Targeting Iron - Respiratory Reciprocity Promotes Bacterial Death

Discovering new bacterial signaling pathways offers unique antibiotic strategies. Here, through an unbiased resistance screen of 3,884 gene knockout strains, we uncovered a previously unknown non-lytic bactericidal mechanism that sequentially couples three transporters and downstream transcription to lethally suppress respiration of the highly virulent P. aeruginosa strain PA14 - one of three species on the WHO's 'Priority 1: Critical' list. By targeting outer membrane YaiW, cationic lacritin peptide 'N-104' translocates into the periplasm where it ligates outer loops 4 and 2 of the inner membrane transporters FeoB and PotH, respectively, to suppress both ferrous iron and polyamine uptake. This broadly shuts down transcription of many biofilm-associated genes, including ferrous iron-dependent TauD and ExbB1. The mechanism is innate to the surface of the eye and is enhanced by synergistic coupling with thrombin peptide GKY20. This is the first example of an inhibitor of multiple bacterial transporters.

AUTOPHAGY IN THE EYE: FROM PHYSIOLOGY TO PATHOPHYSOLOGY

Autophagy is a catabolic self-degradative pathway that promotes the degradation and recycling of intracellular material through the lysosomal compartment. Although first believed to function in conditions of nutritional stress, autophagy is emerging as a critical cellular pathway, involved in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes. Autophagy dysregulation is associated with an increasing number of diseases, including ocular diseases. On one hand, mutations in autophagy-related genes have been linked to cataracts, glaucoma, and corneal dystrophy; on the other hand, alterations in autophagy and lysosomal pathways are a common finding in essentially all diseases of the eye. Moreover, LC3-associated phagocytosis, a form of non-canonical autophagy, is critical in promoting visual cycle function. This review collects the latest understanding of autophagy in the context of the eye. We will review and discuss the respective roles of autophagy in the physiology and/or pathophysiology of each of the ocular tissues, its diurnal/circadian variation, as well as its involvement in diseases of the eye.

Autophagy in the normal and diseased cornea

The cornea and covering tear film are together the 'objective lens' of the eye through which 80% of light is refracted. Despite exposure to a physically harsh and at times infectious or toxic environment, transparency essential for sight is in most cases maintained. Such resiliency makes the avascular cornea a superb model for the exploration of autophagy in the regulation of homeostasis with relevancy to all organs. Nonetheless, missense mutations and inflammation respectively clog or apparently overwhelm autophagic flux to create dystrophies much like in neurodegenerative diseases or further exacerbate inflammation. Here there is opportunity to generate novel topical therapies towards the restoration of homeostasis with potential broad application.

Lacritin proteoforms prevent tear film collapse and maintain epithelial homeostasis

Lipids in complex, protein-enriched films at air/liquid interfaces reduce surface tension. In the absence of this benefit, the light refracting and immunoprotective tear film on eyes would collapse. Premature collapse, coupled with chronic inflammation compromising visual acuity, is a hallmark of dry eye disease affecting 7 to 10% of individuals worldwide. Although collapse seems independent of mutation (unlike newborn lung alveoli), selective proteome and possible lipidome changes have been noted. These include elevated tissue transglutaminase and consequent inactivation through C-terminal cross-linking of the tear mitogen lacritin, leading to significant loss of lacritin monomer. Lacritin monomer restores homeostasis via autophagy and mitochondrial fusion and promotes basal tearing. Here, we discover that lacritin monomer C-terminal processing, inclusive of cysteine, serine, and metalloproteinase activity, generates cationic amphipathic α-helical proteoforms. Such proteoforms (using synthetic peptide surrogates) act like alveolar surfactant proteins to rapidly bind and stabilize the tear lipid layer. Immunodepletion of C- but not N-terminal proteoforms nor intact lacritin, from normal human tears promotes loss of stability akin to human dry eye tears. Stability of these and dry eye tears is rescuable with C- but not N-terminal proteoforms. Repeated topical application in rabbits reveals a proteoform turnover time of 7 to 33 h with gradual loss from human tear lipid that retains bioactivity without further processing. Thus, the processed C-terminus of lacritin that is deficient or absent in dry eye tears appears to play a key role in preventing tear film collapse and as a natural slow release mechanism that restores epithelial homeostasis.

Development of a Quantitative Immunoassay for Tear Lacritin Proteoforms

Purpose

Lacritin is a tear glycoprotein with pro-tearing and pro-ocular surface homeostasis activities that is selectively deficient in most dry eye tears. Proteoforms include an active monomer, inactive polymers, and a splice variant termed lacritin-c. Quantitation of the different proteoforms of tear lacritin may provide a diagnostic tool for ocular diseases. Here, we report the development of an immunoassay for the quantification of multiple lacritin proteoforms in human tear samples.

Methods

Basal tears collected on Schirmer test strips with anesthesia were eluted by diffusion and centrifugation under optimized conditions. Tear protein concentrations were determined, and 2.56 µg of each sample was separated by SDS-PAGE followed by western blot analysis. Blots were challenged with anti-Pep Lac N-term antibodies. Detection was with fluorescent secondary antibodies visualized by the LI-COR Odyssey CLx imaging system and quantified with standard curves of recombinant lacritin.

Results

The percent total lacritin (ng lacritin/100 ng total protein) ranged from 1.8% to 14.8%. Monomer, lacritin-c, and polymer proteoform percent total protein ranged from 1.1% to 6.3%, 0.3% to 5.4%, and 0.7% to 5.7%, respectively. Monomer lacritin was detected at concentrations of 6 to 176 µM, with lacritin-c and polymer proteoforms at 2 to 46 µM and 1 to 23 µM, respectively.

Conclusions

This assay greatly exceeds the power and sensitivity of our prior lacritin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that was not capable of distinguishing monomer from polymers and lacritin-c proteoforms.

Translational Relevance

A new method has been developed to quantitate multiple proteoforms of tear lacritin in preparation for analyses of samples from clinical trials.

