Dystroglycan glycosylation and its role in matrix binding in skeletal muscle

Dystroglycan is an essential component of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex. Three glycan sequencing studies have identified O-linked mannose chains, including NeuAcalpha 2,3Galbeta 1,4GlcNAcbeta 1,2Manalpha-O, on alpha dystroglycan. Chemical deglycosylation of alpha dystroglycan, antibody blocking studies, and glycan blocking studies all suggest that the O-linked glycans on alpha dystroglycan mediate the binding of extracellular matrix proteins in skeletal muscle. Structural data on laminin G domains and agrin-binding studies also suggest this is the case. Dystroglycan, however, is able to bind proteins via mechanisms that do not involve O-linked glycans. Moreover, laminin and other matrix proteins can bind cell adhesion molecules via their glycan chains. Thus although complex and sometimes not overly convincing, these data suggest that glycosylation plays an important role in dystroglycan binding and function in skeletal muscle.     

Temporal and spatial appearance of α-dystroglycan in differentiated mouse myoblasts in culture

The dystrophin-glycoprotein complex plays an important role in muscle function. One of the components of the complex, a 156-kDa cell surface glycoprotein (α-dystroglycan) binds to laminin, thereby connecting the basal lamina and muscle cells. We have examined the progressive appearance of α-dystroglycan and laminin in muscle cells that differentiate in culture. We find that nondifferentiated cultures of C2C12 myoblasts express low amounts of dystroglycan mRNA and, in contrast, this gene is prominently expressed in differentiated myotubes. Immunofluorescence analysis with a monoclonal antibody against α-dystroglycan shows its progressive appearance during myoblast differentiation into myotubes. Immunostaining with a monoclonal antibody against laminin shows that it is not present on the surface of undifferentiated myoblasts. Subsequently, laminin becomes apparent on the surface of differentiated myotubes where it codistributes with immunostained α-dystroglycan identifies a broad band of about 140–160 kDa, resembling α-dystroglycan from rabbit muscle. The composite results indicate that α-dystroglycan and laminin appear and become co-distributed on the surface of cultured C2C12 during the progression of differentiation.     

Non-muscle alpha-dystroglycan is involved in epithelial development

The dystroglycan complex is a transmembrane linkage between the cytoskeleton and the basement membrane in muscle. One of the components of the complex, alpha-dystroglycan binds both laminin of muscle (laminin-2) and agrin of muscle basement membranes. Dystroglycan has been detected in nonmuscle tissues as well, but the physiological role in nonmuscle tissues has remained unknown. Here we show that dystroglycan during mouse development in nonmuscle tissues is expressed in epithelium. In situ hybridization revealed strong expression of dystroglycan mRNA in all studied epithelial sheets, but not in endothelium or mesenchyme. Conversion of mesenchyme to epithelium occurs during kidney development, and the embryonic kidney was used to study the role of alpha-dystroglycan for epithelial differentiation. During in vitro culture of the metanephric mesenchyme, the first morphological signs of epithelial differentiation can be seen on day two. Northern blots revealed a clear increase in dystroglycan mRNA on day two of in vitro development. A similar increase of expression on day two was previously shown for laminin alpha 1 chain. Immunofluorescence showed that dystroglycan is strictly located on the basal side of developing kidney epithelial cells. Monoclonal antibodies known to block binding of alpha-dystroglycan to laminin-1 perturbed development of epithelium in kidney organ culture, whereas control antibodies did not do so. We suggest that the dystroglycan complex acts as a receptor for basement membrane components during epithelial morphogenesis. It is likely that this involves binding of alpha- dystroglycan to E3 fragment of laminin-1.     

