Allergan acquired Elastagen primarily for the injectable product portfolio (acne scars/stretch marks aesthetics). February 14, 2018 Michael Patrini. doi: 10.1021/bi400760f, Miao, M., Reichheld, S. E., Muiznieks, L. D., Sitarz, E. E., Sharpe, S., and Keeley, F. W. (2017). "We believe it's in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar's strategy for profitable . (2006). doi: 10.1038/nature06669, Cox, B. Elastagen's technology is based on human tropoelastin . Soluble matrix protein is a potent modulator of mesenchymal stem cell performance. 286, 35943610. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M308465200, Miao, M., Bruce, A. E., Bhanji, T., Davis, E. C., and Keeley, F. W. (2007). doi: 10.1046/j.1432-1327.1998.2580001.x, Wang, Z., Liu, L., Mithieux, S. M., and Weiss, A. S. (2020). Trends towards maximal association are apparent when each of these parameters is varied. Sequences and domain structures of mammalian, avian, amphibian and teleost tropoelastins: clues to the evolutionary history of elastins. Reichheld, S. E., Muiznieks, L. D., Keeley, F. W., and Sharpe, S. (2017). Increased cyclic GMP levels lead to a stimulation of elastin production in ligament fibroblasts that is reversed by cyclic AMP. Molecular dynamics modeling of aggregating tropoelastin-derived peptide chains points to the maintenance of a hydrated, disordered, liquid-like state due to the formation of short-lived inter-chain bonds (Rauscher and Pomes, 2017; Reichheld et al., 2020), mostly likely due to the inducement of random coils by PG repeats (vide supra). (1989). 293, 1510715119. (1965). Elastin is extensively cross-linked and difficult to break apart into monomers even under harsh conditions, thus, initial strategies included feeding animals a copper deficient diet to prevent lysyl oxidase (LOX) cross-linking of tropoelastin; however, this proved inefficient and time consuming (Wise and Weiss, 2009; Tarakanova et al., 2018). doi: 10.1021/bi00835a022, Lockhart-Cairns, M. P., Newandee, H., Thomson, J., Weiss, A. S., Baldock, C., and Tarakanova, A. The understanding of tropoelastins structure has been hindered by numerous intrinsic properties of the molecule. 270, 1777817783. doi: 10.1074/jbc.270.30.17778, Cain, S. A., Baldock, C., Gallagher, J., Morgan, A., Bax, D. V., Weiss, A. S., et al. Exp. Shape of tropoelastin, the highly extensible protein that controls human tissue elasticity. 249, 997998. Chemistry 10, 31663176. Elastin is highly hydrophobic, extensively cross-linked, and is assembled into elastic fibers in a dynamic process involving cells, cell surface receptors, and numerous elastic fiber . (2009). Natl. Sci. Conformational transitions of the cross-linking domains of elastin during self-assembly. To get started with texting, you will need: Your phone number doi: 10.1006/excr.1995.1321, Hinek, A., and Rabinovitch, M. (1994). Mater. Additionally, elastin is remarkably durable as it is primarily deposited during prenatal development and childhood, and is rarely synthesized during adulthood. Alternative splicing of human elastin mRNA indicated by sequence analysis of cloned genomic and complementary DNA. (2012). AW is the Scientific Founder of Elastagen Pty. doi: 10.1096/fj.201801860RR, Schrader, C. U., Heinz, A., Majovsky, P., Karaman Mayack, B., Brinckmann, J., Sippl, W., et al. II. Biol. Tropoelastin monomers undergo self-assembly upon reaching the transition temperature through the aggregation of their hydrophobic domains (Wise et al., 2014). Elastagens tropoelastin is identical to that present in human tissue, and has many potential clinical applications, including treatment for acne scars, stretch marks, aesthetic skin repair and surgical wound repair. Int. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9258(19)43030-5, Dandurand, J., Samouillan, V., Lacabanne, C., Pepe, A., and Bochicchio, B. doi: 10.1016/s0003-9861(02)00719-1, Muiznieks, L. D., Reichheld, S. E., Sitarz, E. E., Miao, M., and Keeley, F. W. (2015). Invest. Detailed Description: Exon 26-coded polypeptide: an isolated hydrophobic domain of human tropoelastin able to self-assemble in vitro. Integrins canonically bind proteins containing Arg-Glu-Asp motifs, but this sequence is not found in tropoelastin (Lee et al., 2014). Matrix Biol. Crucially, these simulations revealed that self-assembly starts with a nucleation event and elongation proceeds via both globular and fibrillar structures (Tarakanova et al., 2019a). J. Biol. 3:100016. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2019.100016, Tarakanova, A., Yeo, G. C., Baldock, C., Weiss, A. S., and Buehler, M. J. 43, 131138. Modulative effects are also observed within full length tropoelastin, where disruptions to domain 26 diminish self-assembly (Jensen et al., 2000), highlighting the context of primary sequence on higher order structures. J. Biochem. Sequence and structure determinants for the self-aggregation of recombinant polypeptides modeled after human elastin. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(94)00848-m, McLaughlin, P. J., Chen, Q., Horiguchi, M., Starcher, B. C., Stanton, J. Chem. It was first hypothesized that tropoelastin assembles in a head-to-tail manner similar to that of other ECM proteins such as collagen, which assembles into fibrils that subsequently associate laterally to form sheets and thicker fibers (Kadler, 2017). J. Exp. 10, 441454. Matrix Biol. Tropoelastin, the soluble precursor to elastin, and the degradation products of fragmented elastic fibers also have important chemical signaling properties. Latent TGF- binding protein 4 promotes elastic fiber assembly by interacting with fibulin-5. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4684-9093-0_25, Scandolera, A., Odoul, L., Salesse, S., Guillot, A., Blaise, S., Kawecki, C., et al. KP domains are found closer toward the N-terminus, whereas KA domains are closer to the C-terminus and include alanine tracts (Indik et al., 1987). Allergan's Acquisition of Elastagen. 126, 283290. Allysine modifications perturb tropoelastin structure and mobility on a local and global scale. Structure 14, 16671676. FASEB J. Tropoelastin is a unique protein with biochemical and physical properties that allow it to rapidly self-assemble into fibrous structures. Med. Albert, E. N. (1972). 7:32. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00032, Schmelzer, C. E. H., Heinz, A., Troilo, H., Lockhart-Cairns, M. P., Jowitt, T. A., Marchand, M. F., et al. Med. Engineering a highly elastic human protein-based sealant for surgical applications. J. Mol. 258, 118. 396, 870873. J. Biochem. The coacervate is made insoluble by irreversible crosslinking. The evolutionary background and functional consequences of the rs2071307 polymorphism in human tropoelastin. 276, 4457544580. Received: 17 December 2020; Accepted: 08 February 2021;Published: 25 February 2021. Acad. FEBS J. Copyright 2021 Ozsvar, Yang, Cain, Baldock, Tarakanova and Weiss. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2009.11.003, Urban, Z., Hucthagowder, V., Schrmann, N., Todorovic, V., Zilberberg, L., Choi, J., et al. Elastin: molecular description and function. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b01503, Rauscher, S., Baud, S., Miao, M., Keeley, F. W., and Poms, R. (2006). While the clinical stage tropoelastin platform provides multiple opportunities for aesthetics, scar remodelling and tissue repair, it also has the . Most organisms contain one copy of ELN, other than teleosts and amphibians which notably possess two distinct types of ELN genes (He et al., 2007; Miao et al., 2007, 2009). The elasticity of organs and tissues in vertebrates is due to the presence of elastin, and an insoluble protein whose soluble monomer, tropoelastin, is enzymatically cross-linked through -amino groups of lysine residues. Collapse Section. Remarkably, optimal coacervation is found at 37 degrees C, 150 mM NaCl and pH 7-8. A., Gray, W. R., and Franzblau, C. (1973). In order to eliminate this limitation, human tropoelastin has been expressed in a recombinant bacterial system and the protein has been highly purified. Fibrillin-1 and -2 also interact with proteoglycans (Tiedemann et al., 2001), which coupled with tropoelastin/GAG interactions provide a pathway to the formation of elastic fibers. This reflects the experimentally observed heterogeneity of cross-links in mature elastin, again giving weight to the hypothesis that the flexibility of tropoelastin is imperative for assembly (Schrader et al., 2018; Tarakanova et al., 2019a). doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.08.005, Wise, S. G., and Weiss, A. S. (2009). J. Biol. Elastagens revolutionary technology is based on recombinant human tropoelastin, the precursor of elastin which is a key component of youthful skin. Assembly proceeds from a nucleation event and undergoes elongation in a step-wise manner to form a multimer which can occur in a head-to-tail fashion (Wise et al., 2014). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1812951116, Yue, K., Li, X., Schrobback, K., Sheikhi, A., Annabi, N., Leijten, J., et al. This suggests a high level of conformational sampling during this phase of coacervation, indicating that the flexibility of tropoelastin plays a key role in assembly that may persist, to some extent, into later stages of assembly (Reichheld et al., 2020). Acta 761, 1722. Biopolymers 29, 16991706. While tropoelastin is a flexible molecule, a combination of optical and structural analyses has defined key regions of the molecule that directly contribute to the elastomeric properties and control the cell interactions of the protein. Plus 2:100002. doi: 10.1016/j.mbplus.2019.03.001, Parks, W. C., Roby, J. D., Wu, L. C., and Grosso, L. E. (1992). Matrix Biol. For example, models involving single point mutations at negatively charged residues demonstrated both regional and global destabilization of tropoelastins structure, which were validated by SAXS structures (Yeo et al., 2012; Tarakanova et al., 2018). Molecular model of human tropoelastin and implications of associated mutations. J. Therm. Mater. With leaps in the improvement of cryogenic electron microscopy to characterize flexible molecules, we predict that this approach will contribute to a deeper understanding of tropoelastin structure and self-assembly in the context of endogenous fiber formation and biomaterials fabrication. 58, 270277. The hydrophobic domain 26 of human tropoelastin is unstructured in solution. J. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M510833200, Lee, P., Bax, D. V., Bilek, M. M., and Weiss, A. S. (2014). This review focuses on recent developments that have shaped our current knowledge of elastin assembly through understanding the relationship between tropoelastins structure and function. Investig. Codistribution analysis of elastin and related fibrillar proteins in early vertebrate development. They are ubiquitous across most vertebrates other than lower vertebrates such as species from the superclass Agnatha (jawless fish) (Debelle and Tamburro, 1999). (2018). The cross-linking domains are defined by lysines, which are responsible for the formation of durable bi-, tri-, and tetrafunctional cross-links within mature elastin. 126, 563574. Localizing alpha-helices in human tropoelastin: assembly of the elastin puzzle. (2021). Recycling of the 67-kDa elastin binding protein in arterial myocytes is imperative for secretion of tropoelastin. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1997.00092.x, Vrhovski, B., and Weiss, A. S. (1998). Biochemistry 42, 1334713362. 16,17 We have previously shown that monomeric TE is utilized as a substrate by dermal fibroblasts in the formation of elastin fibroblasts in vitro, where Cardiovasc. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9258(19)83613-x, Miao, M., Bellingham, C. M., Stahl, R. J., Sitarz, E. E., Lane, C. J., and Keeley, F. W. (2003). The amino acid sequence of domain 36 is unique; furthermore, its sequence confers a positively charged C-terminus comprising lysines between positively charged arginines, forming a RKRK sequence (Vrhovski et al., 1997). Coacervation optimally occurs at physiological temperature, however, in vitro coacervation can also occur at lower temperatures depending on experimental conditions and the choice of tropoelastin isoform or derivative (Yeo et al., 2011). 85, 593605. The compositions include a coalescence-controlling agent in the form of a polysaccharide or polysaccharide derivative, in an amount effective for providing the substance with the properties of flow, enabling injection. Another region of note is domain 36, which contains lysines but does not participate in cross-linking (Hedtke et al., 2019). Furthermore, tropoelastins hydrophobic and cross-linking domains are arranged in alternating patterns throughout the majority of the molecule, giving rise to both inter- and intra-domain level repetition. (2018). Combinations of these two amino acids result in domains that undergo rapid conformational sampling (Rauscher and Pomes, 2017), which, if perturbed toward a conformation that gravitate toward stability, will assemble into highly ordered amyloid-like fibrils that are not elastomeric (Rauscher et al., 2006; Roberts et al., 2015). 