Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein deficiency promotes early onset and the chronic development of collagen-induced arthritis

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a homopentameric protein in cartilage. The development of arthritis, like collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), involves cartilage as a target tissue. We have investigated the development of CIA in COMP-deficient mice. METHODS: COMP-deficient mice in the 129/Sv background were backcrossed for 10 generations against B10.Q mice, which are susceptible to chronic CIA. COMP-deficient and wild-type mice were tested for onset, incidence, and severity of arthritis in both the collagen and collagen antibody-induced arthritis models. Serum anti-collagen II and anti-COMP antibodies as well as serum COMP levels in arthritic and wild-type mice were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: COMP-deficient mice showed a significant early onset and increase in the severity of CIA in the chronic phase, whereas collagen II-antibody titers were similar in COMP-deficient and wild-type controls. COMP antibodies were not found in wild-type mice. Finally, COMP-deficient and wild-type mice responded similarly to collagen antibody-induced arthritis, indicating no difference in how collagen II antibodies interact with COMP-deficient cartilage during the initial stages of arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: COMP deficiency enhances the early onset and development of chronic arthritis but does not affect collagen II autoimmunity. These findings accentuate the importance of COMP in cartilage stability

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein-deficient mice have normal skeletal development.

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) belongs to the thrombospondin family and is a homopentamer primarily expressed in cartilage. Mutations in the COMP gene result in the autosomal dominant chondrodysplasias pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH) and some types of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED), which are characterized by mild to severe short-limb dwarfism and early-onset osteoarthritis. We have generated COMP-null mice to study the role of COMP in vivo. These mice show no anatomical, histological, or ultrastructural abnormalities and show none of the clinical signs of PSACH or MED. Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemical analysis of cartilage indicate that the lack of COMP is not compensated for by any other member of the thrombospondin family. The results also show that the phenotype in PSACH/MED cartilage disorders is not caused by the reduced amount of COMP

Increased Fibrosis and Interstitial Fluid Pressure in Two Different Types of Syngeneic Murine Carcinoma Grown in Integrin β3-Subunit Deficient Mice

Stroma properties affect carcinoma physiology and direct malignant cell development. Here we present data showing that αVβ3 expressed by stromal cells is involved in the control of interstitial fluid pressure (IFP), extracellular volume (ECV) and collagen scaffold architecture in experimental murine carcinoma. IFP was elevated and ECV lowered in syngeneic CT26 colon and LM3 mammary carcinomas grown in integrin β3-deficient compared to wild-type BALB/c mice. Integrin β3-deficiency had no effect on carcinoma growth rate or on vascular morphology and function. Analyses by electron microscopy of carcinomas from integrin β3-deficient mice revealed a coarser and denser collagen network compared to carcinomas in wild-type littermates. Collagen fibers were built from heterogeneous and thicker collagen fibrils in carcinomas from integrin β3-deficient mice. The fibrotic extracellular matrix (ECM) did not correlate with increased macrophage infiltration in integrin β3-deficient mice bearing CT26 tumors, indicating that the fibrotic phenotype was not mediated by increased inflammation. In conclusion, we report that integrin β3-deficiency in tumor stroma led to an elevated IFP and lowered ECV that correlated with a more fibrotic ECM, underlining the role of the collagen network for carcinoma physiology

Fibromodulin Deficiency Reduces Low-Density Lipoprotein Accumulation in Atherosclerotic Plaques in Apolipoprotein E-Null Mice.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze how an altered collagen structure affects development of atherosclerotic plaques. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fibromodulin-null mice develop an abnormal collagen fibril structure. In apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-null and ApoE/fibromodulin-null mice, a shear stress-modifying carotid artery cast induced formation of atherosclerotic plaques of different phenotypes; inflammatory in low-shear stress regions and fibrous in oscillatory shear stress regions. Electron microscopy showed that collagen fibrils were thicker and more heterogeneous in oscillatory shear stress lesions from ApoE/fibromodulin-null mice. Low-shear stress lesions were smaller in ApoE/fibromodulin-null mice and contained less lipids. Total plaque burden in aortas stained en face with Oil Red O, as well as lipid accumulation in aortic root lesions, was also decreased in ApoE/fibromodulin-null mice. In addition, lipid accumulation in RAW264.7 macrophages cultured on fibromodulin-deficient extracellular matrix was decreased, whereas levels of interleukin-6 and -10 were increased. Our results show that an abnormal plaque collagen fibril structure can influence atherosclerotic plaque development. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest a more complex role for collagen in plaque stability than previously anticipated, in that it may promote lipid-accumulation and inflammation at the same time as it provides mechanical stability

