title: Decorin core protein (decoron) shape complements collagen fibril surface structure and mediates its binding.
abstract: Decorin is the archetypal small leucine rich repeat proteoglycan of the vertebrate extracellular matrix (ECM). With its glycosaminoglycuronan chain, it is responsible for stabilizing inter-fibrillar organization. Type I collagen is the predominant member of the fibrillar collagen family, fulfilling both organizational and structural roles in animal ECMs. In this study, interactions between decoron (the decorin core protein) and binding sites in the d and e(1) bands of the type I collagen fibril were investigated through molecular modeling of their respective X-ray diffraction structures. Previously, it was proposed that a model-based, highly curved concave decoron interacts with a single collagen molecule, which would form extensive van der Waals contacts and give rise to strong non-specific binding. However, the large well-ordered aggregate that is the collagen fibril places significant restraints on modes of ligand binding and necessitates multi-collagen molecular contacts. We present here a relatively high-resolution model of the decoron-fibril collagen complex. We find that the respective crystal structures complement each other well, although it is the monomeric form of decoron that shows the most appropriate shape complementarity with the fibril surface and favorable calculated energies of interaction. One molecule of decoron interacts with four to six collagen molecules, and the binding specificity relies on a large number of hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions, primarily with the collagen motifs KXGDRGE and AKGDRGE (d and e(1) bands). This work helps us to understand collagen-decorin interactions and the molecular architecture of the fibrillar ECM in health and disease.
authors.affiliation: BioCAT and microCoSM Centres: Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, USA. orgel@iit.edu
authors.forename: Joseph P R O
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Orgel
authors.forename: Aya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eid
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Antipova
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bella
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D058575:Decorin; D004548:Elasticity; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D058575:Decorin; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans; D012997:Solvents; D003094:Collagen