Identification of a novel gelatinolytic metalloproteinase (GMP) in the body wall of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) and its involvement in collagen degradation

Endogenous Proteases in Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicas): Deterioration and Prevention during Handling, Processing, and Preservation

The sea cucumber is an essential nutrient source and a significant economic marine resource associated with successful aquaculture. However, sea cucumbers are highly susceptible to autolysis induced by endogenous protease after postmortem, and the phenomenon of body wall "melting" occurs, which seriously affects the food quality of products and the degree of acceptance by consumers. To satisfy the growing demand for fresh or processed sea cucumbers, we must clarify the autolysis mechanism of sea cucumbers and the methods to achieve autolysis regulation. In this paper, the factors leading to the quality deterioration and texture softening of sea cucumbers are reviewed, with emphasis on enzymatic characteristics, the autolysis mechanism, the effects of autolysis on the physicochemical properties of the body wall of the sea cucumber, and the development of potential natural protease inhibitors. We aim to provide some reference in future preservation and processing processes for sea cucumbers, promote new processing and preservation technologies, and advance the sea cucumber industry's development.

Characteristics of the Intestine Extracts and Their Effect on the Crude Collagen Fibers of the Body Wall from Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus will vomit their intestines during certain stimulations, and the collagen of the body wall will then be degraded. To define the effect of the sea cucumber intestine extracts on the body wall, the intestinal extracts and crude collagen fibers (CCF) of sea cucumber A. japonicus were prepared. According to the gelatin zymography, the type of endogenous enzymes in intestinal extracts were mainly serine endopeptidases with optimal activities at pH 9.0 and 40 °C. According to the rheology results, the viscosity of 3% CCF decreased from 32.7 Pa·s to 5.3 Pa·s by adding intestine extracts. The serine protease inhibitor phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride inhibited the activity of intestinal extracts and increased the viscosity of collagen fibers to 25.7 Pa·s. The results proved that serine protease in the intestinal extracts participated in the process of body wall softening in sea cucumbers.

Possible Mechanisms of Stiffness Changes Induced by Stiffeners and Softeners in Catch Connective Tissue of Echinoderms

The catch connective, or mutable collagenous, tissue of echinoderms changes its mechanical properties in response to stimulation. The body wall dermis of sea cucumbers is a typical catch connective tissue. The dermis assumes three mechanical states: soft, standard, and stiff. Proteins that change the mechanical properties have been purified from the dermis. Tensilin and the novel stiffening factor are involved in the soft to standard and standard to stiff transitions, respectively. Softenin softens the dermis in the standard state. Tensilin and softenin work directly on the extracellular matrix (ECM). This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding such stiffeners and softeners. Attention is also given to the genes of tensilin and its related proteins in echinoderms. In addition, we provide information on the morphological changes of the ECM associated with the stiffness change of the dermis. Ultrastructural study suggests that tensilin induces an increase in the cohesive forces with the lateral fusion of collagen subfibrils in the soft to standard transition, that crossbridge formation between fibrils occurs in both the soft to standard and standard to stiff transitions, and that the bond which accompanies water exudation produces the stiff dermis from the standard state.

A comprehensive review of the control and utilization of aquatic animal products by autolysis-based processes: Mechanism, process, factors, and application

Animal aquatic products have high water content, abundant enzyme system and their own diverse microbial flora. These products are severely susceptible to autolysis and degradation after death, resulting in many adverse effects on storage, processing, and transportation. Among them, the endogenous enzyme are the key factor that caused the autolysis and degradation. Autolytic hydrolysis provides an effective way to maximize the use of aquatic by-products and achieve increased protein resources and reduce environmental pollution from by-products. To better acquaintance the autolysis phenomenon and regulation of the autolysis phenomenon. This paper reviews the autolytic mechanism, biochemical changes, influencing factors, and potential applications of animal aquatic products and their by-products to explore autolysis and its effective utilization and regulation. In addition, this study also emphasizes the importance of making full use of aquatic by-products. Furthermore, the research trends and future challenges of autolysis are also discussed. Autolysis can effectively transform aquatic products and by-products into bioactive hydrolysates. The hydrolysates produced by the autolysis of aquatic products and their by-products have attracted attention because of their wide applications in food, healthcare, and animal feed industries. However, the mechanism and regulation (promotion or inhibition) of autolysis should be further studied, and autolysate at the industrial level should be produced to provide high-value-added products for by-product processing and realize the sustainable utilization of resources.

