Tension in fibrils suppresses their enzymatic degradation - A molecular mechanism for 'use it or lose it'.

Tension in fibrils suppresses their enzymatic degradation - A molecular mechanism for 'use it or lose it'. Matrix Biol. 2019 Jun 12;: Authors: Saini K, Cho S, Dooling LJ, Discher DE Abstract Tissue homeostasis depends on a balance of synthesis and degradation of constituent proteins, with use of a given protein potentially regulating its turnover. Extracellular matrix (ECM) is predominantly composed of fibrillar collagens that exhibit tension-sensitive degradation, which we review here at different levels of hierarchy. Past experiments and recent proteomics measurements together suggest that mechanical strain stabilizes collagen against enzymatic degradation at the scale of tissues and fibrils whereas isolated collagen molecules exhibit a biphasic behavior that depends on load magnitude. Within a Michaelis-Menten framework, collagenases at constant concentration effectively exhibit a low activity on substrate fibrils when the fibrils are strained by tension. Mechanisms of such mechanosensitive regulation are surveyed together with relevant interactions of collagen fibrils with cells. PMID: 31201857 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Matrix Biology - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Matrix Biol Source Type: research