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Membrane-type 1 MMP (MMP-14) cleaves at three sites in the aggrecan interglobular domain

A J Fosang1, K Last, Y Fujii

  • 1Orthopaedic Molecular Biology Research Unit, Melbourne University, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Australia. fosang@cryptic.rch.unimelb.edu.au

FEBS Letters
|August 4, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MT1-MMP) cleaves aggrecan within its interglobular domain at three specific sites. This enzyme

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Enzymology

Background:

  • Aggrecan is a major proteoglycan in cartilage.
  • Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a role in tissue degradation.
  • MT1-MMP is a specific type of MMP involved in extracellular matrix remodeling.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the precise cleavage sites of MT1-MMP within the aggrecan interglobular domain.
  • To characterize the degradation products generated by MT1-MMP activity on aggrecan.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an aggrecan G1-G2 substrate for enzymatic assays.
  • Employed Western blotting with neo-epitope antibodies to detect MMP-generated fragments.
  • Performed sequence analysis to identify the N-terminus of degradation products.

Main Results:

  • MT1-MMP cleaved aggrecan at the N341-F342 and D441-L442 bonds.
  • An additional cleavage site was identified 13 amino acids C-terminal to the N341-F342 site.
  • Sequence analysis revealed the N-terminus of the G2 product as T355VxxPDVELPLP, indicating cleavage at Q354-T355.

Conclusions:

  • MT1-MMP exhibits specific cleavage activity within the aggrecan interglobular domain.
  • Three distinct cleavage sites (N341-F342, D441-L442, and Q354-T355) were confirmed.
  • Understanding these cleavage patterns is crucial for studying aggrecan metabolism and cartilage degradation.

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