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D R Eyre

Publications and source records attributed to D R Eyre.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The elastin-like protein matrix of lamprey branchial cartilage is cross-linked by lysyl pyridinoline.

The cranial skeleton of the lamprey, a primitive vertebrate, consists of cartilaginous structures that differ from vertebrate cartilages in having a noncollagenous extracellular matrix. Novel matrix proteins found in these cartilages include lamprin in the annular cartilage and an unidentified protein in the branchial cartilages. Both show biochemical similarities to elastin. The inextractability of these proteins, even to chemical cleavage by cyanogen bromide, indicates a polymer with extensive covalent cross-linking. Here we report on the type of cross-linking. Lysyl pyridinoline was found in high concentration in the elastin-like protein of lamprey branchial cartilage at a ratio of 7:1 to hydroxylysyl pyridinoline, the form that dominates in vertebrate collagens. Both forms of pyridinoline cross-link were absent from annular cartilage and desmosine cross-links, which are characteristic of vertebrate elastin, were not detected in either form of lamprey cartilage. Pyridinoline cross-links are considered to be characteristic of collagen, so their presence in an elastin-like protein in a primitive cartilage poses evolutionary questions about the tissue, the protein, and the cross-linking mechanism.

Amino Acids↗

Incorporation of structurally defective type II collagen into cartilage matrix in kniest chondrodysplasia.

Kniest dysplasia, a human chondrodysplasia that severely affects skeletal growth, is caused by mutations in the type II collagen gene, COL2A1. We report here on abnormal type II collagen in the cartilage from a lethal Kniest dysplasia case and identify a novel exon-skipping mutation. Screening of cyanogen bromide (CB) peptides from the cartilage samples by SDS-PAGE indicated an abnormality in peptide alpha1(II)CB11. Further peptide mapping and N-terminal sequence analysis showed a 15-amino-acid deletion encoded by exon 15 in about 25% of the alpha1(II) chains in the cartilage. The mutation responsible for exon skipping was found by sequencing amplified genomic DNA. The baby was heterozygous for a G to A transition at the first position of the splice donor of intron 15. Pepsin-solubilized type II collagen from the cartilage matrix contained both normal alpha1(II) and shortened chains expressed from the mutant allele. Trypsin cleaved the native molecules below 37 degrees C selectively at a site within the exon 15-encoded domain of the normal alpha1(II) chains. This is best explained by the coassembly of normal and truncated alpha1(II) chains into heterotrimers in which the triple helix is normally folded in both directions from the deletion site but the latter presents a region of local disruption. The findings support an emerging pattern of COL2A1 mutations that can cause Kniest dysplasia. Short deletions (single or partial exon) clustered in one region of the alpha1(II) chain are favored, resulting in abnormal heterotrimeric molecules that become a significant component of the cartilage extracellular matrix.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Matrilin-3 forms disulfide-linked oligomers with matrilin-1 in bovine epiphyseal cartilage.

A comparison of noncollagenous matrix proteins from different types of bovine cartilage by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a prominent 240-kDa component in extracts of epiphyseal but not tracheal tissue. On amino-terminal sequence analysis, it gave two sequences. One matched the NH2 terminus of cartilage matrix protein (CMP) as reported for tracheal cartilage. The other did not match any known protein sequence. Further analysis of the 240-kDa protein after reduction of disulfides resolved two bands on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Isolation and sequence analysis of tryptic peptides confirmed that one was bovine CMP and the other a CMP homolog. A data base search identified the latter as matrilin-3, a molecule recently predicted from human and mouse cDNA sequences (Wagener, R., Kobbe, B., and Paulsson, M. (1997) FEBS Lett. 413, 129-134). Matrilin-3 and CMP (matrilin-1) were prominent in equimolar amounts in fetal bovine epiphyseal cartilage and absent from adult articular cartilage. Adult tracheal cartilage contained almost exclusively CMP. Although the mechanism of polymeric assembly is unknown, the matrilin-3 chain appears to function in the matrix linked to matrilin-1 in the form of disulfide-bonded heteromeric molecules. The results indicate a molecular stoichiometry of (matrilin-1)2(matrilin-3)2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Structurally abnormal type II collagen in a severe form of Kniest dysplasia caused by an exon 24 skipping mutation.

