New Insights into Disintegrin Metalloproteases.
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ADAMTS proteases are complex secreted enzymes containing a prometalloprotease domain of the reprolysin type attached to an ancillary domain with a highly conserved structure that includes at least one thrombospondin type 1 repeat. Known functions of ADAMTS proteases include processing of procollagens and von Willebrand factor as well as catabolism of aggrecan, versican and brevican. They have been demonstrated to have important roles in connective tissue organization, coagulation, inflammation, arthritis, angiogenesis and cell migration. ADAMTS can be grouped into distinct clades within which there is conservation of modular organization, protein sequence, gene structure and possibly, of substrate preference. ADAMTS proteases are synthesized as zymogens, with constitutive proprotein convertase removal of the propeptide occurring prior to secretion. Their enzymatic specificity is heavily influenced by their ancillary domain, which plays a critical role in directing these enzymes to their substrates, the cell surface and the extracellular matrix.
Interaction with circulating platelets is considered an important virulent mechanism for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria to induce endocarditis, a severe infectious disease with high incidence of systemic thrombosis. It therefore represents an important target for pharmacological intervention. In this study, we found that the clinical isolate S. aureus 30326 induced activation and aggregation of washed human platelets in a fibrinogen-dependent manner and this platelet reactivity was abrogated by crotavirin, a snake venom-derived glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antagonist, indicating that crotavirin is able to protect platelets from activation and aggregation by S. aureus 30326. When tested at a concentration that prevented the platelet reactivity of S. aureus 30326, crotavirin also interfered with the binding of bacteria to washed human platelets supplemented with fibrinogen. The fibrinogen-binding activity of S. aureus has been shown to be essential for S. aureus to trigger platelet activation and aggregation. Crotavirin failed to affect the fibrinogen binding of S. aureus 30326 and neither did it bind to this microbe, suggesting that the inhibitory action of crotavirin on the S. aureus 30326-platelet interaction resulted from the occupation of platelet GPIIb/IIIa. Taken together, these results demonstrate an important role for GPIIb/IIIa in mediating the interaction of platelets with S. aureus in the presence of fibrinogen and platelet GPIIb/IIIa thus appears to be a new target for the intervention of S. aureus-platelet interaction.
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Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a pentameric glycoprotein present in cartilage, tendon and ligament. Fragments of the molecule are present in the diseased cartilage, synovial fluid and serum of patients with knee injuries, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Although COMP is a substrate for several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), the enzymes responsible for COMP degradation in vivo have yet to be identified. In this study we utilised well-established bovine cartilage culture models to examine IL-1alpha-stimulated COMP proteolysis in the presence and absence of MMP inhibitors. COMP was released from bovine nasal cartilage, in response to IL-1alpha, at an intermediate time between proteoglycans and type II collagen, when soluble MMP levels in the culture medium were undetectable. The major fragment of COMP released following IL-1alpha-stimulation migrated with an apparent molecular mass of approximately 110 kDa (Fragment-110) and co-migrated with both the major fragment present in human arthritic synovial fluid samples and the product of COMP cleavage by purified MMP-9. However, the broad-spectrum MMP and ADAM inhibitor BB94 only partially inhibited the formation of Fragment-110 and failed to inhibit COMP release significantly. Therefore the results of these studies indicate a role for proteinases other than MMPs in the degradation of COMP in bovine cartilage. It was further demonstrated that purified COMP was cleaved by ADAMTS-4, but not ADAMTS-1 or -5, to yield a fragment which co-migrated with Fragment-110. Therefore this is the first demonstration of COMP as a substrate for ADAMTS-4, although it remains to be determined whether this enzyme plays a role in COMP degradation in vivo.
Skeletal muscle development involves the formation of multi-nucleated myotubes. This is thought to proceed by the induction of differentiation (acquisition of fusion competence) of myoblast cells, their aggregation, and union of their plasma membranes. Various membrane proteins including N- and M-cadherins, N- and V-CAMs and integrins participate in myotube formation, but the molecular mechanisms of muscle cell fusion are poorly understood. Here we report the identification of three new, myoblast-expressed gene products, meltrin-alpha, beta and gamma, with homology to both viper haemorrhagic factors and fertilin (PH-30), a membrane protein involved in egg-sperm fusion. Meltrin-alpha, a member of the metalloproteinase/disintegrin protein family, appears to be required for myotube formation. Involvement of a fertilin-related protein in myogenesis suggests that there are common mechanisms in gamete and myoblast fusion.
