Rat liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LECs) express two hyaluronan (HA) receptors, of 175 and 300 kDa, responsible for the endocytic clearance of HA. We have characterized eight monoclonal ...antibodies (mAbs) raised against the 175-kDa HA receptor partially purified from rat LECs. These mAbs also cross-react with the 300-kDa HA receptor. The 175-kDa HA receptor is a single protein, whereas the 300-kDa species contains three subunits, α, β, and γ at 260, 230, and 97 kDa, respectively (Zhou, B., Oka, J. A., and Weigel, P. H. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 33831–33834). The 97-kDa subunit was not recognized by any of the mAbs in Western blots. Based on their cross-reactivity with these mAbs, the 175-, 230-, and 260-kDa proteins appear to be related. Two of the mAbs inhibit 125I-HA binding and endocytosis by LECs at 37 °C. All of these results confirm that the mAbs recognize thebone fide LEC HA receptor. Indirect immunofluoresence shows high protein expression in liver sinusoids, the venous sinuses of the red pulp in spleen, and the medullary sinuses of lymph nodes. Because the tissue distribution for this endocytic HA receptor is not unique to liver, we propose the name HARE (HAreceptor for endocytosis).
The hyaluronic acid (HA) receptor for endocytosis (HARE) is the primary scavenger receptor for HA and chondroitin sulfates in mammals. The two human isoforms of HARE (full-length 315-kDa and a ...190-kDa proteolytic cleavage product), which are type I single-pass membrane proteins, are highly expressed in sinusoidal endothelial cells of lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. Their identical HARE cytoplasmic domains contain four candidate AP-2/clathrin-mediated endocytic signaling motifs as follows: YSYFRI2485, FQHF2495, NPLY2519, and DPF2534 (315-HARE numbering). Stably transfected cells expressing 190-HARE(ΔYSYFRI), 190-HARE(ΔFQHF), or 190-HARE(ΔNPLY) (lacking Motifs 1, 2, or 3) had decreased 125I-HA endocytosis rates of ∼49, ∼39, and ∼56%, respectively (relative to wild type). In contrast, 190-HARE(ΔDPF) cells (lacking Motif 4) showed no change in HA endocytic rate. Deletions of motifs 1 and 2 or of 1, 2, and 4 decreased the rate of HA endocytosis by only ∼41%. Endocytosis was ∼95% decreased in mutants lacking all four motifs. Cells expressing a 190-HARE(Y2519A) mutant of the NPLY motif retained 85–90% of wild type endocytosis, whereas this mutation in the triple motif deletant decreased endocytosis to ∼7% of wild type. Tyr in NPLY2519 is thus important for endocytosis. All HARE mutants showed similar HA binding and degradation of the internalized HA, indicating that altering endocytic motifs did not affect ectodomain binding of HA or targeting of internalized HA to lysosomes. We conclude that, although NPLY may be the most important motif, it functions together with two other endocytic motifs; thus three signal sequences (YSYFRI, FQHF, and NPLY) provide redundancy to mediate coated pit targeting and endocytosis of HARE.
The hyaluronan (HA) receptor for endocytosis (HARE; Stab2) clears 14 systemic ligands, including HA and heparin. Here, we used NF-κB promoter-driven luciferase reporter assays to test HARE-mediated ...intracellular signaling during the uptake of eight ligands, whose binding sites in the HARE ectodomain were mapped by competition studies (Harris, E. N., and Weigel, P. H. (2008) Glycobiology 18, 638-648). Unique intermediate size Select-HA(TM), heparin, dermatan sulfate, and acetylated LDL stimulated dose-dependent HARE-mediated NF-κB activation of luciferase expression, with half-maximal values of 10-25 nM. In contrast, chondroitin sulfate types A, C, D, and E did not stimulate NF-κB activation. Moreover, degradation of endogenous IkB-α (an NF-κB inhibitor) was stimulated only by the signaling ligands. The stimulatory activities of pairwise combinations of the four signaling ligands were additive. The four nonstimulatory chondroitin sulfate types, which compete for HA binding, also effectively blocked HA-stimulated signaling. Clathrin siRNA decreased clathrin expression by ∼50% and completely eliminated NF-κB-mediated signaling by all four ligands, indicating that activation of signaling complexes occurs after endocytosis. These results indicate that HARE not only binds and clears extracellular matrix degradation products (e.g. released normally or during infection, injury, tumorigenesis, or other stress situations) but that a subset of ligands also serves as signaling indicator ligands. HARE may be part of a systemic tissue-stress sensor feedback system that responds to abnormal tissue turnover or damage as a danger signal; the signaling indicator ligands would reflect the homeostatic status, whether normal or pathological, of tissue cells and biomatrix components.