Removal of dystroglycan causes severe muscular dystrophy in zebrafish embryos

Muscular dystrophy is frequently caused by disruption of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), which links muscle cells to the extracellular matrix. Dystroglycan, a central component of the DGC, serves as a laminin receptor via its extracellular alpha subunit, and interacts with dystrophin (and thus the actin cytoskeleton) through its integral membrane beta subunit. We have removed the function of dystroglycan in zebrafish embryos. In contrast to mouse, where dystroglycan mutations lead to peri-implantation lethality, dystroglycan is dispensable for basement membrane formation during early zebrafish development. At later stages, however, loss of dystroglycan leads to a disruption of the DGC, concurrent with loss of muscle integrity and necrosis. In addition, we find that loss of the DGC leads to loss of sarcomere and sarcoplasmic reticulum organisation. The DGC is required for long-term survival of muscle cells in zebrafish, but is dispensable for muscle formation. Dystroglycan or the DGC is also required for normal sarcomere and sarcoplasmic reticulum organisation. Because zebrafish embryos lacking dystroglycan share several characteristics with human muscular dystrophy, they should serve as a useful model for the disease. In addition, knowing the dystroglycan null phenotype in zebrafish will facilitate the isolation of other molecules involved in muscular dystrophy pathogenesis.     

Targeting dystroglycan in the brain

The dystrophin-glycoprotein complex is a multisubunit complex that connects the extracellular matrix components to the cytoskeletal matrix of muscle fiber cells and is required for muscle integrity. Mutations in this complex are associated with muscular dystrophy. Although the role of dystroglycan has been explored mainly in the context of muscle, recent work has also demonstrated a novel role for dystroglycan in the CNS and thus provides potential insights into the brain abnormalities associated with some forms of muscular dystrophy.     

Dystroglycan: a possible mediator for reducing congenital muscular dystrophy?

Alpha-dystroglycan is a highly glycosylated peripheral protein forming a complex with the membrane-spanning beta-dystroglycan and establishing a connection between the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton. In skeletal muscle, as part of the larger dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, dystroglycan is believed to be essential for maintaining the structural and functional stability of muscle fibers. Recent work highlights the role of abnormal dystroglycan glycosylation at the basis of glycosyltransferase-deficient congenital muscular dystrophies. Notably, modulation of glycosyltransferase activity can restore alpha-dystroglycan receptor function in these disorders. Moreover, transgenic approaches favoring the interaction between dystroglycan and the extracellular matrix molecules also represent an innovative way to restore skeletal muscle structure. These pioneering approaches might comprise an important first step towards the design of gene-transfer-based strategies for the rescue of congenital muscular dystrophies involving dystroglycan.     

Fukutin-related protein associates with the sarcolemmal dystrophin-glycoprotein complex

Mutations in fukutin-related protein (FKRP) give rise to mild and more severe forms of muscular dystrophy. FKRP patients have reduced glycosylation of the extracellular protein dystroglycan, and FKRP itself shows sequence similarity to glycosyltransferases, implicating FKRP in the processing of dystroglycan. However, FKRP localization is controversial, and no FKRP complexes are known, so any FKRP-dystroglycan link remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate a novel FKRP localization in vivo; in mouse, both endogenous and recombinant FKRP are present at the sarcolemma. Biochemical analyses revealed that mouse muscle FKRP and dystroglycan co-enrich and co-fractionate, indicating that FKRP coexists with dystroglycan in the native dystrophin-glycoprotein complex. Furthermore, FKRP sedimentation shifts with dystroglycan in disease models involving the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, and sarcolemmal FKRP immunofluorescence mirrors that of dystroglycan in muscular dystrophy mice, suggesting that FKRP localization may be mediated by dystroglycan. These data offer the first evidence of an FKRP complex in muscle and suggest that FKRP may influence the glycosylation status of dystroglycan from within the sarcolemmal dystrophin-glycoprotein complex.     

Restoration of dystrophin-associated proteins in skeletal muscle of mdx mice transgenic for dystrophin gene

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and mdx mice are characterized by the absence of dystrophin, a membrane cytoskeletal protein. Dystrophin is associated with a large oligomeric complex of sarcolemmal glycoproteins, including dystroglycan which provides a linkage to the extarcellular matrix component, laminin. The finding that all of the dystrophin-associated proteins (DAPs) are drastically reduced in DMD and mdx skeletal muscle supports the primary function of dystrophin as an anchor of the sarcolemmal glycoprotein complex to the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton. These findings indicate that the efficacy of dystrophin gene therapy will depend not only on replacing dystrophin but also on restoring all of the DAPs in the sarcolemma. Here we have investigated the status of the DAPs in the skeletal muscle of mdx mice transgenic for the dystrophin gene. Our results demonstrate that transfer of dystrophin gene restores all of the DAPs together with dystrophin, suggesting that dystrophin gene therapy should be effective in restoring the entire dystrophin-glycoprotein complex.     

