Endoglin (CD105), a transmembrane protein of the transforming growth factor ␤ superfamily, plays a crucial role in angiogenesis. Mutations in endoglin result in the vascular defect known as hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT1). The soluble form of endoglin was suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. To obtain further insight into its function, we cloned, expressed, purified, and characterized the extracellular domain (ECD) of mouse and human endoglin fused to an immunoglobulin Fc domain. We found that mouse and human endoglin ECD-Fc bound directly, specifically, and with high affinity to bone morphogenetic proteins 9 and 10 (BMP9 and BMP10) in surface plasmon resonance (Biacore) and cell-based assays. We performed a function mapping analysis of the different domains of endoglin by examining their contributions to the selectivity and biological activity of the protein. Endoglin (CD105) is a homodimeric glycosylated cell-surface protein of 180 kDa previously identified as a co-receptor belonging to the TGF␤ superfamily (1). Several lines of evidence support an important role of endoglin in cardiovascular development and vascular remodeling (2). Loss-of-function mutations in endoglin are implicated in the vascular disorder hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia type 1 (HHT1), 3 which is a bleeding disorder characterized by arteriovenous malformations in the brain, lungs, and liver and is attributed to haploinsufficiency (3-5). Homozygous endoglin knock-out mice die during early gestation due to the lack of development of normal mature blood vessels (6). Adult endoglin heterozygous mice (7-8) or mice with a conditional mutation in the endoglin gene (9) exhibited similar angiogenic abnormalities and were used as animal models for HHT1. Mutations in the endoglin gene found in numerous HHT1 patients are localized most exclusively in the extracellular domain (4). The specific role of endoglin in the vascular dysplasia observed in HHT patients is not known, but it is likely to be related to the role of TGF␤ family signaling in angiogenesis (2, 10). Interestingly, another form of HHT, known as HHT2, which is also characterized by the presence of telangiectases as well as arteriovenous malformations in brain, lungs and liver, results from the loss of TGF␤ type I receptor ALK1 (11), which suggests an interrelatedness between endoglin and ALK1 and possibly involvement of the same ligand(s) in the mechanism of action of both molecules.A soluble form of endoglin has been observed in the serum of patients with different types of solid malignancies (12) and of pregnant women suffering from preeclampsia, a disease leading to vascular permeability (13), hypertension, and placental abruption (14). This soluble form, which reportedly results from partial shedding of the membrane-bound form of endoglin by the matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MT1-MMP) (15), a phenomenon also observed for the other type III receptor betaglycan (16), has been proposed to act as a scavenger or trap for circulating TGF␤ family liga...

Activin receptor-like kinase-1 (ALK1) is a type I, endothelial cell-specific member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily of receptors known to play an essential role in modulating angiogenesis and vessel maintenance. In the present study, we sought to examine the angiogenic and tumorigenic effects mediated upon the inhibition of ALK1 signaling using a soluble chimeric protein (ALK1-Fc). Of 29 transforming growth factor-β-related ligands screened by surface plasmon resonance, only bone morphogenetic protein (BMP9) and BMP10 displayed high-affinity binding to ALK1-Fc. In cell-based assays, ALK1-Fc inhibited BMP9-mediated Id-1 expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and inhibited cord formation by these cells on a Matrigel substrate. In a chick chorioallantoic membrane assay, ALK1-Fc reduced vascular endothelial growth factor-, fibroblast growth factor-, and BMP10-mediated vessel formation. The growth of B16 melanoma explants was also inhibited significantly by ALK1-Fc in this assay. Finally, ALK1-Fc treatment reduced tumor burden in mice receiving orthotopic grafts of MCF7 mammary adenocarcinoma cells. These data show the efficacy of chimeric ALK1-Fc proteins in mitigating vessel formation and support the view that ALK1-Fc is a powerful antiangiogenic agent capable of blocking vascularization. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(2); 379-88. ©2010 AACR.

TGFβ family ligands, which include the TGFβs, BMPs, and activins, signal by forming a ternary complex with type I and type II receptors. For TGFβs and BMPs, structures of ternary complexes have revealed differences in receptor assembly. However, structural information for how activins assemble a ternary receptor complex is lacking. We report the structure of an activin class member, GDF11, in complex with the type II receptor ActRIIB and the type I receptor Alk5. The structure reveals that receptor positioning is similar to the BMP class, with no interreceptor contacts; however, the type I receptor interactions are shifted toward the ligand fingertips and away from the dimer interface. Mutational analysis shows that ligand type I specificity is derived from differences in the fingertips of the ligands that interact with an extended loop specific to Alk4 and Alk5. The study also reveals differences for how TGFβ and GDF11 bind to the same type I receptor, Alk5. For GDF11, additional contacts at the fingertip region substitute for the interreceptor interactions that are seen for TGFβ, indicating that Alk5 binding to GDF11 is more dependent on direct contacts. In support, we show that a single residue of Alk5 (Phe84), when mutated, abolishes GDF11 signaling, but has little impact on TGFβ signaling. The structure of GDF11/ActRIIB/Alk5 shows that, across the TGFβ family, different mechanisms regulate type I receptor binding and specificity, providing a molecular explanation for how the activin class accommodates low-affinity type I interactions without the requirement of cooperative receptor interactions.