Mammalian cells proteolytically release (shed) the extracellular domains of many cell-surface proteins. Modification of the cell surface in this way can alter the cell's responsiveness to its environment and release potent soluble regulatory factors. The release of soluble tumour-necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) from its membrane-bound precursor is one of the most intensively studied shedding events because this inflammatory cytokine is so physiologically important. The inhibition of TNF-alpha release (and many other shedding phenomena) by hydroxamic acid-based inhibitors indicates that one or more metalloproteinases is involved. We have now purified and cloned a metalloproteinase that specifically cleaves precursor TNF-alpha. Inactivation of the gene in mouse cells caused a marked decrease in soluble TNF-alpha production. This enzyme (called the TNF-alpha-converting enzyme, or TACE) is a new member of the family of mammalian adamalysins (or ADAMs), for which no physiological catalytic function has previously been identified. Our results should facilitate the development of therapeutically useful inhibitors of TNF-alpha release, and they indicate that an important function of adamalysins may be to shed cell-surface proteins.
Envenoming by the Brazilian pit viper, Bothrops jararaca, induces extensive local and systemic haemorrhage in humans. The severe and occasionally lethal outcome of envenoming is prevented only by administration of antivenom which is conventionally prepared by hyperimmunization of large animals with an individual venom or a range of venoms. Since snake venoms typically consist of numerous molecules, only some of which are toxic, antivenoms are antigenically crude preparations whose therapeutic value would theoretically be enhanced by restricting antibody specificity to toxic venom molecules. We report here that high-titre IgG antibody from mice immunized by the GeneGun with DNA encoding the carboxy-terminal JD9 domain of Jararhagin, a haemorrhage-inducing metalloprotease in B. jararaca venom, extensively neutralized the main lethal component of B. jararaca venom. This is to our knowledge the first study to apply DNA-based methods to preparation of antivenom; it represents a novel approach with greater immunological specificity and fewer hazards than conventional systems of antivenom production.
ADAM12 has been implicated in cell-cell interactions in myogenesis and cancer, but the structure of the mature form of ADAM12 is not known, and its localization on the cell surface has been questioned. In this report, we show that full-length ADAM12 is N-glycosylated in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and proteolytically processed in the trans-Golgi network to an approximately 90-kDa form. The approximately 90-kDa form, which lacks the prodomain, was the predominant form present at the cell surface. Replacement of Leu(73) in the putative alpha-helical region in the prodomain with proline resulted in retention of ADAM12 in the ER and a complete lack of its processing. However, deletion of the entire pro- and metalloprotease domains did not affect the processing and trafficking of ADAM12. In contrast, replacement of the cytoplasmic domain of ADAM12 with that of ADAM9 or adding a c-Myc tag at the C terminus led to a significant increase in transport of the protein to the cell surface. These results suggest that the cytoplasmic domain of ADAM12 plays an important role in regulating ADAM12 exit from the ER. We conclude that properly folded mouse ADAM12, after passing a rate-limiting step of exit from the ER, is processed in the secretory pathway and reaches the cell surface, where it can mediate adhesion-mediated signaling.
Brain-enriched hyaluronan binding (BEHAB)/brevican is a brain-specific extracellular matrix protein containing a cleavage site between Glu(395)-Ser(396), which bears remarkable homology to the "aggrecanase" site in the cartilage proteoglycan aggrecan. Expression of BEHAB/brevican is dramatically increased in human gliomas, notoriously invasive tumors. Recently, we showed that the rat 9L gliosarcoma cell line, which does not express BEHAB/brevican and forms non-invasive tumors when grown as intracranial grafts, can form invasive tumors when transfected with a 5' cDNA fragment of BEHAB/brevican, but not when transfected with the full-length cDNA. In marked contrast, the highly invasive CNS-1 glioma cell line expresses and cleaves BEHAB/brevican protein when grown as an intracranial graft. These results suggest that both synthesis and cleavage of BEHAB/brevican protein may play a role in the invasiveness of gliomas. We report here, using an antibody developed to the neoepitope created by BEHAB/brevican cleavage at the Glu(395)-Ser(396) site, that the CNS-1 cells are able to cleave the protein in vitro. We characterized the CNS-1-derived cleavage activity by assaying its ability to cleave BEHAB/brevican proteoglycan, and determined that the enzyme is a constitutively expressed, secreted activity. Using a variety of protease inhibitors, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and specific antibodies, we determined that this activity is likely to be a member of the ADAMTS family of metalloproteinases, specifically ADAMTS4. These results suggest a novel function for ADAMTS family members in BEHAB/brevican cleavage and glioma and indicate that inhibition of ADAMTS in glioma may provide a novel therapeutic strategy.