167, 94103. 280, 3052630537. Imaging 11:e007303. U.S.A. 116, 20422051. doi: 10.1248/bpb.b13-00933, Ozsvar, J., Tarakanova, A., Wang, R., Buehler, M. J., and Weiss, A. S. (2019). doi: 10.1161/circimaging.117.007303, Prhashanna, A., Taylor, P. A., Qin, J., Kiick, K. L., and Jayaraman, A. Elastin is the major component of elastic fibers, which are a major component of the tissue that supports the body's joints . Biomacromolecules 21, 35233538. Biochemistry of tropoelastin. Such models could be used in conjunction with the full molecular model of tropoelastin to examine the self-assembly of discrete regions to understand the impacts of amino acid substitutions in disease. Reichheld, S. E., Muiznieks, L. D., Huynh, Q., Wang, N., Ing, C., Miao, M., et al. 84, 6880. Tropoelastin is the building block of elastin, a key component of the skin, arteries and lungs that gives tissue its elasticity. Cross-linking domains are capable of modulating self-assembly when incorporated into peptides and biomaterials derived from tropoelastins hydrophobic domains. doi: 10.1038/246461a0, Haust, M. D., More, R. H., Bencosme, S. A., and Balis, J. U. The Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research is supported by funding from Wellcome Trust (203128/Z/16/Z). 289, 1005710068. A cell adhesive peptide from tropoelastin promotes sequential cell attachment and spreading via distinct receptors. doi: 10.1006/jmbi.2000.3901, Baldock, C., Oberhauser, A. F., Ma, L., Lammie, D., Siegler, V., Mithieux, S. M., et al. Tropoelastin #5052. Moreover, fibulins are essential for elastic fiber directionality, as fibroblasts with fibulin-4 and -5 knockdowns generate poorly formed elastic fibers (Yamauchi et al., 2010), and fibulin-4 / mice display aberrant, poorly cross-linked, and non-fibrous elastin (McLaughlin et al., 2006). KA domains were initially thought to form -helices and poly-proline II helices (PPII) due to the presence of cross-links which require a lysine arrangement that was postulated to be achieved via -helical configuration (Brown-Augsburger et al., 1995). J. Clin. Allergan's Medical Aesthetics business - a comprehensive portfolio of facial aesthetics, body contouring and plastic and regenerative medicine products - is expected to grow at an 8-10 percent. These interactions trigger a wide range of processes including wound healing, elastogenesis and maintenance of stemness (Yeo and Weiss, 2019). 41, 494497. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1111615108, Yeo, G. C., Baldock, C., Wise, S. G., and Weiss, A. S. (2017). Perturbation of either of these components greatly reduces tropoelastins ability to self-assemble in vitro and interact with the microfibril scaffold of elastic fibers (Nonaka et al., 2014), indicating that an intact domain 36 is required for correct assembly. Chem. Forty tropoelastin molecules were subjected to simulations using a MARTINI-based coarse-grained model, integrated with an elastic network model (Tarakanova et al., 2019a). Studies on the reduction of elastin. Total synthesis and expression in Escherichia coli of a gene encoding human tropoelastin. 278, 4855348562. Banded fibers in tropoelastin coacervates at physiological temperatures. Elastins subunit, tropoelastin, is a soluble 6070 kDa protein which has been intensely studied over the past three decades. J. Pathol. Tropoelastin promotes cell attachment and migration of several cell types including fibroblasts, endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells. 28, 432441. This temperature is also known as the transition temperature. I thank my team at the University of Sydney and greatly look forward to seeing our science commercialized by Allergan.. In addition to interacting with tropoelastin, fibulin-4 and -5 are capable of also binding LOX and fibrillin-1 and, thus, have key roles in facilitating elastogenesis (Hinderer et al., 2015).