The Lacritin-Syndecan-1-Heparanase Axis in Dry Eye Disease

Homeostasis and visual acuity of the surface of the eye are dependent on tears, a thin film comprising at least 1800 different extracellular proteins and numerous species of lipids through which 80% of entering light is refracted at the air interface. Loss of homeostasis in dry eye disease affects 5-7% of the world's population, yet little is known about key molecular players. Our story began as an unbiased screen for regulators of tearing that led to the discovery of homeostasis-restorative 'lacritin', a tear protein whose active form is selectively deficient in dry eye. Heparanase acts as a novel 'on-switch' for lacritin ligation of syndecan-1 necessary to trigger basal tearing, as well as pertussis toxin-sensitive and FOXO-dependent signaling pathways for healing of inflammation-damaged epithelia and restoring epithelial oxidative phosphorylation by mitochondrial fusion downstream of transiently accelerated autophagy. A phase 2 clinical trial has tested the applicability of this mechanism to the resolution of dry eye disease. Results are not yet available. With lacritin proteoforms detected in cerebral spinal fluid, plasma, and urine, the capacity of the lacritin-syndecan-1-heparanase axis to restore homeostasis might have wide systemic relevance to other organs.

Thermally-Responsive Loading and Release of Elastin-Like Polypeptides from Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are widely prescribed for vision correction, and as such they are an attractive platform for drug delivery to the anterior segment of the eye. This manuscript explores a novel strategy to drive the reversible adsorption of peptide-based therapeutics using commercially available contact lenses. To accomplish this, thermo-sensitive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) alone or tagged with a candidate ocular therapeutic were characterized. For the first time, this manuscript demonstrates that Proclear Compatibles^TM contact lenses are a suitable platform for ELP adsorption. Two rhodamine-labelled ELPs, V96 (thermo-sensitive) and S96 (thermo-insensitive), were employed to test temperature-dependent association to the contact lenses. During long-term release into solution, ELP coacervation significantly modulated the release profile whereby more than 80% of loaded V96 retained with a terminal half-life of ~4 months, which was only 1–4 days under solubilizing conditions. A selected ocular therapeutic candidate lacritin-V96 fusion (LV96), either free or lens-bound LV96, was successfully transferred to HCE-T cells. These data suggest that ELPs may be useful to control loading or release from certain formulations of contact lenses and present a potential for this platform to deliver a biologically active peptide to the ocular surface via contact lenses.

Development of lacrimal gland inflammation in the mouse model of herpes stromal keratitis

Herpes stromal keratitis (HSK) is a chronic immunoinflammatory condition which develops in response to recurrent herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection of the cornea. Patients with HSK often demonstrate the concurrence of corneal desiccation and the loss of blink reflex. However, the relationship between severity of HSK, level of basal tears and inflammation of the lacrimal gland is mostly unexplored. In this study, we compared these variables in extraorbital lacrimal gland (EoLG) after corneal HSV-1 infection in the C57BL/6J mouse model. Our results showed a significant reduction in the volume of tears in infected eyes during the development of HSK. Extensive architectural damage to EoLG, presumably caused by a massive influx of interferon-gamma secreting T cells, was observed during clinical disease period of HSK. A positive correlation between the decrease in tear volume, severity of HSK and the damage to EoLG were evident in infected mice. The presence of infectious virus measured in EoLG during pre-clinical, but not clinical disease period of HSK, suggested that viral cytopathic effects are not the major contributors of extensive damage seen in EoLG. Furthermore, topical administration of lacritin peptide delayed but did not prevent the decrease in tears in HSV-1 infected mice, and had no significant effect in either reducing the severity of HSK or T cell infiltration in EoLG of infected mice. Together, our results showed an interplay between the severity of HSK, inflammation of EoLG, and the reduced level of tears after corneal HSV-1 infection.

A thermo-responsive protein treatment for dry eyes

Millions of Americans suffer from dry eye disease, and there are few effective therapies capable of treating these patients. A decade ago, an abundant protein component of human tears was discovered and named lacritin (Lacrt). Lacrt has prosecretory activity in the lacrimal gland and mitogenic activity at the corneal epithelium. Similar to other proteins placed on the ocular surface, the durability of its effect is limited by rapid tear turnover. Motivated by the rationale that a thermo-responsive coacervate containing Lacrt would have better retention upon administration, we have constructed and tested the activity of a thermo-responsive Lacrt fused to an elastin-like polypeptide (ELP). Inspired from the human tropoelastin protein, ELP protein polymers reversibly phase separate into viscous coacervates above a tunable transition temperature. This fusion construct exhibited the prosecretory function of native Lacrt as illustrated by its ability to stimulate β-hexosaminidase secretion from primary rabbit lacrimal gland acinar cells. It also increased tear secretion from non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, a model of autoimmune dacryoadenitis, when administered via intra-lacrimal injection. Lacrt ELP fusion proteins undergo temperature-mediated assembly to form a depot inside the lacrimal gland. We propose that these Lacrt ELP fusion proteins represent a potential therapy for dry eye disease and the strategy of ELP-mediated phase separation may have applicability to other diseases of the ocular surface.

Topical administration of lacritin is a novel therapy for aqueous-deficient dry eye disease

PURPOSE

Lacritin is a tear glycoprotein with prosecretory, prosurvival, and mitogenic properties. We examined lacritin levels in the tears of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients and explored the therapeutic potential of topical lacritin for the treatment of keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

METHODS

Tears from healthy controls (n = 14) and SS patients (n = 15) were assayed for lacritin using a C-terminal antibody. In a paired-eye study, autoimmune regulator (Aire) knockout (KO) mice (n = 7) were treated three times daily for 21 days with 10 μL of 4 μM lacritin (left eye) or vehicle (PBS) control (right eye). Tear secretion and ocular surface integrity were assessed at baseline and after treatment. Immunohistochemical staining of CD4+ T cells, cytokeratin-10 (K10), and cytokeratin-12 (K12) expression in the cornea and CD4+ T cell infiltration in the lacrimal glands were assessed.

RESULTS

Lacritin monomer (421.8 ± 65.3 ng [SS] vs. 655.8 ± 118.9 ng [controls]; P = 0.05) and C-terminal fragment protein (125 ± 34.1 ng [SS] vs. 399.5 ± 84.3 ng [controls]; P = 0.008) per 100 μL of tear eluate were significantly lower in SS patients. In Aire KO mice treated with lacritin, tear secretion increased by 46% (13.0 ± 3.5 mm vs. 8.9 ± 2.9 mm; P = 0.01) and lissamine green staining score significantly decreased relative to baseline (-0.417 ± 0.06 vs. 0.125 ± 0.07; P = 0.02). Expression of K10 but not K12 in the cornea was significantly decreased in lacritin-treated eyes. Focal CD4+ T cell infiltration of the lacrimal glands was significantly reduced on the lacritin-treated side versus the untreated side.

