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Aubert A, Jung K, Hiroyasu S, Pardo J, Granville DJ. Granzyme serine proteases in inflammation and rheumatic diseases. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2024; 20:361-376. [PMID: 38689140 DOI: 10.1038/s41584-024-01109-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Granzymes (granule-secreted enzymes) are a family of serine proteases that have been viewed as redundant cytotoxic enzymes since their discovery more than 30 years ago. Predominantly produced by cytotoxic lymphocytes and natural killer cells, granzymes are delivered into the cytoplasm of target cells through immunological synapses in cooperation with the pore-forming protein perforin. After internalization, granzymes can initiate cell death through the cleavage of intracellular substrates. However, evidence now also demonstrates the existence of non-cytotoxic, pro-inflammatory, intracellular and extracellular functions that are granzyme specific. Under pathological conditions, granzymes can be produced and secreted extracellularly by immune cells as well as by non-immune cells. Depending on the granzyme, accumulation in the extracellular milieu might contribute to inflammation, tissue injury, impaired wound healing, barrier dysfunction, osteoclastogenesis and/or autoantigen generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Aubert
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) Centre; British Columbia Professional Firefighters' Burn and Wound Healing Group, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Karen Jung
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) Centre; British Columbia Professional Firefighters' Burn and Wound Healing Group, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sho Hiroyasu
- Department of Dermatology, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan
| | - Julian Pardo
- Fundación Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón), Biomedical Research Centre of Aragon (CIBA); Department of Microbiology, Radiology, Paediatrics and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - David J Granville
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) Centre; British Columbia Professional Firefighters' Burn and Wound Healing Group, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Providence Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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Jonsson AH. Granzyme K + CD8 T cells in autoimmunity. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2024:101930. [PMID: 38307763 DOI: 10.1016/j.berh.2024.101930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
CD8 T cells expressing granzyme K are enriched in synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in tissues affected by several other autoimmune diseases. The roles these cells play in autoimmune disease is under active investigation, and several recent studies have begun to shed light on this question. Putting this cell type into functional perspective is especially important given their enrichment at the sites of disease. This review summarizes available evidence for the presence of CD8 T cells and other granzyme K-expressing cells in tissues in autoimmune diseases and discusses the effects these cells may have on the pathogenesis of autoimmune conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Helena Jonsson
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
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Valentini P, Akula S, Alvarado-Vazquez A, Hallgren J, Fu Z, Racicot B, Braasch I, Thorpe M, Hellman L. Extended Cleavage Specificity of two Hematopoietic Serine Proteases from a Ray-Finned Fish, the Spotted Gar ( Lepisosteus oculatus). Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1669. [PMID: 38338947 PMCID: PMC10855939 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The extended cleavage specificities of two hematopoietic serine proteases originating from the ray-finned fish, the spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), have been characterized using substrate phage display. The preference for particular amino acids at and surrounding the cleavage site was further validated using a panel of recombinant substrates. For one of the enzymes, the gar granzyme G, a strict preference for the aromatic amino acid Tyr was observed at the cleavable P1 position. Using a set of recombinant substrates showed that the gar granzyme G had a high selectivity for Tyr but a lower activity for cleaving after Phe but not after Trp. Instead, the second enzyme, gar DDN1, showed a high preference for Leu in the P1 position of substrates. This latter enzyme also showed a high preference for Pro in the P2 position and Arg in both P4 and P5 positions. The selectivity for the two Arg residues in positions P4 and P5 suggests a highly specific substrate selectivity of this enzyme. The screening of the gar proteome with the consensus sequences obtained by substrate phage display for these two proteases resulted in a very diverse set of potential targets. Due to this diversity, a clear candidate for a specific immune function of these two enzymes cannot yet be identified. Antisera developed against the recombinant gar enzymes were used to study their tissue distribution. Tissue sections from juvenile fish showed the expression of both proteases in cells in Peyer's patch-like structures in the intestinal region, indicating they may be expressed in T or NK cells. However, due to the lack of antibodies to specific surface markers in the gar, it has not been possible to specify the exact cellular origin. A marked difference in abundance was observed for the two proteases where gar DDN1 was expressed at higher levels than gar granzyme G. However, both appear to be expressed in the same or similar cells, having a lymphocyte-like appearance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Valentini
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 596, SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden; (P.V.); (S.A.); (Z.F.); (M.T.)
| | - Srinivas Akula
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 596, SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden; (P.V.); (S.A.); (Z.F.); (M.T.)
| | - Abigail Alvarado-Vazquez
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University Biomedical Centre (BMC), P.O. Box 582, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.-V.); (J.H.)
| | - Jenny Hallgren
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University Biomedical Centre (BMC), P.O. Box 582, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.-V.); (J.H.)
| | - Zhirong Fu
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 596, SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden; (P.V.); (S.A.); (Z.F.); (M.T.)
| | - Brett Racicot
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48825, USA; (B.R.); (I.B.)
| | - Ingo Braasch
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48825, USA; (B.R.); (I.B.)
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48825, USA
| | - Michael Thorpe
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 596, SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden; (P.V.); (S.A.); (Z.F.); (M.T.)
| | - Lars Hellman
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 596, SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden; (P.V.); (S.A.); (Z.F.); (M.T.)
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Aybay E, Elkhalifa M, Akula S, Wernersson S, Hellman L. Two granzyme A/K homologs in Zebra mbuna have different specificities, one classical tryptase and one with chymase activity. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 148:104920. [PMID: 37597699 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2023.104920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
Granzymes A and K are two highly homologous serine proteases expressed by mammalian cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) and natural killer (NK) cells. The locus encoding these two proteases is the first of the hematopoietic serine protease loci to appear during vertebrate evolution. This locus is found in all jawed vertebrates including the cartilaginous fishes. Granzyme A is the most abundant of the different granzymes expressed by CTLs and NK cells and its potential function has been studied extensively for many years. However, no clear conclusions concerning its primary role in the immune defense has been obtained. In all mammals, there are only one copy each of granzyme A and K, whereas additional copies are found in both cartilaginous and ray finned fishes. In cichlids two of these copies seem to encode new members of the granzyme A/K family. These two new members appear to have changed primary specificity and to be pure chymases based on the amino acids in their active site substrate binding pockets. Interestingly, one of these gene copies is located in the middle of the granzyme A/K locus, while the other copy is present in another locus, the met-ase locus. We here present a detailed characterization of the extended cleavage specificity of one of these non-classical granzymes, a Zebra mbuna granzyme positioned in the granzyme A/K locus. This enzyme, named granzyme A2, showed a high preference for tyrosine in the P1 position of substrates, thereby being a strict chymase. We have also characterized one of the classical granzyme A/Ks of the Zebra mbuna, granzyme A1, which is a tryptase with preference for arginine in the P1 position of substrates. Based on their extended specificities, the two granzymes showed major similarities, but also some differences in preferred amino acids in positions surrounding the cleavable amino acid. Fish lack one of the hematopoietic serine protease loci of mammals, the chymase locus, where one of the major mast cell enzymes is located. An interesting question is now if cichlids have by compensatory mechanisms generated a mast cell chymase from another locus, and if similar chymotryptic enzymes have appeared also in other fish species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erdem Aybay
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, The Biomedical Center, Box 596, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mamoun Elkhalifa
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, The Biomedical Center, Box 596, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Srinivas Akula
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, The Biomedical Center, Box 596, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7011, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sara Wernersson
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7011, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lars Hellman
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, The Biomedical Center, Box 596, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden.
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