Peroxidasins: novel players in tissue genesis.

Stabilization of extracellular matrix by protein crosslinking is a universal and essential process in multicellular organisms. Recent findings revealed that peroxidasin, a unique heme-peroxidase, produces hypohalides to support matrix synthesis. Unexpectedly, the highly reactive and potentially damaging hypohalides mediate the formation of sulfilimine bonds between adjacent collagen IV protomers. This crosslink is a fundamental feature of basal membranes, defining peroxidasin-dependent oxidant generation and sulfilimine crosslink formation as an elemental mechanism of tissue biogenesis.