CONCLUSIONS

Lacritin is significantly reduced in the tears of SS patients. Topically administered lacritin has therapeutic potential for the treatment of aqueous-deficient dry eye disease.

A cleavage-potentiated fragment of tear lacritin is bactericidal

Antimicrobial peptides are important as the first line of innate defense, through their tendency to disrupt bacterial membranes or intracellular pathways and potentially as the next generation of antibiotics. How they protect wet epithelia is not entirely clear, with most individually inactive under physiological conditions and many preferentially targeting Gram-positive bacteria. Tears covering the surface of the eye are bactericidal for Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. Here we narrow much of the bactericidal activity to a latent C-terminal fragment in the prosecretory mitogen lacritin and report that the mechanism combines membrane permeabilization with rapid metabolic changes, including reduced levels of dephosphocoenzyme A, spermidine, putrescine, and phosphatidylethanolamines and elevated alanine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, proline, glycine, lysine, serine, glutamate, cadaverine, and pyrophosphate. Thus, death by metabolic stress parallels cellular attempts to survive. Cleavage-dependent appearance of the C-terminal cationic amphipathic α-helix is inducible within hours by Staphylococcus epidermidis and slowly by another mechanism, in a chymotrypsin- or leupeptin protease-inhibitable manner. Although bactericidal at low micromolar levels, within a biphasic 1-10 nM dose optimum, the same domain is mitogenic and cytoprotective for epithelia via a syndecan-1 targeting mechanism dependent on heparanase. Thus, the C terminus of lacritin is multifunctional by dose and proteolytic processing and appears to play a key role in the innate protection of the eye, with wider potential benefit elsewhere as lacritin flows from exocrine secretory cells.

Cytoprotective effect of lacritin on human corneal epithelial cells exposed to benzalkonium chloride in vitro

PURPOSE

Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) is the most commonly found preservative in eye drops, and has been shown to cause ocular surface inflammation and toxicity. Lacritin is a human tear glycoprotein secreted from the lacrimal glands that has been found to be cytoprotective. This study was designed to determine if the presence of lacritin confers protection to a cultured human corneal epithelial (HCE) cell line, CRL-11515, and primary HCE cells after exposure to the ocular preservative agent BAK.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Recombinant human lacritin was cloned into intein fusion vectors, expressed in E. coli, and purified on chitin beads and DEAE Sepharose. Metabolic curves were established using the MTT assay after exposure of sub-confluent CRL-11515 cells to BAK or lacritin. Western blot analysis of lipidated LC3 (LC3-II) provided a measure of autophagy in CRL-11515 cells exposed to lacritin and/or BAK.

RESULTS

BAK reduced CRL-11515 cellular metabolic activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner. BAK-induced cellular stress was evident by elevated autophagy that increased with rising concentrations of BAK compared to control (p < 0.05). Lacritin increased HCE cell proliferation at an optimal dose of 1 nM. Preconditioning HCE cells with 1 nM lacritin for 24 h prior to BAK exposure significantly dampened levels of LC3-II (p < 0.05) and promoted a significant increase in cellular metabolic activity (p < 0.01) compared to BAK alone.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest lacritin protects cultured HCE cells stressed with BAK. Lacritin may have the potential to be used as a topical adjunctive therapy in eyes chronically exposed to BAK.

Lacritin rescues stressed epithelia via rapid forkhead box O3 (FOXO3)-associated autophagy that restores metabolism

Homeostasis is essential for cell survival. However, homeostatic regulation of surface epithelia is poorly understood. The eye surface, lacking the cornified barrier of skin, provides an excellent model. Tears cover the surface of the eye and are deficient in dry eye, the most common eye disease affecting at least 5% of the world's population. Only a tiny fraction of the tear proteome appears to be affected, including lacritin, an epithelium-selective mitogen that promotes basal tearing when topically applied to rabbit eyes. Here we show that homeostasis of cultured corneal epithelia is entirely lacritin-dependent and elucidate the mechanism as a rapid autophagic flux to promptly restore cellular metabolism and mitochondrial fusion in keeping with the short residence time of lacritin on the eye. Accelerated flux appears to be derived from lacritin-stimulated acetylation of FOXO3 as a novel ligand for ATG101 and coupling of stress-acetylated FOXO1 with ATG7 (which remains uncoupled without lacritin) and be sufficient to selectively divert huntingtin mutant Htt103Q aggregates largely without affecting non-aggregated Htt25Q. This is in keeping with stress as a prerequisite for lacritin-stimulated autophagy. Lacritin targets the cell surface proteoglycan syndecan-1 via its C-terminal amino acids Leu(108)-Leu(109)-Phe(112) and is also available in saliva, plasma, and lung lavage. Thus, lacritin may promote epithelial homeostasis widely.

Conserved regional 3' grouping of rare codons in the coding sequence of ocular prosecretory mitogen lacritin

PURPOSE

Lacritin is a prosecretory mitogen in tears and, although a tear protein, it promotes basal tearing and lacrimal gland secretion. Since scale up is relevant to its potential use in the treatment of dry eye, we explored various mutagenic strategies to alter the stability, solubility, and translational efficiency of nascent lacritin, and discovered 3' clustering of rare human codons.

METHODS

Site-directed mutagenesis of lacritin coding cDNA "pLAC" generated 24 different nonsynonymous and 13 synonymous mutations. Nonsynonymous mutations altered amino acids with nonpolar, basic or acidic side chains to serine. Synonymous mutation progressively optimized human codons that are rare or uncommon in Escherichia coli without changing the amino acid specified. These changes were validated by sequencing and protein production, and analyzed via the "rare codon calculator" (RCC). Nonhuman primate and nonprimate lacritin coding sequences were extracted from Ensembl, and analyzed via RCC using codon usage appropriate for each species.

