Enzymatic processing of beta-dystroglycan recombinant ectodomain by MMP-9: identification of the main cleavage site.

Dystroglycan (DG) is a membrane receptor belonging to the complex of glycoproteins associated to dystrophin. DG is formed by two subunits, alpha-DG, a highly glycosylated extracellular matrix protein, and beta-DG, a transmembrane protein. The two DG subunits interact through the C-terminal domain of alpha-DG and the N-terminal extracellular domain of beta-DG in a noncovalent way.