Summary
Collagen fibrillogenesis was studied in tibiae of chick embryos, 9, 11, and 14 days old. Specimens were incubated with antibodies against the amino and the carboxyl propeptides of type-I collagen and subjected to ferritin-la-belling immuno-electron microscopy. The amino propeptide was found in thin fibrils, 20–40 nm in diameter, distributed at 60-nm periodicity. The carboxyl propeptide antibody labelled a wide spectrum of fibrils, although the majority were in the range of 40–100 nm, distinctly larger than those labelled with the amino propeptide antibody. The presence of pN (amino propeptide plus collagen) and pC (carboxyl propeptide plus collagen) collagen was also demonstrated by Western blotting in all specimens. This study suggests that the sequence of propeptide removal may regulate collagen fibril diameter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becker U, Timpl R, Helle O, Prockop DJ (1976) NH2-terminal extensions of skin collagen from sheep with a genetic defect in conversion of procollagen into collagen. Biochemistry 15:2853–2862
Birk DE, Trelstad RL (1984) Extracellular compartments in matrix morphogenesis: Collagen fibril, bundle, and bone formation by corneal fibroblasts. J Cell Biol 99:2024–2033
Fessler JH, Fessler LI (1978) Biosynthesis of procollagen. Ann Rev Biochem 47:129–162
Fleischmajer R. Olsen BR, Timpl R, Perlish JS, Lovelace O (1983) Collagen fibril formation during embryogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 80:3354–3358
Fleischmajer R, Perlish JS, Timpl R (1985) Collagen fibrillogenesis in human skin. Ann New York Acad Sci 460:246–257
Fleischmajer R, Timpl R, Tuderman L, Raisher L, Wiestner M, Perlish JS, Graves PN (1981) Ultraslructural identification of extension aminopropeptides of type I and III collagens in human skin. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 78:7360–7364
Fjolstad M, Helle O (1974) A hereditary dysplasia of collagen tissue in sheep. J Pathol 112:184–188
Gross J, Kirk D (1958) The heat precipitation of collagen from neutral salt solutions: Some rate-regulating factors. J Biochem 233:355–360
Laemmli UK (1970) Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature 227:680–685
Lapiere CM, Lenaers A, Kohn LD (1971) Procollagen peptidase: an enzyme excising the coordination peptides of procollagen. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 68:3054–3058
Lenaers A, Ansay M, Nusgens BV, Lapiere CM (1971) Collagen made of extended α-chains procollagen, in genetically defective dermatosparactic calves. Eur J Biochem 23:533–543
Miyahara M, Hayashi K, Berger J, Tanzawa K, Njieha FK, Trelstad RL, Prockop DJ (1984) Formation of collagen fibrils by enzymatic cleavage of precursors of type I collagen in vitro. J Biol Chem 259:9891–9898
Morris NP, Fessler LI, Weinstock A, Fessler JH (1975) Procollagen assembly and secretion in embryonic chick bone. J Biol Chem 251:7137–7143
O'Hara PJ, Read WK, Romane WM, Bridges CH (1970) A collagenous tissue dysplasia of calves. Lab Invest 23:307–314
Olsen BR, Guzman NA, Engel J, Condit C, Aase S (1977) Purification and characterization of a peptide from the carboxyl-terminal region of chick tendon procollagen type I. Biochemistry 16:3030–3036
Pesciotta DM, Silkowitz MM, Fietzek PP, Graves PN, Berg RA, Olsen BR (1980) Purification and characterization of the amino-terminal propeptide of pro α1(I) chains from embryonic chick tendon procollagen. Biochemistry 19:2447–2454
Pesciotta DM, Curran S, Olsen BR (1982) Preparation of antisera specific for the amino and carboxyl propeptides of type I and type III procollagens. In: Furthmyer H (ed) Immunochemistry of the extracellular matrix. CRC Press, Boca Raton, V 1: pp 91–109
Towbin H, Staehelin T, Gordon J (1979) Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: Procedure and some applications. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:4350–4354
Trelstad RL, Hayashi K (1979) Tendon collagen fibrillogenesis: Intracellular subassemblies and cell surface changes associated with fibril growth. Develop Biol 71:228–242
Veis A, Anesey J, Yuan L, Levy SJ (1973) Evidence for an aminoterminal extension in high-molecular weight collagens from mature bovine skin. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 70:1464–1467
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fleischmajer, R., Perlish, J.S. & Olsen, B.R. Amino and carboxyl propeptides in bone collagen fibrils during embryogenesis. Cell Tissue Res. 247, 105–109 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00216552
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00216552