Relationships of Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 and a Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase to Collagen Metabolism in Haliotis discus hannai

In response to physical, chemical, and/or biological stimuli, considerable tissue self-degradation occurs in abalone, causing severe post-harvest quality loss. During this process, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is greatly degraded by endogenous proteases. The main component of the ECM is collagen, primarily type I collagen. Although the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which can specifically degrade collagen, is precisely regulated by tissue inhibitors of MPs (TIMPs), indicating that MMPs and TIMPs play crucial roles in the regulation of tissue self-degradation, few studies have reported the interaction between MMPs and TIMPs. In this study, we reveal collagenases to participate in postmortem tissue self-degradation of Haliotis discus hannai by degrading type I collagen. The recombinant MMP-1 catalytic domain (rMMP1c) of abalone with high purity and enzyme activity is expressed using a prokaryotic expression system. The optimum temperature and pH for rMMP1c are 37 °C and 7.0, respectively. The thermal denaturation temperature of rMMP1c is 67.0 ± 0.9 °C. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and 1,10-phenanthroline can completely inhibit rMMP1c activity, while Ba²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ can significantly elevate it. TIMP is also expressed using HEK 293F cells. Recombinant TIMP (rTIMP) shows good inhibitory activity toward rMMP1c. Inhibition kinetics analyses reveal rTIMP to be a competitive inhibitor of rMMP1c. Biolayer interferometry reveals that rTIMP can effectively bind with rMMP1c, with an equilibrium dissociation constant value of 263 nM. rMMP1c effectively degrades type I collagen γ-β-α chains in turn, and rTIMP can significantly inhibit rMMP1c degradation activity. These results provide a theoretical basis for the study of MMP and TIMP interaction and elucidate the possible mechanism for abalone tissue self-degradation.

Investigation of structural proteins in sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) body wall

Structural proteins play critical roles in the food quality, especially texture properties, of sea cucumbers and their products. Most of the previous studies on sea cucumbers focused on few individual proteins, which limited our understanding of how structural proteins influenced the quality of sea cucumbers. Inspired by the clarification of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) genome, we established an integrated data of structural proteins in the sea cucumber body wall. A portfolio of 2018 structural proteins was screened out from the sea cucumber annotated proteome by bioinformatics analysis. The portfolio was divided into three divisions, including extracellular matrix proteins, muscle proteins, and proteases, and further classified into 18 categories. The presence of 472 proteins in the sea cucumber body wall was confirmed by using a proteomics approach. Moreover, comparative proteomics analysis revealed the spatial distribution heterogeneity of structural proteins in the sea cucumber body wall at a molecular scale. This study suggested that future researches on sea cucumbers could be performed from an integrated perspective, which would reshape the component map of sea cucumber and provide novel insights into the understanding of how the food quality of sea cucumber was determined on a molecular level.

Effect of geographic variation on the proteome of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus)

Sea cucumber is a sensitive organism that is easily challenged by environmental change. The aim of this study was to characterize the proteome of sea cucumbers from 5 main Chinese origins, including Xiamen (XM), Dalian (DL), Weihai (WH), Yantai (YT) and Qingdao (QD). In this work, a tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling proteomic approach was applied to identify and quantify the proteome of sea cucumber. A total of 5051 proteins were identified in the body wall; among those proteins, 1594 proteins (31.6%) were identified as enzyme proteins, and 33 proteins belonged to collagen. In addition, the 10 most highly abundant proteins were further discussed. Among all quantified proteins, 2266 were significantly differentially expressed proteins (SDEPs) across the 5 origins. These SDEPs were related to pigmentation (5 proteins), antioxidant activity (13 proteins), and immune system processes (29 proteins). Based on SDEPs, DL differed the most from QD and XM, as well as WH and YT, as shown in principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering. In conclusion, one-fourth of the significantly different proteins found in the sea cucumber body wall among the 5 main Chinese locations indicated the sensitivity of sea cucumber to variations in temperature, environment, and feeding.