Immunohistochemical study of osteopontin in boar testis

The expression of osteopontin (OPN) in boar testis was studied. Western blot analysis detected 66- and 32-kDa OPN immunopositive bands in the testes of adult boars. In postnatal piglets, the 66-kDa OPN band was detected in the testes, but not the 32-kDa band. In the newborn testis, OPN immunostaining was seen in gonocytes and in some supporting cells in the seminiferous tubules, as well as in interstitial Leydig cells. In the adult boar testis, OPN immunoreactivity was detected in seminiferous tubules with varying intensities. Intense OPN immunostaining was seen in the residual bodies and acrosomes in the spermatids while, occasionally, OPN immunostaining was seen in spermatogonia and various stage of spermatocytes but in few Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules. In addition, Leydig cells in adult boars were weakly immunostained with OPN. These findings suggest that OPN is detected in the majority of germ cells and is involved in spermatogenesis in boar testis

Proteomic Analysis of Tendon Extracellular Matrix Reveals Disease Stage- specific Fragmentation and Differential Cleavage of COMP ( Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein)

During inflammatory processes the extracellular matrix (ECM) is extensively remodeled, and many of the constituent components are released as proteolytically cleaved fragments. These degradative processes are better documented for inflammatory joint diseases than tendinopathy even though the pathogenesis has many similarities. The aims of this study were to investigate the proteomic composition of injured tendons during early and late disease stages to identify disease-specific cleavage patterns of the ECM protein cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). In addition to characterizing fragments released in naturally occurring disease, we hypothesized that stimulation of tendon explants with proinflammatory mediators in vitro would induce fragments of COMP analogous to natural disease. Therefore, normal tendon explants were stimulated with IL-1β and prostaglandin E2, and their effects on the release of COMP and its cleavage patterns were characterized. Analyses of injured tendons identified an altered proteomic composition of the ECM at all stages post injury, showing protein fragments that were specific to disease stage. IL-1β enhanced the proteolytic cleavage and release of COMP from tendon explants, whereas PGE2 had no catabolic effect. Of the cleavage fragments identified in early stage tendon disease, two fragments were generated by an IL-1-mediated mechanism. These fragments provide a platform for the development of neo-epitope assays specific to injury stage for tendon disease

Dentin sialoprotein (DSP) transcripts: developmentally‐sustained expression in odontoblasts and transient expression in pre‐ameloblasts

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99098/1/j.1600-0722.1997.tb02137.x.pd

Multifunctional and stable bone mimic proteinaceous matrix for bone tissue engineering

Biomaterial surface design with biomimetic proteins holds great promise for successful regeneration of tissues including bone. Here we report a novel proteinaceous hybrid matrix mimicking bone extracellular matrix that has multifunctional capacity to promote stem cell adhesion and osteogenesis with excellent stability. Osteocalcin-fibronectin fusion protein holding collagen binding domain was networked with fibrillar collagen, featuring bone extracellular matrix mimic, to provide multifunctional and structurally-stable biomatrices. The hybrid protein, integrated homogeneously with collagen fibrillar networks, preserved structural stability over a month. Biological efficacy of the hybrid matrix was proven onto tethered surface of biopolymer porous scaffolds. Mesenchymal stem cells quickly anchored to the hybrid matrix, forming focal adhesions, and substantially conformed to cytoskeletal extensions, benefited from the fibronectin adhesive domains. Cells achieved high proliferative capacity to reach confluence rapidly and switched to a mature and osteogenic phenotype more effectively, resulting in greater osteogenic matrix syntheses and mineralization, driven by the engineered osteocalcin. The hybrid biomimetic matrix significantly improved in vivo bone formation in calvarial defects over 6 weeks. Based on the series of stimulated biological responses in vitro and in vivo the novel hybrid proteinaceous composition will be potentially useful as stem cell interfacing matrices for osteogenesis and bone regeneration