Papers In Press, published online ahead of print May 31, 2007
J. Biol. Chem, 10.1074/jbc.M700915200
Submitted on January 31, 2007
Revised on May 30, 2007
Accepted on May 31, 2007
Hyaluronan export by the ABC-transporter MRP5 and its modulation by intracellular cGMP
Tobias Schulz, Udo Schumacher, and Peter Prehm
Institute of Physiological Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Muenster University Hospital, Muenster D-48129
Corresponding Author: prehm{at}uni-muenster.de
Hyaluronan must be exported from its site of synthesis, the inner side of plasma membrane, to the extracellular matrix. Here, we identified the multidrug associated protein MRP5 as the principle hyaluronan exporter from fibroblasts. The expression of the MRP5 (ABC-C5) transporter was silenced in fibroblasts using RNA interference and a dose dependent inhibition of hyaluronan export was observed. Hyaluronan oligosaccharides introduced into the cytosol competed with the export of endogenously labelled hyaluronan and the MRP5 substrate fluorescein. Since cGMP is a physiological substrate of MRP5, the intracellular concentrations of cGMP was modulated by the drugs IBMX, propentofyllin, L-NAME, zaprinast and bromo-cGMP and the effects on hyaluronan export were analysed. Increasing the cGMP levels inhibited hyaluronan export and decreasing it afforded higher concentrations of zaprinast to inhibit the export. Thus cGMP may be a physiological regulator of hyaluronan export at the level of the export pump MRP5.