RESULTS

Superior yields were obtained by modification of individual hydrophobic residues or a predicted salt bridge, suggesting that production was limited by lacritin stability. Accordingly, elimination of rare codons increased yields less effectively. Importantly, RCC analysis of human, nonhuman primate (mouse lemur) and nonprimate (cat, tree shrew) lacritin coding sequences revealed remarkable 3' clustering of rare codons, unlike human lipocalin-1 and 21 other widely expressed human tear genes.

CONCLUSIONS

Lacritin protein yields were improved primarily by hydrophobic or salt bridge mutagenesis and less so by elimination of rare codons. The 3' clustering of rare codons is conserved in all lacritin orthologs examined.

Targeting of heparanase-modified syndecan-1 by prosecretory mitogen lacritin requires conserved core GAGAL plus heparan and chondroitin sulfate as a novel hybrid binding site that enhances selectivity

Cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans shape organogenesis and homeostasis by capture and release of morphogens through mechanisms largely thought to exclude the core protein domain. Nevertheless, heparanase deglycanation of the N-terminal HS-rich domain of syndecan-1 (SDC1), but not SDC2 or -4, is a prerequisite for binding of the prosecretory mitogen lacritin (Ma, P., Beck, S. L., Raab, R. W., McKown, R. L., Coffman, G. L., Utani, A., Chirico, W. J., Rapraeger, A. C., and Laurie, G. W. (2006) Heparanase deglycanation of syndecan-1 is required for binding of the epithelial-restricted prosecretory mitogen lacritin. J. Cell Biol. 174, 1097-1106). We now report that the conserved and hydrophobic GAGAL domain in SDC1, adjacent to predicted HS substitution sites, is necessary to ligate and substantially enhance the α-helicity of the amphipathic C terminus of lacritin. Swapping out GAGAL for GADED in SDC2 or for GDLDD in SDC4 (both less hydrophobic) abrogated binding. HS and chondroitin sulfate are also essential. Both are detected in the N terminus, and when incubated with antibodies HS4C3 (anti-HS) or IO3H10 (anti-chondroitin sulfate), binding was absent, as occurred when all three N-terminal glycosaminoglycan substitution sites were mutated to alanine or when cells were treated with 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-d-xylopyranoside or chlorate to suppress glycosaminoglycan substitution or sulfation, respectively. SDC1 interacts with the hydrophobic face of lacritin via Leu-108/Leu-109/Phe-112 as well as with Glu-103/Lys-107 and Lys-111 of the largely cationic face. Carving a hybrid hydrophobic/electrostatic docking site out of SDC1 in a manner dependent on endogenous heparanase is a dynamic process appropriate for subtle or broad epithelial regulation in morphogenesis, health, and disease.

Tissue transglutaminase is a negative regulator of monomeric lacritin bioactivity

PURPOSE

Molar accounting of bioactive fluids can expose new regulatory mechanisms in the growing proteomic focus on epithelial biology. Essential for the viability of the surface epithelium of the eye and for normal vision is the thin, but protein-rich, tear film in which the small tear glycoprotein lacritin appears to play a prominent prosecretory, cytoprotective, and mitogenic role. Although optimal bioactive levels in cell culture are 1 to 10 nM over a biphasic dose optimum, ELISA suggests a sustained tear lacritin concentration in the midmicromolar range in healthy adults. Here we identify a reconciling mechanism.

METHODS

Monoclonal anti-lacritin 1F5 antibody was generated, and applied together with a new anti-C-terminal polyclonal antibody to tear and tissue Western blotting. In vitro tissue transglutaminase (Tgm2) cross-linking was monitored and characterized by mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

Blotting for lacritin in human tears or saliva surprisingly detected immunoreactive material with a higher molecular weight and prominence equal or exceeding the ∼23 to 25 kDa band of monomeric glycosylated lacritin. Exogenous Tgm2 initiated lacritin cross-linking within 1 minute and was complete by 90 minutes-even with as little as 0.1 nM lacritin, and involved the donors lysine 82 and 85 and the acceptor glutamine 106 in the syndecan-1 binding domain. Lacritin spiked into lacritin-depleted tears formed multimers, in keeping with ∼0.6 μM TGM2 in tears. Cross-linking was absent when Tgm2 was inactive, and cross-linked lacritin, unlike recombinant monomer, bound syndecan-1 poorly.

CONCLUSIONS

Since syndecan-1 binding is necessary for lacritin mitogenic and cytoprotective activities, TGM2 cross-linking negatively regulates lacritin bioactivity.

Tear lacritin levels by age, sex, and time of day in healthy adults

PURPOSE

Several small proteomic studies suggest that the prosecretory tear protein lacritin may be selectively downregulated in dry eye syndrome and in blepharitis, yet little information is available about normal baseline levels. This study assessed lacritin levels in tears from healthy individuals and addressed whether they differ according to sex, age, or time of day.

METHODS

Rabbit antibodies against lacritin N-terminal peptide EDASSDSTGADPAQEAGTS (Pep Lac N-Term) were generated and characterized against human recombinant lacritin and N-65 truncation mutant. Basal tears were collected from 66 healthy individuals ranging in age from 18 to 52 years, and at four times during one 24-hour period from 34 other individuals. Lacritin levels were then analyzed by ELISA and Western blotting.

RESULTS

Anti-Pep Lac N-Term bound lacritin, but not truncation mutant N-65 that lacks the N-terminal antigenic site. Tear lacritin levels followed a normal distribution with a mean of 4.2 ± 1.17 ng/100 ng total tear protein. Levels differed little by age or sex, and decreased slightly between 4 and 8 hours in a 24-hour cycle. Tear-blocking effects were minimal, as suggested by spiking of tears with recombinant lacritin.

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-Pep Lac N-Term-detectable lacritin comprises ~4.2 ng/100 ng total tear protein in healthy individuals, with no significant differences between males and females or among individuals between 18 and 52 years old. Levels decrease slightly in the late afternoon. These findings provide a baseline for future immunodiagnostic studies of lacritin in dry eye and other ocular diseases.

Detection of prosecretory mitogen lacritin in nonprimate tears primarily as a C-terminal-like fragment

PURPOSE

Lacritin is a human tear glycoprotein that promotes basal tear protein secretion in cultured rat lacrimal acinar cells and proliferation of subconfluent human corneal epithelial cells. When topically added to rabbit eyes, lacritin promotes basal tearing. Despite these activities on several species, lacritin's presence in nonprimate tears or other tissues has not been explored. Here we probed for lacritin in normal horse tears.

