Changes in collagen stability and folding in lethal perinatal osteogenesis imperfecta. The effect of alpha 1 (I)-chain glycine-to-arginine substitutions

An in vitro model to evaluate the properties of matrices produced by fibroblasts from osteogenesis imperfecta and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome patients

AIM OF THE STUDY

Osteogenesis imperfecta and Ehlers Danlos syndrome are hereditary disorders caused primarily by defective collagen regulation. Osteogenesis imperfecta patients were divided to haploinsufficient and dominant negative depending on the effect of COL1A1 and COL1A2 mutations whereas Ehlers Danlos syndrome patients had a mutation in PLOD1. Although collagen abnormalities have been extensively studied in monolayer cultures, there are no reports about 3D in vitro models which may reflect more accurately the dynamic cell environment. This is the first study presenting the structural and mechanical characterization of a 3D cell-secreted model using primary patient fibroblasts.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fibroblasts from patients with osteogenesis imperfecta and Ehlers Danlos syndrome were cultured with ascorbic acid for 5 weeks. The effect of mutations on cytosolic and secreted collagen was tested by electrophoresis following incubation with radiolabeled ¹⁴C proline. Extracellular matrix was studied in terms of collagen fiber orientation, stiffness, as well as glycosaminoglycan and collagen content.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Osteogenesis imperfecta patients with haploinsufficient mutations had higher percentage of anisotropic collagen fibers alignment compared to other patient groups; all patients had a lower percentage of anisotropic samples compared to healthy controls. This correlated with higher average stiffness in the control group. Glycosaminoglycan content was lower in the control and haploinsufficient groups. In cells with PLOD1 mutations, there were no differences in PLOD2 expression. This proof of concept study was able to show differences in collagen fiber orientation between different patient groups which can potentially pave the way towards the development of 3D models aiming at improved investigation of disease mechanisms.

Mutation analysis and characterization of COL7A1 mutations in dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is inherited in both an autosomal dominant DEB and autosomal recessive manner RDEB, both of which result from mutations in the type VII collagen gene (COL7A1). To date, 324 pathogenic mutations have been detected within COL7A1 in different variants of DEB; many mutations are clustered in exon 73 (10.74%) which is close to the 39 amino acid interruption region. Dominant dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa usually involves glycine substitutions within the triple helix of COL7A1 although other missense mutations, deletions or splice-site mutations may underlie some cases. In recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, the mutations include nonsense, splice site, deletions or insertions, 'silent' glycine substitutions within the triple helix and non-glycine missense mutations within the triple helix or non-collagenous NC-2 domain. The nature of mutations in COL7A1 and their positions correlate reasonably logically with the severity of the resulting phenotypes.

Review of collagen VII sequence variants found in Australasian patients with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa reveals nine novel COL7A1 variants

BACKGROUND

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is an inherited skin fragility disorder where blistering occurs in the sub-lamina densa zone at the level of anchoring fibrils (AFs) of the dermo-epidermal junction. Both autosomal dominant (DDEB) and recessive (RDEB) result from mutations in the type VII collagen gene (COL7A1).

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to understand the genotype-phenotype correlation in Australian patients with DEB.

METHODS

Skin biopsies from patients were processed for immunofluorescence mapping, the COL7A1 gene was screened for sequence variants.

RESULTS

We report 14 Australian families with different forms of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) with 23 different COL7A1 allelic variants, nine of which were novel. Four cases of RDEB-HS combined two premature termination codon (PTC) variants and three other cases of RDEB-HS with combined PTC and spice-site or glycine substitution variants. G2043R, a de novo dominant variant, was also identified in this study. Four "silent" glycine substitutions were found in this study, G2775S, G1673R, G1338V and G2719A. EB17, with combined R2791W and G2210V variants, had a DDEB-Pasini phenotype, in contrast to two family members who had severe DDEB pruriginosa, with the same genotype.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the RDEB variants included nonsense variants, splice site variants, internal deletions or insertions, "silent" glycine substitutions within the triple helix or N or C terminal ends of the triple helix and non-glycine missense variants within the triple helix domain. DDEB usually involves glycine substitutions within the triple helix of COL7A1 although other missense variants or splice-site alterations may underlie some cases.

