Azurocidin

This is a 29-kDa protein that has NH 2-terminal sequence homology with elastase and cathepsin G. However, it contains glycine and not serine at the predicted catalytic site, and so lacks protease and peptidase activity. Purified azurocidin kills a range of organisms (e.g. E. coli, S.faecalis, and C. albicans) in vitro. It functions optimally at pH 5.5 and in conditions of low ionic strength. 

Almeida, R. P., Melchior, M., Campanelli, D., Nathan, C., Gabay, J. E. (1991). Complementary DNA sequence of human neutrophil azurocidin, an antibiotic with extensive homology to serine proteases. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 177, 688-95. 

At higher chemokine concentrations, polymorphonuclear leukocytes are activated to produce oxygen radicals and to degranulate (Taub et al., 1996). Several granule proteins, including the defensins, azurocidin, and cathepsin G, are themselves chemotactic for mononuclear cells and presumably serve as signals that help convert acute into chronic inflammatory responses and thus promote the conversion of innate into adaptive immune responses (Chertov et al., 1996, 1997). Thus, chemokines have the potential to activate a number of downstream... 

Chertov O, Michiel DF, Xu L, Wang JM, Tani K, Murphy WJ, Longo DL, Taub DD, Oppenheim JJ Identification of defensin-1, defensin-2, and CAP37/azurocidin asT-cell chemoattractant proteins released from interleukin-8-stimulated neutrophils. J Biol Chem 1996 271 2935. 

Chertov O, Ueda H, Xu LL, Tani K, Murphy WJ, Wang JM, Howard OM, Sayers TJ, Oppenheim JJ Identification of human neutrophil-derived cathepsin G and azurocidin/CAP37 as chemoattractants for mononuclear cells and neutrophils. J Exp Med 1997 186 739-747. 

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