Tetraspanin 8 is an interactor of the metalloprotease meprin ß within tetraspanin-enriched microdomains.

Meprin ß is a dimeric type I transmembrane protein and acts as an ectodomain sheddase at the cell surface. It was shown that meprin ß cleaves the amyloid precursor protein (APP), thereby releasing neurotoxic amyloid ß peptides and implicating a role of meprin ß in Alzheimer's disease. In order to identify non-proteolytic regulators of meprin ß, we performed a split ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid screen using a small intestinal cDNA library. In this screen we identified tetraspanin 8 (TSPAN8) as interaction partner for meprin ß. Since several members of the tetraspanin family were described to interact with metalloproteases thereby affecting their localization and/or activity, we hypothesized similar functions of TSPAN8 in the regulation of meprin ß. We employed cell biological methods to confirm direct binding of TSPAN8 to meprin ß. Surprisingly, we did not observe an effect of TSPAN8 on the catalytic activity of meprin ß nor on the specific cleavage of its substrate APP. However, both proteins were identified being present in tetraspanin-enriched microdomains. Therefore we hypothesize that TSPAN8 might be important for the orchestration of meprin ß at the cell surface with impact on certain proteolytic processes that have to be further identified.

Tetraspanin 8 is an interactor of the metalloprotease meprin ß within tetraspanin-enriched microdomains.

Meprin ß is a dimeric type I transmembrane protein and acts as an ectodomain sheddase at the cell surface. It has been shown that meprin ß cleaves the amyloid precursor protein (APP), thereby releasing neurotoxic amyloid ß peptides and implicating a role of meprin ß in Alzheimer's disease. In order to identify non-proteolytic regulators of meprin ß, we performed a split ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid screen using a small intestinal cDNA library. In this screen we identified tetraspanin 8 (TSPAN8) as interaction partner for meprin ß. As several members of the tetraspanin family were described to interact with metalloproteases thereby affecting their localization and/or activity, we hypothesized similar functions of TSPAN8 in the regulation of meprin ß. We employed cell biological methods to confirm direct binding of TSPAN8 to meprin ß. Surprisingly, we did not observe an effect of TSPAN8 on the catalytic activity of meprin ß nor on the specific cleavage of its substrate APP. However, both proteins were identified as present in tetraspanin-enriched microdomains. Therefore we hypothesize that TSPAN8 might be important for the orchestration of meprin ß at the cell surface with impact on certain proteolytic processes that have to be further identified.

Structural basis for the sheddase function of human meprin ß metalloproteinase at the plasma membrane.

Ectodomain shedding at the cell surface is a major mechanism to regulate the extracellular and circulatory concentration or the activities of signaling proteins at the plasma membrane. Human meprin ß is a 145-kDa disulfide-linked homodimeric multidomain type-I membrane metallopeptidase that sheds membrane-bound cytokines and growth factors, thereby contributing to inflammatory diseases, angiogenesis, and tumor progression. In addition, it cleaves amyloid precursor protein (APP) at the ß-secretase site, giving rise to amyloidogenic peptides. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure of a major fragment of the meprin ß ectoprotein, the first of a multidomain oligomeric transmembrane sheddase, and of its zymogen. The meprin ß dimer displays a compact shape, whose catalytic domain undergoes major rearrangement upon activation, and reveals an exosite and a sugar-rich channel, both of which possibly engage in substrate binding. A plausible structure-derived working mechanism suggests that substrates such as APP are shed close to the plasma membrane surface following an "N-like" chain trace.

Meprinα transactivates the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) via ligand shedding, thereby enhancing colorectal cancer cell proliferation and migration.