A 5' splice site mutation affecting the pre-mRNA splicing of two upstream exons in the collagen COL1A1 gene. Exon 8 skipping and altered definition of exon 7 generates truncated pro alpha 1(I) chains with a non-collagenous insertion destabilizing the triple helix

A heterozygous de novo G to A point mutation in intron 8 at the +5 position of the splice donor site of the gene for the pro alpha 1(I) chain of type I procollagen, COL1A1, was defined in a patient with type IV osteogenesis imperfecta. The splice donor site mutation resulted not only in the skipping of the upstream exon 8 but also unexpectedly had the secondary effect of activating a cryptic splice site in the next upstream intron, intron 7, leading to re-definition of the 3' limit of exon 7. These pre-mRNA splicing aberrations cause the deletion of exon 8 sequences from the mature mRNA and the inclusion of 96 bp of intron 7 sequence. Since the mis-splicing of the mutant allele product resulted in the maintenance of the correct codon reading frame, the resultant pro alpha 1(I) chain contained a short non-collagenous 32-amino-acid sequence insertion within the repetitive Gly-Xaa-Yaa collagen sequence motif. At the protein level, the mutant alpha 1(I) chain was revealed by digestion with pepsin, which cleaved the mutant procollagen within the protease-sensitive non-collagenous insertion, producing a truncated alpha 1(I). This protease sensitivity demonstrated the structural distortion to the helical structure caused by the insertion. In long-term culture with ascorbic acid, which stimulates the formation of a mature crosslinked collagen matrix, and in tissues, there was no evidence of the mutant chain, suggesting that during matrix formation the mutant chain was unable to stably incorporated into the matrix and was degraded proteolytically.

Thermal stability and folding of the collagen triple helix and the effects of mutations in osteogenesis imperfecta on the triple helix of type I collagen

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is an inherited disease in which 90% of the cases result from mutations in the 2 genes, pro alpha 1 and pro alpha 2, coding for type I collagen. Type I collagen is a trimeric molecule, (alpha 1)2 alpha 2, which is dominated both structurally and functionally by the 300 nm triple-helical domain. Most OI mutations occur in this domain and almost all point mutations result in the substitution of other amino acids for the obligate glycine which occurs at every third residue. The phenotypic effects of these mutations are frequently attributed in part to alterations in the stability and rate of folding of the triple helix. In order to better understand the relationship between glycine substitutions and stability we review current concepts of the forces governing triple helical stability, denaturational and predenaturational unfolding, and the techniques of measuring stability. From observations on the stability of several collagen types as well as synthetic tripeptides, we present a model for stability based on the contribution of individual and neighboring tripeptide units to the local stability. Although in preliminary form, this empirical model can account for the observed shifts in the Tm of many of the point mutations described. The folding of the triple helix is reviewed. The involvement of peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase in this process in vivo is demonstrated by the inhibition of collagen folding in fibroblasts by cyclosporin A. An hypothesis based on the relationship between the thermal stability at the site of mutation and the propensity for renucleation of folding is proposed.

Nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism studies of a triple-helical peptide with a glycine substitution

The triple-helical conformation has the stringent amino acid sequence constraint that every third residue must be a glycine, (X-Y-Gly)n. We use nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism to quantify the consequences of a substitution in the glycine position of a triple-helical peptide, and to enhance our understanding of interactions in this basic structural motif. A 30-residue peptide with a Gly----Ala change forms a stable trimer at a folding rate somewhat less than that of the unsubstituted peptide, and the substitution results in a marked decrease in thermal stability and a conformational perturbation of about 30% of the triple-helical structure. Two models were generated for this peptide, one with the alanine residues packed inside the triple helix and one with a looping out of the chain at the substitution site. Studies on the Gly----Ala peptide are useful in understanding connective tissue diseases which result from the substitution of one glycine residue in the triple-helix of fibrillar collagens.

NMR and CD studies of triple-helical peptides

Triple-helix formation of the peptide (Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 was monitored by nmr and CD spectroscopy. The two-dimensional nmr spectra indicated that the Gly C alpha H and Pro C delta H proton resonances shift upfield in going from the nonhelical to helical form, while hydroxy-proline resonances are unchanged. The integrated areas of the helical and nonhelical resonances could be monitored in the one-dimensional nmr spectrum, and indicate that in the (Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 about 90% of the residues are in a defined triple-helical conformation. The introduction of a glycine to alanine substitution or the deletion of a single hydroxyproline residue in the stable triple-helical peptide (Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 still allows trimers to be formed, but the trimers show a substantial loss of triple helix and decreased thermal stability compared with (Pro-Hyp-Gly)10. Two computer models were generated for the Gly----Ala peptide, one with the Ala side chains packed inside the helix and the other with the region containing the alanines forming a beta-bend that loops out from the helix. The nmr data is more consistent with the latter model.

Lethal perinatal osteogenesis imperfecta due to a type I collagen alpha 2(I) Gly to Arg substitution detected by chemical cleavage of an mRNA:cDNA sequence mismatch

