Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
7
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-7-15
pubmed:abstractText
Elastogenesis and elastin repair depend on the secretion of tropoelastin from the cell, yet cellular production is low in the many biological systems that have been studied. To address the apparent paradox of a paucity of tropoelastin for cell surface microassembly, we examined the effects of the glycosaminoglycans heparin, heparan sulfate, and chondroitin sulfate B, on tropoelastin aggregate formation through coacervation. We found a significant effect, particularly of heparin, on the minimum or critical concentration of tropoelastin, which was required for microassembly, lowering critical concentration to a point that it was no longer detectable. The assemblies resulted in protein droplet formation that was visually indistinguishable from the spherules that typify coacervation. The spherules readily coalesced in the presence of heparin and higher concentrations of tropoelastin, resulting in an almost continuous layer of coacervated tropoelastin. Four stages of droplet behavior were observed: early droplet formation, approximately 6 mum droplet formation, and fusion of droplets followed by the formation of a coalesced layer. We conclude that glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix have the capacity to promote coacervation at low concentrations of tropoelastin.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jul
pubmed:issn
1526-4602
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
9
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1739-44
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Glycosaminoglycan-mediated coacervation of tropoelastin abolishes the critical concentration, accelerates coacervate formation, and facilitates spherule fusion: implications for tropoelastin microassembly.
pubmed:affiliation
School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences G08, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article