Meprinα, an astacin-type metalloprotease is overexpressed in colorectal cancer cells and is secreted in a non-polarized fashion, leading to the accumulation of meprinα in the tumor stroma. The transition from normal colonocytes to colorectal cancer correlates with increased meprinα activity at primary tumor sites. A role for meprinα in invasion and metastatic dissemination is supported by its pro-angiogenic and pro-migratory activity. In the present study, we provide evidence for a meprinα-mediated transactivation of the EGFR signaling pathway and suggest that this mechanism is involved in colorectal cancer progression. Using alkaline phosphatase-tagged EGFR ligands and an ELISA assay, we demonstrate that meprinα is capable of shedding epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-α (TGFα) from the plasma membrane. Shedding was abrogated using actinonin, an inhibitor for meprinα. The physiological effects of meprinα-mediated shedding of EGF and TGFα were investigated with human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). Proteolytically active meprinα leads to an increase in EGFR and ERK1/2 phosphorylation and subsequently enhances cell proliferation and migration. In conclusion, the implication of meprinα in the EGFR/MAPK signaling pathway indicates a role of meprinα in colorectal cancer progression.

Mucosal maltase-glucoamylase plays a crucial role in starch digestion and prandial glucose homeostasis of mice.

Starch is the major source of food glucose and its digestion requires small intestinal alpha-glucosidic activities provided by the 2 soluble amylases and 4 enzymes bound to the mucosal surface of enterocytes. Two of these mucosal activities are associated with sucrase-isomaltase complex, while another 2 are named maltase-glucoamylase (Mgam) in mice. Because the role of Mgam in alpha-glucogenic digestion of starch is not well understood, the Mgam gene was ablated in mice to determine its role in the digestion of diets with a high content of normal corn starch (CS) and resulting glucose homeostasis. Four days of unrestricted ingestion of CS increased intestinal alpha-glucosidic activities in wild-type (WT) mice but did not affect the activities of Mgam-null mice. The blood glucose responses to CS ingestion did not differ between null and WT mice; however, insulinemic responses elicited in WT mice by CS consumption were undetectable in null mice. Studies of the metabolic route followed by glucose derived from intestinal digestion of (13)C-labeled and amylase-predigested algal starch performed by gastric infusion showed that, in null mice, the capacity for starch digestion and its contribution to blood glucose was reduced by 40% compared with WT mice. The reduced alpha-glucogenesis of null mice was most probably compensated for by increased hepatic gluconeogenesis, maintaining prandial glucose concentration and total flux at levels comparable to those of WT mice. In conclusion, mucosal alpha-glucogenic activity of Mgam plays a crucial role in the regulation of prandial glucose homeostasis.

Meprins, membrane-bound and secreted astacin metalloproteinases.

The astacins are a subfamily of the metzincin superfamily of metalloproteinases. The first to be characterized was the crayfish enzyme astacin. To date more than 200 members of this family have been identified in species ranging from bacteria to humans. Astacins are involved in developmental morphogenesis, matrix assembly, tissue differentiation and digestion. Family members include the procollagen C-proteinase (BMP1, bone morphogenetic protein 1), tolloid and mammalian tolloid-like, HMP (Hydra vulgaris metalloproteinase), sea urchin BP10 (blastula protein) and SPAN (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus astacin), the 'hatching' subfamily comprising alveolin, ovastacin, LCE, HCE ('low' and 'high' choriolytic enzymes), nephrosin (from carp head kidney), UVS.2 from frog, and the meprins. In the human and mouse genomes, there are six astacin family genes (two meprins, three BMP1/tolloid-like, one ovastacin), but in Caenorhabditis elegans there are 40. Meprins are the only astacin proteinases that function on the membrane and extracellularly by virtue of the fact that they can be membrane-bound or secreted. They are unique in their domain structure and covalent subunit dimerization, oligomerization propensities, and expression patterns. They are normally highly regulated at the transcriptional and post-translational levels, localize to specific membranes or extracellular spaces, and can hydrolyse biologically active peptides, cytokines, extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and cell-surface proteins. The in vivo substrates of meprins are unknown, but the abundant expression of these proteinases in the epithelial cells of the intestine, kidney and skin provide clues to their functions.

A novel 2D-based approach to the discovery of candidate substrates for the metalloendopeptidase meprin.