Inhibitory effect of natural metal ion chelators on the autolysis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) and its mechanism

Live sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicus) were stored in a solution containing oxalic acid and tea polyphenols as natural metal ion chelators. The inhibitory effects of these chelators on the autolysis phenomenon and the underlying mechanism of action were investigated for the first time by using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and confocal laser scanning microscopy. External stimuli cause autolysis through the release of calcium ions (Ca²⁺) from cells into the extracellular connective tissue, initiating activity of the matrix metalloprotease (MMP) in the sea cucumber body wall (SCBW). MMP subsequently degrades the microfibrillar networks, that support the interconnecting collagen fibres and the interfibrillar proteoglycan bridges linking the collagen fibrils, to release the water restricted within the interspaces between collagen fibres and collagen fibrils, ultimately causing mucoid degeneration of SCBW. The natural metal ion chelators significantly inhibited the activation of MMP by chelating Ca²⁺, consequently effectively preventing the autolysis of SCBW.

The role of matrix metalloprotease (MMP) to the autolysis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus)

BACKGROUND

Sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) is easy to autolysis in response to a variety of environmental and mechanical factors. In the current study, collagen fibres were extracted from fresh sea cucumber body wall and then incubated with endogenous matrix metalloprotease (MMP) of sea cucumber. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), chemical analysis and sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis were utilized to demonstrate the changes in collagen fibres, collagen fibrils and collagen proteins. Moreover, a verification experiment was also carried out to confirm the contribution of MMP to the autolysis of sea cucumber.

RESULTS

Endogenous MMP caused complete depolymerization of collagen fibres into smaller collagen fibril bundles and collagen fibrils due to the fracture of proteoglycan interfibrillar bridges. Meanwhile, endogenous MMP also caused partial degradation of collagen fibrils by releasing soluble hydroxyproline and pyridinium cross-links. Furthermore, the treatment with MMP inhibitor (1,10-phenanthroline) prevented the autolysis of tissue blocks from S. japonicus dermis.

CONCLUSION

Endogenous MMP was the key enzyme in the autolysis of sea cucumber, while its action still focused on high-level structures of collagens especially collagen fibres. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of collagenase type I on the structural features of collagen fibres from sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) body wall

The autolysis of sea cucumber is caused by depolymerisation of collagen fibres and unfolding of fibrils. In order to highlight the role of collagenase in sea cucumber autolysis, collagen fibres from sea cucumber were hydrolysed with collagenase type I. Electron microscopy (EM) results indicated the collagenase caused partial depolymerisation of collagen fibres into fibrils due to the fracture of proteoglycan interfibrillar bridges, as well as uncoiling of collagen fibrils. Chemical analysis and SDS-PAGE both indicated collagenase induced a time-dependent release of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and soluble proteins, which further demonstrated the degradation of proteoglycan interfibrillar bridges. Collagenase also degraded collagens by releasing soluble hydroxyproline (Hpy), with the dissolution rate of Hyp reaching 11.11% after 72 h. Fourier transform infrared analysis showed that collagenase caused the reduction of intermolecular interactions and structural order of collagen. Hence, collagenase participated in the autolysis of sea cucumber by deteriorating both macromolecular and monomeric collagens.

RNA Sequencing Analysis to Capture the Transcriptome Landscape during Tenderization in Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an economically significant species in China having great commercial value. It is challenging to maintain the textural properties during thermal processing due to the distinctive physiochemical structure of the A. japonicus body wall (AJBW). In this study, the gene expression profiles associated with tenderization in AJBW were determined at 0 h (CON), 1 h (T_1h), and 3 h (T_3h) after treatment at 37 °C using Illumina HiSeq™ 4000 platform. Seven-hundred-and-twenty-one and 806 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in comparisons of T_1h vs. CON and T_3h vs. CON, respectively. Among these DEGs, we found that two endogenous proteases-72 kDa type IV collagenase and matrix metalloproteinase 16 precursor-were significantly upregulated that could directly affect the tenderness of AJBW. In addition, 92 genes controlled four types of physiological and biochemical processes such as oxidative stress response (3), immune system process (55), apoptosis (4), and reorganization of the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix (30). Further, the RT-qPCR results confirmed the accuracy of RNA-sequencing analysis. Our results showed the dynamic changes in global gene expression during tenderization and provided a series of candidate genes that contributed to tenderization in AJBW. This can help further studies on the genetics/molecular mechanisms associated with tenderization.