A single base mismatch was detected by a chemical cleavage method in heteroduplexes formed between patient mRNA and a control collagen alpha 2(I) cDNA probe in a case of osteogenesis imperfecta type II. The region of the mRNA mismatch was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction, cloned and sequenced. A heterozygous point mutation of G to C at base pair 1,774 of the collagen alpha 2(I) mRNA resulted in the substitution of glycine with arginine at amino acid position 457 of the helix. Type I collagen of alpha 1(I)- and alpha 2(I)-chains from the patient migrated slowly on electrophoresis due to increased levels of posttranslational modification of lysine. The parents' fibroblast collagen did not contain the mRNA mismatch and the collagens showed normal electrophoretic behaviour. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of the CNBr peptides from the patient's collagen confirmed the excessive posttranslational modification of the alpha 1(I)- and alpha 2(I)-chains in the CNBr peptides N-terminal to the mutation due to disruption of the obligatory Gly-X-Y triplet repeat of the helix. The mutation led to reduced procollagen secretion and helix destabilization as evidenced by a decreased thermal stability. These data lend further support to the accumulating evidence that type I collagen alpha 2(I) glycine substitution mutations result in the same spectrum of clinical severity as those in the alpha 1(I)-chain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characterization of a type I collagen alpha 2(I) glycine-586 to valine substitution in osteogenesis imperfecta type IV. Detection of the mutation and prenatal diagnosis by a chemical cleavage method

A chemical cleavage method for detecting mismatched bases in heteroduplexes formed between patient mRNA and control cDNA probes was employed to identify a single base mutation in a heterozygous case of osteogenesis imperfecta type IV. The parents' fibroblast mRNA did not contain the mutation. The region of the mRNA mismatch was amplified by using the polymerase chain reaction, cloned and sequenced. A point mutation of G to U at base-pair 2162 of the collagen alpha 2(I) mRNA resulted in the substitution of glycine by valine at amino acid position 586 of the helix. This substitution disrupted the critical Gly-Xaa-Yaa repeating unit of the collagen triple helix and resulted in helix destabilization, as evidenced by a decreased thermal stability. This local disturbance to helix propagation from the C-terminus to the N-terminus led to the overmodification of the collagen helix downstream towards the N-terminus. However, collagen secretion in vitro was normal, and the clinical phenotype probably resulted from the secretion into the extracellular matrix of the mutant collagen combined with a decrease in collagen production to 65% of control values. The rapid detection of the osteogenesis imperfecta mutation by using the chemical cleavage method afforded the opportunity to apply the technique to prenatal diagnosis in the next pregnancy of the mother of the osteogenesis imperfecta patient. The absence of a mismatched base in chorionic villus mRNA and control cDNA heteroduplexes indicated that the foetus did not carry the mutation, which was confirmed by the subsequent delivery of a normal baby.

Age-related changes in collagen synthesis and degradation in rat tissues. Importance of degradation of newly synthesized collagen in regulating collagen production

During developmental growth, collagens are believed to be continuously deposited into an extracellular matrix which is increasingly stabilized by the formation of covalent cross-links throughout life. However, the age-related changes in rates of synthetic and degradative processes are less well understood. In the present study we measured rates of collagen synthesis in vivo using a flooding dose of unlabelled proline given with [14C]proline and determining production of hydroxy[14C]proline. Degradation of newly synthesized collagen was estimated from the amount of free hydroxy [14C]proline in tissues 30 min after injection. Collagen fractional synthesis rates ranged from about 5%/day in skeletal muscle to 20%/day in hearts of rats aged 1 month. At 15 months of age, collagen fractional synthesis rates had decreased markedly in lung and skin, but in skeletal muscle and heart, rates were unchanged. At 24 months of age, synthesis rates had decreased by at least 10-fold in all tissues, compared with rates at 1 month. The proportion of newly synthesized collagen degraded ranged from 6.4 +/- 0.4% in skin to 61.6 +/- 5.0% in heart at 1 month of age. During aging the proportion degraded increased in all tissues to maximal values at 15 months, ranging from 56 +/- 7% in skin to 96 +/- 1% in heart. These data suggest that there are marked age-related changes in rates of collagen metabolism. They also indicate that synthesis is active even in old animals, where the bulk of collagens produced are destined to be degraded.

The clinical features of three babies with osteogenesis imperfecta resulting from the substitution of glycine by arginine in the pro alpha 1(I) chain of type I procollagen

The features of three babies with lethal perinatal osteogenesis imperfecta resulting from the substitution of glycine by arginine in the pro alpha 1(I) chain of type I procollagen were studied. The babies were heterozygous for this substitution at residue 391 in case 1 (0I24), 667 in case 2 (0I51), and 976 in case 3 (0I30). They were all small, term babies who died soon after birth. The ribs were broad and continuously beaded in 0I24, discontinuously beaded in 0I51, and slender with few fractures in 0I30. The overall radiographical classifications were type IIA in 0I24, IIA/IIB in 0I51, and IIB in 0I30. Histological examination confirmed that the long bones were misshapen and porotic. The calcified cartilage trabeculae were covered with an abnormally thin layer of osteoid and the bone trabeculae were thin and basophilic. There was no evidence of lamellar bone or Haversian systems. The osteoblasts remained relatively large and closely spaced. These babies shared many phenotypic features, but differences in the radiographical appearance of the ribs and long bones suggested that there was a gradient of bone modelling capacity from the slender and overmodelled bones in 0I30 to the absence of modelling in 0I24.