Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1989 Apr 1;108(4):1547–1556. doi: 10.1083/jcb.108.4.1547

Molecular cloning of syndecan, an integral membrane proteoglycan

PMCID: PMC2115498  PMID: 2494194

Abstract

We describe cDNA clones for a cell surface proteoglycan that bears both heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate and that links the cytoskeleton to the interstitial matrix. The cDNA encodes a unique core protein of 32,868 D that contains several structural features consistent with its role as a glycosamino-glycan-containing matrix anchor. The sequence shows discrete cytoplasmic, transmembrane, and NH2-terminal extracellular domains, indicating that the molecule is a type I integral membrane protein. The cytoplasmic domain is small and similar in size but not in sequence to that of the beta-chain of various integrins. The extracellular domain contains a single dibasic sequence adjacent to the extracellular face of the transmembrane domain, potentially serving as the protease-susceptible site involved in release of this domain from the cell surface. The extracellular domain contains two distinct types of putative glycosaminoglycan attachment sites; one type shows sequence characteristics of the sites previously described for chondroitin sulfate attachment (Bourdon, M. A., T. Krusius, S. Campbell, N. B. Schwartz, and E. Ruoslahti. 1987. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 84:3194-3198), but the other type has newly identified sequence characteristics that potentially correspond to heparan sulfate attachment sites. The single N-linked sugar recognition sequence is within the putative chondroitin sulfate attachment sequence, suggesting asparagine glycosylation as a mechanism for regulating chondroitin sulfate chain addition. Both 5' and 3' regions of this cDNA have sequences substantially identical to analogous regions of the human insulin receptor cDNA: a 99-bp region spanning the 5' untranslated and initial coding sequences is 67% identical and a 35- bp region in the 3' untranslated region is 81% identical in sequence. mRNA expression is tissue specific; various epithelial tissues show the same two sizes of mRNA (2.6 and 3.4 kb); in the same relative abundance (3:1), the cerebrum shows a single 4.5-kb mRNA. This core protein cDNA describes a new class of molecule, an integral membrane proteoglycan, that we propose to name syndecan (from the Greek syndein, to bind together).

