Laminin Self-Assembly: A Three-Arm Interaction Hypothesis for the Formation of a Network in Basement Membranes

Author(s):  
Peter D. Yurchenco ◽  
Yi-Shan Cheng
1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 1689-1697 ◽  
Author(s):  
A S Charonis ◽  
E C Tsilibary ◽  
T Saku ◽  
H Furthmayr

Laminin is a major glycoprotein of the basement membrane. Although its precise localization and orientation within this structure is unknown, it is presumably anchored to other macromolecules such as type IV collagen or proteoheparan sulfate. In vitro, laminin has the ability to self-assemble and to bind to type IV collagen molecules at distinct sites. To identify more precisely the domains of the complex, cross-shaped laminin molecule that are involved in these interactions, images of laminin-laminin dimers and laminin-type IV collagen complexes obtained by the rotary shadowing method were analyzed. We observed that the complex domain at the end of the long arm of laminin is predominantly involved in these interactions. By using Fab fragments of antibodies specific for a peptide fragment derived from this complex domain, it is shown that laminin self-assembly is inhibited in their presence, as measured by turbidity and by electron microscopy. In addition, these antibodies inhibit the specific interaction of laminin with type IV collagen. These data suggest that the complex domain at the end of the long arm of laminin contains binding sites of potential importance for the assembly of basement membranes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (23) ◽  
pp. 22146-22153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaus Gersdorff ◽  
Eddie Kohfeldt ◽  
Takako Sasaki ◽  
Rupert Timpl ◽  
Nicolai Miosge

Recently a novel laminin γ3 chain was identified in mouse and human and shown to have the same modular structure as the laminin γ1 chain. We expressed two fragments of the γ3 chain in mammalian cells recombinantly. The first, domain VI/V, consisting of laminin N-terminal (domain VI) and four laminin-type epidermal growth factor-like (domain V) and laminin N-terminal modules, was shown to be essential for self-assembly of laminins. The other was domain III3–5, which consists of three laminin-type epidermal growth factor-like modules and is predicted to bind to nidogens. The γ3 VI/V fragment was a poor inhibitor for laminin-1 polymerization as was the β2 VI/V fragment. The γ3 III3–5 fragment bound to nidogen-1 and nidogen-2 with lower affinity than the γ1 III3–5 fragment. These data suggested that laminins containing the γ3 chain may assemble networks independent of other laminins. Polyclonal antibodies raised against γ3 VI/V and γ3 III3–5 showed no cross-reaction with homologous fragments from the γ1 and γ2 chains of laminin and allowed the establishment of γ chain-specific radioimmunoassays and light and electron microscopic immunostaining of tissues. This demonstrated a 20–100-fold lower content of the γ3 chain compared with the γ1 chain in various tissue extracts of adult mice. The expression of γ3 chain was highly tissue-specific. In contrast to earlier assumptions, the antibodies against the γ3 chain showed light microscopic staining exclusively in basement membrane zones of adult and embryonic tissues, such as the brain, kidney, skin, muscle, and testis. Ultrastructural immunogold staining localized the γ3 chain to basement membranes of these tissues.


IUCrJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 765-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Casino ◽  
Roberto Gozalbo-Rovira ◽  
Jesús Rodríguez-Díaz ◽  
Sreedatta Banerjee ◽  
Ariel Boutaud ◽  
...  

Basement membranes are extracellular structures of epithelia and endothelia that have collagen IV scaffolds of triple α-chain helical protomers that associate end-to-end, forming networks. The molecular mechanisms by which the noncollagenous C-terminal domains of α-chains direct the selection and assembly of the α1α2α1 and α3α4α5 hetero-oligomers found in vivo remain obscure. Autoantibodies against the noncollagenous domains of the α3α4α5 hexamer or mutations therein cause Goodpasture's or Alport's syndromes, respectively. To gain further insight into oligomer-assembly mechanisms as well as into Goodpasture's and Alport's syndromes, crystal structures of noncollagenous domains produced by recombinant methods were determined. The spontaneous formation of canonical homohexamers (dimers of trimers) of these domains of the α1, α3 and α5 chains was shown and the components of the Goodpasture's disease epitopes were viewed. Crystal structures of the α2 and α4 noncollagenous domains generated by recombinant methods were also determined. These domains spontaneously form homo-oligomers that deviate from the canonical architectures since they have a higher number of subunits (dimers of tetramers and of hexamers, respectively). Six flexible structural motifs largely explain the architectural variations. These findings provide insight into noncollagenous domain folding, while supporting the in vivo operation of extrinsic mechanisms for restricting the self-assembly of noncollagenous domains. Intriguingly, Alport's syndrome missense mutations concentrate within the core that nucleates the folding of the noncollagenous domain, suggesting that this syndrome, when owing to missense changes, is a folding disorder that is potentially amenable to pharmacochaperone therapy.


1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
P D Yurchenco ◽  
E C Tsilibary ◽  
A S Charonis ◽  
H Furthmayr

Basement membranes contain a number of intrinsic macromolecular components which are unique to these structures and which cooperatively assemble into specific heteropolymeric matrices. Type IV collagen triple helical monomers bind together at their amino-terminal, carboxy-terminal, and lateral domains to form a lattice-like array. Laminin, in a two-step process, binds to itself at its terminal globular domains to form polymers and also binds collagen at two distinct sites along the collagen chain. Heparan sulfate proteoglycan has been found to bind both collagen and laminin, suggesting a reversible crosslinking function. On the basis of the data derived from self-association studies, it is possible to begin considering models for the assembly and structure of these ubiquitous matrices.


