Procollagen lysyl hydroxylases and glycosyltransferases (LH, also known as procollagen lysylâ2âoxoglutarate dioxygenases (PLOD)) are essential biosynthesis enzymes present in all collagenâcontaining organisms, from sponges to humans. Higher vertebrates present three separate
PLOD
genes encoding for distinct enzyme isoforms (LH1, LH2a/b, and LH3), sharing âŒ70% amino acid sequence identity. The LH1 and LH2 isoforms exclusively display Fe
2+
, 2âoxoglutarateâdependent lysyl 5âhydroxylase activity, whereas LH3 is a multifunctional enzyme, able to further catalyze the Mn
2+
âdependent ÎČâ(1,
O
)âgalactosylation and the subsequent αâ(1,2)âglucosylation of 5âhydroxylysines. Despite exclusive selectivity for lysine residues within collagenous polypeptides, little is known about the specificity of LH enzymes for different amino acid sequences in different collagen types: LH1 and LH3 isoforms act on collagen tripleâhelical regions, whereas the LH2 isoform specifically hydroxylates collagen telopeptides, yet no consensus sequences, nor minimum sequence lengths, have been proposed as requirements for catalysis. Available crystal structures of fullâlength human LH3 show an elongated homodimeric quaternary structure, with three aligned domains constituting each enzyme's polypeptide: the Nâterminal glycosyltransferase (GT) domain, a central noncatalytic accessory (AC) domain, and a Câterminal lysyl hydroxylase (LH) domain. Dimerization occurs in the Câterminal domain, in proximity to the LH catalytic site. Dimerization is indeed essential for LH activity, but is dispensable for the glycosyltransferase activities of LH3.