Lysyl hydroxylases (or procollagen-lysine 5-dioxygenases) are alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylasesenzymes that catalyze the hydroxylation of lysine to hydroxylysine.[1][2] Lysyl hydroxylases require iron and vitamin C as cofactors for their oxidation activity. It takes place (as a post-translational modification) following collagen synthesis in the cisternae (lumen) of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER). There are three lysyl hydroxylases (LH1-3) encoded in the human genome, namely: PLOD1, PLOD2 and PLOD3. From PLOD2 two splice variant can be expressed (LH2a and LH2b), where LH2b differs from LH2a by incorporating the small exon 13A. LH1 and LH3 hydroxylate lysyl residues in the collagen triple helix, whereas LH2b hydroxylates lysyl residues in the telopeptides of collagen. In addition to its hydroxylation activity, LH3 has glucosylation activity that produces disaccharide (Glc-Gal) attached to collagen hydroxylysines.
Collagen lysyl hydroxylation is the first step in collagen pyridinoline cross-linking, that is necessary for the stabilization of collagen.
A deficiency in its cofactor vitamin C is associated with scurvy.
References
^Hausmann E (Apr 1967). "Cofactor requirements for the enzymatic hydroxylation of lysine in a polypeptide precursor of collagen". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Protein Structure. 133 (3): 591–3. doi:10.1016/0005-2795(67)90566-1. PMID6033801.
