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Mapping and characterization of the functional epitopes of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)‐3 using TIMP‐1 as the scaffold: A new frontier in TIMP engineering
Author(s) -
Lee MengHuee,
Maskos Klaus,
Knäuper Vera,
Dodds Philippa,
Murphy Gillian
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
protein science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.353
H-Index - 175
eISSN - 1469-896X
pISSN - 0961-8368
DOI - 10.1110/ps.0216202
Subject(s) - epitope , matrix metalloproteinase , proinflammatory cytokine , chemistry , cytokine , tumor necrosis factor alpha , epitope mapping , rheumatoid arthritis , mutagenesis , scaffold , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , computational biology , biology , immunology , mutation , inflammation , medicine , biochemistry , antibody , gene , biomedical engineering
Tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) converting enzyme (TACE/ADAM‐17) is responsible for the release of TNF‐α, a potent proinflammatory cytokine associated with many chronic debilitating diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Among the four variants of mammalian tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP‐1 to ‐4), TACE is specifically inhibited by TIMP‐3. We set out to delineate the basis for this specificity by examining the solvent accessibility of every epitope on the surface of a model of the truncated N‐terminal domain form of TIMP‐3 (N‐TIMP‐3) in a hypothetical complex with the crystal structure of TACE. The epitopes suspected of interacting with TACE were systematically transplanted onto N‐TIMP‐1. We succeeded in transforming N‐TIMP‐1 into an active inhibitor for TACE (K i app 15 nM) with the incorporation of Ser4, Leu67, Arg84, and the TIMP‐3 AB‐loop. The combined effects of these epitopes are additive. Unexpectedly, introduction of “super‐N‐TIMP‐3” epitopes, defined in our previous work, only impaired the affinity of N‐TIMP‐1 for TACE. Our mutagenesis results indicate that TIMP‐3‐TACE interaction is a delicate process that requires highly refined surface topography and flexibility from both parties. Most importantly, our findings confirm that the individual characteristics of TIMP could be transplanted from one variant to another.