Intracellular secretory pathway and ultrastructural localization of interstitial procollagenase in human gingival fibroblasts

New frontiers of oral sciences: Focus on the source and biomedical application of extracellular vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a class of nanoparticles that are derived from almost any type of cell in the organism tested thus far and are present in all body fluids. With the capacity to transfer "functional cargo and biological information" to regulate local and distant intercellular communication, EVs have developed into an attractive focus of research for various physiological and pathological conditions. The oral cavity is a special organ of the human body. It includes multiple types of tissue, and it is also the beginning of the digestive tract. Moreover, the oral cavity harbors thousands of bacteria. The importance and particularity of oral function indicate that EVs derived from oral cavity are quite complex but promising for further research. This review will discuss the extensive source of EVs in the oral cavity, including both cell sources and cell-independent sources. Besides, accumulating evidence supports extensive biomedical applications of extracellular vesicles in oral tissue regeneration and development, diagnosis and treatment of head and neck tumors, diagnosis and therapy of systemic disease, drug delivery, and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). The immune cell source, odontoblasts and ameloblasts sources, diet source and the application of EVs in tooth development and HGT were reviewed for the first time. In conclusion, we concentrate on the extensive source and potential applications offered by these nanovesicles in oral science.

Characterization and identification of proteinases and proteinase inhibitors synthesized by temporomandibular joint disc cells

The adult mammalian temporomandibular joint (TM) disc is a fibrocartilaginous tissue that undergoes normal developmental remodeling, requiring removal of the existing extracellular matrix and its replacement by new matrix macromolecules. This remodeling is probably mediated by matrix-degrading enzymes, but to date none has been demonstrated in association with the TMJ disc. We characterized, identified, and determined the regulation of proteinases and proteinase inhibitor (PIs) synthesized by TMJ disc cells in organ and cell cultures. TMJ discs were retrieved from 14-week-old male NZW rabbits and both tissue- and disc-derived cells were cultured in serum-free medium. The conditioned media were retrieved at 12-hour intervals and assayed for proteinases and PIs in gelatin- and casein-impregnated polyacrylamide gels. Three proteinases with gelatinolytic activities at 92 kDa, 72 kDa, and 42/57 kDa and one caseinolytic activity at 51/54 kDa were detected. All were inhibited by 1,10-1 phenanthroline, thus characterizing these enzymes as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), most likely 92-kDa gelatinase (proMMP-9), 72-kDa gelatinase (proMMP-2), procollagenase (proMMP-1), and prostromelysin (proMMP-3). The identity of the latter two MMPs was confirmed by Western blots. Two PIs and 30 kDa and 20 kDa, probably tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) and TIMP-2, were observed on reverse zymograms. TPA, a protein kinase-C agonist, increased the expression of 92-kDa gelatinase and 30-kDa PI by both explanted discs and isolated disc cells. The profile of MMPs constitutively expressed by disc cells is similar to that of synovial fibroblasts but different from that of chondrocytes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dermal mast cell granules bind interstitial procollagenase and collagenase

In order to identify structures in human skin that bind collagenase, sections from frozen or paraffin-embedded skin were incubated with either procollagenase or activated collagenase. After washing, bound procollagenase or collagenase was detected by immunofluorescence microscopy. In normal skin, procollagenase bound only to isolated granular dermal cells that were identified as mast cells on the basis of staining with fluoresceinated avidin and pinacyanol erythrosinate. When mast cells were degranulated by exposure to the ionophore A23187, extracellular granules bound procollagenase. Of various pathologic conditions examined, the highest binding of procollagenase occurred in specimens of urticaria pigmentosa. Procollagenase bound to granular cells and to abundant granules scattered throughout the dermis. Binding could be abolished by pre-treatment of tissue sections with heparinase or by pre-incubation of procollagenase with soluble heparin, suggesting that heparin is the binding agent in the granules. Activated collagenase also bound to dermal mast cells but in addition bound strongly to the dermal collagen. Enzymatic activity of activated collagenase was not inhibited by heparin in concentrations up to 10 mg/ml. There is evidence that mast cell tryptase can contribute to procollagenase activation. This study further supports a role for mast cells in collagenolysis by demonstrating that heparin from mast cells binds procollagenase and possibly serves as a reservoir for procollagenase, which may then subsequently be activated.

Expression of collagenase and potential transcriptional factors c-fos and egr-1 in periodontal gingival fibroblasts

In view of the important role of fibroblast-type collagenase in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease (PD), we investigated the expression of this metalloproteinase in primary cultures of non-stimulated fibroblasts dissected from gingival tissues of patients with generalized moderate and localized severe chronic adult PD. Enhanced hybridization signals for collagenase RNA were observed in 8/8 PD-cases when compared with equivalent RNA amounts extracted from normal fibroblasts. Since both the proto-oncogene c-fos and the "early growth response" gene egr-1 might be involved in the transcriptional regulation of the collagenase gene expression in vivo, we also compared the relative expression of both potential transcriptional factors with collagenase RNA in the same fibroblast cytoplasmic extracts. Hybridization signals indicated elevated RNA amounts for c-fos in 8/8 PD-cases and for egr-1 in 7/8 PD-cases when compared with the cells from non-inflamed tissue. In periodontitis gingival tissue specimens, immunolocalization of collagenase could be confirmed in fibroblasts, macrophages and epithelial cells in situ. Collagenase label was not widely distributed within the tissues, but concentrated at the interface between epithelium and connective tissue. The data provide the first evidence that gingival fibroblasts producing elevated levels of collagenase RNA amounts express also c-fos and egr-1 indicating a crucial role for both genes in cellular proliferation and collagenase expression in gingival and periodontal tissue destruction in vivo.

Expression of collagenase and potential transcriptional factors in the MRL/l mouse arthropathy

Typical erosions of articular joint structures in rheumatoid arthritis and in the spontaneous destructive hind-limb arthropathy of autoimmune MRL-lpr/lpr (MRL/l) mice occur predominantly in areas contiguous with proliferating synovial lining cells, suggesting release of proteolytic enzymes from these cells. Synovial lining cells were isolated from arthritic MRL/l mice, and the spontaneous expression of the interstitial procollagenase and its potential transcriptional factors, egr-1 and c-fos, was examined in vitro. The data indicate that basal collagenase RNA expression was stronger in MRL/l cells than in virus-transformed cells. Moreover, elevated RNA levels of the c-fos gene could be detected in the collagenase-expressing synovial lining cells in vitro. In a related immunohistochemical study, collagenase was detected in situ in proliferating synovial lining cells as well as in chondrocytes of the first stage of pathological changes in the MRL/l mouse arthropathy.