Chemical Modification of Proteoglycanases with Biotin

Biotinylation is a versatile technique that has been used to label proteins for a variety of applications. Under alkaline conditions, the N-hydroxylsuccinimide (NHS) ester present on the biotinylation reagent reacts with primary amines such as the side chain of lysine residues or the N-termini of proteins to yield stable amide bonds. However, the effect of biotinylation on enzyme structure and function has not been generally appreciated. In this chapter, I describe specific issues involving biotinylation of proteoglycanases (e.g., ADAMTS-1, -4, and -5). Taking ADAMTS-5 as an example, I show how high incorporation of biotin molecules causes a decrease in aggrecanase activity, most likely by disrupting exosites present in the cysteine-rich and spacer domains. Such an effect is not evident when enzymatic activity is measured with synthetic peptides, since exosites are not strictly required for peptidolytic activity. Therefore, extreme care must be taken when labeling proteoglycanases and the appropriate enzyme/biotin ratio must be determined experimentally for each enzyme.