The single transmembrane domain serine/threonine kinase activin receptor type IIB (ActRIIB) has been proposed to bind key regulators of skeletal muscle mass development, including the ligands GDF-8 (myostatin) and GDF-11 (BMP-11). Here we provide a detailed kinetic characterization of ActRIIB binding to several low and high affinity ligands using a soluble activin receptor type IIB-Fc chimera (ActRIIB.Fc). We show that both GDF-8 and GDF-11 bind the extracellular domain of ActRIIB with affinities comparable with those of activin A, a known high affinity ActRIIB ligand, whereas BMP-2 and BMP-7 affinities for ActRIIB are at least 100-fold lower. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we demonstrate that ActRIIB binds GDF-11 and activin A in different ways such as, for example, substitutions in ActRIIB Leu 79 effectively abolish ActRIIB binding to activin A yet not to GDF-11. Native ActRIIB has four isoforms that differ in the length of the C-terminal portion of their extracellular domains. We demonstrate that the C terminus of the ActRIIB extracellular domain is crucial for maintaining biological activity of the ActRIIB.Fc receptor chimera. In addition, we show that glycosylation of ActRIIB is not required for binding to activin A or GDF-11. Together, our findings reveal binding specificity and activity determinants of the ActRIIB receptor that combine to effect specificity in the activation of distinct signaling pathways.

Abstract6-Deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS) is a modular polyketide synthase (PKS) responsible for the biosynthesis of 6-dEB (1), the parent aglycone of the broad spectrum macrolide antibiotic erythromycin. Individual DEBS modules, which contain the catalytic domains necessary for each step of polyketide chain elongation and chemical modification, can be deconstructed into constituent domains. To better understand the intrinsic stereospecificity of the ketoreductase (KR) domains, an in vitro reconstituted system has been developed involving combinations of ketosynthase (KS) -acyl transferase (AT) didomains with acyl-carrier protein (ACP) and KR domains from different DEBS modules. Incubations with (2S,3R)-2-methyl-3-hydroxypentanoic acid N-acetylcysteamine thioester (2) and methylmalonyl-CoA plus NADPH result in formation of a reduced, ACP-bound triketide that is converted to the corresponding triketide lactone 4 by either base-or enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis/cyclization. A sensitive and robust GC-mass spectrometry technique has been developed to assign the stereochemistry of the resulting triketide lactones, on the basis of direct comparison with synthetic standards of each of the four possible diasteromers 4a-4d. Using the [KS][AT] didomains from either DEBS module 3 or module 6 in combination with KR domains from modules 2 or 6 gave in all cases exclusively (2R,3S,4R,5R)-3,5-dihydroxy-2,4-dimethyl-n-heptanoic acid-δ-lactone (4a). The same product was also generated by a chimeric module in which [KS3][AT3] was fused to [KR5][ACP5] and the DEBS thioesterase [TE] domain. Reductive quenching of the ACPbound 2-methyl-3-ketoacyl triketide intermediate with sodium borohydride confirmed that in each case the triketide intermediate carried only an unepimerized D-2-methyl group. The results confirm the predicted stereospecificity of the individual KR domains, while revealing an unexpected configurational stability of the ACP-bound 2-methyl-3-ketoacyl thioester intermediate. The methodology should be applicable to the study of any combination of heterologous [KS][AT] and [KR] domains.Modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) are multifunctional enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of polyketides metabolites that exhibit a wide range of important biological properties, including antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and immunosuppressive activity. 1 They catalyze repetitive Claisen-like condensations between methylmalonyl or malonyl thioester building blocks and the growing polyketide acyl thioesters. Using an assembly line of active sites, each module is responsible for one cycle of polyketide chain elongation and *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: David_Cane@brown.edu. (TE) domain, located at the C-terminus of the furthest downstream module, catalyzes release and concomitant cyclization of the mature, full-length macrocyclic polyketide. NIH Public AccessThe 6-deoxyerythronolide synthase (DEBS) from Saccharopolyspora erythraea, which is by far the most thoroughly studied modular PKS, is responsib...