Selective Roles for Tumor Necrosis Factor α-converting Enzyme/ADAM17 in the Shedding of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Ligand Family

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 279; no. 23; p. 24179
• Main Authors: C. Leann Hinkle, Susan W. Sunnarborg, David Loiselle, Carol E. Parker, Mary Stevenson, William E. Russell, David C. Lee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 04.06.2004
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M312141200

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) family ligands are derived by proteolytic cleavage of the ectodomains of integral membrane precursors. Previously, we established that tumor necrosis factor α-converting enzyme (TACE/ADAM17) is a physiologic transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) sheddase, and we also demonstrated enhanced shedding of amphiregulin (AR) and heparin-binding (HB)-EGF upon restoration of TACE activity in TACE-deficient EC-2 fibroblasts. Here we extended these results by showing that purified soluble TACE cleaved single sites in the juxtamembrane stalks of mouse pro-HB-EGF and pro-AR ectodomains in vitro . For pro-HB-EGF, this site matched the C terminus of the purified human growth factor, and we speculate that the AR cleavage site is also physiologically relevant. In contrast, ADAM9 and -10, both implicated in HB-EGF shedding, failed to cleave the ectodomain or cleaved at a nonphysiologic site, respectively. Cotransfection of TACE in EC-2 cells enhanced phorbol myristate acetate-induced but not constitutive shedding of epiregulin and had no effect on betacellulin (BTC) processing. Additionally, soluble TACE did not cleave the juxtamembrane stalks of either pro-BTC or pro-epiregulin ectodomains in vitro . Substitution of the shorter pro-BTC juxtamembrane stalk or truncation of the pro-TGF-α stalk to match the pro-BTC length reduced TGF-α shedding from transfected cells to background levels, whereas substitution of the pro-BTC P2-P2′ sequence reduced TGF-α shedding less dramatically. Conversely, substitution of the pro-TGF-α stalk or lengthening of the pro-BTC stalk, especially when combined with substitution of the pro-TGF-α P2–P2′ sequence, markedly increased BTC shedding. These results indicate that efficient TACE cleavage is determined by a combination of stalk length and scissile bond sequence.