In spite of the major structural and signaling roles of collagen in the extracellular matrix, and its involvement in many diseases, there are gaps in our understanding of basic triple-helix features and how they are affected by pathogenic mutations. The absence of an accessible recombinant collagen system limits mutagenesis-based exploration of structure, biologically active sites, pathogenic mutations, and drug screening. At this time, no small molecule drugs are known to bind to collagen for clinical applications. The long-term goals of this work are to establish a recombinant system to produce collagen-based scaffolds for tissue engineering and to discover drugs that will interact with collagen to inhibit pathogenic processes.
Aim #1 proposes to acquire fundamental knowledge about charged pair interactions and triple-helix bending. Motivated by the high content of charged residues and their involvement at every level of collagen function, a combined experimental and computational approach will define intra vs. interchain contributions and compare transposed charged pairs. Data suggest triple-helical molecules do not always have a linear structure, and a recently developed integrated solution structure approach, using x-ray scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation and constrained modeling, will be applied to define bending of the triple-helix and its sequence dependence. The objective of Aim #2 is to markedly improve an existing recombinant bacterial collagen system as a model for human collagen by introducing appropriate proline hydroxylation and by establishing the capacity to form heterotrimers using a coiled coil domain for chain selection. The structural and biological effectiveness of these enhancements will be tested by inserting within the bacterial collagen domain a human collagen platelet binding site requiring hydroxylation for platelet aggregation activity and a collagenase cleavage site requiring heterotrimers for activity.
Aim #3 is directed towards elucidating the mechanism through which Gly missense mutations in collagen lead to hereditable connective tissue disorders. The misfolding of mutant collagens appears to lead to degradation, through endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, UPR or autophagy, while mutation interference with collagen binding to cell receptors may represent an alternate mechanism in select cases. The direct effect of Gly missense mutations on triple-helix folding and on integrin binding will be determined on a bacterial system, and the detailed structural effects defined in model peptides, providing quantitative data to clarify the disease mechanism. The proposed research is significant because it will move the field forward in terms of foundational knowledge about basic triple-helix properties and will provide tools for finding drugs that can correct collagen defects. The innovative establishment of a recombinant collagen system with the capacity for hydroxylation of proline and heterotrimer formation creates a substantive new capacity to model and modify biologically important sites from human collagens and is well suited for initial screening of small molecules that can accelerate collagen folding, promote receptor binding, or inhibit degradation.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research is relevant to public health because of the key role of collagen in many common diseases, in addition to the hereditary connective tissue disorders due directly to mutations in collagen. Fundamental knowledge about the collagen triple-helix structure, the effect of collagen mutations on folding and binding, and the development of a recombinant collagen system will promote discovery of drugs and advance efforts in tissue regeneration.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01GM060048-33A1
Application #
8435243
Study Section
Macromolecular Structure and Function B Study Section (MSFB)
Program Officer
Wehrle, Janna P
Project Start
1977-03-01
Project End
2017-03-31
Budget Start
2013-07-01
Budget End
2014-03-31
Support Year
33
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$345,229
Indirect Cost
$108,432
Name
Tufts University
Department
Engineering (All Types)
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
073134835
City
Medford
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02155
Qiu, Yimin; Mekkat, Arya; Yu, Hongtao et al. (2018) Collagen Gly missense mutations: Effect of residue identity on collagen structure and integrin binding. J Struct Biol 203:255-262
Mekkat, Arya; Poppleton, Erik; An, Bo et al. (2018) Effects of flexibility of the ?2 chain of type I collagen on collagenase cleavage. J Struct Biol 203:247-254
Marcink, Tara C; Simoncic, Jayce A; An, Bo et al. (2018) MT1-MMP Binds Membranes by Opposite Tips of Its ? Propeller to Position It for Pericellular Proteolysis. Structure :
Qiu, Yimin; Poppleton, Erik; Mekkat, Arya et al. (2018) Enzymatic Phosphorylation of Ser in a Type I Collagen Peptide. Biophys J 115:2327-2335
Brodsky, Barbara; Ramshaw, John A M (2017) Bioengineered Collagens. Subcell Biochem 82:601-629
Walker, Kenneth T; Nan, Ruodan; Wright, David W et al. (2017) Non-linearity of the collagen triple helix in solution and implications for collagen function. Biochem J 474:2203-2217
An, Bo; Brodsky, Barbara (2016) Collagen binding to OSCAR: the odd couple. Blood 127:521-2
Yigit, Sezin; Yu, Hongtao; An, Bo et al. (2016) Mapping the Effect of Gly Mutations in Collagen on ?2?1 Integrin Binding. J Biol Chem 291:19196-207
An, Bo; Lin, Yu-Shan; Brodsky, Barbara (2016) Collagen interactions: Drug design and delivery. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 97:69-84
An, Bo; Abbonante, Vittorio; Xu, Huifang et al. (2016) Recombinant Collagen Engineered to Bind to Discoidin Domain Receptor Functions as a Receptor Inhibitor. J Biol Chem 291:4343-55

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