In the past, protease-substrate finding proved to be rather haphazard and was executed by in vitro cleavage assays using singly selected targets. In the present study, we report the first protease proteomic approach applied to meprin, an astacin-like metalloendopeptidase, to determine physiological substrates in a cell-based system of Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells. A simple 2D IEF/SDS/PAGE-based image analysis procedure was designed to find candidate substrates in conditioned media of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells expressing meprin in zymogen or in active form. The method enabled the discovery of hitherto unknown meprin substrates with shortened (non-trypsin-generated) N- and C-terminally truncated cleavage products in peptide fragments upon LC-MS/MS analysis. Of 22 (17 nonredundant) candidate substrates identified, the proteolytic processing of vinculin, lysyl oxidase, collagen type V and annexin A1 was analysed by means of immunoblotting validation experiments. The classification of substrates into functional groups may propose new functions for meprins in the regulation of cell homeostasis and the extracellular environment, and in innate immunity, respectively.

Luminal starch substrate "brake" on maltase-glucoamylase activity is located within the glucoamylase subunit.

The detailed mechanistic aspects for the final starch digestion process leading to effective alpha-glucogenesis by the 2 mucosal alpha-glucosidases, human sucrase-isomaltase complex (SI) and human maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM), are poorly understood. This is due to the structural complexity and vast variety of starches and their intermediate digestion products, the poorly understood enzyme-substrate interactions occurring during the digestive process, and the limited knowledge of the structure-function properties of SI and MGAM. Here we analyzed the basic catalytic properties of the N-terminal subunit of MGAM (ntMGAM) on the hydrolysis of glucan substrates and compared it with those of human native MGAM isolated by immunochemical methods. In relation to native MGAM, ntMGAM displayed slower activity against maltose to maltopentose (G5) series glucose oligomers, as well as maltodextrins and alpha-limit dextrins, and failed to show the strong substrate inhibitory "brake" effect caused by maltotriose, maltotetrose, and G5 on the native enzyme. In addition, the inhibitory constant for acarbose was 2 orders of magnitude higher for ntMGAM than for native MGAM, suggesting lower affinity and/or fewer binding configurations of the active site in the recombinant enzyme. The results strongly suggested that the C-terminal subunit of MGAM has a greater catalytic efficiency due to a higher affinity for glucan substrates and larger number of binding configurations to its active site. Our results show for the first time, to our knowledge, that the C-terminal subunit of MGAM is responsible for the MGAM peptide's "glucoamylase" activity and is the location of the substrate inhibitory brake. In contrast, the membrane-bound ntMGAM subunit contains the poorly inhibitable "maltase" activity of the internally duplicated enzyme.

Evidence of native starch degradation with human small intestinal maltase-glucoamylase (recombinant).

Action of human small intestinal brush border carbohydrate digesting enzymes is thought to involve only final hydrolysis reactions of oligosaccharides to monosaccharides. In vitro starch digestibility assays use fungal amyloglucosidase to provide this function. In this study, recombinant N-terminal subunit enzyme of human small intestinal maltase-glucoamylase (rhMGAM-N) was used to explore digestion of native starches from different botanical sources. The susceptibilities to enzyme hydrolysis varied among the starches. The rate and extent of hydrolysis of amylomaize-5 and amylomaize-7 into glucose were greater than for other starches. Such was not observed with fungal amyloglucosidase or pancreatic alpha-amylase. The degradation of native starch granules showed a surface furrowed pattern in random, radial, or tree-like arrangements that differed substantially from the erosion patterns of amyloglucosidase or alpha-amylase. The evidence of raw starch granule degradation with rhMGAM-N indicates that pancreatic alpha-amylase hydrolysis is not a requirement for native starch digestion in the human small intestine.

Luminal substrate "brake" on mucosal maltase-glucoamylase activity regulates total rate of starch digestion to glucose.

