Matrix Metalloproteinases

Matrix Metalloproteinase-28 (MMP-28) is the newest and least characterized member of MMP family. To date several potential substrate candidates for MMP-28 have been proposed but no in vivo substrates for this enzyme were confirmed. In the central nervous system (CNS) MMP-28 is believed to be important factor during myelination of the developing nervous system as well as during remyelination that follows neuronal injury. On the other hand, MMP-28 has been found in actively demyelinating lesions in both experimental autoimmune encephalopathy (EAE) and multiple sclerosis patients suggesting its possible role in pathological events associated with autoimmune neurodegenerative processes. In addition, MMP-28 has been linked to modulation of immune response and activation of macrophages which presents another role of this enzyme in autoimmune pathologies. In the study described herein, MMP-28 has been shown to affect myelin composition and appearance, mitochondrial protein content, and vesicular transport proteins. Moreover, the decrease in myelin basic protein quantity observed in healthy MMP-28KO animals affected the myelin staining intensity in various brain regions including corpus callous. Cellular energetic studies did not reveal differences in mitochondrial function in MMP-28KO animals and no difference in reactive oxygen species was observed. In the EAE model, MMP-28 deletion increased the occurrence of atypical form of EAE characterized by increased inflammation of arbor vitae of the brain. In addition, MMP-28 deletion decreased the inflammatory infiltrates present in brains obtained from EAE animals. Lastly, MMP-28 has been shown to affect cellular energetics and activation of bone marrow derived macrophages during the initial stages and after 24 h activation. In addition, MMP-28 deletion increased proinflammatory cytokines and receptors CD86 and iNOS found in M1 polarized macrophages.

Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) belongs to a large family of proteolytic enzymes which are characterized by their ability to degrade the extracellular matrix components. MMP-13 appears to have a critical role in tumor invasion and metastasis. In this study, several fluorogenic probes specific for MMP-13 were designed and characterized. These synthesized probes could be modified with chelators to be applied for imaging MMP-13 in breast cancer and/or multiple myeloma models. The activity and selectivity of MMP-13 and other MMPs against these probes were studied through two approaches. It was found that these probes were cleaved by all MMPs, but MMP-13 showed the highest activity and selectivity towards these peptides.

Collagen is the major structural scaffold in the body and serves as barrier between tissues, and thus its turnover is tightly regulated. Collagen triple-helical structure renders it resistant to general proteolysis. Several proteases are capable of cleaving the triplehelical regions of collagen, including several mammalian matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and bacterial collagenases. MMP-mediated collagenolysis is associated with numerous diseases and some bacterial collagenases have found clinical application use due to their efficiency in the hydrolysis of the collagen triple-helix. A selective Förster resonance energy transfer triple-helical peptide (fTHP) probe for monitoring the activity of Clostridial collagenase has been developed. The fTHP [sequence: Gly-mep-Flp-(Glyvi Pro-Hyp)4-Gly-Lys(Mca)-Thr-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys(Dnp)-Ser-(Gly-Pro-Hyp)4-NH2] was stable at 37 °C and was efficiently hydrolyzed by bacterial collagenase (kcat/KM = 25,000 s -1 M-1) but not by clostripain, trypsin, neutral protease, thermolysin, or elastase. The bacterial collagenase fTHP assay can be utilized in applications where specific activity towards triple-helical collagen needs to be evaluated, such as isolation of cells from various tissues. An fTHP scaffold was also utilized to evaluate the sequence preferences of eight MMPs. Residues spanning from P3 to P11 investigated using a positional scanning synthetic combinatorial library. Deconvolution of the library data revealed distinct motifs for several MMPs and discrimination among closely related MMPs. The results of this study show that the P10 11 substrate play an important role in the collagenase-substrate interactions and that modifying these residues can drastically affect the affinity of MMPs towards THP substrates. The identified sequence preferences of MMPs will enable the design of selective triple-helical MMP probes that could be used for monitoring in vivo enzyme activity and enzyme-facilitated drug delivery.