Isolation of a laminin-binding protein from muscle cell membranes

Skeletal muscle myofibers are each ensheathed by a continuous basal lamina consisting predominantly of type IV collagen, laminin and heparan sulfate proteoglycan. In order to identify laminin-binding components in the muscle cell surface, plasma membranes from mouse thigh muscle and from rat L6 myoblasts were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose paper by electroblotting. Incubation of the transferred samples with ¹²⁵I-labelled laminin revealed a prominent band of approximate mol. wt. 68 000. A protein of this mol. wt. was isolated by affinity chromatography of muscle cell plasma membranes on laminin-Sepharose. The hydrophobic protein has an apparent mol. wt. of 68 000 and has a high content of serine, glycine and acidic amino acids. After detergent solubilization the purified protein binds to laminin-coated Sepharose beads at a higher rate than to beads coated with either fibronectin or collagen types I and IV. The interaction of the protein, called LB 68, with laminin was also studied after incorporation into synthetic lecithin vesicles. While detergent-solubilized LB 68 bound to ¹²⁵I-labeled laminin only at lower than physiological ionic strength, liposome-incorporated LB 68 bound to laminin in the absence of detergents under physiological conditions. We propose that this protein is involved in the interaction of myoblasts with laminin substrates and thus may participate in the anchorage of the basal lamina in the plasmalemma of myotubes.     

Identification of dystroglycan as a second laminin receptor in oligodendrocytes, with a role in myelination

Developmental abnormalities of myelination are observed in the brains of laminin-deficient humans and mice. The mechanisms by which these defects occur remain unknown. It has been proposed that, given their central role in mediating extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, integrin receptors are likely to be involved. However, it is a non-integrin ECM receptor, dystroglycan, that provides the key linkage between the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) and laminin in skeletal muscle basal lamina, such that disruption of this bridge results in muscular dystrophy. In addition, the loss of dystroglycan from Schwann cells causes myelin instability and disorganization of the nodes of Ranvier. To date, it is unknown whether dystroglycan plays a role during central nervous system (CNS) myelination. Here, we report that the myelinating glia of the CNS, oligodendrocytes, express and use dystroglycan receptors to regulate myelin formation. In the absence of normal dystroglycan expression, primary oligodendrocytes showed substantial deficits in their ability to differentiate and to produce normal levels of myelin-specific proteins. After blocking the function of dystroglycan receptors, oligodendrocytes failed both to produce complex myelin membrane sheets and to initiate myelinating segments when co-cultured with dorsal root ganglion neurons. By contrast, enhanced oligodendrocyte survival in response to the ECM, in conjunction with growth factors, was dependent on interactions with beta-1 integrins and did not require dystroglycan. Together, these results indicate that laminins are likely to regulate CNS myelination by interacting with both integrin receptors and dystroglycan receptors, and that oligodendrocyte dystroglycan receptors may have a specific role in regulating terminal stages of myelination, such as myelin membrane production, growth, or stability.     