BACKGROUND: Starches are the major source of dietary glucose in weaned children and adults. However, small intestine alpha-glucogenesis by starch digestion is poorly understood due to substrate structural and chemical complexity, as well as the multiplicity of participating enzymes. Our objective was dissection of luminal and mucosal alpha-glucosidase activities participating in digestion of the soluble starch product maltodextrin (MDx). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Immunoprecipitated assays were performed on biopsy specimens and isolated enterocytes with MDx substrate. RESULTS: Mucosal sucrase-isomaltase (SI) and maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM) contributed 85% of total in vitro alpha-glucogenesis. Recombinant human pancreatic alpha-amylase alone contributed <15% of in vitro alpha-glucogenesis; however, alpha-amylase strongly amplified the mucosal alpha-glucogenic activities by preprocessing of starch to short glucose oligomer substrates. At low glucose oligomer concentrations, MGAM was 10 times more active than SI, but at higher concentrations it experienced substrate inhibition whereas SI was not affected. The in vitro results indicated that MGAM activity is inhibited by alpha-amylase digested starch product "brake" and contributes only 20% of mucosal alpha-glucogenic activity. SI contributes most of the alpha-glucogenic activity at higher oligomer substrate concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: MGAM primes and SI activity sustains and constrains prandial alpha-glucogenesis from starch oligomers at approximately 5% of the uninhibited rate. This coupled mucosal mechanism may contribute to highly efficient glucogenesis from low-starch diets and play a role in meeting the high requirement for glucose during children's brain maturation. The brake could play a constraining role on rates of glucose production from higher-starch diets consumed by an older population at risk for degenerative metabolic disorders.

Inhibition of recombinant human maltase glucoamylase by salacinol and derivatives.

Inhibitors targeting pancreatic alpha-amylase and intestinal alpha-glucosidases delay glucose production following digestion and are currently used in the treatment of Type II diabetes. Maltase-glucoamylase (MGA), a family 31 glycoside hydrolase, is an alpha-glucosidase anchored in the membrane of small intestinal epithelial cells responsible for the final step of mammalian starch digestion leading to the release of glucose. This paper reports the production and purification of active human recombinant MGA amino terminal catalytic domain (MGAnt) from two different eukaryotic cell culture systems. MGAnt overexpressed in Drosophila cells was of quality and quantity suitable for kinetic and inhibition studies as well as future structural studies. Inhibition of MGAnt was tested with a group of prospective alpha-glucosidase inhibitors modeled after salacinol, a naturally occurring alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, and acarbose, a currently prescribed antidiabetic agent. Four synthetic inhibitors that bind and inhibit MGAnt activity better than acarbose, and at comparable levels to salacinol, were found. The inhibitors are derivatives of salacinol that contain either a selenium atom in place of sulfur in the five-membered ring, or a longer polyhydroxylated, sulfated chain than salacinol. Six-membered ring derivatives of salacinol and compounds modeled after miglitol were much less effective as MGAnt inhibitors. These results provide information on the inhibitory profile of MGAnt that will guide the development of new compounds having antidiabetic activity.

Human meprin alpha and beta homo-oligomers: cleavage of basement membrane proteins and sensitivity to metalloprotease inhibitors.

Meprin is a zinc endopeptidase of the astacin family, which is expressed as a membrane-bound or secreted protein in mammalian epithelial cells, in intestinal leucocytes and in certain cancer cells. There are two types of meprin subunits, alpha and beta, which form disulphide-bonded homo- and hetero-oligomers. Here we report on the cleavage of matrix proteins by hmeprin (human meprin) alpha and beta homo-oligomers, and on the interactions of these enzymes with inhibitors. Despite their completely different cleavage specificities, both hmeprin alpha and beta are able to hydrolyse basement membrane components such as collagen IV, nidogen-1 and fibronectin. However, they are inactive against intact collagen I. Hence the matrix-cleaving activity of hmeprin resembles that of gelatinases rather than collagenases. Hmeprin is inhibited by hydroxamic acid derivatives such as batimastat, galardin and Pro-Leu-Gly-hydroxamate, by TAPI-0 (tumour necrosis factor alpha protease inhibitor-0) and TAPI-2, and by thiol-based compounds such as captopril. Therapeutic targets for these inhibitors are MMPs (matrix metalloproteases), TACE (tumour necrosis factor alpha-converting enzyme) and angiotensin-converting enzyme respectively. The most effective inhibitor of hmeprin alpha in the present study was the naturally occurring hydroxamate actinonin ( K(i)=20 nM). The marked variance in the cleavage specificities of hmeprin alpha and beta is reflected by their interaction with the TACE inhibitor Ro 32-7315, whose affinity for the beta subunit (IC50=1.6 mM) is weaker by three orders of magnitude than that for the alpha subunit ( K(i)=1.6 microM). MMP inhibitors such as the pyrimidine-2,4,6-trione derivative Ro 28-2653 that are more specific for gelatinases do not bind to hmeprin, presumably due to the subtle differences in the mode of zinc binding and active-site structure between the astacins and the MMPs.

