Early work on lubricin showed that it was able to lubricate non cartilaginous surfaces as effectively as whole synovial fluid, confirming its important biological lubrication role. Understanding lubricin is key to understanding joint mechanics and friction-based diseases.
The protein encoded by this gene is a approximately 345 kDa specifically synthesized by chondrocytes located at the surface of articular cartilage, and also by synovial lining cells. The cDNA encodes a protein of 1,404 amino acids (human A isoform) with a somatomedin B homology domain, heparin-binding domains, multiple mucin-like repeats, a hemopexin domain, and an aggregation domain. There are 3 consensus sequences for N-glycosylation and more than 168 sites for O-linked glycosylation.
In total, lubricin is approximately 200 nm +/- 50 nm in length and has a diameter of a few nanometers. The glycoprotein consists of >5% serine and >20% threonine residues, which give rise to a large number of O-glycosylations. These are thought to contain short polar (Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr) and negatively charged (NeuAcα2-3Galβ1-3GalNAcα1α1-Ser/Thr) sugar groups. About two thirds of these sugar groups are capped with sialic acid, and the end domains of the glycoprotein are thought to be globular, due to the nature of their protein-like domains. The N-terminus of lubricin is associated with its SMB-like domains, whereas the C-terminus is associated with the hemopexin-like domain. Due to the protein's overall slight negative charge and the fact that the center of the protein carries negatively charged sugar groups, the two end domains are thought to carry much of the protein's positive charge.
Lubricin's complex protein structure is termed "bottle brush," which refers to the large number of densely packed glycosylations on lubricin's backbone. Overall, lubricin's structure is similar to other mucin proteins and bottle brush polymers. This structure is key to its lubricating ability, which is ascribed to interchain repulsion. This leads to trapping of large quantities of solvent and the stabilization of a fluid-like cushioning layer, which enables bottle brush polymers to lower the friction between joints when external pressure is applied.
Furthermore, lubricin's N-terminus is thought to create disulfide bonds between two lubricin monomers. The glycoprotein thus exists as both a monomer and a dimer. The adsorption of lubricin to cartilage surfaces occurs through interactions on its N- and C- terminus, where its bottle brush structure plays a role in both coating and repelling similarly coated cartilage surfaces due to steric repulsion. Lubricin's high degree of hydration is also thought to be involved in repulsion forces generated by lubricin between opposing cartilage surfaces.
Shear studies of lubricin adsorbed between various hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces have confirmed the importance of the glycoprotein in boundary lubrication and wear protection in articular joints. Lubricin's bottle brush structure is common among a number of human lubricating glycoproteins, and a number of studies have been conducted to mimic this. Researchers have successfully designed low-friction polymers imitating lubricin's bottle-brush-like structure, further supporting the notion that it is lubricin's architecture which plays an important role in reducing friction. Similarly, another study on zwitterionic polymer brushes, which intended to mimic the structure of bottle-brush polymers present in cartilage, found that the brushes produced super low fouling surfaces and super low friction surfaces.
Lubricin’s role in improving tendon gliding has also been studied. While adding lubricin alone fails to affect the tendon gliding resistance, the addition of cd-gelatin plus lubricin significantly lowered the gliding resistance of the tendons. This research can aid in improving the gliding ability of tendon grafts done clinically.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy application has been shown to induce an increased lubricin expression in tendons and septa of rat hindlimbs, which might suggest a beneficial lubricating effect for joints and tissues prone to wear and tear degradation.
Lubricin, which is naturally present in human cornea-eyelid interface, has also been shown to play a key role in reducing friction between the cornea and conjunctiva of the eye. Clinical trials of the use of recombinant lubricin eye drops for treatment of dry eye disease have thus far been relatively successful.
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