Regulation of Elastinolytic Cysteine Proteinase Activity in Normal and Cathepsin K–Deficient Human Macrophages

Human macrophages mediate the dissolution of elastic lamina by mobilizing tissue-destructive cysteine proteinases. While macrophage-mediated elastin degradation has been linked to the expression of cathepsins L and S, these cells also express cathepsin K, a new member of the cysteine proteinase family whose elastinolytic potential exceeds that of all known elastases. To determine the relative role of cathepsin K in elastinolysis, monocytes were differentiated under conditions in which they recapitulated a gene expression profile similar to that observed at sites of tissue damage in vivo. After a 12-d culture period, monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) expressed cathepsin K in tandem with cathepsins L and S. Though cysteine proteinases are acidophilic and normally confined to the lysosomal network, MDMs secreted cathepsin K extracellularly in concert with cathepsins L and S. Simultaneously, MDMs increased the expression of vacuolar-type H⁺-ATPase components, acidified the pericellular milieu, and maintained extracellular cathepsin K in an active form. MDMs from a cathepsin K–deficient individual, however, retained the ability to express, process, and secrete cathepsins L and S, and displayed normal elastin-degrading activity. Thus, matrix-destructive MDMs exteriorize a complex mix of proteolytic cysteine proteinases, but maintain full elastinolytic potential in the absence of cathepsin K by mobilizing cathepsins L and S.