Involvement of MMP‐9 in collagen degradation of sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus): Cloning, expression, and characterization

Disintegration of intramuscular connective tissue is responsible for postmortem tenderization of fish muscles during chilled storage. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was reported to be involved in this process, whereas the mechanism has not been revealed. In the present study, purified type I and V collagens from the connective tissues of sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus) muscles were first prepared. These two kinds of collagens comprise three polypeptide chains (α), forming a typical triple-helical domain as determined by circular dichroism. The complete coding region of MMP-9 containing an open reading frame of 2070 bp encoding 689 amino acid residues was then cloned. The recombinant MMP-9 catalytic domain (rcMMP-9) was expressed in Escherichia coli and exhibited high hydrolyzing activity toward gelatin. Besides, rcMMP-9 was effective in degrading type V collagen rather than type I collagen at 4°C. The enzymatic activity of rcMMP-9 was highly pH-dependent, and its enzymatic activity under neutral and basic conditions was higher than that under acidic conditions. Metal ion Ca2+ was necessary for the maintenance of rcMMP-9 activity, whereas Zn2+ inhibited its activity. Our present study indicated that MMP-9 is responsible for the disintegration of intramuscular connective tissues by cleaving type V collagen during postmortem tenderization of fish muscle. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Elucidation the involvement of MMP-9 in collagen degradation will deliver a reference for the prevention of muscular protein decomposition during chilled storage of fish fillets.