Abstract
Dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) is present in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of dentin and bone as processed NH2- and COOH-terminal fragments, resulting from proteolytic cleavage at the NH2 termini of 4 aspartic acid residues during rat DMP1 processing. One cleavage site residue, Asp 181 (corresponding to Asp197 of mouse DMP1), and its flanking region are highly conserved across species. We speculate that cleavage at the NH2 terminus of Asp197 of mouse DMP1 represents an initial, first-step scission in the whole cascade of proteolytic processing. To test if Asp197 is critical for initiating the proteolytic processing of mouse DMP1, we substituted Asp197 with Ala197 by mutating the corresponding nucleotides of mouse cDNA that encode this amino acid residue. This mutant DMP1 cDNA was cloned into a pcDNA3.1 vector. Data from transfection experiments indicated that this single substitution blocked the proteolytic processing of mouse DMP1 in HEK-293 cells, indicating that cleavage at the NH2 terminus of Asp197 is essential for exposing other cleavage sites for the conversion of DMP1 to its fragments. The NH 2-terminal fragment of DMP1 occurs as a proteoglycan form (DMP1-PG) that contains a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain. Previously, we showed that a GAG chain is linked to Ser74 in rat DMP1 (Ser89 in mouse DMP1). To confirm that mouse DMP1-PG possesses a single GAG chain attached to Ser89, we substituted Ser89 by Gly89. Data from transfection analysis indicated that this substitution completely prevented formation of the GAG-containing form, confirming that DMP1-PG contains a single GAG chain attached to Ser89 in mouse DMP1.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 192-197 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Cells Tissues Organs |
Volume | 189 |
Issue number | 1-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2008 |
Keywords
- Dentin matrix protein 1
- Glycosaminoglycan
- Mutation
- Proteolytic processing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anatomy
- Histology