Secreted Forms of Human Neutrophil Collagenase

Collagenase in human neutrophils is found within intracellular granules which can be stimulated to be secreted with phorbol myristic acetate. This extracellular secreted form of neutrophil collagenase was isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography using a monoclonal antibody previously shown to specifically recognize neutrophil collagenase. The enzyme efficiently bound to this column and was eluted with NaSCN as three major species of 75, 57, and 22 kDa, respectively. These proteins were closely related immunologically since, after radiolabeling and separation by gel filtration, each of the three proteins was precipitated by the monoclonal antibody. Also, the 75- and 57-kDa proteins exhibited collagenase activity after elution from polyacrylamide gels run under nondenaturing conditions. Further, the 57-kDa protein autodegraded into a 22-kDa protein with time. Polyclonal antibody, prepared to the 57-kDa enzyme, also recognized the 75- and 22-kDa proteins using an immunoblot technique. When crude neutrophil supernatants containing latent collagenase were immunoblotted, both the 75- and the 57-kDa enzymes were present. Our immunoaffinity purified active enzymes, although activated during the course of purification, resemble the latent enzymes in crude neutrophil supernatants. The multiple forms of secreted collagenase from degranulated leukocytes may resemble more closely that seen in inflammation.