Human ADAMTS4 Antibody

ADAMTS4 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 4), also known as aggrecanase-1, is a member of the family of secreted zinc proteases with a multi-domain structure (1‑3). The protein precursors consist of a signal peptide and the following domains: pro, catalytic, disintegrin-like, TS type 1 motif, cysteine-rich, and spacer. It is the only ADAMTS identified that has one TS type I motif. It is an active protease effectively cleaving alpha-2-macroglobulin and aggrecan at multiple sites, and is inhibited by TIMP-3 with inhibition constants in subnanomolar range (4‑6). It receives great attention due to the elevation in its mRNA level after treatment with Interleukin-1 (7). However, in a mouse model of osteoarthritis, ADAMTS4 knock-out mice did not exhibit any significant protective effect (8). The purified rhADAMTS4 starts at the catalytic domain and ends before the spacer domain. If desired, the aggrecanase activity can be inhibited by 5 mM 1,10‑phenanthroline and recombinant human TIMP-3 (R&D Systems, Catalog # 973-TM).