Enhanced activity of meprin-α, a pro-migratory and pro-angiogenic protease, in colorectal cancer.

Meprin-α is a metalloprotease overexpressed in cancer cells, leading to the accumulation of this protease in a subset of colorectal tumors. The impact of increased meprin-α levels on tumor progression is not known. We investigated the effect of this protease on cell migration and angiogenesis in vitro and studied the expression of meprin-α mRNA, protein and proteolytic activity in primary tumors at progressive stages and in liver metastases of patients with colorectal cancer, as well as inhibitory activity towards meprin-α in sera of cancer patient as compared to healthy controls. We found that the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-induced migratory response of meprin-transfected epithelial cells was increased compared to wild-type cells in the presence of plasminogen, and that the angiogenic response in organ-cultured rat aortic explants was enhanced in the presence of exogenous human meprin-α. In patients, meprin-α mRNA was expressed in colonic adenomas, primary tumors UICC (International Union Against Cancer) stage I, II, III and IV, as well as in liver metastases. In contrast, the corresponding protein accumulated only in primary tumors and liver metastases, but not in adenomas. However, liver metastases lacked meprin-α activity despite increased expression of the corresponding protein, which correlated with inefficient zymogen activation. Sera from cancer patients exhibited reduced meprin-α inhibition compared to healthy controls. In conclusion, meprin-α activity is regulated differently in primary tumors and metastases, leading to high proteolytic activity in primary tumors and low activity in liver metastases. By virtue of its pro-migratory and pro-angiogenic activity, meprin-α may promote tumor progression in colorectal cancer.

Specific processing of tenascin-C by the metalloprotease meprinbeta neutralizes its inhibition of cell spreading.

The metalloprotease meprin has been implicated in tissue remodelling due to its capability to degrade extracellular matrix components. Here, we investigated the susceptibility of tenascin-C to cleavage by meprinbeta and the functional properties of its proteolytic fragments. A set of monoclonal antibodies against chicken and human tenascin-C allowed the mapping of proteolytic fragments generated by meprinbeta. In chicken tenascin-C, meprinbeta processed all three major splicing variants by removal of 10kDa N-terminal and 38kDa C-terminal peptides, leaving a large central part of subunits intact. A similar cleavage pattern was found for large human tenascin-C variant where two N-terminal peptides (10 or 15kDa) and two C-terminal fragments (40 and 55kDa) were removed from the intact subunit. N-terminal sequencing revealed the exact amino acid positions of cleavage sites. In both chicken and human tenascin-C N-terminal cleavages occurred just before and/or after the heptad repeats involved in subunit oligomerization. In the human protein, an additional cleavage site was identified in the alternative fibronectin type III repeat D. Whereas all these sites are known to be attacked by several other proteases, a unique cleavage by meprinbeta was located to the 7th constant fibronectin type III repeat in both chicken and human tenascin-C, thereby removing the C-terminal domain involved in its anti-adhesive activity. In cell adhesion assays meprinbeta-digested human tenascin-C was not able to interfere with fibronectin-mediated cell spreading, confirming cleavage in the anti-adhesive domain. Whereas the expression of meprinbeta and tenascin-C does not overlap in normal colon tissue, inflamed lesions of the mucosa from patients with Crohn's disease exhibited many meprinbeta-positive leukocytes in regions where tenascin-C was strongly induced. Our data indicate that, at least under pathological conditions, meprinbeta might attack specific functional sites in tenascin-C that are important for its oligomerization and anti-adhesive activity.

Processing of procollagen III by meprins: new players in extracellular matrix assembly?