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OBJECTIVES: The secreted form of ADAM12 is a metalloprotease that may be involved in placental and fetal growth. We examined whether the concentration of ADAM12 in first-trimester maternal serum could be used as a marker for preeclampsia. METHODS: We developed a semiautomated, time-resolved, immunofluorometric assay for the quantification of ADAM12 in serum. The assay detected ADAM12 in a range of 78-1248 microg/L. Serum samples derived from women in the first trimester of a normal pregnancy (n = 324) and from women who later developed preeclampsia during pregnancy (n = 160) were obtained from the First Trimester Copenhagen Study. ADAM12 levels were assayed in these serum samples. Serum levels of ADAM12 were converted to multiples of the median (MoM) after log-linear regression of concentration versus gestational age. RESULTS: Serum ADAM12 levels in women who developed preeclampsia during pregnancy had a mean log MoM of -0.066, which was significantly lower than the mean log MoM of -0.001 for ADAM12 levels observed in serum samples from women with normal pregnancy (P = .008). The mean log MoM was even lower in serum derived from preeclamptic women whose infant's weight at birth was less than 2,500 g (n = 27, mean log MoM of -0.120, P = .053). CONCLUSION: The maternal serum levels of ADAM12 are significantly lower during the first trimester in women who later develop preeclampsia during pregnancy when compared with levels in women with normal pregnancies. Because the secreted form of ADAM12 cleaves insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and IGFBP-5, the IGF axis may play a role in preeclampsia. ADAM12 may be a useful early marker for preeclampsia. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2.
The influence of laminin-1 (LN) and tenascin-C (TN), extracellular matrix molecules expressed spatially and temporally along the neural growth route from spiral ganglion (SG) neurons to the cochlear sensory cells, was evaluated in cultured SG explants from postnatal day 4 rats. Increasing concentrations of LN resulted in a strong, dose-dependent increase in the length of neurites and in a higher number of neural processes, while varying TN concentrations had relatively minor effects on both parameters. The results suggest differential receptor activation by LN and TN. When explants grown on LN were treated with Kistrin, an inhibitor of the alphavbeta3 integrin, the LN-induced increase in neurite length was reduced in a dose-dependent manner. However, the number of extending neurites was not affected, indicating that different receptors mediate this response, perhaps by increasing neuronal survival.
BACKGROUND: ADAM33 has been identified as a novel asthma susceptibility gene in genomewide screening and association studies. High-level expression in smooth muscles and fibroblasts suggests that ADAM33 plays a role in airway remodeling in patients with asthma. METHODS: The ADAM33 protein was identified in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids of patients with asthma and normal control subjects using Western blotting antibody against the catalytic domain. ADAM33 expression was analyzed using immunohistochemical staining of mucosal biopsy specimens. The levels of ADAM33 protein in the BAL fluids were measured by dot blotting, and were correlated with the FEV1 values of the patients with asthma. RESULTS: Western blot analysis revealed the presence of the ADAM33 protein, with a molecular mass of approximately 55 kD in the BAL fluids. ADAM33 was expressed in the smooth muscles and basement membranes of almost all the patients with asthma, but was absent in the normal control subjects. The ADAM33 levels were increased significantly in patients with moderate to severe asthma and in patients with mild asthma, as compared with normal control subjects (p = 0.001 and p = 0.016, respectively). The ADAM33 protein levels correlated inversely with the FEV(1)% predicted in the patients with asthma (r = -0.486, p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: ADAM33 is associated with asthma development, and the levels of ADAM protein are related to asthma severity.
ADAM proteases are type I transmembrane proteins with extracellular metalloprotease domains. As for most ADAM family members, ADAM8 (CD156a, MS2) is involved in ectodomain shedding of membrane proteins and is linked to inflammation and neurodegeneration. To identify potential substrates released under these pathologic conditions, we screened 10-mer peptides representing amino acid sequences from extracellular domains of various membrane proteins using the ProteaseSpot system. A soluble ADAM8 protease containing a pro- and metalloprotease domain was expressed in E. coli and purified as active protease owing to autocatalytic prodomain removal. From 34 peptides tested in the peptide cleavage assay, significant cleavage by soluble ADAM8 was observed for 14 peptides representing membrane proteins with functions in inflammation and neurodegeneration, among them the beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP). The in vivo relevance of the ProteaseSpot method was confirmed by cleavage of full-length APP with ADAM8 in human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing tagged APP. ADAM8 cleaved APP with similar efficiency as ADAM10, whereas the inactive ADAM8 mutant did not. Exchanging amino acids at defined positions in the cleavage sequence of myelin basic protein (MBP) revealed sequence criteria for ADAM8 cleavage. Taken together, the results allowed us to identify novel candidate substrates that could be cleaved by ADAM8 in vivo under pathologic conditions.
The Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence serves as the primary recognition site in extracellular matrix proteins, and peptides containing this sequence can mimic the biological activities of matrix proteins. We have initiated structure-function studies of two RGD containing peptides, RGD-5(AGGDD) and cyclic RGD-6(CARGDDC). Assays have shown that cyclic RGD-peptides inhibit platelet aggregation more efficiently than linear ones. NMR data revealed that RGD-5 and RGD-6 have entirely different conformation. RGD-5 has a linear extended structure and RGD-6 has a stable loop conformation. In RGD-5 the guanidinium group of Arg2 and the carboxyl group of Asp4 lie in parallel, whereas the side-chains of Arg3 and Asp5 of RGD-6 are located in different planes, supporting the idea that the stability of the cyclic form derives from the packing of the side chain of the Arg and Asp residues. The structural features of these peptides could provide a basis for designing new drugs against diseases related to platelet aggregation and as cancer antagonists.
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