Binding of tenascin-X to decorin

Tenascin-X (TN-X) is an extracellular matrix protein whose absence results in an alteration of the mechanical properties of connective tissue. To unde rstand the mechanisms of integration of TN-X in the extracellular matrix, o verlay. blot assays were performed on skin extracts, A 100 kDa molecule int eracting,vith TN-X was identified by this method and this interaction was a bolished when the extract was digested by chondroitinase. BS solid-phase as says,,ve showed that dermatan sulfate chains of decorin bind to the heparin -binding site included within the fibronectin-type III domains 10 and 11 of TN-X, We thus postulate that the association of TN-X with collagen fibrils is mediated bg decorin and contributes to the integrity of the extracellul ar network, (C) 2001 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Publishe d by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.