METHODS

Sequences were collected from the Ensembl genomic alignment of human LACRT gene with high-quality draft horse genome (EquCab2.0) and analyzed. Normal horse tears were collected and assayed by Western blotting, ELISA, and mass spectrometry. Newly generated rabbit antibodies, respectively, against N- and C-terminal regions of human lacritin were employed.

RESULTS

Identity was 75% and 45%, respectively, at nucleotide and protein levels. Structural features were conserved, including a C-terminal amphipathic α-helix. Anti-C-terminal antibodies strongly detected a ∼13 kDa band in horse tears that was validated by mass spectrometry. In human tears, the same antibody detected uncleaved lacritin (∼24 kDa) strongly and C-terminal fragments of ∼13 and ∼11 kDa weakly. Anti-N-terminal antibodies were slightly reactive with a ∼24 kDa horse antigen and showed no reaction with the anti-C-terminal-reactive ∼13 kDa species. Similar respective levels of horse C-terminal versus N-terminal immunoreactivity were apparent by ELISA.

CONCLUSIONS

Lacritin is present in horse tears, largely as a C-terminal fragment homologous to the mitogenic and bactericidal region in human lacritin, suggesting potential benefit in corneal wound repair.

Lacritin, a novel human tear glycoprotein, promotes sustained basal tearing and is well tolerated

PURPOSE

Lacritin is a novel human tear glycoprotein that promotes basal tear peroxidase secretion by rat lacrimal acinar cells in vitro. This study investigates whether lacritin is prosecretory when added topically to the ocular surface of normal living rabbits, and if so, what is its efficacy and tolerability versus cyclosporine and artificial tears.

METHODS

Purified recombinant human lacritin (1, 10, 50, or 100 μg/mL), inactive lacritin truncation mutant C-25 (10 μg/mL), cyclosporine (0.05%), or artificial tears were topically administered to eyes of normal New Zealand White rabbits either as a single dose or three times daily for 14 days with monitoring of basal tear production. Basal tearing under proparacaine anesthesia was repeatedly assessed throughout and 1 week after chronic treatment ceased. Eyes were examined weekly by slit-lamp biomicroscopy.

RESULTS

Lacritin acutely increased basal tearing to 30% over vehicle at 240 minutes. Three times daily treatment with 10-100 μg/mL lacritin was well tolerated. Basal tearing became progressively elevated 4, 7, and 14 days later and was 50% over baseline (50 μg/mL lacritin) 1 week after treatment had ceased. Cyclosporine elevated tearing to a similar level on days 4 and 7 but had little or no effect on day 14 and had returned to baseline 1 week after ending treatment. C-25 and artificial tears had no effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Lacritin acutely stimulates basal tear flow that is sustained for at least 240 minutes. Two weeks of lacritin treatment three times daily was well tolerated and progressively elevated the basal tear flow. One week after treatment ended, basal tearing was still 50% over baseline. In contrast, cyclosporine triggered mild to moderate corneal irritation and a temporary elevation in tearing.

Biosynthesis and structure of the basement membrane proteoglycan containing heparan sulphate side-chains

Endothelial, epithelial and muscle cells produce a similar proteoglycan for deposition in basement membrane. This proteoglycan is initially synthesized as a low buoyant density proteoglycan containing 3-5 heparan sulphate side-chains (15,000-65,000 Mr each), along one half of a 400,000 Mr core protein. A portion of the population of these macromolecules is degraded to produce small high density proteoglycans containing a variable-sized core protein less than 100,000 in Mr. This biosynthetic and degradative process probably accounts for the variety of differently sized heparan sulphate proteoglycans that have been isolated from various basement membrane sources.

Heparanase deglycanation of syndecan-1 is required for binding of the epithelial-restricted prosecretory mitogen lacritin

Cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans are carbohydrate-rich regulators of cell migratory, mitogenic, secretory, and inflammatory activity that bind and present soluble heparin-binding growth factors (e.g., fibroblast growth factor, Wnt, Hh, transforming growth factor β, amphiregulin, and hepatocyte growth factor) to their respective signaling receptors. We demonstrate that the deglycanated core protein of syndecan-1 (SDC1) and not HS chains nor SDC2 or -4, appears to target the epithelial selective prosecretory mitogen lacritin. An important and novel step in this mechanism is that binding necessitates prior partial or complete removal of HS chains by endogenous heparanase. This limits lacritin activity to sites where heparanase appears to predominate, such as sites of exocrine cell migration, secretion, renewal, and inflammation. Binding is mutually specified by lacritin's C-terminal mitogenic domain and SDC1's N terminus. Heparanase modification of the latter transforms a widely expressed HS proteoglycan into a highly selective surface-binding protein. This novel example of cell specification through extracellular modification of an HS proteoglycan has broad implications in development, homeostasis, and disease.

Restricted epithelial proliferation by lacritin via PKCalpha-dependent NFAT and mTOR pathways

Renewal of nongermative epithelia is poorly understood. The novel mitogen "lacritin" is apically secreted by several nongermative epithelia. We tested 17 different cell types and discovered that lacritin is preferentially mitogenic or prosecretory for those types that normally contact lacritin during its glandular outward flow. Mitogenesis is dependent on lacritin's C-terminal domain, which can form an alpha-helix with a hydrophobic face, as per VEGF's and PTHLP's respective dimerization or receptor-binding domain. Lacritin targets downstream NFATC1 and mTOR. The use of inhibitors or siRNA suggests that lacritin mitogenic signaling involves Galpha(i) or Galpha(o)-PKCalpha-PLC-Ca2+-calcineurin-NFATC1 and Galpha(i) or Galpha(o)-PKCalpha-PLC-phospholipase D (PLD)-mTOR in a bell-shaped, dose-dependent manner requiring the Ca2+ sensor STIM1, but not TRPC1. This pathway suggests the placement of transiently dephosphorylated and perinuclear Golgi-translocated PKCalpha upstream of both Ca2+ mobilization and PLD activation in a complex with PLCgamma2. Outward flow of lacritin from secretory cells through ducts may generate a proliferative/secretory field as a different unit of cellular renewal in nongermative epithelia where luminal structures predominate.

