plasticity genes that are both induced by long-term potentiation(2-4) and downregulated in the aged brain(5-8). In addition to revitalizing other aged tissues(9-13), exposure to factors in young blood counteracts age-related changes in these central nervous system parameters(14-16), although the identities of specific cognition-promoting factors or whether such activity exists in human plasma remains unknown(17). We hypothesized that plasma of an early developmental stage, namely umbilical cord plasma, provides a reservoir of such plasticity-promoting proteins. Here we show that human cord plasma treatment revitalizes the hippocampus and improves cognitive function in aged mice. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2), a blood-borne factor enriched in human cord plasma, young mouse plasma, and young mouse hippocampi, appears in the brain after systemic administration and increases synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent cognition in aged mice. Depletion experiments in aged mice revealed TIMP2 to be necessary for the cognitive benefits conferred by cord plasma. We find that systemic pools of TIMP2 are necessary for spatial memory in young mice, while treatment of brain slices with TIMP2 antibody prevents long-term potentiation, arguing for previously unknown roles for TIMP2 in normal hippocampal function. Our findings reveal that human cord plasma contains plasticity-enhancing proteins of high translational value for targeting ageing-or disease-associated hippocampal dysfunction.