Type II collagen mutations have been identified in a phenotypic continuum of chondrodysplasias that range widely in clinical severity. They include achondrogenesis type II, hypochondrogenesis, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, Kniest dysplasia, and Stickler syndrome. We report here results that define the underlying genetic defect and consequent altered structure of assembled type II collagen in a neonatal lethal form of Kniest dysplasia. Electrophoresis of a cyanogen bromide (CNBr) (CB) digest of sternal cartilage revealed an alpha1(II)CB11 peptide doublet and a slightly retarded mobility for all major CB peptides, which implied post-translational overmodification. Further peptide mapping and sequence analysis of CB11 revealed equal amounts of a normal alpha1(II) sequence and a chain lacking the 18 residues (361-378 of the triple helical domain) corresponding to exon 24. Sequence analysis of an amplified genomic DNA fragment identified a G to A transition in the +5 position of the splice donor consensus sequence of intron 24 in one allele. Cartilage matrix analysis showed that the short alpha1(II) chain was present in collagen molecules that had become cross-linked into fibrils. Trypsin digestion of the pepsin-extracted native type II collagen selectively cleaved the normal length alpha1(II) chains within the exon 24 domain. These findings support a hypothesis that normal and short alpha-chains had combined to form heterotrimeric molecules in which the chains were in register in both directions from the deletion site, accommodated effectively by a loop out of the normal chain exon 24 domain. Such an accommodation, with potential overall shortening of the helical domain and hence misalignment of intermolecular relationships within fibrils, offers a common molecular mechanism by which a group of different mutations might act to produce the Kniest phenotype.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bone biomarkers as tools in osteoporosis management.

Biochemical tests that can index bone turnover rate in the patient are increasingly being used in the study and management of osteoporosis. Markers of bone formation and resorption are reviewed here, including their molecular basis, relative strengths and weaknesses in clinical performance, and future potential. A bone mass measurement (e.g., by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and a biochemical index of bone turnover provide different but complementary information that can aid in predicting risk of future bone loss and osteoporotic fracture. A specific and responsive bone resorption marker can also be used to monitor and establish the short-term effectiveness of an antiresorptive therapy in the patient. Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (an osteoblast enzyme) and osteocalcin (a bone matrix protein) levels in serum are the best markers of bone formation. Collagen degradation products in urine, particularly cross-linked telopeptides and pyridinolines, have the highest specificity to bone resorption activity. The telopeptide markers (NTx and CTx) appear to be the most specific and responsive markers of systemic osteoclast activity.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Incomplete processing of type II procollagen by a rat chondrosarcoma cell line.

The Swarm rat chondrosarcoma cell line, RCS-LTC, deposits an extracellular matrix that contains the typical type II, IX, and XI collagen phenotype of hyaline cartilage, but the fibrils appear abnormally thin. By N-terminal sequence analysis, the type II collagen from the matrix was shown to have retained its N-propeptides with no evidence of normal processing to type II collagen. Amplification and sequencing of cDNA prepared from the pro alpha1(II) mRNA of these cells showed a normal N-propeptide cleavage site. Furthermore, the type II N-procollagen could be processed to type II collagen by incubation with culture medium from normal chondrocytes. The findings indicate that the RCS-LTC cell line fails to express an active type II procollagen N-proteinase and, therefore, offers a useful culture system in which to study the role of N-propeptide removal in fibrillogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Fibronectin lacking the ED-B domain is a major structural component of tracheal cartilage.