The lacrimal gland transcriptome is an unusually rich source of rare and poorly characterized gene transcripts

PURPOSE

To sequence and comprehensively analyze human and mouse lacrimal gland transcriptomes as part of the NEIBank project.

METHODS

cDNA libraries generated from normal human and mouse lacrimal glands were sequenced and analyzed by PHRED, RepeatMasker, BLAST, and GRIST. Human "lacrimal-preferred genes" and putative gene regulatory elements were respectively identified in UniGene and ConSite, and gene clustering was analyzed by chromosomal mapping. "Hypothetical proteins," identified by keyword search, were verified by genomic alignment and queried in the Conserved Domain database and GEO Profiles.

RESULTS

The top six transcripts in human and mouse differed, revealing a previously unappreciated molecular divergence. The human transcriptome is enriched with transcripts from 29 lacrimal-preferred genes and a content of poorly characterized hypothetical proteins, proportionally greater than in all other tissues. Only 45% of lacrimal preferred, but 71% of hypotheticals, have mouse orthologs. Many of the latter display apparently altered cancer expression in the CGAP SAGE library collection-often in keeping with predicted WD40, protein kinase, Src homology 2 and 3, RhoGEF, and pleckstrin homology domains involved in cell signaling. At the genomic level, lacrimal-expressed genes show some evidence of clustering, particularly on human chromosomes 9 and 12. Binding sites for TFAP2A, FOXC1, and other transcription factors are predicted.

CONCLUSIONS

Interspecies divergence cautions against use of mouse models of human dry eye syndromes. Lacrimal preferred and hypothetical proteins, gene clustering, and putative gene regulatory elements together provide new clues for a molecular understanding of lacrimal gland function and mechanisms of coordinated tissue-specific transcriptional regulation.

Organogenesis of the exocrine gland

Morphogenesis of exocrine glands is a complex stepwise process of epithelial ingrowth, ductal elongation, ductal branching, and alveolar or acinar differentiation. Emerging from an increasing number of mouse gene knockout, dominant-negative, and antisense models is the identification of a remarkable collection of cell adhesion molecules, growth factors, and their receptors whose time-dependent contributions to glandular organogenesis are essential. Many have cryptically overlapping and interdependent but noncompensatory roles. Discoidin domain receptor 1 tyrosine kinase (DDR1) and the ErbB1 receptor of amphiregulin are, for example, required for ductal branching and elongation. Each is in turn dependent on the Wnt family of morphogenic factors for autophosphorylation or transactivation, respectively. Here we review the current cast of exocrine glandular morphogens, as a foundation for a global or systems biology appreciation of the interweaving signaling pathways that underlie mammalian glandular morphogenesis.

Human genome search in celiac disease: mutated gliadin T-cell-like epitope in two human proteins promotes T-cell activation

Discovery of a number of novel and known human genes whose protein products bear striking similarity to two or more wheat gliadin domains raised the possibility that human intestinal non-HLA peptides homologous to celiac T-cell epitopes could play a role in non-HLA gene specification in celiac disease. Database searching of the entire human genome identified only 11 gut-expressed proteins with high T-cell epitope homology, particularly to the DQ2-gamma-I-gliadin epitope (i.e. TFIIA, FOXJ2 and IgD; mean BestFit quality score=40 versus random value of 24). Others were similar to DQ2-alpha-I-gliadin (i.e. PAX9; BestFit quality 46 versus 20 for random), or DQ2-alpha-II-gliadin (PHLDA1, known in mice as the T-cell death-associated gene; BestFit quality 43 versus 30 for random) epitopes. Among proteins previously screened for gliadin homology, noteworthy was achaete scute homologous protein (DQ2-alpha-I-gliadin; BestFit quality 41 versus 22 for random). With the exception of IgD, all are nuclear factors. Paying particular attention to the position of potential major histocompatibility complex (MHC) anchor residues, several were selected for testing in a DQ2-gamma-I-gliadin-restricted T-cell system. All native 10-mer peptides were inactive, even when deamidated, but V96F substitution of deamidated TFIIA amino acid residues 91-100 stimulated IL-2 release at levels exceeding the wheat gliadin positive control. Also active, but only slightly, was L1009F substitution of AIB3 amino acid residues 1004-1013. PlotSimilarity alignment of TFIIAs from eight species revealed subthreshold similarity score in the peptide region, in contrast to the highly conserved amino and carboxy termini. Molecular modeling of TFIIA[V96F] peptide points to an important juxtaposition of an upwardly projecting phenylalanine residue at peptide position 6 that likely contacts a receptor complementarity-determining region, and a downwardly projecting glutamic acid residue that fits into the shallow MHC P7 pocket. These observations tentatively point to a new multi-gene hypothesis for the initiation of celiac disease in which deamidated free human peptides with T-cell epitope homology (particularly those made more homologous by mutation) escape negative selection, as per deamidation of the HEL(48-62) peptide in the hen egg lysozyme model of autoimmunity. Deamidation following peptide release due to injury triggers inflammation, thereafter repeatedly provoked by dietary gliadin immunodominant peptides concentrated in the proximal small intestine.

Exposure of cryptic domains in the alpha 1-chain of laminin-1 by elastase stimulates macrophages urokinase and matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression

Degradation of the extracellular matrix leads to the release of fragments, which elicit biological responses distinct from intact molecules. We have reported that alpha1:Ser(2091)-Arg(2108), a peptide derived from the alpha1-chain of laminin-1, triggers protein kinase C-dependent activation of MAPK(erk1/2), leading to the up-regulation of macrophage urokinase type plasminogen activator and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression. Since intact laminin-1 failed to trigger these events, we hypothesized that alpha1:Ser(2091)-Arg(2108) is cryptic or assumes a conformation not recognized by macrophages. Here we demonstrate that elastase cleavage of laminin-1 generates fragments, which stimulate proteinase expression by RAW264.7 macrophages and peritoneal macrophages. In contrast, fragments generated by MMP-2, MMP-7, or plasmin had no effect on macrophage proteinase expression. Elastase-generated laminin-1 fragments were fractionated by heparin-Sepharose chromatography. Heparin-binding fragments stimulated macrophages' proteinase expression severalfold greater than nonbinding fragments. The heparin binding fragments reacted with antibodies directed against regions of the alpha1-chain including alpha1:Ser(2091)-Arg(2108) and the globular domain. A peptide from the first loop of the globular domain (alpha1:Ser(2179)-Ser(2198)) triggered the phosphorylation of MAPK(erk1/2) and stimulated the expression of macrophage urokinase type plasminogen activator and MMP-9. Moreover, a heparin-binding fraction isolated from an aortic aneurysm contained fragments of alpha1-chain and stimulated macrophages' proteinase expression. Based on these data, we conclude that cryptic domains in the COOH-terminal portion of the alpha1-chain of laminin are exposed by proteolysis and stimulate macrophages' proteinase expression.