Objective
Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) recruited to demyelinating lesions often fail to mature into oligodendrocytes (OLs) that remyelinate spared axons. The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan ...(HA) accumulates in demyelinating lesions and has been implicated in the failure of OPC maturation and remyelination. We tested the hypothesis that OPCs in demyelinating lesions express a specific hyaluronidase, and that digestion products of this enzyme inhibit OPC maturation.
Methods
Mouse OPCs grown in vitro were analyzed for hyaluronidase expression and activity. Gain of function studies were used to define the hyaluronidases that blocked OPC maturation. Mouse and human demyelinating lesions were assessed for hyaluronidase expression. Digestion products from different hyaluronidases and a hyaluronidase inhibitor were tested for their effects on OPC maturation and functional remyelination in vivo.
Results
OPCs demonstrated hyaluronidase activity in vitro and expressed multiple hyaluronidases, including HYAL1, HYAL2, and PH20. HA digestion by PH20 but not other hyaluronidases inhibited OPC maturation into OLs. In contrast, inhibiting HA synthesis did not influence OPC maturation. PH20 expression was elevated in OPCs and reactive astrocytes in both rodent and human demyelinating lesions. HA digestion products generated by the PH20 hyaluronidase but not another hyaluronidase inhibited remyelination following lysolecithin‐induced demyelination. Inhibition of hyaluronidase activity lead to increased OPC maturation and promoted increased conduction velocities through lesions.
Interpretation
We determined that PH20 is elevated in demyelinating lesions and that increased PH20 expression is sufficient to inhibit OPC maturation and remyelination. Pharmacological inhibition of PH20 may therefore be an effective way to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis and related conditions. ANN NEUROL 2013;73:266–280
Tailoring interfaces with polymer brushes is a commonly used strategy to create functional materials for numerous applications. Existing methods are limited in brush thickness, the ability to ...generate high-density brushes of biopolymers, and the potential for regeneration. Here we introduce a scheme to synthesize ultra-thick regenerating hyaluronan polymer brushes using hyaluronan synthase. The platform provides a dynamic interface with tunable brush heights that extend up to 20 microns - two orders of magnitude thicker than standard brushes. The brushes are easily sculpted into micropatterned landscapes by photo-deactivation of the enzyme. Further, they provide a continuous source of megadalton hyaluronan or they can be covalently-stabilized to the surface. Stabilized brushes exhibit superb resistance to biofilms, yet are locally digested by fibroblasts. This brush technology provides opportunities in a range of arenas including regenerating tailorable biointerfaces for implants, wound healing or lubrication as well as fundamental studies of the glycocalyx and polymer physics.
