Lysyl hydroxylase 3 glucosylates galactosylhydroxylysine residues in type I collagen in osteoblast culture

Lysyl hydroxylase 3 (LH3), encoded by Plod3, is the multi-functional collagen-modifying enzyme possessing LH, hydroxylysine galactosyltransferase (GT), and galactosylhydroxylysine-glucosyltransferase (GGT) activities. Although an alteration in type I collagen glycosylation has been implicated in several osteogenic disorders, the role of LH3 in bone physiology has never been investigated. To elucidate the function of LH3 in bone type I collagen modifications, we used a short hairpin RNA technology in a mouse osteoblastic cell line, MC3T3-E1; generated single cell-derived clones stably suppressing LH3 (short hairpin (Sh) clones); and characterized the phenotype. Plod3 expression and the LH3 protein levels in the Sh clones were significantly suppressed when compared with the controls, MC3T3-E1, and the clone transfected with an empty vector. In comparison with controls, type I collagen synthesized by Sh clones (Sh collagen) showed a significant decrease in the extent of glucosylgalactosylhydroxylysine with a concomitant increase of galactosylhydroxylysine, whereas the total number of hydroxylysine residues was essentially unchanged. In an in vitro fibrillogenesis assay, Sh collagen showed accelerated fibrillogenesis compared with the controls. In addition, when recombinant LH3-V5/His protein was generated in 293 cells and subjected to GGT/GT activity assay, it showed GGT but not GT activity against denatured type I collagen. The results from this study clearly indicate that the major function of LH3 in osteoblasts is to glucosylate galactosylhydroxylysine residues in type I collagen and that an impairment of this LH3 function significantly affects type I collagen fibrillogenesis.