Effects of endogenous cysteine proteinases on structures of collagen fibres from dermis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus)

Autolysis of sea cucumber, caused by endogenous enzymes, leads to postharvest quality deterioration of sea cucumber. However, the effects of endogenous proteinases on structures of collagen fibres, the major biologically relevant substrates in the body wall of sea cucumber, are less clear. Collagen fibres were prepared from the dermis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus), and the structural consequences of degradation of the collagen fibres caused by endogenous cysteine proteinases (ECP) from Stichopus japonicus were examined. Scanning electron microscopic images showed that ECP caused partial disaggregation of collagen fibres into collagen fibrils by disrupting interfibrillar proteoglycan bridges. Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed increased structural disorder of fibrillar collagen caused by ECP. SDS-PAGE and chemical analysis indicated that ECP can liberate glycosaminoglycan, hydroxyproline and collagen fragments from collagen fibres. Thus ECP can cause disintegration of collagen fibres by degrading interfibrillar proteoglycan bridges.

Release of Antioxidant Peptides from the Body Wall Proteins of the Sea Cucumber Isostichopus Fuscus

Proteases from the tentacles of the sea cucumber Isostichopus fuscus were partially purified and used to produce antioxidant peptides from body wall proteins of this marine species. Three proteins (105, 68, and 39 kDa) were identified by SDS-PAGE in the proteolytic extract of the tentacles. Protein hydrolyzates were generated with gelatin and crude protein substrates from body wall, and peptidic fractions lower and higher than 3 kDa were obtained to evaluate their oxygen radical scavenging capacity (ORAC). The 3 kDa-fraction obtained from the crude protein hydrolyzate showed the highest ORAC value (0.92 ± 0.04 μmol Trolox equivalent/mg protein). This fraction was selected to purify peptides potentially responsible for the activity that might be used as ingredients for development of functional foods.

Purification, characterization, cDNA cloning and in vitro expression of a serine proteinase from the intestinal tract of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) with collagen degradation activity

Sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) autolysis during transportation and processing is a major problem and the specific proteinases responsible for autolysis have not yet been identified. In the present study, a 34 kDa serine proteinase (SP) was isolated to high purity from sea cucumber intestinal tract by a series of column chromatographies. Peptide mass fingerprinting revealed that six peptide fragments were identical to a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 preproprotein from sea cucumber A. japonicus. The enzyme hydrolyzed gelatin effectively at pH 6.0-9.0 and 35-40 °C, and the enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by SP inhibitors. Sea cucumber collagen was hydrolyzed significantly by purified SP at 37 °C and more gradually at 4 °C, suggesting that SP may be involved in autolysis. In addition, the SP gene that codes for 377 amino acid residues was cloned into an E. coli expression vector and expressed in vitro. A polyclonal antibody against rSP was prepared and found to react specifically against both rSP and endogenous SP, which may prove useful for future studies on the physiological functions of SP.

Softenin, a novel protein that softens the connective tissue of sea cucumbers through inhibiting interaction between collagen fibrils

The dermis in the holothurian body wall is a typical catch connective tissue or mutable collagenous tissue that shows rapid changes in stiffness. Some chemical factors that change the stiffness of the tissue were found in previous studies, but the molecular mechanisms of the changes are not yet fully understood. Detection of factors that change the stiffness by working directly on the extracellular matrix was vital to clarify the mechanisms of the change. We isolated from the body wall of the sea cucumber Stichopus chloronotus a novel protein, softenin, that softened the body-wall dermis. The apparent molecular mass was 20 kDa. The N-terminal sequence of 17 amino acids had low homology to that of known proteins. We performed sequential chemical and physical dissections of the dermis and tested the effects of softenin on each dissection stage by dynamic mechanical tests. Softenin softened Triton-treated dermis whose cells had been disrupted by detergent. The Triton-treated dermis was subjected to repetitive freeze-and-thawing to make Triton-Freeze-Thaw (TFT) dermis that was softer than the Triton-treated dermis, implying that some force-bearing structure had been disrupted by this treatment. TFT dermis was stiffened by tensilin, a stiffening protein of sea cucumbers. Softenin softened the tensilin-stiffened TFT dermis while it had no effect on the TFT dermis without tensilin treatment. We isolated collagen from the dermis. When tensilin was applied to the suspending solution of collagen fibrils, they made a large compact aggregate that was dissolved by the application of softenin or by repetitive freeze-and-thawing. These results strongly suggested that softenin decreased dermal stiffness through inhibiting cross-bridge formation between collagen fibrils; the formation was augmented by tensilin and the bridges were broken by the freeze-thaw treatment. Softenin is thus the first softener of catch connective tissue shown to work on the cross-bridges between extracellular materials.