Class I hyaluronan synthases (HAS) assemble GlcNAc(β1,4)GlcUA(β1,3)n-UDP at the reducing end and also make chitin. Streptococcus equisimilis HAS (SeHAS) also synthesizes chitin-UDP oligosaccharides, ...(GlcNAc-β1,4)n-GlcNAc(α1→)UDP (Weigel et al. 2015). Here we determined if HAS uses chitin-UDPs as primers to initiate HA synthesis, leaving the non-HA primer at the nonreducing (NR) end. HA made by SeHAS membranes was purified, digested with streptomyces lyase, and hydrophobic oligomers were enriched by solid phase extraction and analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS. Jack bean hexosaminidase (JBH) and MS/MS were used to analyze 19 m/z species of possible GnHn ions with clustered GlcNAc (G) residues attached to disaccharide units (H): (GlcNAcβ1,4)2-5GlcUA(β1,3)GlcNAc2-6. JBH digestion sequentially removed GlcNAc from the NR-end of GnHn oligomers, producing successively smaller GnH2-3 series members. Since lyase releases dehydro-oligos (dHn; M-18), only the unique NR-end oligo lacks dehydro-GlcUA. Hn oligomers were undetectable in lyase digests, whereas JBH treatment created new H2-6m/z peaks (i.e. HA tetra- through dodeca-oligomers). MS/MS of larger GnHn species produced chitin (2-5 GlcNAcs), HA oligomers and multiple smaller series members with fewer GlcNAcs. All NR-ends (97%) started with GlcNAc, as a chitin trimer (three GlcNAcs), indicating that GlcNAc(β1,4)2GlcNAc(α1→)-UDP may be optimal for initiation of HA synthesis. Also, HA made by live S. pyogenes cells had G4Hn chitin-oligo NR-ends. We conclude that chitin-UDP functions in vitro and in live cells as a primer to initiate synthesis of all HA chains and these primers remain at the NR-ends of HA chains as residual chitin caps (GlcNAc-β1,4)3-4.
The human hyaluronan receptor for endocytosis (hHARE) mediates the endocytic clearance of hyaluronan (HA) and chondroitin
sulfate from lymph fluid and blood. Two hHARE isoforms (190 and 315 kDa) are ...present in sinusoidal endothelial cells of liver,
spleen, and lymph nodes (Zhou, B., McGary, C. T., Weigel, J. A., Saxena, A., and Weigel, P. H. (2003) Glycobiology 13, 339â349). Here we report the specificity and function of the 190-kDa HARE, expressed without the larger isoform, in Flp-In
293 cell lines (190hHARE cells). Like the native protein, recombinant hHARE contains â¼25 kDa of N -linked oligosaccharides, binds HA in a ligand blot assay, cross-reacts with three anti-rat HARE monoclonal antibodies, and
is inactivated by reduction. The 190hHARE cell lines mediated rapid, continuous 125 I-HA endocytosis and degradation for >1 day. About 30â50% of the total cellular receptors were on the cell surface, and their
recycling time for reutilization was â¼8.5 min. The average K d for the binding of HA to the 190-kDa hHARE at 4 °C was 7 n m with 118,000 total HA binding sites per cell. Competition studies at 37 °C indicated that the 190-kDa hHARE binds HA and
chondroitin better than dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfates A, C, D, and E, but it does not bind to heparin, heparan
sulfate, or keratan sulfate. Although competition was observed at 37 °C, none of the glycosaminoglycans tested, except HA,
competed for 125 I-HA binding by 190hHARE cells at 4 °C. Anti-HARE monoclonal antibodies #30 and #154, which do not inhibit 125 I-HA uptake mediated by the 175-kDa rat HARE, partially blocked HA endocytosis by the 190-kDa hHARE. We conclude that the
190-kDa hHARE can function independently of other hHARE isoforms to mediate the endocytosis of multiple glycosaminoglycans.
Furthermore, the rat and human small HARE isoforms have different glycosaminoglycan specificities and sensitivities to inhibition
by cross-reacting antibodies.
