Cell contact-dependent activation of alpha3beta1 integrin modulates endothelial cell responses to thrombospondin-1.

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) can inhibit angiogenesis by interacting with endothelial cell CD36 or proteoglycan receptors. We have now identified alpha3beta1 integrin as an additional receptor for TSP1 that modulates angiogenesis and the in vitro behavior of endothelial cells. Recognition of TSP1 and an alpha3beta1 integrin-binding peptide from TSP1 by normal endothelial cells is induced after loss of cell-cell contact or ligation of CD98. Although confluent endothelial cells do not spread on a TSP1 substrate, alpha3beta1 integrin mediates efficient spreading on TSP1 substrates of endothelial cells deprived of cell-cell contact or vascular endothelial cadherin signaling. Activation of this integrin is independent of proliferation, but ligation of the alpha3beta1 integrin modulates endothelial cell proliferation. In solution, both intact TSP1 and the alpha3beta1 integrin-binding peptide from TSP1 inhibit proliferation of sparse endothelial cell cultures independent of their CD36 expression. However, TSP1 or the same peptide immobilized on the substratum promotes their proliferation. The TSP1 peptide, when added in solution, specifically inhibits endothelial cell migration and inhibits angiogenesis in the chick chorioallantoic membrane, whereas a fragment of TSP1 containing this sequence stimulates angiogenesis. Therefore, recognition of immobilized TSP1 by alpha3beta1 integrin may stimulate endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Peptides that inhibit this interaction are a novel class of angiogenesis inhibitors.

Treatment of experimental brain tumors with trombospondin-1 derived peptides: an in vivo imaging study.

Antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects of synthetic D-reverse peptides derived from the type 1 repeats of thrombospondin (TSP1) were studied in rodent C6 glioma and 9L gliosarcomas. To directly measure tumor size and vascular parameters, we employed in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and corroborated results by traditional morphometric tissue analysis. Rats bearing either C6 or 9L tumors were treated with TSP1-derived peptide (D-reverse amKRFKQDGGWSHWSPWSSac, n=13) or a control peptide (D-reverse amKRAKQAGGASHASPASSac, n=12) at 10 mg/kg, administered either intravenously or through subcutaneous miniosmotic pumps starting 10 days after tumor implantation. Eleven days later, the effect of peptide treatment was evaluated. TSP1 peptide-treated 9L tumors (50.7+/-44.2 mm3, n=7) and C6 tumors (41.3+/-34.2 mm3, n=6) were significantly smaller than tumors treated with control peptide (9L: 215.7+/-67.8 mm3, n=6; C6: 184.2+/-105.2 mm3, n=6). In contrast, the in vivo vascular volume fraction, the mean vascular area (determined by microscopy), and the microvascular density of tumors were not significantly different in any of the experimental groups. In cell culture, TSP1, and the amKRFKQDGGWSHWSPWSSac peptide showed antiproliferative effects against C6 with an IC of 45 nM for TSP1. These results indicate that TSP1-derived peptides retard brain tumor growth presumably as a result of slower de novo blood vessel formation and synergistic direct antiproliferative effects on tumor cells. We also show that in vivo MR imaging can be used to assess treatment efficacy of novel antiangiogenic drugs non-invasively, which has obvious implications for clinical trials.

Differential roles of protein kinase C and pertussis toxin-sensitive G-binding proteins in modulation of melanoma cell proliferation and motility by thrombospondin 1.

Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) is an angiogenesis inhibitor that decreases tumor growth. We now report that TSP1 directly inhibits the proliferation of human melanoma cells. TSP1, peptides, and a recombinant fragment from the type I repeats, but not peptides that bind CD36 or CD47, inhibit the proliferation of A2058 melanoma cells. In contrast, chemotaxis is mediated by peptides or recombinant fragments from the procollagen, type I, type II, and cell-binding domains. The antiproliferative activity of TSP1 is mediated by a different signal transduction pathway than those mediating motility responses to the same protein. Activators of protein kinase A and protein kinase C inhibit chemotaxis but not the antiproliferative activity of TSP1, whereas the antiproliferative activity is reversed by inhibiting the tyrosine kinase or phosphatase activities. TSP1-mediated chemotaxis is partially dependent on a pertussis toxin (PT)-sensitive G-binding protein, whereas haptotaxis is not. Chemotaxis stimulated by the procollagen domain and the CD47-binding sequences from the COOH-terminal domain are also sensitive to PT, but responses to the type I and type III domains are not sensitive to PT. Residual chemotaxis to TSP1 in the presence of PT may therefore be mediated by the activities of the type I or type III repeats. Thus, TSP1 elicits several intracellular signals in melanoma cells that result from interactions with several domains of this protein and differentially affect growth and motility.

Divergent secretory behavior of the opposite ends of aggrecan.

The proteoglycan, aggrecan has a globular domain, G1, at the N terminus and a different globular domain, G3, at the C terminus. Aggrecan produced by mutant nanomelic chickens is truncated due to a premature stop codon and consequently lacks G3 and a minor portion of its chondroitin sulfate domain (Li, H., Schwartz, N. B., and Vertel, B. M.(1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 23504-23511). The mutant protein is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum and fails to enter the Golgi stacks (Vertel, B. M., Walters, L. M., Grier, B., Maine, N. , and Goetinck, P. F.(1993) J. Cell Sci. 104, 939-948). The homozygous mutant is lethal because of failure of chondrogenesis and osteogenesis, while the heterozygous mutant is dwarfed. To further elucidate the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying nanomelia and to determine if G1 and G3 are themselves secreted, we expressed them in transfected host cells. Expression was performed in wild type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and in mutant CHO cells which are unable to link glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains to core proteins. We compared: (a) secretion of expressed G1 and G3 constructs containing contiguous GAG chain consensus sites and (b) GAG chain modification of the secreted proteins. We find that: 1) G3 is 24-100 times more rapidly secreted than G1; 2) secreted G3 contains contiguous chondroitin sulfate GAG chains, while secreted G1 lacks contiguous GAG chains; 3) G3 secretion is not coupled to xylosylation of contiguous GAG chain consensus sites. These results imply that G1 and G3 intrinsically differ in passage through the cell secretory route.

Molecular cloning and analysis of the protein modules of aggrecans.

The large aggregating chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of cartilage, aggrecan, has served as a prototype of proteoglycan structure. Molecular cloning has elucidated its primary structure and revealed both known and unknown domains. To date the complete structures of chicken, rat and human aggrecans have been deduced, while partial sequences have been reported for bovine aggrecan. A related proteoglycan, human versican, has also been cloned and sequenced. Both aggrecan and versican have two lectin domains, one at the amino-terminus which binds hyaluronic acid and one at the carboxyl-terminus whose physiological ligand is unknown. Both lectins have homologous counterparts in other types of proteins. Within the aggrecans the keratan sulfate domain may be variably present and also has a prominent repeat in some species. The chondroitin sulfate domain has three distinct regions which vary in their prominence in different species. The complex molecular structure of aggrecans is consistent with the concept of exon shuffling and aggrecans serve as suitable prototypes for comprehending the evolution of multi-domain proteins.

Molecular cloning and analysis of the protein modules of aggrecans.

The large aggregating chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of cartilage, aggrecan, has served as a prototype of proteoglycan structure. Molecular cloning has elucidated its primary structure and revealed both known and unknown domains. To date the complete structures of chicken, rat and human aggrecans have been deduced, while partial sequences have been reported for bovine aggrecan. A related proteoglycan, human versican, has also been cloned and sequenced. Both aggrecan and versican have two lectin domains, one at the amino-terminus which binds hyaluronic acid and one at the carboxyl-terminus whose physiological ligand is unknown. Both lectins have homologous counterparts in other types of proteins. Within the aggrecans the keratan sulfate domain may be variably present and also has a prominent repeat in some species. The chondroitin sulfate domain has three distinct regions which vary in their prominence in different species. The complex molecular structure of aggrecans is consistent with the concept of exon shuffling and aggrecans serve as suitable prototypes for comprehending the evolution of multi-domain proteins.

