Interaction properties of the procollagen C-proteinase enhancer protein shed light on the mechanism of stimulation of BMP-1.

Procollagen C-proteinase enhancer (PCPE) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that binds to the C-propeptide of procollagen I and can enhance the activities of procollagen C-proteinases up to 20-fold. To determine the molecular mechanism of PCPE activity, the interactions of the recombinant protein with the procollagen molecule as well as with its isolated C-propeptide domain were studied using surface plasmon resonance (BIAcore) technology. Binding required the presence of divalent metal cations such as calcium and manganese. By ligand blotting, calcium was found to bind to the C-propeptide domains of procollagens I and III but not to PCPE. By chemical cross-linking, the stoichiometry of the PCPE/C-propeptide interaction was found to be 1:1 in accordance with enzyme kinetic data. The use of a monoclonal antibody directed against the N-terminal region of the C-propeptide suggested that this region is probably not involved in binding to PCPE. Association and dissociation kinetics of the C-propeptide domains of procollagens I and III on immobilized PCPE were rapid. Extrapolation to saturation equilibrium yielded apparent equilibrium dissociation constants in the range 150-400 nM. In contrast, the association/dissociation kinetics of intact procollagen molecules on immobilized PCPE were relatively slow, corresponding to a dissociation constant of 1 nM. Finally, pN-collagen (i.e. procollagen devoid of the C-terminal propeptide domain) was also found to bind to immobilized PCPE, suggesting that PCPE binds to sites on either side of the procollagen cleavage site, thereby facilitating the action of procollagen C-proteinases.

Expression analysis of recombinant lysyl oxidase (LOX) in myofibroblastlike cells.

Lysyl oxidase (LOX), originally known as the enzyme required for initiation of covalent cross-linking in collagens and elastin, is now known to be a member of a family of genetically related proteins. LOX, or a related protein, has also been localized intracellularly, both in association with the cytoskeleton and in the cell nucleus. To determine the structural requirements for secretion, maturation, and nuclear location of LOX in a cellular context, we have devised an homologous cell model for expression of the recombinant protein. Murine recombinant LOX was expressed in 3T6-5 myofibroblast-like cells as a 51-kD precursor, which was observed in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus. To investigate whether potential alternative translation initiation sites were involved in specifying a nuclear form of LOX, constructs mutated or deleted for ATG(+1) were used, but alternative initiation at CTG(-315) or ATG(+418) did not lead to the expression of intranuclear forms. Residues 23 to 157 of the proregion were essential for export of the precursor, while mutation of the putative site for maturation by procollagen C-proteinase abolished processing to the mature form of the enzyme. Cross-linking of collagen, as measured by pyridinoline analysis, increased twofold with the recombinant cells, compared to non-transfected controls. This shows the specific contribution of LOX, as opposed to other genetic forms of the enzyme, to cross-linking in a cellular context.