title: Down regulation of a harmful variant protein by replacement of its normal protein.
abstract: To compensate for the hypoprotein and hypoalbuminemia of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) patients, 800 ml of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) was intravenously administered and change in total and variant transthyretin (TTR) levels were measured in the plasma. After injection of FFP, total plasma TTR levels were elevated and variant TTR levels decreased from 24 to 48 h, accompanied by an elevation of plasma total protein, albumin levels and TTR levels. To elucidate the mechanism of this phenomenon, a large amount of purified normal TTR from normal human plasma was intravenously injected in mice and FAP patients. By intravenous injection of 3 mg of the purified TTR to C57Black6, the expression of TTR mRNA decreased from 6 to 24 h post injection, and gradually increased up to 48 h post injection. After injecting 400 mg of normal TTR in each of 3 FAP patients, total plasma TTR levels were elevated and variant TTR levels decreased significantly from 24 to 48 h. These results suggested that down regulation of the harmful protein by replacement of its normal form of the protein occurred by this method. This phenomenon should be applied as the basis for one of the useful methods for decreasing the harmful proteins in the circulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tashima
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Suhr
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Obayashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terazaki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suga
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ando
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017772:Amyloid Neuropathies / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D016913:Blood Component Transfusion; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008875:Middle Aged; D010949:Plasma; D011228:Prealbumin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D011228:Prealbumin; D012333:RNA, Messenger