cDNA and genomic cloning of lacritin, a novel secretion enhancing factor from the human lacrimal gland

Multiple extracellular factors are hypothesized to promote the differentiation of unstimulated and/or stimulated secretory pathways in exocrine secretory cells, but the identity of differentiation factors, particularly those organ-specific, remain largely unknown. Here, we report on the identification of a novel secreted glycoprotein, lacritin, that enhances exocrine secretion in overnight cultures of lacrimal acinar cells which otherwise display loss of secretory function. Lacritin mRNA and protein are highly expressed in human lacrimal gland, moderately in major and minor salivary glands and slightly in thyroid. No lacritin message or protein is detected elsewhere among more than 50 human tissues examined. Lacritin displays partial similarity to the glycosaminoglycan-binding region of brain-specific neuroglycan C (32 % identity over 102 amino acid residues) and to the possibly mucin-like amino globular region of fibulin-2 (30 % identity over 81 amino acid residues), and localizes primarily to secretory granules and secretory fluid. The lacritin gene consists of five exons, displays no alternative splicing and maps to 12q13. Recombinant lacritin augments unstimulated but not stimulated acinar cell secretion, promotes ductal cell proliferation, and stimulates signaling through tyrosine phosphorylation and release of calcium. It binds collagen IV, laminin-1, entactin/nidogen-1, fibronectin and vitronectin, but not collagen I, heparin or EGF. As an autocrine/paracrine enhancer of the lacrimal constitutive secretory pathway, ductal cell mitogen and stimulator of corneal epithelial cells, lacritin may play a key role in the function of the lacrimal gland-corneal axis.

Role of the basement membrane in tumor cell dormancy and cytotoxic resistance

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

Tumor dormancy and resistance to cytotoxic agents are key limiting events in the treatment of malignant diseases. To determine whether both are influenced by the extracellular milieu in which tumors reside, HT1080 human fibrosarcoma, MCF-7 breast carcinoma and OSCORT osteosarcoma cell proliferation, viability, apoptosis and cytoreductive-treatment-induced death were investigated in the presence or absence of extracellular matrix (ECM).

RESULTS

ECM-adherent, but not plastic-adherent HT1080 cells formed a multicellular network accompanied by reduced proliferation and lowered DNA synthetic capacity. The number of cells in S-phase was dramatically reduced. Viable cells entered a state of dormancy reminiscent of that observed in the step of metastasis after extravasation, i.e. prior to the initiation of progressive growth. Such ECM-induced dormancy could be reversed by plating cells on plastic, but only after a 48-hour lag period. No difference was indicated in clonogenicity of HT1080 cells originated from plastic or ECM gel. However, the cells released from ECM gel showed significantly reduced migration ability. The resistance of anchored cells against cytotoxic damage was increased by ECM gel. Examination of cytoreductive treatment revealed that ECM adherence at the time of injury is partially protective, a property which was also moderately apparent when injured cells were transferred to the basement membrane.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, these results suggest that the ECM plays a key role in tumor dormancy and cytotoxic resistance, both explorable at the molecular level using our in vitro model system.

Integrin expression and usage by prostate cancer cell lines on laminin substrata

During prostate cancer progression, invasive glandular epithelial cells move out of the ductal-acinar architecture and through the surrounding basement membrane. Extracellular matrix proteins and associated soluble factors in the basal lamina and underlying stroma are known to be important regulators of prostate cell behaviors in both normal and malignant tissues. In this study, we assessed cell interactions with extracellular matrix and stromal factors during disease progression by characterizing integrin usage and expression in a series of parental and lineage-derived LNCaP human prostate cancer cell lines. Although few shifts in integrin expression were found to accompany disease progression, integrin heterodimer usage did change significantly. The more metastatic sublines were distinct in their use of alphavbeta3 and, when compared with parental LNCaP cells, showed a shift in alpha6 heterodimerization, a subunit critical not only for interaction with prostate basal lamina but also for interaction with the bone matrix, a favored site of prostate cancer metastases.

Human genome search in celiac disease using gliadin cDNA as probe

Celiac disease is a wheat gliadin-promoted disorder that displays a complex genetic susceptibility associated with HLA-DQ2, and one or more unknown factor(s), possibly gliadin-like. The presence of mammalian proteins with partial gliadin similarity was suggested by transglutaminase-independent multi-tissue reactivity of gliadin-immunopurified antibodies from celiac patients. No non-plant sequence, however, was identified in gliadin peptide epitope searches of non-redundant and EST databanks via TBLASTN, BLASTP and FASTA, even at E values as high as 20. Therefore, an alpha-gliadin cDNA screen of human cDNA and genomic libraries was undertaken, an approach in keeping with positive human Northern and Southern analyses with the same probe. Four distinct cDNA clones were obtained, the most stringent of which (3.2 and 5.1 kb) were novel, and featured potential open reading frames with high gliadin domain II and domain IV homologies (BestFit quality scores >/=295 and 322, respectively, versus random value 126-127). Both were also homologous to ESTs. An additional 5' gliadin oligonucleotide screen identified the widely distributed cytoplasmic protein acyl coA hydrolase whose homology was restricted to the oligonucleotide probe (BestFit quality=215 versus 100 for random); and achaete-scute homologous protein, which displays particularly high gliadin domain II homology (BestFit quality 316 versus 111 for random). Genomic screening uncovered 16 positives, one of which was the ALR gene, whose similarity to three of gliadin's five domains (I, II and IV; BestFit quality 322-473 versus 121-154 for random) was remarkable. More extensive was novel genomic clone 2, with fragments hybridizing to cDNA probes approximating gliadin domains I, II+IV, V and the gliadin 5' untranslated region, and mapping by FISH to 19q13.11-13. 12. Two fragments were sequenced; one was exonic, as predicted by four different programs; and test oligonucleotides suggested widespread 4 and/or 2 kb mRNA expression, even at high stringency (t(m)-8.8 deg. C). Taken together, it is apparent that several genes with partial gliadin homology exist in the human genome. Many bear gliadin-like T-cell epitopes, are expressed in intestine and, like transglutaminase, are cytoplasmic. Glutamine to glutamic acid or other mutation within such epitopes followed by injury or infection-related release could explain enhanced disease susceptibility in affected families.

Quantitation of rat lacrimal secretion: a novel sandwich ELISA with high sensitivity

Modulation of lacrimal acinar cell tear secretion may involve multiple factors acting both in subtle and pronounced ways. Functional screens of recombinant protein products arising from gene array technologies, or protein fractions derived from lacrimal conditioned media or extracellular matrix, will require a highly sensitive assay capable of monitoring tear protein secretion by small replicate cultures. To improve significantly on current methods, a rat- and mouse-specific sandwich ELISA was developed. For this purpose, chickens and rabbits were immunized with serum-free secretion media from carbachol and VIP-stimulated rat lacrimal acinar cell cultures. Immune sera were characterized by ELISA, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry, and subsequently optimized for use in a sandwich ELISA. Both antisera detected a wide range of different rat tear proteins, and immunostained only the secretory granule-rich juxtalumenal region in sections of rat lacrimal gland. Chicken, but not rabbit, antiserum cross-reacted with rabbit and human tears. In sandwich ELISA, capture with purified chicken immunoglobulin fraction and detection with rabbit antiserum detected as little as 1 ng ml-1 tear protein in 10,000-fold diluted rat secretion medium--a level of sensitivity 8000 times greater than the rat tear peroxidase assay. Such specificity and sensitivity greatly reduce the quantity of media needed for assay, and makes feasible functional screens for scarce factors that may influence lacrimal secretory processes, and in turn possibly play a role in human lacrimal insufficiency syndromes.

Role of laminin-1, collagen IV, and an autocrine factor(s) in regulated secretion by lacrimal acinar cells

Adhesion to novel basement membrane component BM180 in the presence of laminin-1 promotes stimulus-secretion coupling in lacrimal acinar cells [G. W. Laurie, J. D. Glass, R. A. Ogle, C. M. Stone, J. R. Sluss, and L. Chen. Am. J. Physiol. 270 (Cell Physiol. 39): C1743-C1750, 1996]. The identity of the active laminin-1 site and the possibility that other promoters of coupling are present in the acinar cell microenvironment were probed by use of different substrates, media, neutralizing antibodies and cell numbers. Regulated peroxidase secretion was unaffected by basement membrane coat concentration and was detectable at reduced levels in serum-free medium. Anti-laminin-1 antibodies, particularly against sites in the beta1 and gamma1 chains, but not alpha1 chains, partially suppressed regulated secretion, as did an anti-collagen IV antibody. Without effect were RGD peptide and antibodies against entactin, the beta1-integrin subunit, and several growth factors. Increasing cell number in serum-free medium revealed an unknown, serum-maskable, secretion-enhancing activity with a remarkable specificity for regulated secretion. Stimulus-secretion coupling, therefore, appears to be modulated by several extracellular factors whose relative contributions remain to be determined.

Gene cloning of BM180, a lacrimal gland enriched basement membrane protein with a role in stimulated secretion

BM180 is a novel basement membrane component with a role in regulated tear secretion by lacrimal acinar cells. BM180 bears some sequence similarity to alpha-gliadin, a plant protein against which antibodies have been reported in patients with Sjögren's syndrome. A precedent for plantlike sequence in the mammalian genome is provided by selectins, which possess a plant lectinlike domain involved in inflammatory cell homing. Cloning the mouse and human BM180 gene will aid molecular investigation of lacrimal acinar cell-BM180 interactions and may lead to a new molecular understanding of mechanisms contributing to dry eye.

Characterization of a basement membrane protein (BM180) using capillary electrophoresis

Coeliac disease (gluten intolerance) is a genetically based autoimmune disease that becomes evident following ingestion of cereal prolamins such as the wheat gliadins. The process of this disease is not yet thoroughly understood. Purification of basement membrane protein-180 (BM180) (a basement membrane protein with a potential autoantigen role) and multiple analysis of the purified protein can lead to a better understanding of this disorder, which affects millions of people worldwide. Our preliminary work on the purification and characterization of this protein is presented in this paper. BM180 proteins were expressed in mouse EHS (Engelberth-Holm-Swarm) tumor cells. A crude purification process (see "Methods") was performed and the purified fractions were analyzed by capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) for determination of the apparent molecular weight of the protein components in each fraction. The fractions, which contained compounds of the expected molecular weight, were further analyzed using a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method developed for the routine analysis of wheat gliadins. Using the two CE methods, we were able to compare BM180 with certain gliadin fractions. Additional information on the protein stability was also obtained.

Laminin E8 alveolarization site: heparin sensitivity, cell surface receptors, and role in cell spreading

Cell adhesion to amino acids 2179-2198 (SN-peptide) of the laminin-1 alpha1-chain is required for lung alveolar formation in vitro (M. L. Matter and G. W. Laurie. J. Cell Biol. 124: 1083-1090, 1994). The nature of the SN-peptide receptor(s) was probed with neutralizing anti-integrin monoclonal antibodies (MAb), cells lacking integrin subunits, soluble heparin, and SN-peptide columns. Cell adhesion and spreading studies confirmed the specificity of SN-peptide and revealed adhesion to be unaffected by inclusion of anti-beta1-, anti-alpha(2-6)- or anti-alpha(V)beta5-integrin MAb. Cells lacking beta1- or alpha6-integrin subunits were fully adherent. Adhesion was heparin, but not chondroitin sulfate or heparinase, sensitive, much as is alpha-dystroglycan-laminin-1 binding. Heparin eluted approximately 155- and 180-kDa cell-surface proteins from SN-peptide columns. An additional approximately 91-kDa protein was eluted by EDTA. All were unrecognized by anti-beta1-integrin MAb. SN-peptide therefore interacts with three cell-surface proteins for which the identity remains to be determined.