Fibronectin is a highly conserved dimeric glycoprotein found in high concentrations in plasma and widely distributed in low concentrations in the extracellular matrix of tissues. The protein is the product of a single gene, but multiple splicing variants are expressed that show tissue specificity. Three exons (IIIA, IIIB, and V) can be alternatively spliced to produce different fibronectin isoforms. We report here that fibronectin is a remarkably abundant component of the extracellular matrix of bovine tracheal cartilage, increasing with age to more than 20% of the tissue, dry weight. This matrix form of fibronectin is inextractable by 4 M guanidine HCl, indicating that it is a covalently cross-linked structural component. By protein sequence analysis, the main molecular form of fibronectin in bovine tracheal cartilage was shown to lack the ED-B domain encoded by exon IIIB.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Longitudinal evaluation of a bone resorption marker in elderly subjects.

The variability over time in the excretion of a bone resorption metabolite (collagen type I N-telopeptide crosslink, NTx) was evaluated in a cohort of community-dwelling elderly men and women (mean age 73 years). Three annual 24-h urine samples were collected. NTx concentration was measured using an established ELISA. Total (24-h) NTx excretion as well as Ntx/creatinine concentration were compared. Men had a significantly lower excretion of NTx/creatinine than women who were not on hormone replacement therapy. Overall, the within-subject long-term coefficient of variability for Ntx/creatinine was 26%. The correlation coefficient between the samples taken a year apart was higher for the 24-h NTx excretion (r = 0.66) than for the 24-h creatinine excretion (r = 0.51). The consistency of NTx excretion over time was also evaluated in all 93 subjects with three yearly samples using Kendall's rank correlation method; the resulting coefficient of concordance was 0.78 (significant at the 0.01 level). These results indicate that while NTx excretion varies in subject samples collected over a period of 2 years, this variability is not much greater than the daily variation reported for NTx and other bone metabolism markers. The relative reproducibility of NTx excretion over time in this age group was also evident in the coefficient of concordance. The results provide support for stratifying subjects according to level of bone resorption and identifying those subjects with high turnover who may be at greater risk of osteoporotic fracture.

Aged↗

Osteoclasts generate cross-linked collagen N-telopeptides (NTx) but not free pyridinolines when cultured on human bone.

Urinary excretion of the cross-linked alpha 2(I) N-telopeptide (NTx) of type I collagen has proven in clinical studies to provide a highly responsive and specific index of bone resorption. In order to understand better the biological basis of the specificity and responsiveness of this marker, we examined whether osteoclasts cultured on human bone could generate immunoreactive NTx peptide. Mouse bone marrow cultures stimulated with 1,25 diliydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) and hydrocortisone to produce osteoclasts, were cocultured on human bone particles or dentin slices. Aliquots of culture medium were assayed for NTx by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). NTx was detected in the medium 5 days after the addition of bone and continued to be produced linearly over the 14-day culture period. NTx production required attachment to the bone particles or dentin slices of mononuclear and multinuclear cells that stained for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. Surface area of resorbed dentin was highly correlated with medium NTx concentration (R2 = 0.84). Production of NTx was suppressed by the osteoclast inhibitors, calcitonin and alendronate, in a dose-dependent manner. Two other markers of bone resorption, hydroxylysyl pyridinoline and lysyl pyridinoline, were found in peptide linkage in the culture medium but not in free form; indicating that the osteoclasts had degraded the bone collagen to peptides but not to the free cross-linking amino acids.

Acid Phosphatase↗

Premenopausal ovariectomy-related bone loss: a randomized, double-blind, one-year trial of conjugated estrogen or medroxyprogesterone acetate.