Meprins α and ß, a subgroup of zinc metalloproteinases belonging to the astacin family, are known to cleave components of the extracellular matrix, either during physiological remodeling or in pathological situations. In this study we present a new role for meprins in matrix assembly, namely the proteolytic processing of procollagens. Both meprins α and ß release the N- and C-propeptides from procollagen III, with such processing events being critical steps in collagen fibril formation. In addition, both meprins cleave procollagen III at exactly the same site as the procollagen C-proteinases, including bone morphogenetic protein-1 (BMP-1) and other members of the tolloid proteinase family. Indeed, cleavage of procollagen III by meprins is more efficient than by BMP-1. In addition, unlike BMP-1, whose activity is stimulated by procollagen C-proteinase enhancer proteins (PCPEs), the activity of meprins on procollagen III is diminished by PCPE-1. Finally, following our earlier observations of meprin expression by human epidermal keratinocytes, meprin α is also shown to be expressed by human dermal fibroblasts. In the dermis of fibrotic skin (keloids), expression of meprin α increases and meprin ß begins to be detected. Our study suggests that meprins could be important players in several remodeling processes involving collagen fiber deposition.

Human intestinal maltase-glucoamylase: crystal structure of the N-terminal catalytic subunit and basis of inhibition and substrate specificity.

Human maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM) is one of the two enzymes responsible for catalyzing the last glucose-releasing step in starch digestion. MGAM is anchored to the small-intestinal brush-border epithelial cells and contains two homologous glycosyl hydrolase family 31 catalytic subunits: an N-terminal subunit (NtMGAM) found near the membrane-bound end and a C-terminal luminal subunit (CtMGAM). In this study, we report the crystal structure of the human NtMGAM subunit in its apo form (to 2.0 A) and in complex with acarbose (to 1.9 A). Structural analysis of the NtMGAM-acarbose complex reveals that acarbose is bound to the NtMGAM active site primarily through side-chain interactions with its acarvosine unit, and almost no interactions are made with its glycone rings. These observations, along with results from kinetic studies, suggest that the NtMGAM active site contains two primary sugar subsites and that NtMGAM and CtMGAM differ in their substrate specificities despite their structural relationship. Additional sequence analysis of the CtMGAM subunit suggests several features that could explain the higher affinity of the CtMGAM subunit for longer maltose oligosaccharides. The results provide a structural basis for the complementary roles of these glycosyl hydrolase family 31 subunits in the bioprocessing of complex starch structures into glucose.

The metalloprotease meprinbeta processes E-cadherin and weakens intercellular adhesion.

BACKGROUND: Meprin (EC 3.4.24.18), an astacin-like metalloprotease, is expressed in the epithelium of the intestine and kidney tubules and has been related to cancer, but the mechanistic links are unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used MDCK and Caco-2 cells stably transfected with meprin alpha and or meprin beta to establish models of renal and intestinal epithelial cells expressing this protease at physiological levels. In both models E-cadherin was cleaved, producing a cell-associated 97-kDa E-cadherin fragment, which was enhanced upon activation of the meprin zymogen and reduced in the presence of a meprin inhibitor. The cleavage site was localized in the extracellular domain adjacent to the plasma membrane. In vitro assays with purified components showed that the 97-kDa fragment was specifically generated by meprin beta, but not by ADAM-10 or MMP-7. Concomitantly with E-cadherin cleavage and degradation of the E-cadherin cytoplasmic tail, the plaque proteins beta-catenin and plakoglobin were processed by an intracellular protease, whereas alpha-catenin, which does not bind directly to E-cadherin, remained intact. Using confocal microscopy, we observed a partial colocalization of meprin beta and E-cadherin at lateral membranes of incompletely polarized cells at preconfluent or early confluent stages. Meprin beta-expressing cells displayed a reduced strength of cell-cell contacts and a significantly lower tendency to form multicellular aggregates. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: By identifying E-cadherin as a substrate for meprin beta in a cellular context, this study reveals a novel biological role of this protease in epithelial cells. Our results suggest a crucial role for meprin beta in the control of adhesiveness via cleavage of E-cadherin with potential implications in a wide range of biological processes including epithelial barrier function and cancer progression.