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.4 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Argraves W. S., Suzuki S., Arai H., Thompson K., Pierschbacher M. D., Ruoslahti E. Amino acid sequence of the human fibronectin receptor. J Cell Biol. 1987 Sep;105(3):1183–1190. doi: 10.1083/jcb.105.3.1183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aziz N., Munro H. N. Iron regulates ferritin mRNA translation through a segment of its 5' untranslated region. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Dec;84(23):8478–8482. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.23.8478. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bourdon M. A., Krusius T., Campbell S., Schwartz N. B., Ruoslahti E. Identification and synthesis of a recognition signal for the attachment of glycosaminoglycans to proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 May;84(10):3194–3198. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.10.3194. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bowness J. M. Cartilage fucoproteins with sites for cross-linking by transglutaminase. Biochem Cell Biol. 1987 Apr;65(4):280–285. doi: 10.1139/o87-036. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Buck C. A., Horwitz A. F. Cell surface receptors for extracellular matrix molecules. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1987;3:179–205. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.03.110187.001143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Casey J. L., Hentze M. W., Koeller D. M., Caughman S. W., Rouault T. A., Klausner R. D., Harford J. B. Iron-responsive elements: regulatory RNA sequences that control mRNA levels and translation. Science. 1988 May 13;240(4854):924–928. doi: 10.1126/science.2452485. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chen W. T., Hasegawa E., Hasegawa T., Weinstock C., Yamada K. M. Development of cell surface linkage complexes in cultured fibroblasts. J Cell Biol. 1985 Apr;100(4):1103–1114. doi: 10.1083/jcb.100.4.1103. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Chirgwin J. M., Przybyla A. E., MacDonald R. J., Rutter W. J. Isolation of biologically active ribonucleic acid from sources enriched in ribonuclease. Biochemistry. 1979 Nov 27;18(24):5294–5299. doi: 10.1021/bi00591a005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Church G. M., Gilbert W. Genomic sequencing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Apr;81(7):1991–1995. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.7.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Damsky C. H., Knudsen K. A., Bradley D., Buck C. A., Horwitz A. F. Distribution of the cell substratum attachment (CSAT) antigen on myogenic and fibroblastic cells in culture. J Cell Biol. 1985 May;100(5):1528–1539. doi: 10.1083/jcb.100.5.1528. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Danielsen M., Northrop J. P., Ringold G. M. The mouse glucocorticoid receptor: mapping of functional domains by cloning, sequencing and expression of wild-type and mutant receptor proteins. EMBO J. 1986 Oct;5(10):2513–2522. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04529.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. David G., Bernfield M. R. Collagen reduces glycosaminoglycan degradation by cultured mammary epithelial cells: possible mechanism for basal lamina formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Feb;76(2):786–790. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.2.786. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ebina Y., Ellis L., Jarnagin K., Edery M., Graf L., Clauser E., Ou J. H., Masiarz F., Kan Y. W., Goldfine I. D. The human insulin receptor cDNA: the structural basis for hormone-activated transmembrane signalling. Cell. 1985 Apr;40(4):747–758. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90334-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Farquhar M. G. Progress in unraveling pathways of Golgi traffic. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1985;1:447–488. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.01.110185.002311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Feinberg A. P., Vogelstein B. "A technique for radiolabeling DNA restriction endonuclease fragments to high specific activity". Addendum. Anal Biochem. 1984 Feb;137(1):266–267. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(84)90381-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ferguson M. A., Williams A. F. Cell-surface anchoring of proteins via glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol structures. Annu Rev Biochem. 1988;57:285–320. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.57.070188.001441. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Franzblau C., Faris B. Biosynthesis of insoluble elastin in cell and organ cultures. Methods Enzymol. 1982;82(Pt A):615–637. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(82)82091-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Geetha-Habib M., Campbell S. C., Schwartz N. B. Subcellular localization of the synthesis and glycosylation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan core protein. J Biol Chem. 1984 Jun 10;259(11):7300–7310. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Gubler U., Hoffman B. J. A simple and very efficient method for generating cDNA libraries. Gene. 1983 Nov;25(2-3):263–269. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(83)90230-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Guest J. R., Lewis H. M., Graham L. D., Packman L. C., Perham R. N. Genetic reconstruction and functional analysis of the repeating lipoyl domains in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1985 Oct 20;185(4):743–754. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(85)90059-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Hayashi K., Hayashi M., Boutin E., Cunha G. R., Bernfield M., Trelstad R. L. Hormonal modification of epithelial differentiation and expression of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan in the mouse vaginal epithelium. An immunohistochemical and electron microscopic study. Lab Invest. 1988 Jan;58(1):68–76. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Hayashi K., Hayashi M., Jalkanen M., Firestone J. H., Trelstad R. L., Bernfield M. Immunocytochemistry of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan in mouse tissues. A light and electron microscopic study. J Histochem Cytochem. 1987 Oct;35(10):1079–1088. doi: 10.1177/35.10.2957423. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Horwitz A., Duggan K., Buck C., Beckerle M. C., Burridge K. Interaction of plasma membrane fibronectin receptor with talin--a transmembrane linkage. Nature. 1986 Apr 10;320(6062):531–533. doi: 10.1038/320531a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Huber S., Winterhalter K. H., Vaughan L. Isolation and sequence analysis of the glycosaminoglycan attachment site of type IX collagen. J Biol Chem. 1988 Jan 15;263(2):752–756. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Hunter T., Cooper J. A. Protein-tyrosine kinases. Annu Rev Biochem. 1985;54:897–930. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.54.070185.004341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Hynes R. O. Integrins: a family of cell surface receptors. Cell. 1987 Feb 27;48(4):549–554. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90233-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ishihara M., Fedarko N. S., Conrad H. E. Involvement of phosphatidylinositol and insulin in the coordinate regulation of proteoheparan sulfate metabolism and hepatocyte growth. J Biol Chem. 1987 Apr 5;262(10):4708–4716. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Izzard C. S., Radinsky R., Culp L. A. Substratum contacts and cytoskeletal reorganization of BALB/c 3T3 cells on a cell-binding fragment and heparin-binding fragments of plasma fibronectin. Exp Cell Res. 1986 Aug;165(2):320–336. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(86)90586-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Jalkanen M., Rapraeger A., Bernfield M. Mouse mammary epithelial cells produce basement membrane and cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans containing distinct core proteins. J Cell Biol. 1988 Mar;106(3):953–962. doi: 10.1083/jcb.106.3.953. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Jalkanen M., Rapraeger A., Saunders S., Bernfield M. Cell surface proteoglycan of mouse mammary epithelial cells is shed by cleavage of its matrix-binding ectodomain from its membrane-associated domain. J Cell Biol. 1987 Dec;105(6 Pt 2):3087–3096. doi: 10.1083/jcb.105.6.3087. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Koda J. E., Rapraeger A., Bernfield M. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans from mouse mammary epithelial cells. Cell surface proteoglycan as a receptor for interstitial collagens. J Biol Chem. 1985 Jul 5;260(13):8157–8162. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. McCarthy J. B., Chelberg M. K., Mickelson D. J., Furcht L. T. Localization and chemical synthesis of fibronectin peptides with melanoma adhesion and heparin binding activities. Biochemistry. 1988 Feb 23;27(4):1380–1388. doi: 10.1021/bi00404a044. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Melton D. A., Krieg P. A., Rebagliati M. R., Maniatis T., Zinn K., Green M. R. Efficient in vitro synthesis of biologically active RNA and RNA hybridization probes from plasmids containing a bacteriophage SP6 promoter. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Sep 25;12(18):7035–7056. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.18.7035. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Messing J. New M13 vectors for cloning. Methods Enzymol. 1983;101:20–78. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)01005-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Mort A. J., Lamport D. T. Anhydrous hydrogen fluoride deglycosylates glycoproteins. Anal Biochem. 1977 Oct;82(2):289–309. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(77)90165-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Osterlund E., Eronen I., Osterlund K., Vuento M. Secondary structure of human plasma fibronectin: conformational change induced by calf alveolar heparan sulfates. Biochemistry. 1985 May 21;24(11):2661–2667. doi: 10.1021/bi00332a011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Pierschbacher M. D., Ruoslahti E. Cell attachment activity of fibronectin can be duplicated by small synthetic fragments of the molecule. Nature. 1984 May 3;309(5963):30–33. doi: 10.1038/309030a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Rapraeger A., Bernfield M. Cell surface proteoglycan of mammary epithelial cells. Protease releases a heparan sulfate-rich ectodomain from a putative membrane-anchored domain. J Biol Chem. 1985 Apr 10;260(7):4103–4109. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Rapraeger A., Jalkanen M., Bernfield M. Cell surface proteoglycan associates with the cytoskeleton at the basolateral cell surface of mouse mammary epithelial cells. J Cell Biol. 1986 Dec;103(6 Pt 2):2683–2696. doi: 10.1083/jcb.103.6.2683. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Rapraeger A., Jalkanen M., Endo E., Koda J., Bernfield M. The cell surface proteoglycan from mouse mammary epithelial cells bears chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans. J Biol Chem. 1985 Sep 15;260(20):11046–11052. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Rasmussen S., Rapraeger A. Altered structure of the hybrid cell surface proteoglycan of mammary epithelial cells in response to transforming growth factor-beta. J Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;107(5):1959–1967. doi: 10.1083/jcb.107.5.1959. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Ratner L., Thielan B., Collins T. Sequences of the 5' portion of the human c-sis gene: characterization of the transcriptional promoter and regulation of expression of the protein product by 5' untranslated mRNA sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Aug 11;15(15):6017–6036. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.15.6017. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Ruoslahti E., Pierschbacher M. D. New perspectives in cell adhesion: RGD and integrins. Science. 1987 Oct 23;238(4826):491–497. doi: 10.1126/science.2821619. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Sabatini D. D., Kreibich G., Morimoto T., Adesnik M. Mechanisms for the incorporation of proteins in membranes and organelles. J Cell Biol. 1982 Jan;92(1):1–22. doi: 10.1083/jcb.92.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Saksela O., Moscatelli D., Sommer A., Rifkin D. B. Endothelial cell-derived heparan sulfate binds basic fibroblast growth factor and protects it from proteolytic degradation. J Cell Biol. 1988 Aug;107(2):743–751. doi: 10.1083/jcb.107.2.743. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Sanderson R. D., Bernfield M. Molecular polymorphism of a cell surface proteoglycan: distinct structures on simple and stratified epithelia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Dec;85(24):9562–9566. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.24.9562. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Saunders S., Bernfield M. Cell surface proteoglycan binds mouse mammary epithelial cells to fibronectin and behaves as a receptor for interstitial matrix. J Cell Biol. 1988 Feb;106(2):423–430. doi: 10.1083/jcb.106.2.423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Segarini P. R., Seyedin S. M. The high molecular weight receptor to transforming growth factor-beta contains glycosaminoglycan chains. J Biol Chem. 1988 Jun 15;263(17):8366–8370. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Sun X., Mosher D. F., Rapraeger A. Heparan sulfate-mediated binding of epithelial cell surface proteoglycan to thrombospondin. J Biol Chem. 1989 Feb 15;264(5):2885–2889. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Tamkun J. W., DeSimone D. W., Fonda D., Patel R. S., Buck C., Horwitz A. F., Hynes R. O. Structure of integrin, a glycoprotein involved in the transmembrane linkage between fibronectin and actin. Cell. 1986 Jul 18;46(2):271–282. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90744-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Weitzhandler M., Streeter H. B., Henzel W. J., Bernfield M. The cell surface proteoglycan of mouse mammary epithelial cells. The extracellular domain contains N terminus and a peptide sequence present in a conditioned medium proteoglycan. J Biol Chem. 1988 May 25;263(15):6949–6952. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Woods A., Couchman J. R., Johansson S., Hök M. Adhesion and cytoskeletal organisation of fibroblasts in response to fibronectin fragments. EMBO J. 1986 Apr;5(4):665–670. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04265.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Young R. A., Davis R. W. Yeast RNA polymerase II genes: isolation with antibody probes. Science. 1983 Nov 18;222(4625):778–782. doi: 10.1126/science.6356359. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES