Proteolysis of complement factors iC3b and C5 by the serine protease prostate-specific antigen in prostatic fluid and seminal plasma.

ABSTRACT: Prostate-specific Ag (PSA) is a serine protease that is expressed exclusively by normal and malignant prostate epithelial cells. The continued high-level expression of PSA by the majority of men with both high- and low-grade prostate cancer throughout the course of disease progression, even in the androgen-ablated state, suggests that PSA has a role in the pathogenesis of disease. Current experimental and clinical evidence suggests that chronic inflammation, regardless of the cause, may predispose men to prostate cancer. The responsibility of the immune system in immune surveillance and eventually tumor progression is well appreciated but not completely understood. In this study, we used a mass spectrometry-based evaluation of prostatic fluid obtained from diseased prostates after removal

SUBMITTER: Manning ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4038161 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature