New Concepts in Basement Membrane Biology Willi Halfter1, Philipp Oertle2, Christophe A
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REVIEW ARTICLE New concepts in basement membrane biology Willi Halfter1, Philipp Oertle2, Christophe A. Monnier2,*, Leon Camenzind2, Magaly Reyes-Lua1, Huaiyu Hu3, Joseph Candiello4, Anatalia Labilloy5,†, Manimalha Balasubramani6, Paul Bernhard Henrich1 and Marija Plodinec2,7 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland 2 Biozentrum and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland 3 Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Upstate University Hospital, SUNY University, Syracuse, NY, USA 4 Department of Bioengeneering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA 5 Department of Renal Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA 6 Proteomics Core Facility of the University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA 7 Department of Pathology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland Keywords Basement membranes (BMs) are thin sheets of extracellular matrix that basal lamina; basement membrane; outline epithelia, muscle fibers, blood vessels and peripheral nerves. The biomechanical properties; collagen IV; current view of BM structure and functions is based mainly on transmis- laminin; membrane asymmetry; nidogen; sion electron microscopy imaging, in vitro protein binding assays, and phe- perlecan notype analysis of human patients, mutant mice and invertebrata. Correspondence Recently, MS-based protein analysis, biomechanical testing and cell adhe- W. Halfter, Department of Ophthalmology, sion assays with in vivo derived BMs have led to new and unexpected University Hospital Basel, Mittlere insights. Proteomic analysis combined with ultrastructural studies showed Strasse 91, 4031 Basel, Switzerland that many BMs undergo compositional and structural changes with Fax: +41 61 267 21 09 advancing age. Atomic force microscopy measurements in combination Tel: +49 7624 982528 with phenotype analysis have revealed an altered mechanical stiffness that E-mail: [email protected] M. Plodinec, Department of Pathology, correlates with specific BM pathologies in mutant mice and human University Hospital Basel, patients. Atomic force microscopy-based height measurements strongly Schonbeinstrasse€ 40, CH-4031 Basel, suggest that BMs are more than two-fold thicker than previously esti- Switzerland mated, providing greater freedom for modelling the large protein polymers Fax: +41 61 267 21 09 within BMs. In addition, data gathered using BMs extracted from mutant Tel: +41 267 22 60 mice showed that laminin has a crucial role in BM stability. Finally, recent E-mail: [email protected] evidence demonstrate that BMs are bi-functionally organized, leading to Present addresses: the proposition that BM-sidedness contributes to the alternating epithelial *Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of and stromal tissue arrangements that are found in all metazoan species. Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland We propose that BMs are ancient structures with tissue-organizing func- †Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical tions and were essential in the evolution of metazoan species. Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA (Received 22 April 2015, revised 13 July 2015, accepted 18 August 2015) doi:10.1111/febs.13495 Abbreviations AFM, atomic force microscopy; BM, basement membrane; DN, Descemet’s membrane; ECM, extracellular matrix; HSPG, heparan sulfate proteoglycan; ILM, inner limiting membrane; LC, lens capsule; TEM, transmission electron microscopy. 4466 FEBS Journal 282 (2015) 4466–4479 ª 2015 The Authors. The FEBS Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. W. Halfter et al. New concepts in basement membrane biology The current view of basement Mutations of proteins that are irreplaceable for BM membranes assembly cause embryonic death prior to gastrulation [28]; hence, vertebrates cannot develop and survive Basement membranes (BMs) are extracellular matrix without BMs. Nonlethal mutations in mice and (ECM) sheets that are located at the basal side of humans lead to a collection of BM-typical phenotypes. every epithelium; they ensheath smooth, cardiac and These include vascular defects that are particularly skeletal muscle fibers and outline Schwann cells and prominent in brain and eyes [29–33]. Common are reti- – vascular endothelial cells [1 5]. BMs usually require nal or cortical ectopias, in which retinal or cortical immunostaining (Fig. 1A) or transmission electron cells migrate through breaks in the pial or retinal BMs microscopy (TEM) for their detection. According to [29–31,34–37]. The cortical/retinal BM defects are < TEM, the standard BM has a thickness of 100 nm. associated with a major loss of Cajal–Retzius cells in Exceptions are the several micrometer-thick lens the cortex and at least 50% loss of ganglion cells in capsule (LC), the tracheal BM and Descemet’s mem- the retina [30,31]. Common phenotypes also include brane. defects in kidney [38,39] and ear development, whereas Key for the identification of BM proteins was the skin blisters are restricted to mutations of a subset of discovery that mouse yolk sac tumors produce a BM- the epidermal BM proteins [40]. A common phenotype – typical ECM in gram quantities [6 8]. Analysis of also includes several forms of congenital muscular these tumor matrices showed that laminin [9,10], nido- dystrophy [36,41–44]. Many of these pathologies often gen/entactin [11,12], perlecan [13] and collagen IV [14] co-exist as syndromes and are particulary damaging are large multidomain glycoproteins with a molecular during embryonic development when tissues and organs mass of between 150 and 1000 kDa. Their multiple are expanding and BMs are under stress. In particular, peptide domains promote polymerization and binding these phenotypes suggest an essential role of mechani- to other BM proteins [15,16]. The laminins comprise a cal stability for BM functions and that the integrity of family of cross-shaped, heterotrimeric glycoproteins BMs is particulalry vulnerable in embryonic and neona- with over 10 trimer combinations [17]. Collagen IV is tal development. Recent data using mutant mice have a composed of six genetically different chains that emerged demonstrating a key role for integrins and assemble into three linear collagen IV heterotrimers dystroglycan, including the carbohydrate side chain of ~ [18]. With molecular masses of 150 kDa, Nidogens I dystroglycan, in the assembly of many BMs. In particu- – and II are the smallest BM glycoproteins [19 21]. Per- lar, mice with defective or no receptors have patholo- lecan was considered the only BM heparan sulfate pro- gies that are similar to defects in humans and mice with teoglycan (HSPG) [13] until two more BM-associated BM protein mutations [45–50]. HSPGs, agrin and collagen XVIII, were identified [22–25]. The current model, prominently based on protein Limitations of the current BM model binding studies and imaging of isolated BM proteins The commonly accepted thickness of BMs of from the mouse tumors, proposes that BMs are com- < 100 nm poses major limitations to model the large posed of two inter-connected networks: a laminin BM proteins within the confines of BMs. For collagen polymer, which is considered to provide the main cell- IVs with a trimer length of 400 nm, a horizontal posi- binding activity of BMs, and a collagen IV network, tioning is conceivable and, in most diagrams of BMs, which is considered as the main stabilizing structure the collagen IV network is depicted with a flat, [26,27]. ABC Fig. 1. BMs of the human eye. Section of a fetal human eye (A) stained for collagen IV (green) to highlight the the corneal BMs (Co), the ILM, the lens capsule (LC), the vascular BMs (BV) and the BM of Bruch’s membrane (star). L, lens; R, retina; VB, vitreous body. Counter stain: Pax 6 (red). DM, LC, vascular BMs and ILM can be isolated. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the ILM (B) and vascular BMs (C) of an adult human eye are free of cellular debris and non-BM ECM. Scale bar: (A) 200 lm; (B, C) 10 lm. FEBS Journal 282 (2015) 4466–4479 ª 2015 The Authors. The FEBS Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of 4467 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. New concepts in basement membrane biology W. Halfter et al. chicken-wire configuration. A high-angle shadowing biomechanical properties, their protein composition analysis of the amnion BM has demonstrated a more and their capacity to promote cell adhesion [64]. complex arrangement of collagen IV [51], Nevertheless, The main proposed functions for BM-typical in almost all current reviews on BMs, the dominant HSPGs are to bind growth factors and to connect the model of the collagen IV network is still that of a flat, laminin polymer with the collagen IV network. How- interconnected network [52,53]. A major issue is that ever, recent studies showed that HSPGs also regulate collagens are known to have high tensile strength; the hydration status of BMs, and thereby determine thus, a flat positioning would make it difficult for their biomechanical properties, including thickness and BMs to expand, which might cause functional defects stiffness [55,57]. during embryogenesis when tissues and organs are growing. The lacking abbility for BM to expand would New data on BM biology also be a major issue for highly flexible adult tissues and organs, such as skin, lens,