Molecular cloning of chicken aggrecan. Structural analyses.

The large, aggregating chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan of cartilage, aggrecan, has served as a generic model of proteoglycan structure. Molecular cloning of aggrecans has further defined their amino acid sequences and domain structures. In this study, we have obtained the complete coding sequence of chicken sternal cartilage aggrecan by a combination of cDNA and genomic DNA sequencing. The composite sequence is 6117 bp in length, encoding 1951 amino acids. Comparison of chicken aggrecan protein primary structure with rat, human and bovine aggrecans has disclosed both similarities and differences. The domains which are most highly conserved at 70-80% identity are the N-terminal domains G1 and G2 and the C-terminal domain G3. The chondroitin sulphate domain of chicken aggrecan is smaller than that of rat and human aggrecans and has very distinctive repeat sequences. It has two separate sections, one comprising 12 consecutive Ser-Gly-Glu repeats of 20 amino acids each, adjacent to the other which has 23 discontinuous Ser-Gly-Glu repeats of 10 amino acids each; this latter region, N-terminal to the former one, appears to be unique to chicken aggrecan. The two regions contain a total of 94 potential chondroitin sulphate attachment sites. Genomic comparison shows that, although chicken exons 11-14 are identical in size to the rat and human exons, chicken exon 10 is the smallest of the three species. This is also reflected in the size of its chondroitin sulphate coding region and in the total number of Ser-Gly pairs. The putative keratan sulphate domain shows 31-45% identity with the other species and lacks the repetitive sequences seen in the others. In summary, while the linear arrangement of specific domains of chicken aggrecan is identical to that in the aggrecans of other species, and while there is considerable identity of three separate domains, chicken aggrecan demonstrates unique features, notably in its chondroitin sulphate domain and its keratan sulphate domain. Thus different variants of chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate domains may have evolved separately to fulfil specific biochemical and physiological functions.

The major proteoglycan of adult rabbit skeletal muscle. Relationship to small proteoglycans of other tissues.

We have been interested in examining the putative biological role(s) of the major proteoglycan of adult skeletal muscle. The small proteoglycans of adult rabbit skeletal muscle and tendon were extracted and purified by sequential density-gradient ultracentrifugation, ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. They appeared to be homogeneous by the criterion of gel electrophoresis in SDS and to yield one major product, the core protein, after digestion with chondroitin ABC lyase, also observed after gel electrophoresis. Two major products were obtained when the intact proteoglycans were cleaved by CNBr, and those peptides were separated by SDS/PAGE and by ion-exchange chromatography. Sequencing of the N-terminal amino acids of either the intact proteoglycans or the CNBr-cleaved products allowed for comparison of the muscle and tendon proteoglycan with derived amino acid sequences previously reported for bovine bone proteoglycan. The bone and tendon proteoglycan sequences were remarkably similar, whereas those of the muscle proteoglycan differed from the other two molecules. The major site of glycosaminoglycan substitution was on a peptide fragment distant from the N-terminus, and a presumptive serine residue at position 4 from the N-terminus also appeared to be substituted, perhaps with a small glycosaminoglycan chain. These results provide some insight into the diversity of small proteoglycans of the PG-II class and provide a basis for exploring their mode of genetic expression.

Alterations in lung and skin compositions of rat in bleomycin-induced fibrosis.

Male albino rats were given bleomycin subcutaneously (5 mg potency/kg body weight twice a week) for a period of 6 weeks. At this dosage, mortality was found to be nil with marked fibrotic changes. Pulmonary and cutaneous changes at the end of 2, 4, and 6 weeks of treatment were investigated both by light microscopy and analyses of the intra- and extracellular components. Histologically, fibrosis set in as early as 2 weeks of treatment with bleomycin and was pronounced with increasing duration of treatment. Biochemically, total collagen and hexosamine contents of lung and skin increased significantly compared to control toward the end of treatment period. Thus, this animal model can be conveniently used to mimic the human condition and to test effective antifibrotic agents.