The purpose of this study was to contrast the effects of conventional estrogen treatment with medroxyprogesterone on cancellous and cortical bone change in the first year following premenopausal ovariectomy. This 1-year double-blind randomized therapy trial was stratified by osteoporosis family history and performed in an academic medical center and community hospitals. Premenopausal women 45 +/- 5 years old, postovariectomy for benign diseases were provided 600 mg/day of calcium and randomized to daily therapy with conjugated equine estrogen (CEE, 0.6 mg) or medroxyprogesterone (MPA, 10 mg). The primary outcome variable was spinal quantitative computed tomography (QCT) bone density change over 1 year with additional outcomes of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of proximal femur (FN), whole body (WB), and spine segment (WBS) and N-telopeptide, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, and other bone marker, hormonal, and weight changes. Results in the 33 women completing the study, whose initial bone densities were normal (QCT 133 mg/cm3, femoral neck 0.94 g/cm2, whole body DXA 1.13 g/cm2), showed annual QCT loss during CEE therapy of -11.5 mg/cm3 (p < 0.0007) and MPA bone loss of -19.7 mg/cm3 (p < 0.0001). Losses were marginally greater on MPA than CEE (p = 0.04). Extremely high postovariectomy (5 days) and pretreatment resorption markers (> 3 SD above premenopausal normal levels) were significantly related to bone loss. Across the year, resorption decreased during CEE but increased on MPA treatment. Significant DXA bone losses were prevented by CEE treatment (-1.4% FN, -.4% WB, and -1.5% WBS, all NS). However, DXA bone loss was not prevented by MPA treatment (-5% FN, -2.8% WB, and -6.1% WBS, all p < 0.03). Average weight gain was significant (+ 3.2 +/- 4.0 kg) and greater on CEE than MPA (+ 4.7 vs. + 2.0 kg, p = 0.049). In conclusion, CEE therapy did not prevent significant 8% cancellous spinal bone loss in the first year following premenopausal ovariectomy, despite supplementation with 600 mg/day of calcium, good control of vasomotor symptoms, and nearly 5 kg of gain in weight. Significant DXA bone loss, however, was prevented by CEE, but not by MPA therapy. These unexpected results were statistically related to high bone resorption following ovariectomy, which CEE suppressed but MPA did not. Bone formation markers increased during MPA therapy but were unchanged during CEE therapy.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Role of type X collagen on experimental mineralization of eggshell membranes.

Type X collagen is a transient and developmentally regulated collagen that has been postulated to be involved in controlling the later stages of endochondral bone formation. However, the role of this collagen in these events is not yet known. In order to understand the function of type X collagen, if any, in the process of biomineralization, the properties of type X collagen in eggshell membranes were further investigated. Specifically, calvaria-derived osteogenic cells were tested for their ability to mineralize eggshell membranes in vitro. Immunohistochemistry with specific monoclonal antibodies was used to correlate the presence or absence of type X collagen or its propeptide domains with the ability of shell membranes to be mineralized. The extent of mineralization was assessed by Von Kossa staining, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The results indicate that the non-helical domains of type X collagen must be removed to facilitate the cell-mediated mineralization of eggshell membranes. In this tissue, intact type X collagen does not appear to stimulate or support cell-mediated mineralization. We postulate that the non-helical domains of type X collagen function in vivo to inhibit mineralization and thereby establish boundaries which are protected from mineral deposition.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Evidence that serum NTx (collagen-type I N-telopeptides) can act as an immunochemical marker of bone resorption.

Previous studies have shown that immunoassay of urinary NTx (cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen) provides a responsive index of human bone resorption. Here we report by a sensitive immunoassay that NTx is present in serum and is suppressed appropriately in patients with Paget disease of bone by bisphosphonate antiresorptive therapy. The monoclonal antibody (1H11) developed against urinary NTx was applied in a sensitive chemiluminescence format. Results for human serum and urine showed parallel inhibition curves. The NTx concentrations in paired serum and urine samples from individual patients correlated well when urinary concentrations were normalized to creatinine concentrations (in premenopausal and postmenopausal women and Paget disease patients, r = 0.90, n = 60). The percentage of NTx suppression from baseline values for Paget disease patients on bisphosphonate therapy was similar for serum and urine. Blood samples drawn from bone marrow at the site of Pagetic lesions in three patients with active disease had as much as 10-fold higher concentrations of NTx than did peripheral blood samples drawn at the same time. The latter finding is consistent with other evidence showing that immunoreactive NTx originates directly during the proteolytic cleavage of bone collagen by osteoclasts rather than, e.g., by degradative processes occurring later in the liver and kidney.

Adult↗

Molecular site specificity of pyridinoline and pyrrole cross-links in type I collagen of human bone.

