Specific glycanforms of type IX collagen accumulate in embryonic chick sterna after 17 days of development

Biodiversity of CS–proteoglycan sulphation motifs: chemical messenger recognition modules with roles in information transfer, control of cellular behaviour and tissue morphogenesis

Chondroitin sulphate (CS) glycosaminoglycan chains on cell and extracellular matrix proteoglycans (PGs) can no longer be regarded as merely hydrodynamic space fillers. Overwhelming evidence over recent years indicates that sulphation motif sequences within the CS chain structure are a source of significant biological information to cells and their surrounding environment. CS sulphation motifs have been shown to interact with a wide variety of bioactive molecules, e.g. cytokines, growth factors, chemokines, morphogenetic proteins, enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, as well as structural components within the extracellular milieu. They are therefore capable of modulating a panoply of signalling pathways, thus controlling diverse cellular behaviours including proliferation, differentiation, migration and matrix synthesis. Consequently, through these motifs, CS PGs play significant roles in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, morphogenesis, development, growth and disease. Here, we review (i) the biodiversity of CS PGs and their sulphation motif sequences and (ii) the current understanding of the signalling roles they play in regulating cellular behaviour during tissue development, growth, disease and repair.

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein interacts with type IX collagen, and disruptions to these interactions identify a pathogenetic mechanism in a bone dysplasia family

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and type IX collagen are key structural components of the cartilage extracellular matrix and have important roles in tissue development and homeostasis. Mutations in the genes encoding these glycoproteins result in two related human bone dysplasias, pseudoachondroplasia and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, which together comprise a "bone dysplasia family." It has been proposed that these diseases have a similar pathophysiology, which is highlighted by the fact that mutations in either the COMP or the type IX collagen genes produce multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, suggesting that their gene products interact. To investigate the interactions between COMP and type IX collagen, we have used rotary shadowing electron microscopy and real time biomolecular (BIAcore) analysis. Analysis of COMP-type IX collagen complexes demonstrated that COMP interacts with type IX collagen through the noncollagenous domains of type IX collagen and the C-terminal domain of COMP. Furthermore, peptide mapping identified a putative collagen-binding site that is associated with known human mutations. These data provide evidence that disruptions to COMP-type IX collagen interactions define a pathogenetic mechanism in a bone dysplasia family.