BBB seminar: Jan-Olof Winberg

Jan-Olof Winberg
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Institute of Medical Biology, University of Tromsø

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of extracellular proteolytic enzymes that are involved in both normal physiological remodelling processes as well as in various pathological processes. By their ability to cleave both extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, cell receptors as well as non-ECM proteins such as cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, MMPs irreversibly modify various signalling pathways. MMPs contain different domains, modules and motifs which have an effect on their interaction with ECM and non-ECM proteins, their extracellular location as well as their substrate specificity. Several years ago we discovered that the human leukemic monocyte cell-line THP-1 synthesizes proMMP-9 where a fraction of the enzyme is strongly linked to a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) core protein. This affects several biochemical properties of the enzyme. In addition to a short overview of MMPs and their role in health and disease, the lecture will focus on the proMMP-9/CSPG complex.

Host: Donald Gullberg <donald.gullberg@biomed.uib.no>, Department of Biomedicine