Characterization of the transmembrane molecular architecture of the dystroglycan complex in schwann cells

We have demonstrated previously 1) that the dystroglycan complex, but not the sarcoglycan complex, is expressed in peripheral nerve, and 2) that alpha-dystroglycan is an extracellular laminin-2-binding protein anchored to beta-dystroglycan in the Schwann cell membrane. In the present study, we investigated the transmembrane molecular architecture of the dystroglycan complex in Schwann cells. The cytoplasmic domain of beta-dystroglycan was co-localized with Dp116, the Schwann cell-specific isoform of dystrophin, in the abaxonal Schwann cell cytoplasm adjacent to the outer membrane. beta-dystroglycan bound to Dp116 mainly via the 15 C-terminal amino acids of its cytoplasmic domain, but these amino acids were not solely responsible for the interaction of these two proteins. Interestingly, the beta-dystroglycan-precipitating antibody precipitated only a small fraction of alpha-dystroglycan and did not precipitate laminin and Dp116 from the peripheral nerve extracts. Our results indicate 1) that Dp116 is a component of the submembranous cytoskeletal system that anchors the dystroglycan complex in Schwann cells, and 2) that the dystroglycan complex in Schwann cells is fragile compared with that in striated muscle cells. We propose that this fragility may be attributable to the absence of the sarcoglycan complex in Schwann cells.     

Distribution of a 69-kD laminin-binding protein in aortic and microvascular endothelial cells: modulation during cell attachment, spreading, and migration

Affinity chromatography and immunolocalization techniques were used to investigate the mechanism(s) by which endothelial cells interact with the basement membrane component laminin. Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) membranes were solubilized and incubated with a laminin-Sepharose affinity column. SDS-PAGE analysis of the eluted proteins identified a 69-kD band as the major binding protein, along with minor components migrating at 125, 110, 92, 85, 75, 55, and 30 kD. Polyclonal antibodies directed against a peptide sequence of the 69-kD laminin-binding protein isolated from human tumor cells identified this protein in BAEC lysates. In frozen sections, these polyclonal antibodies and monoclonal antibodies raised against human tumor 69-kD stained the endothelium of bovine aorta and the medial smooth muscle cells, but not surrounding connective tissue or elastin fibers. When nonpermeabilized BAEC were stained in an in vitro migration assay, there appeared to be apical patches of 69 kD staining in stationary cells. However, when released from contact inhibition, 69 kD was localized to ruffling membranes on cells at the migrating front. Permeabilized BAEC stained for 69 kD diffusely, with a granular perinuclear distribution and in linear arrays throughout the cell. During migration a redistribution from diffuse to predominanately linear arrays that co-distributed with actin microfilaments was noted in double-label experiments. The 69-kD laminin-binding protein colocalized with actin filaments in permeabilized cultured microvascular endothelial cells in a continuous staining pattern at 6 h postplating which redistributed to punctate patches along the length of the filaments at confluence (96 h). In addition, 69 kD co-distribution with laminin could also be demonstrated in cultured subconfluent cells actively synthesizing matrix. Endothelial cells express a 69-kD laminin-binding protein that is membrane associated and appears to colocalize with actin microfilaments. The topological distribution of 69 kD and its cytoskeletal associations can be modulated by the cell during cell migration and growth suggesting that 69 kD may be a candidate for a membrane protein involved in signal transduction from extracellular matrix to cell via cytoskeletal connections.     

NAD+ Biosynthesis Ameliorates a Zebrafish Model of Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophies are common, currently incurable diseases. A subset of dystrophies result from genetic disruptions in complexes that attach muscle fibers to their surrounding extracellular matrix microenvironment. Cell-matrix adhesions are exquisite sensors of physiological conditions and mediate responses that allow cells to adapt to changing conditions. Thus, one approach towards finding targets for future therapeutic applications is to identify cell adhesion pathways that mediate these dynamic, adaptive responses in vivo. We find that nicotinamide riboside kinase 2b-mediated NAD+ biosynthesis, which functions as a small molecule agonist of muscle fiber-extracellular matrix adhesion, corrects dystrophic phenotypes in zebrafish lacking either a primary component of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex or integrin alpha7. Exogenous NAD+ or a vitamin precursor to NAD+ reduces muscle fiber degeneration and results in significantly faster escape responses in dystrophic embryos. Overexpression of paxillin, a cell adhesion protein downstream of NAD+ in this novel cell adhesion pathway, reduces muscle degeneration in zebrafish with intact integrin receptors but does not improve motility. Activation of this pathway significantly increases organization of laminin, a major component of the extracellular matrix basement membrane. Our results indicate that the primary protective effects of NAD+ result from changes to the basement membrane, as a wild-type basement membrane is sufficient to increase resilience of dystrophic muscle fibers to damage. The surprising result that NAD+ supplementation ameliorates dystrophy in dystrophin-glycoprotein complex– or integrin alpha7–deficient zebrafish suggests the existence of an additional laminin receptor complex that anchors muscle fibers to the basement membrane. We find that integrin alpha6 participates in this pathway, but either integrin alpha7 or the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex is required in conjunction with integrin alpha6 to reduce muscle degeneration. Taken together, these results define a novel cell adhesion pathway that may have future therapeutic relevance for a broad spectrum of muscular dystrophies.     

Comparative Proteomic Profiling of Dystroglycan-Associated Proteins in Wild Type, mdx, and Galgt2 Transgenic Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Dystroglycan is a major cell surface glycoprotein receptor for the extracellular matrix in skeletal muscle. Defects in dystroglycan glycosylation cause muscular dystrophy and alterations in dystroglycan glycosylation can impact extracellular matrix binding. Here we describe an immunoprecipitation technique that allows isolation of beta dystroglycan with members of the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC) from detergent-solubilized skeletal muscle. Immunoprecipitation, coupled with shotgun proteomics, has allowed us to identify new dystroglycan-associated proteins and define changed associations that occur within the DAPC in dystrophic skeletal muscles. In addition, we describe changes that result from overexpression of Galgt2, a normally synaptic muscle glycosyltransferase that can modify alpha dystroglycan and inhibit the development of muscular dystrophy when it is overexpressed. These studies identify new dystroglycan-associated proteins that may participate in dystroglycan's roles, both positive and negative, in muscular dystrophy.     

Isolation of a cell surface receptor protein for laminin from murine fibrosarcoma cells

We used affinity chromatography to isolate a specific laminin-binding protein from murine fibrosarcoma cells. These cells bind exogenous laminin to their surface with high affinity (Kd = 2 X 10(-9)M for laminin) with approximately 5 X 10(4) sites per cell. Laminin affinity chromatography of [35S]methionine-labeled cell extracts produced two distinct proteins. One was identified as Type IV (basement membrane) collagen based on its migration pattern on SDS gels and bacterial collagenase sensitivity. The other protein, which migrates as a single band or closely spaced doublet on reduced SDS gels, has a reduced molecular weight of 69,000. Using a nitrocellulose filter disk assay, we found that the latter protein specifically bound 125I-laminin with the same high affinity (Kd = 2 X 10(-9)M for laminin) as did intact fibrosarcoma cells. By iodinating intact cells, we demonstrated that this laminin-binding protein is on the cell surface. We conclude that this protein with reduced molecular weight of 69,000 is a subunit or component of a larger cell surface receptor protein for laminin in this fibrosarcoma model. This laminin receptor may mediate the interaction of the cell with its extracellular matrix.     

Ontogenesis of the murine hepatic extracellular matrix: an immunohistochemical study

To define the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in hepatogenesis, we examined the temporal and spatial deposition of fibronectin, laminin and collagen types I and IV in 12.5-21.5 day fetal and 1, 7 and 14 day postnatal rat livers. In early fetal liver, discontinuous deposits of the four ECM components studied were present in the perisinusoidal space, with laminin being the most prevalent. All basement membrane zones contained collagen type IV and laminin, including those of the capsule (mesothelial), portal vein radicles and bile ductules. Fibronectin had a distribution similar to that of collagen type IV early in gestation. However, at later gestational dates, fibronectin distribution in the portal triads approached that of collagen type I, being present in the interstitial connective tissues; whereas, collagen type IV and laminin were restricted to vascular and biliary basement membrane zones in those regions. The cytoplasm of some sinusoidal lining cells and hepatocytes reacted with antibodies to extracellular matrix components. By electron microscopy the immunoreactive material was localized in the endoplasmic reticulum, indicating the ability of these cells to synthesize these ECM proteins. Biliary ductular cells had prominent intracytoplasmic staining for laminin and collagen type IV from day 19.5 gestation until 7 days of postnatal life, but lacked demonstrable fibronectin or collagen type I. These results demonstrate that by 12.5 days of gestation the rat liver anlage has deposited a complex extracellular matrix in the perisinusoidal space. The prevalence of laminin in the developing hepatic lobules suggests a possible role for this glycoprotein in hepatic morphogenesis. In view of the intimate association of the hepatic lobular extracellular matrix with the developing vasculature, we hypothesize that laminin provides a scaffold of the developing liver, but once the ontogenesis is complete, intrahepatic perisinusoidal laminin expression is suppressed.     