Animal cells internalize specific extracellular macromolecules (ligands) by using specialized cell surface receptors that operate through a complex and highly regulated process known as ...receptor-mediated endocytosis, which involves the binding, internalization, and transfer of ligands through a series of distinct intracellular compartments. For the uptake of a variety of carbohydrate-containing macromolecules, such as glycoproteins, animal cells use specialized membrane-bound lectins as endocytic receptors that recognize different sugar residues or carbohydrate structures present on various ligands. The hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor, which recognizes glycoconjugates containing terminal galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine residues, was the first membrane lectin discovered and has been a classical system for studying receptor-mediated endocytosis. Studies of how the asialoglycoprotein receptor functions have led to the discovery of two functionally distinct, parallel pathways of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (called the State 1 and State 2 pathways), which may also be utilized by all the other endocytic recycling receptor systems. Another endocytic membrane lectin, the hyaluronan/chondroitin sulfate receptor, which has recently been purified and cloned, is responsible for the turnover in mammals of these glycosaminoglycans, which are important components of extracellular matrices. We discuss the characteristics and physiological importance of these two proteins as examples of how lectins can function as endocytic receptors.
Cerebral white matter injury (WMI) persistently disrupts myelin regeneration by oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). We identified a specific bioactive hyaluronan fragment (bHAf) that ...downregulates myelin gene expression and chronically blocks OPC maturation and myelination via a tolerance-like mechanism that dysregulates pro-myelination signaling via AKT. Desensitization of AKT occurs via TLR4 but not TLR2 or CD44. OPC differentiation was selectively blocked by bHAf in a maturation-dependent fashion at the late OPC (preOL) stage by a noncanonical TLR4/TRIF pathway that induced persistent activation of the FoxO3 transcription factor downstream of AKT. Activated FoxO3 selectively localized to oligodendrocyte lineage cells in white matter lesions from human preterm neonates and adults with multiple sclerosis. FoxO3 constraint of OPC maturation was bHAf dependent, and involved interactions at the FoxO3 and MBP promoters with the chromatin remodeling factor Brg1 and the transcription factor Olig2, which regulate OPC differentiation. WMI has adapted an immune tolerance-like mechanism whereby persistent engagement of TLR4 by bHAf promotes an OPC niche at the expense of myelination by engaging a FoxO3 signaling pathway that chronically constrains OPC differentiation.
The hyaluronan (HA) receptor for endocytosis (HARE; Stabilin-2) binds and clears 14 different ligands, including HA and heparin, via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. HA binding to HARE stimulates ...ERK1/2 activation (Kyosseva, S. V., Harris, E. N., and Weigel, P. H. (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 15047–15055). To assess a possible HA size dependence for signaling, we tested purified HA fractions of different weight-average molar mass and with narrow size distributions and Select-HATM for stimulation of HARE-mediated gene expression using an NF-κB promoter-driven luciferase reporter system. Human HARE-mediated gene expression was stimulated in a dose-dependent manner with small HA (sHA) >40 kDa and intermediate HA (iHA) <400 kDa. The hyperbolic dose response saturated at 20–50 nm with an apparent Km ∼10 nm, identical to the Kd for HA-HARE binding. Activation was not detected with oligomeric HA (oHA), sHA <40 kDa, iHA >400 kDa, or large HA (lHA). Similar responses occurred with rat HARE. Activation by sHA-iHA was blocked by excess nonsignaling sHA, iHA, or lHA, deletion of the HA-binding LINK domain, or HA-blocking antibody. Endogenous NF-κB activation also occurred in the absence of luciferase plasmids, as assessed by degradation of IκB-α. ERK1/2 activation was also HA size-dependent. The results show that HA-HARE interactions stimulate NF-κB-activated gene expression and that HARE senses a narrow size range of HA degradation products. We propose a model in which optimal length HA binds multiple HARE proteins to allow cytoplasmic domain interactions that stimulate intracellular signaling. This HARE signaling system during continuous HA clearance could monitor the homeostasis of tissue biomatrix turnover throughout the body.
Background: HARE mediates systemic clearance of hyaluronan (HA), which turns over continuously in tissues.
Results: HARE uptake of 40–400-kDa, but not larger or smaller, HA stimulated NF-κB activation.
Conclusion: HA-HARE signal complexes activate NF-κB and gene transcription only with optimally sized HA.
Significance: HARE responsiveness to a narrow size range of HA degradation products may be a sensing system to detect tissue ECM stress.