Matrix Metalloproteinase 28 (MMP28)

MMP28 contains a threonine within its catalytic center. The active, furin-processed enzyme was estimated to be 45 kD. Northern blot analysis detected transcripts of 2.6, 2.0, and 1.2 kb in several tissues. The 2.6-kb transcript was most abundant and showed highest expression in testis, followed by lung, heart, colon, intestine, and brain. Western blot analysis of endogenous epilysin secreted by HaCaT keratinocytes showed a protein with an apparent molecular mass of about 58 kD. Immunohistochemical staining showed expression of epilysin protein in the basal and suprabasal epidermis of intact skin. In injured skin, prominent staining for epilysin was seen in basal keratinocytes both at and some distance from the wound edge, a pattern distinct from those of other MMPs expressed during tissue repair.