Compared with soft tissue collagens, bone type I collagen displays a distinctive pattern of covalent cross-linking, with evidence of preferred sites of molecular interaction and a prominence of both immature, divalent cross-links and mature, trivalent cross-links in the adult tissue. In this study the site-specificity of the mature cross-links in human bone collagen was examined. Peptides containing fluorescent pyridinoline cross-links and Ehrlich's-reactive pyrrole cross-links were isolated from a bacterial collagenase digest of demineralized bone matrix. The digest was fractionated by molecular sieve chromatography, monitoring for peptide absorbance, pyridinoline fluorescence, pyrroles by Ehrlich's reagent, and immunoassay for cross-linked N-telopeptides. Individual cross-linked peptides were resolved by ion-exchange and reverse-phase HPLC. Structures were established by NH2-terminal microsequencing, cross-link analysis, electrospray mass spectrometry, and immunoassay. Two, about equally occupied, sites of pyridinoline cross-linking were identified, N-telopeptide to helix and C-telopeptide to helix. Pyrroles were alternative cross-linking products at the same sites, but concentrated (85%) at the N-telopeptide end. Only one combination of chains was cross-linked by pyridinolines at the C-telopeptide to helix site, [alpha1(I)C]2alpha1(I)helix. Several peptide combinations arose from the N-telopeptide to helix site, but the main source of pyridinolines was from the locus, alpha1(I)Nalpha2(I)Nalpha1(I)helix. Pyridinolines linking two alpha1(N) telopeptides were a minor component. Pyrroles were concentrated at the locus, alpha1(I)Nalpha2(I)Nalpha2(I)helix. The cross-link ratio of hydroxylysylpyridinoline to lysylpyridinoline differed between N-telopeptide and C-telopeptide sites, and between the individual interchain combinations. Cross-linked N-telopeptides accounted for two-thirds of the total lysylpyridinoline in bone. N-telopeptide pyridinoline fluorescence was quenched on chromatography, so that reliance on peptide fluorescence alone can underestimate the level of N-telopeptide pyridinoline cross-linking.

Adult↗

Collagen type IX from human cartilage: a structural profile of intermolecular cross-linking sites.

Type IX collagen, a quantitatively minor collagenous component of cartilage, is known to be associated with and covalently cross-linked to type II collagen fibrils in chick and bovine cartilage. Type IX collagen molecules have also been shown to form covalent cross-links with each other in bovine cartilage. In the present study we demonstrate by structural analysis and location of cross-linking sites that, in human cartilage, type IX collagen is covalently cross-linked to type II collagen and to other molecules of type IX collagen. We also present evidence that, if the proteoglycan form of type IX collagen is present in human cartilage, it can only be a minor component of the matrix, similar to findings with bovine cartilage.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Long-term study of the biochemistry and biomechanics of anterior cruciate ligament-patellar tendon autografts in goats.

This study examined the change in type-III collagen concentration and hydroxypyridinium crosslink density of anterior cruciate ligament-patellar tendon autografts and their correlations with Young's modulus of the anterior cruciate autografts and anterior cruciate controls for as long as 3 years after surgery. Fifteen adult female goats (two control and 13 experimental) were tested. Each experimental animal received an anterior cruciate ligament-patellar tendon autograft to the right knee. These animals were tested at 0 (n = 2), 6 (n = 2), 12 (n = 2), and 24 (n = 1) weeks and 1 (n = 3) and 3 (n = 3) years after surgery. After mechanical testing, the anterior cruciate autograft and control tissues were analysed for type-III collagen concentration and hydroxypyridinium crosslink density. The results of sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis showed a trend of initial increase in the percentage of type-III collagen in the anterior cruciate ligament autografts and a subsequent decrease after 24 weeks following surgery. There was a nonsignificant (p > 0.05) negative correlation between type-III collagen concentration and Young's modulus. The hydroxypyridinium crosslink density was highest at 1 year after surgery. There was a significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between hydroxypyridinium crosslink density and Young's modulus in the anterior cruciate autografts and controls. This suggests that hydroxypyridinium crosslink density has a good linear relationship with the material strength of the anterior cruciate ligament autograft and hence could be used as an objective guide for rehabilitation with anterior cruciate autografts.

Animals↗

Molecular basis and clinical application of biological markers of bone turnover.

An ideal battery of tests would include indices of bone resorption and formation. They should be unique to bone, reflect total skeletal activity, and should correlate with traditional measures of bone remodeling activity, such as radiocalcium kinetics, histomorphometry, or changes in bone mass. Factors that confound their measurement, such as circadian rhythms, diet, age, sex, bone mass, liver function, and kidney clearance rates, should be clearly defined (Fig. 9). To date, no bone marker has been established to meet all these criteria, and each marker may have its own specific advantages and limitations. There are still questions that must be answered before there can be complete confidence in the information gained from measurement of any of the bone markers. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that none of the markers are diagnostic for any particular bone disease and cannot be used for this purpose in individual patients. Nevertheless, recent advances in research and development have provided assays with increased specificity, sensitivity, and availability. Because of this, bone markers can be used for a variety of important purposes: as tools for basic bone biology research, for defining general physiological phenomenon in clinical studies or drug trials, and for following individual patients.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Sublingual testosterone replacement improves muscle mass and strength, decreases bone resorption, and increases bone formation markers in hypogonadal men--a clinical research center study.

To study the effects of androgen replacement therapy on muscle mass and strength and bone turnover markers in hypogonadal men, we administered sublingual testosterone (T) cyclodextrin (SLT; 5 mg, three times daily) to 67 hypogonadal men (baseline serum T, < 8.4 nmol/L) recruited from 4 centers in the U.S.: Torrance (n = 34), Durham (n = 12), New York (n = 9), and Salem (n = 12). Subjects who had received prior T therapy were withdrawn from injections for at least 6 weeks and from oral therapy for 4 weeks. Body composition, muscle strength, and serum and urinary bone turnover markers were measured before and after 6 months of SLT. We have shown previously that this regimen for 60 days will maintain adequate serum T levels and restore sexual function. Total body (P = 0.0104) and lean body mass (P = 0.007) increased with SLT treatment in the 34 subjects in whom body composition was assessed. There was no significant change in total body fat or percent fat. The increase in lean body mass was mainly in the legs; the right leg lean mass increased from 8.9 +/- 0.3 kg at 0 months to 9.2 +/- 0.3 kg at 6 months (P = 0.0008). This increase in leg lean mass was associated with increased leg muscle strength, assessed by leg press (0 months, 139.0 +/- 4.0 kg; 6 months, 147.7 +/- 4.2 kg; P = 0.0038). SLT replacement in hypogonadal men led to small, but significant, decreases in serum Ca (P = 0.0029) and the urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (P = 0.0066), which were associated with increases in serum PTH (P = 0.0001). At baseline, the urinary type I collagen-cross linked N-telopeptides/creatinine ratio [75.6 +/- 7.9 nmol bone collagen equivalents (BCE/mmol] was twice the normal adult male mean (41.0 +/- 3.6 nmol BCE/mmol) and was significantly decreased in response to SLT treatment at 6 months (68.2 +/- 7.7 nmol BCE/mmol; P = 0.0304) without significant changes in urinary creatinine. Serum skeletal alkaline phosphatase did not change. In addition, SLT replacement caused significant increases in serum osteocalcin (P = 0.0001) and type I procollagen (P = 0.0012). Bone mineral density did not change during the 6 months of SLT treatment. We conclude that SLT replacement therapy resulted in increases in lean muscle mass and muscle strength. Like estrogen replacement in hypogonadal postmenopausal females, androgen replacement therapy led to decreased bone resorption and urinary calcium excretion. Moreover, androgen replacement therapy may have the additional benefit of increasing bone formation. A longer term study for several years duration would be necessary to demonstrate whether these changes in bone turnover marker levels will result in increased bone mineral density decreased fracture risks, and reduced frailty in hypogonadal men.

Administration, Sublingual↗