1999 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Colognato ◽  
Donald A. Winkelmann ◽  
Peter D. Yurchenco

The transition of laminin from a monomeric to a polymerized state is thought to be a crucial step in the development of basement membranes and in the case of skeletal muscle, mutations in laminin can result in severe muscular dystrophies with basement membrane defects. We have evaluated laminin polymer and receptor interactions to determine the requirements for laminin assembly on a cell surface and investigated what cellular responses might be mediated by this transition. We found that on muscle cell surfaces, laminins preferentially polymerize while bound to receptors that included dystroglycan and α7β1 integrin. These receptor interactions are mediated through laminin COOH-terminal domains that are spatially and functionally distinct from NH2-terminal polymer binding sites. This receptor-facilitated self-assembly drives rearrangement of laminin into a cell-associated polygonal network, a process that also requires actin reorganization and tyrosine phosphorylation. As a result, dystroglycan and integrin redistribute into a reciprocal network as do cortical cytoskeleton components vinculin and dystrophin. Cytoskeletal and receptor reorganization is dependent on laminin polymerization and fails in response to receptor occupancy alone (nonpolymerizing laminin). Preferential polymerization of laminin on cell surfaces, and the resulting induction of cortical architecture, is a cooperative process requiring laminin– receptor ligation, receptor-facilitated self-assembly, actin reorganization, and signaling events.


1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 2467-2473 ◽  
Author(s):  
E C Tsilibary ◽  
A S Charonis

Type IV collagen incubated at elevated temperatures in physiologic buffers self-associates (a) via its carboxy-terminal (NC1) domain, (b) via its amino-terminal (7S) domain, and (c) laterally; and it forms a network. When examined with the technique of rotary shadowing, isolated domain NC1 was found to bind along the length of type IV collagen to four distinct sites located at intervals of approximately 100 nm each. The same 100-nm distance was observed in domain NC1 of intact type IV collagen bound along the length of the collagen molecules during initial steps of network formation and in complete networks. The presence of anti-NC1 Fab fragments in type IV collagen solutions inhibited lateral association and network formation in rotary shadow images. During the process of self-association type IV collagen develops turbidity; addition of isolated domain NC1 inhibited the development of turbidity in a concentration-dependent manner. These findings indicate that domain NC1 of type IV collagen plays an important role in the process of self-association and suggest that alterations in the structure of NC1 may be partially responsible for impaired functions of basement membranes in certain pathological conditions.


Author(s):  
Jared Grantham ◽  
Larry Welling

In the course of urine formation in mammalian kidneys over 90% of the glomerular filtrate moves from the tubular lumen into the peritubular capillaries by both active and passive transport mechanisms. In all of the morphologically distinct segments of the renal tubule, e.g. proximal tubule, loop of Henle and distal nephron, the tubular absorbate passes through a basement membrane which rests against the basilar surface of the epithelial cells. The basement membrane is in a strategic location to affect the geometry of the tubules and to influence the movement of tubular absorbate into the renal interstitium. In the present studies we have determined directly some of the mechanical and permeability characteristics of tubular basement membranes.


Author(s):  
D. Reis ◽  
B. Vian ◽  
J. C. Roland

Wall morphogenesis in higher plants is a problem still open to controversy. Until now the possibility of a transmembrane control and the involvement of microtubules were mostly envisaged. Self-assembly processes have been observed in the case of walls of Chlamydomonas and bacteria. Spontaneous gelling interactions between xanthan and galactomannan from Ceratonia have been analyzed very recently. The present work provides indications that some processes of spontaneous aggregation could occur in higher plants during the formation and expansion of cell wall.Observations were performed on hypocotyl of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) for which growth characteristics and wall composition have been previously defined.In situ, the walls of actively growing cells (primary walls) show an ordered three-dimensional organization (fig. 1). The wall is typically polylamellate with multifibrillar layers alternately transverse and longitudinal. Between these layers intermediate strata exist in which the orientation of microfibrils progressively rotates. Thus a progressive change in the morphogenetic activity occurs.


Author(s):  
M. Kessel ◽  
R. MacColl

The major protein of the blue-green algae is the biliprotein, C-phycocyanin (Amax = 620 nm), which is presumed to exist in the cell in the form of distinct aggregates called phycobilisomes. The self-assembly of C-phycocyanin from monomer to hexamer has been extensively studied, but the proposed next step in the assembly of a phycobilisome, the formation of 19s subunits, is completely unknown. We have used electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation in combination with a method for rapid and gentle extraction of phycocyanin to study its subunit structure and assembly.To establish the existence of phycobilisomes, cells of P. boryanum in the log phase of growth, growing at a light intensity of 200 foot candles, were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer, pH 7.0, for 3 hours at 4°C. The cells were post-fixed in 1% OsO4 in the same buffer overnight. Material was stained for 1 hour in uranyl acetate (1%), dehydrated and embedded in araldite and examined in thin sections.


Author(s):  
Alan S. Rudolph ◽  
Ronald R. Price

We have employed cryoelectron microscopy to visualize events that occur during the freeze-drying of artificial membranes by employing real time video capture techniques. Artificial membranes or liposomes which are spherical structures within internal aqueous space are stabilized by water which provides the driving force for spontaneous self-assembly of these structures. Previous assays of damage to these structures which are induced by freeze drying reveal that the two principal deleterious events that occur are 1) fusion of liposomes and 2) leakage of contents trapped within the liposome [1]. In the past the only way to access these events was to examine the liposomes following the dehydration event. This technique allows the event to be monitored in real time as the liposomes destabilize and as water is sublimed at cryo temperatures in the vacuum of the microscope. The method by which liposomes are compromised by freeze-drying are largely unknown. This technique has shown that cryo-protectants such as glycerol and carbohydrates are able to maintain liposomal structure throughout the drying process.


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