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Developmentally regulated expression of matrix metalloproteinases during fetal rat colon morphogenesis
Author(s) -
Kurakata Hidenori,
Oka Masashi,
Matsubara Yasuo,
Niwa Tohru,
Utsunomiya Hirotoshi,
Fujishiro Mitsuhiro,
Miki Kazumasa,
Fukamachi Hiroshi,
Kubota Syunichiro,
Ichinose Masao
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
development, growth and differentiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.864
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1440-169X
pISSN - 0012-1592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-169x.2007.00971.x
Subject(s) - matrix metalloproteinase , gelatinase , morphogenesis , gelatinase a , gelatinases , extracellular matrix , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase , mesenchymal stem cell , chemistry , biochemistry , gene
To investigate the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) during gastrointestinal tract development, the expression of gelatinases (MMP‐2 and MMP‐9) was investigated during fetal rat colon morphogenesis. Fetal rat colons were separated into epithelial and mesenchymal fractions without cross contamination using a chelating agent and a dissecting microscope. Gelatinase activity measured using fluorescently labeled gelatin was higher in the mesenchymal than in the epithelial fraction; the developmental profile revealed that, in both fractions, gelatinase activity was enhanced during colon morphogenesis. During colonic gland formation, there was prominent MMP‐2 activity, elevated MMP‐2 mRNA expression, and an increase in the level of the active form of MMP‐2 in the mesenchymal fraction. The mRNA expression of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 corresponded with an elevation in the level of the active form of MMP‐2; the mRNA expression of the cell surface activator of MMP‐2, membrane type matrix metalloproteinase 1, did not increase significantly. MMP‐9 activity was low; only the pro‐form was observed in the epithelial fraction at the end of fetal life. These results suggest that, during colon morphogenesis, MMP activity is under strict spatio‐temporal control, and that the activity of MMP‐2, which is regulated at both the transcriptional and proteolytic activation levels, is very much involved in rat colon morphogenesis.