Identification of New Dystroglycan Complexes in Skeletal Muscle

The dystroglycan complex contains the transmembrane protein β-dystroglycan and its interacting extracellular mucin-like protein α-dystroglycan. In skeletal muscle fibers, the dystroglycan complex plays an important structural role by linking the cytoskeletal protein dystrophin to laminin in the extracellular matrix. Mutations that affect any of the proteins involved in this structural axis lead to myofiber degeneration and are associated with muscular dystrophies and congenital myopathies. Because loss of dystrophin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) leads to an almost complete loss of dystroglycan complexes at the myofiber membrane, it is generally assumed that the vast majority of dystroglycan complexes within skeletal muscle fibers interact with dystrophin. The residual dystroglycan present in dystrophin-deficient muscle is thought to be preserved by utrophin, a structural homolog of dystrophin that is up-regulated in dystrophic muscles. However, we found that dystroglycan complexes are still present at the myofiber membrane in the absence of both dystrophin and utrophin. Our data show that only a minority of dystroglycan complexes associate with dystrophin in wild type muscle. Furthermore, we provide evidence for at least three separate pools of dystroglycan complexes within myofibers that differ in composition and are differentially affected by loss of dystrophin. Our findings indicate a more complex role of dystroglycan in muscle than currently recognized and may help explain differences in disease pathology and severity among myopathies linked to mutations in DAPC members.     

Membrane organization of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex

The stoichiometry, cellular location, glycosylation, and hydrophobic properties of the components in the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex were examined. The 156, 59, 50, 43, and 35 kd dystrophin-associated proteins each possess unique antigenic determinants, enrich quantitatively with dystrophin, and were localized to the skeletal muscle sarcolemma. The 156, 50, 43, and 35 kd dystrophin-associated proteins contained Asn-linked oligosaccharides. The 156 kd dystrophin-associated glycoprotein contained terminally sialylated Ser/Thr-linked oligosaccharides. Dystrophin, the 156 kd, and the 59 kd dystrophin-associated proteins were found to be peripheral membrane proteins, while the 50 kd, 43 kd, and 35 kd dystrophin-associated glycoproteins and the 25 kd dystrophin-associated protein were confirmed as integral membrane proteins. These results demonstrate that dystrophin and its 59 kd associated protein are cytoskeletal elements that are tightly linked to a 156 kd extracellular glycoprotein by way of a complex of transmembrane proteins.     

The direct visualization of structural array from laminin to dystrophin in sarcolemmal vesicles prepared from rat skeletal muscles

It has been biochemically shown that dystrophin and alpha- and beta-dystroglycan form an oligomeric complex which links laminin, a component of the basement membrane, to components of the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton in skeletal muscle fibers. In the present study the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex and its structural relationships to laminin and subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton were ultrastructurally examined in crude surface membranes prepared from rat skeletal muscles. Sarcolemmal vesicles within crude surface membranes were identified and characterized by fine protrusions on their outer surface and electron-dense materials or patches associated with the inner surface. These two components were seen to be in register with each other across the sarcolemma. The fine protrusions were immunolabeled by anti-alpha-dystroglycan and reassociated with exogenous laminin. Immunolabeling in combination with laminin reassociation demonstrated that the electron-dense materials contained dystrophin at laminin-binding domains of the membrane. In addition, they were often associated with very fine filaments. These results provide morphological evidence for the biochemically proposed model of molecular array of dystrophin complex from the basement membrane to the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton.