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PubMed1996

Plasmin-platelet interaction involves cleavage of functional thrombin receptor.

We tested the hypothesis that the inhibition of thrombin-induced platelet activation by plasmin is mediated via the enzymatic action of plasmin on the functional thrombin receptor. We monitored the binding of the anti-thrombin receptor antibody [anti-TR-(34-46)] to platelets; this binding is sensitive to the cleavage of the thrombin receptor at amino acid residues Arg-41 to Ser-42. Plasmin inhibited anti-TR-(34-46) binding in dose- and time-dependent manners. The inactive synthetic peptide with the amino acid sequence 40-55 of the thrombin receptor (D-FPRSFLLRNPNDKYEPF) was similarly cleaved by thrombin and plasmin to an active peptide (SFLLRNPNDKYEPF) that produced robust cytosolic Ca2+ responses. At high concentrations, plasmin itself can activate platelets. We explored this effect with the use of anti-TR-(1-160). This antibody abolished the cytosolic Ca2+ responses to thrombin and to the thrombin receptor-activating peptide SFLLRN but did not attenuate the plasmin-induced cytosolic Ca2+ response. Thus plasmin inhibits thrombin-evoked platelet activation by cleaving the thrombin receptor, but the plasmin-induced cytosolic Ca2+ response is not due to the generation of the tethered peptide of the thrombin receptor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Regulation of transglutaminase activity in articular chondrocytes through thrombin receptor-mediated factor XIII synthesis.

Transglutaminases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the formation of epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine isopeptide bonds in proteins, an activity that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cartilage matrix mineralization in degenerative arthritis. Type II transglutaminase and thrombin-activatable factor XIII have been identified in articular cartilage. Thrombin, a coagulation protease, is found in pathological synovial fluids, and is known to stimulate transglutaminase activity in non-articular tissues. We investigated the effects of thrombin on transglutaminase activity in porcine articular chondrocytes. Direct addition of thrombin to chondrocyte lysates resulted in increased transglutaminase activity due to proteolytic conversion of factor XIII to XIIIa. Thrombin-treated chondrocyte cultures (0.001 to 2.0 U/ml) also showed increased transglutaminase activity. Thrombin treatment of chondrocyte cultures increased transglutaminase activity as early as 15 minutes after addition, an effect that we attributed to factor XIII activation. Additional stimulatory effects of thrombin were observed in cultured chondrocytes at 4 and 24 hours. A thrombin receptor agonist peptide (TRAP) which activates the PAR1 thrombin receptor mimicked these later effects. Thrombin treatment of chondrocyte cultures increased factor XIII mRNA and protein levels, without affecting levels of type II transglutaminase. Thus, thrombin stimulates transglutaminase activity in articular cartilage by directly cleaving factor XIII and by receptor-mediated up-regulation of factor XIII synthesis. Such increases in potential transglutaminase activity may facilitate pathological matrix calcification in degenerative arthritis.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Thrombin induces the preproendothelin-1 gene in endothelial cells by a protein tyrosine kinase-linked mechanism.

Thrombin stimulates synthesis and secretion of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoactive peptide that triggers responses in the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle. We investigated the signal transduction pathways by which thrombin stimulates preproET-1 gene expression and ET-1 peptide secretion in macrovascular cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVECs] and bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells [BPAECs]) and microvascular cells (human microvascular endothelial cell line [HMEC-1]). Thrombin (4 U/mL) stimulated maximal induction of ET-1 peptide secretion and preproET-1 mRNA after 2 hours in HUVECs and BPAECs and after 1 hour in HMEC-1. A synthetic thrombin receptor activator peptide confirmed ligand-specific receptor actions to induce preproET-1 mRNA. Protein kinase C (PKC) activation by phorbol ester transiently induced preproET-1 mRNA but had no effect on ET-1 peptide synthesis. PKC inhibitors sangivamycin and calphostin C and PKC depletion failed to suppress thrombin-stimulated preproET-1 mRNA. Adenylate cyclase and cAMP-dependent protein kinase did not participate in thrombin-induced preproET-1 gene activation. Thrombin stimulated a rapid increase in phosphotyrosine-containing proteins, suggesting a role for tyrosine phosphorylation in thrombin signaling. These data demonstrate that thrombin induces the preproET-1 gene and ET-1 peptide synthesis by a PKC-independent PTK-dependent pathway in macrovascular and microvascular endothelial cells. Protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors herbimycin A and genistein blocked thrombin-stimulated preproET-1 mRNA and peptide secretion, whereas daidzein, which lacks inhibitory activity, did not suppress thrombin-induced ET-1.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Thrombin stimulates proliferation of cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells by a proteolytically activated receptor.

Thrombin has been implicated in the stimulation of smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation that contributes to post angioplasty restenosis. The present studies demonstrated that human alpha-thrombin was a potent and efficacious mitogen for cultured rat aortic SMC, stimulating an increase in 3H-thymidine incorporation, as well as an increase in cell number at 1 to 10 nM concentration. gamma-Thrombin, which is enzymatically active but lacks fibrinogen clotting activity, stimulated SMC mitogenesis but was approximately 10-fold less potent than alpha-thrombin. In contrast, D-phenylalanyl-L-propyl-L-arginyl-chloromethyl ketone-alpha-thrombin, which lacked enzymatic activity, had no mitogenic effect. Diisopropylfluorophosphate-alpha-thrombin failed to stimulate mitogenesis except at concentrations having equivalent enzymatic activity as that of alpha-thrombin at its threshold for mitogenesis. Thus, thrombin-induced proliferation was dependent on enzymatic activity. A 14-residue peptide (SFLLRNPNDKYEPF) corresponding to amino acids 42 through 55 of the human thrombin receptor (Vu, T. K., D. T. Hung, V. I. Wheaton, and S. R. Coughlin, 1991. Cell. 64:1057-1068) had full efficacy in stimulating SMC proliferation. Reversing the first two amino acids of this peptide abolished mitogenic activity. Northern analysis demonstrated that SMC expressed a single mRNA species that hybridized to a labeled thrombin receptor cDNA probe. These findings indicate that alpha-thrombin stimulates SMC proliferation via the proteolytic activation of a receptor very similar or identical to that previously identified.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2000

Regenerative and proinflammatory effects of thrombin on human proximal tubular cells.

Interstitial fibrin deposition is a common histologic feature of tubulointerstitial diseases, which suggests that the coagulation system is activated. Thrombin, generated during the activation of the coagulation cascade, is a powerful activating factor for different cell types. Although proximal tubular cells are potential targets for this coagulation factor, no information is available on the effect of thrombin on these cells. Thus, the expression of protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), the main thrombin receptor, was investigated in human proximal tubular cells (hPTC) in vivo and in vitro. A diffuse expression of PAR-1 was observed by immunohistochemistry along the basolateral membrane of PTC in normal human kidney. This observation was confirmed in vitro in cultured hPTC. Because tubular damage and monocyte infiltration are two hallmarks of tubulointerstitial injury, the effect of thrombin on DNA synthesis and monocyte chemotactic peptide-1 (MCP-1) gene and protein expression was evaluated in cultured hPTC. Thrombin induced a significant and dose-dependent increase in thymidine uptake and a striking upregulation of MCP-1 mRNA expression and protein release into the supernatant. Although PAR-1 is a G protein-coupled receptor, its activation in hPTC, as in other cell systems, resulted in a transient increase in cellular levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins. An increased level of tyrosine-phosphorylated c-src suggested the activation of this cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase in response to thrombin and its potential role in thrombin-induced protein-tyrosine phosphorylation. Interestingly, thrombin-induced DNA synthesis and MCP-1 gene expression were completely blocked by genistein, a specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor, but not by its inactive analogue daidzein, demonstrating a central role for tyrosine kinase activation in the thrombin effects on hPTC. Moreover, the specific src inhibitor PP1 abolished the thrombin effect on DNA synthesis. In conclusion, thrombin might represent a powerful regenerative and proinflammatory stimulus for hPTC in acute and chronic tubulointerstitial diseases.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2001

Thrombin-stimulated growth, clustering, and collagen lattice contraction of human gingival fibroblasts is associated with its protease activity.

BACKGROUND: Thrombin is a serine protease produced following gingival tissue injury or inflammation. It regulates the functional behavior of injury-neighboring cells via the activation of specific protease-activated receptors (PAR). Thrombin's role in gingival tissue healing and inflammatory response processes is not yet well understood. METHODS: We investigated the effects of thrombin on gingival fibroblast (GF) growth [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay], collagen lattice contraction, and associated morphological changes. RESULTS: Thrombin (>1 U/ml), but not thrombin receptor (PAR-1) agonist peptide (SFLLRN, single letter amino acid code, abbreviated as TRAP, 1 to 50 microg/ml), stimulated the growth and clustering of cultured human GF in vitro. Growth-stimulatory effects of thrombin were inhibited by D-Phe-Pro-ArgCH2Cl (PPACK), a serine protease inhibitor. By contrast, trypsin (>10 microg/ml), a PAR-2 activator, suppressed the growth of GF. Thrombin (>0.2 U/ml) and TRAP (10 to 25 microg/ml), but not trypsin, prostaglandin E2 (0.01 to 0.5 microg/ml), or bovine serum albumin (BSA) (1 to 80 microg/ml), induced the GF-populated collagen lattice contraction within 30 to 60 minutes of exposure. The thrombin-induced collagen lattice contraction was inhibited by PPACK (20 microg/ml) and an actin filament polymerization inhibitor, cytochalasin B (1 microg/ml). The collagen lattice contraction induced by TRAP was also inhibited by cytochalasin B, but not by PPACK. Using a reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the expression of PAR-1, and to a lesser extent PAR-3, was observed for human GF, although little PAR-2 and PAR-4 expression was noted. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that thrombin is important in periodontal wound healing and inflammatory processes by promoting the growth and contraction of GF. The stimulatory effects of thrombin are associated with its protease activation of thrombin receptors.

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗

PubMed2002

Characterization of thrombin-induced leukocyte rolling and adherence: a potential proinflammatory role for proteinase-activated receptor-4.

It is commonly accepted that thrombin exerts its proinflammatory properties through the activation of proteinase-activated receptor (PAR)-1, although two other thrombin receptors have been discovered: PAR-3 and PAR-4. In this study, we have investigated the mechanisms and the receptors involved in thrombin-induced leukocyte/endothelial cell interactions by using selective agonists and antagonists of thrombin receptors in an in vivo intravital microscopy system. Topical addition of selective PAR-1 agonists to rat mesenteric venules failed to reproduce the increased leukocyte rolling and adhesion observed after thrombin topical addition. When added together with the selective PAR-1 antagonist RWJ-56110, thrombin was still able to provoke increased leukocyte rolling and adherence. The thrombin-induced leukocyte rolling and adherence was not affected by pretreatment of rats with an anti-platelet serum. Selective PAR-4-activating peptide was able to reproduce the effects of thrombin on leukocyte rolling and adhesion. Intraperitoneal injection of PAR-4-activating peptide also caused a significant increase in leukocyte migration into the peritoneal cavity. In rat tissues, PAR-4 expression was detected both on endothelium and isolated leukocytes. Taken together, these results showed that in rat mesenteric venules, thrombin exerts proinflammatory properties inducing leukocyte rolling and adherence, by a mechanism independent of PAR-1 activation or platelet activation. However, PAR-4 activation either on endothelial cells or on leukocytes might be responsible for the thrombin-induced effects. These findings suggest that PAR-4 activation could contribute to several early events in the inflammatory reaction, including leukocyte rolling, adherence and recruitment, and that in addition to PAR-1, PAR-4 could be involved in proinflammatory properties of thrombin.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Prevention of thrombin-induced motoneuron degeneration with different neurotrophic factors in highly enriched cultures.

Previous reports have shown that neuronal and glial cells express functionally active thrombin receptors. The thrombin receptor (PAR-1), a member of a growing family of protease activated receptors (PARs), requires cleavage of the extracellular amino-terminus domain by thrombin to induce signal transduction. Studies from our laboratory have shown that PAR-1 activation following the addition of thrombin or a synthetic thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP) induces motoneuron cell death both in vitro and in vivo. In addition to increasing motoneuron cell death, PAR- 1 activation leads to decreases in the mean neurite length and side branching in highly enriched motoneuron cultures. It has been suggested that motoneuron survival depends on access to sufficient target-derived neurotrophic factors through axonal branching and synaptic contacts. However, whether the thrombininduced effects on motoneurons can be prevented by neurotrophic factors is still unknown. Using highly enriched avian motoneuron cultures, we show here that alone, soluble chick skeletal muscle extracts (CMX), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) significantly increased motoneuron survival compared to controls, whereas nerve growth factor (NGF) did not have a significant effect on motoneuron survival. Furthermore, cotreatment with muscle-derived agents (i.e., CMX, BDNF, GDNF) significantly prevented the death of motoneurons induced by alpha-thrombin. Yet, non-muscle-derived agents (CNTF and NGF) had little or no significant effect in reversing thrombin-induced motoneuron death. CMX and CNTF significantly increased the mean length of neurites, whereas NGF, BDNF, and GDNF failed to enhance neurite outgrowth compared to controls. Furthermore, CMX and CNTF significantly prevented thrombin-induced inhibition of neurite outgrowth, whereas BDNF and GDNF only partially reversed thrombin-induced inhibition of neurite outgrowth. These findings show differential effects of neurotrophic factors on thrombin-induced motoneuron degeneration and suggest specific overlaps between the trophic and stress pathways activated by some neurotrophic agents and thrombin, respectively.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Ligand specificity of human thrombomodulin. Equilibrium binding of human thrombin, meizothrombin, and factor Xa to recombinant thrombomodulin.

Thrombomodulin is an endothelial glycoprotein that serves as a cofactor for protein C activation. To examine the ligand specificity of human thrombomodulin, we performed equilibrium binding assays with human thrombin, thrombin S205A (wherein the active site serine is replaced by alanine), meizothrombin S205A, and human factor Xa. In competition binding assays with CV-1(18A) cells expressing cell surface recombinant human thrombomodulin, recombinant wild type thrombin and thrombin S205A inhibited 125I-diisopropyl fluorophosphate-thrombin binding with similar affinity (Kd = 6.4 +/- 0.5 and 5.3 +/- 0.3 nM, respectively). However, no binding inhibition was detected for meizothrombin S205A or human factor Xa (Kd greater than 500 nM). In direct binding assays, 125I-labeled plasma thrombin and thrombin S205A bound to thrombomodulin with Kd values of 4.0 +/- 1.9 and 6.9 +/- 1.2 nM, respectively. 125I-Labeled meizothrombin S205A and human factor Xa did not bind to thrombomodulin (Kd greater than 500 nM). We also compared the ability of thrombin and factor Xa to activate human recombinant protein C. The activation of recombinant protein C by thrombin was greatly enhanced in the presence of thrombomodulin, whereas no significant activation by factor Xa was detected with or without thrombomodulin. Similar results were obtained with thrombin and factor Xa when human umbilical vein endothelial cells were used as the source of thrombomodulin. These results suggest that human meizothrombin and factor Xa are unlikely to be important thrombomodulin-dependent protein C activators and that thrombin is the physiological ligand for human endothelial cell thrombomodulin.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed1992

Structure and function of the human platelet thrombin receptor. Studies using monoclonal antibodies directed against a defined domain within the receptor N terminus.

Based upon its recently cloned nucleotide sequence, the human platelet thrombin receptor is thought to be formed by a single polypeptide chain with seven transmembrane domains and an extracellular N terminus that can be cleaved by thrombin. As yet, however, little is known from studies of the receptor protein itself. To obtain such information, we have prepared monoclonal antibodies against a peptide corresponding to receptor residues Ser42 through Phe55, the domain immediately distal to the site of cleavage by thrombin. By flow cytometry, all of the antibodies reacted with the thrombin-responsive megakaryoblastic CHRF-288 and HEL cell lines, but not with the T-lymphoid Sup-T1 cell line. Functionally, the antibodies inhibited platelet responses to alpha-thrombin, gamma-thrombin, and trypsin, but had no effect on platelet activation by ADP, epinephrine, or the thromboxane analog U46619. Radioiodinated antibody bound to approximately 1,800 sites/platelet, a value similar to the reported number of moderate affinity thrombin binding sites per platelet. On Western blots, the antibodies recognized a 66-kDa protein in platelet, HEL, and CHRF-288 membranes. The discrepancy between this apparent size and the predicted mass of the receptor suggests that, as with other G protein-coupled receptors, one or more of the potential sites for N-linked glycosylation have been utilized. Therefore, these results suggest that: 1) the cloned thrombin receptor is involved in a broad range of platelet responses to thrombin, as well as gamma-thrombin and trypsin; 2) as predicted, the N terminus of the receptor is accessible on the platelet surface; 3) the moderate affinity thrombin binding site noted in earlier studies may be the receptor; 4) potentially as much as one third of the mass of the receptor is carbohydrate.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗

PubMed1991

The active site of thrombin is altered upon binding to thrombomodulin. Two distinct structural changes are detected by fluorescence, but only one correlates with protein C activation.

The association of thrombin with thrombomodulin, a non-enzymatic endothelial cell surface receptor, alters the substrate specificity of thrombin. Complex formation converts thrombin from a procoagulant to an anticoagulant enzyme. Structure-function analysis of this change in specificity is facilitated by the availability of two soluble proteolytic derivatives of thrombomodulin, one consisting of the six repeated growth factor-like domains of thrombomodulin (GF1-6) and the other containing only the fifth and sixth such domains (GF5-6). Both derivatives can bind to thrombin and block fibrinogen clotting activity, though only the larger GF1-6 can stimulate the activation of protein C. To ascertain whether the substrate specificity change from fibrinogen to protein C is accompanied by structural changes in the active site of the enzyme, fluorescent dyes were positioned at different locations within the active site. A 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl (dansyl) dye was covalently attached to the active site serine to form dansyl-thrombin, while either a fluorescein or an anilinonaphthalene-6-sulfonic acid (ANS) dye was attached covalently to the active site histidine of thrombin via a D-Phe-Pro-Arg linkage. The environment of the dansyl dye was altered in a similar fashion when either GF1-6 or GF5-6 bound to thrombin, since a similar reduction in dansyl emission intensity was elicited by these two thrombomodulin derivatives (25 and 32%, respectively). These spectral changes, and all others in this study, were saturable and reached a maximum when the ratio of thrombomodulin derivative to thrombin was close to 1. The environments of the fluorescein and ANS dyes were also altered when GF1-6 bound to thrombin because binding resulted in emission intensity changes of -13% and +18%, respectively. In contrast, no fluorescence changes were observed when the fluorescein and ANS thrombin derivatives were titrated with GF5-6. Thus, the structure of the active site was altered by thrombomodulin both immediately adjacent to the active site serine and also more than 15 A away from it. However, the structural change far from Ser-195 was only elicited by thrombomodulin species that stimulate thrombin-dependent activation of protein C.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1989

Macromolecular specificity determinants on thrombin for fibrinogen and thrombomodulin.

The endothelial cell surface membrane protein thrombomodulin binds thrombin with high affinity and acts as both a cofactor for protein C activation and an inhibitor of fibrinogen hydrolysis. We have previously shown that bovine thrombomodulin is a competitive inhibitor of fibrinogen binding to thrombin but has no effect on thrombin activity toward tripeptide substrates or antithrombin III. Hence, thrombomodulin and fibrinogen may share macromolecular specificity sites on thrombin which are distinct from the active site. In this investigation, we have studied the interaction of thrombin-thrombomodulin with fibrinogen and various thrombin derivatives. We show that fibrinogen is a competitive inhibitor of thrombomodulin binding to thrombin, with a Kis = 10 microM. Thrombin derivatives (bovine (pyridoxal phosphate)4-thrombin and human thrombin Quick I), which bind fibrinogen with much reduced affinity, are shown to also interact with thrombomodulin with greatly reduced affinity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that thrombomodulin and fibrinogen share macromolecular specificity sites on thrombin.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed1981

Protease mitogenic response of chick embryo fibroblasts and receptor binding/processing of human alpha-thrombin.

Quiescent cultures of chick embryo fibroblasts incubated with human alpha-thrombin (14-219 pM) incorporated [methyl-3H]thymidine proportional to concentration. Inactivated forms of this protease (e.g. active-site-conjugated alpha-thrombin or its hirudin complex) had no mitogenic activity and did not compete with 124I-alpha-thrombin for binding to specific plasma membrane receptors. The noncoagulant but esterolytic active forms, gamma- and nitro-alpha-thrombins, were weakly mitogenic and correspondingly competed weakly for binding. Trypsin competed equally as well as native thrombin for binding, whereas chymotrypsin, elastase, and human urokinase competed with 80-fold less affinity. Plasma, arginine-specific proteases associated with nerve or epidermal growth factors, insulin, and insulin-like growth factors did not compete for binding. These data demonstrate that (a) functional catalytic residues of the thrombin active site are necessary for mitogenic activity and for specific binding; (b) regions adjacent to the active site, i.e. the high affinity protein recognition site, appear to enhance binding; and (c) the receptor can discriminate between other proteases and binds those which are also mitogens for the avian cells. The characteristics of 125I-alpha-thrombin binding were determined, and it was found to be (i) proportional to cell number; (ii) optimal at pH 6.8; (iii) 70-90% specific; (iv) at equilibrium after 60 min of incubation at 22-24 degrees C or 180 min at 0-4 degrees C (the rate constants for association, i.e. ka, at 22 and 4 degrees C were 18 and 1.1 x 10(7) M-1 min-1, respectively); and (v) essentially nondissociable. Nondissociable thrombin that bound during incubation at 0-4 degrees C was distributed equally between trypsin-sensitive and insensitive compartments. Thrombin associated with the former was released into the media when the cells were incubated at 0-4 degrees C with hirudin or hydroxylamine, or transferred to the insensitive compartment when incubated at 22 degrees C. Finally, confluent cultures of fibroblasts bind 2-3 x 10(4) 125I-alpha-thrombin molecules/cell with an apparent binding constant, i.e. Kd, of 0.7 nM (a true Kd could not be determined because of the irreversible nature of thrombin binding). The binding capacity per cell and the apparent Kd value increased proportionally to an increase in culture density.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Photoaffinity labeling of specific alpha-thrombin binding sites on Chinese hamster lung cells.

Binding sites for alpha-thrombin on cultured Chinese hamster lung cells were identified using photoactivatable cross-linking conjugates of diisopropylphosphorofluoridate-inactivated alpha-thrombin. A series of photoaffinity reagents was synthesized that permitted systematic variation of the extent of thrombin modification and of steric factors affecting the ability of the photoaffinity reagent to contact thrombin receptors. The reagents were synthesized with a tritium label to accurately determine the number of photoaffinity molecules linked to each thrombin. Also, they were synthesized with different length spacer arms between the photoreactive cross-linking group (a nitroarylazide) and the end which linked to alpha-thrombin (a succinimide ester). By calculating the percentage of the thrombin surface that would be accessed by modifying it with a fixed molar excess of each reagent, it was possible to select the photoaffinity reagents that would be most effective for cross-linking 125I-labeled diisopropylphosphorofluoridate-inactivated alpha-thrombin to its cellular binding sites. The validity of this selection procedure was confirmed in experiments in which an Mr = 150,000 cellular component was labeled. This component had the properties of a specific binding site for thrombin since labeling was readily competed for by nonlabeled alpha-thrombin. The cross-linking achieved was due to the photoactivatable reagent since no detectable cross-linked complex was formed in the absence of photoactivation or with 125I-labeled diisopropylphosphorofluoridate-inactivated alpha-thrombin that was not conjugated with the photoaffinity reagent.

Affinity Labels↗

PubMed1983

Receptor-mediated chemotactic response of a macrophage cell line (J774) to thrombin.

Human alpha-thrombin, the procoagulant activation product of prothrombin, elicits chemotaxis in several macrophage-like continuous cell lines, most notably J774. Effective alpha-thrombin concentrations eliciting cell movement range from 10(-10) to 10(-6) M, with the optimal response occurring at about 10(-8) M. At the latter concentration, the response is equivalent, on a molar basis, to that observed with f-Met-Leu-Phe-OH, the positive control used in these experiments. Blockage of alpha-thrombin's active center with diisopropylfluorophosphate or by tryptic proteolysis of the procoagulant exosite (i.e., gamma-thrombin) does not decrease chemotactic activity. However, formation of enzymatically inactive complexes with AT3 or hirudin eliminates chemotactic potency. Competition chemotaxis assays, carried out by comparing the abilities of varying concentrations of test substances placed in the upper compartment of Boyden chambers to inhibit gradient-oriented movement of cells toward a fixed concentration of thrombin in the lower compartment, demonstrate that, although the modified forms of thrombin cross-compete, formylated peptide will not inhibit thrombin's chemotactic effects. Binding studies carried out using 125I-alpha-thrombin on paraformaldehyde-fixed J774 cells show a Kd of approximately 7.5 nM with an estimated 14,100-binding sites/cell. This Kd is in agreement with the optimal chemotactic thrombin dose (approximately 10 nM). On the basis of the competition chemotaxis assays and the radiolabeled thrombin-binding data, it is proposed that unique thrombin-specific chemotactic receptors exist on J774 cell membranes, and that these receptors are distinct from those mediating chemotaxis by agents such as formylated peptides.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Thrombin stimulates proliferation of liver fat-storing cells and expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1: potential role in liver injury.

Liver fat-storing cells (FSC) proliferate and secrete extracellular matrix in experimental models of liver injury. In this study, we determined if thrombin, a serine protease produced during acute and chronic tissue injury, modulates the functions of FSC. Thrombin stimulated DNA synthesis and proliferation of FSC, as assessed by [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay and measurement of cell number, respectively. Thrombin also increased the secretion of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. The effect of thrombin on both DNA synthesis and MCP-1 secretion was neutralized by pretreatment of thrombin with hirudin. The increased MCP-1 secretion was associated with increased steady-state levels of MCP-1 messenger RNA. Pretreatment of FSC with 5 mumol/retinol for 48 hours inhibited the mitogenic effects of thrombin but not the induction of MCP-1 secretion. FSC express specific transcripts encoding for the human thrombin receptor, as shown by Northern blot analysis of poly(A)+ RNA. Proteolytic activation of the thrombin receptor results in the formation of a new N-terminus that functions as a tethered ligand. We studied the effects of a thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP) corresponding to the newly formed N-terminus on FSC. TRAP mimicked the effects of thrombin on [3H]-thymidine incorporation, MCP-1 secretion, and MCP-1 gene expression. This study suggest that thrombin may be involved in modulating FSC proliferation and monocyte chemotaxis during human liver disease, through proteolytic activation of its receptor.

Adipocytes↗

PubMed1993

Changes in cytoplasmic pH in platelets activated through the high- and moderate-affinity receptor pathways by highly purified human alpha-thrombin.

Platelets in plasma were loaded with the probe BCECF/AM, and changes in cytoplasmic pH levels induced by highly purified human alpha-thrombin (2900 NIH U/mg) were studied in washed platelets having high- and moderate-affinity receptors and in platelets from which the high-affinity alpha-thrombin receptor had been removed by treatment with Serratia marcescens protease. In intact platelets, cytoplasmic acidification reached a maximum within 2 minutes of -0.072 +/- 0.009 pH units at 0.3 nmol/L alpha-thrombin concentration (0.03 U/ml). Cytoplasmic pH values were higher at both lower and higher alpha-thrombin concentrations and were significantly (p = 0.018) higher at 2 nmol/L alpha-thrombin, which induced -0.037 +/- 0.013 pH units of acidification. Five nanomoles of alpha-thrombin, however, induced cytoplasmic alkalinization of +0.027 +/- 0.033 pH units. In platelets lacking the high-affinity receptor where there is a 10 to 20-fold reduction in sensitivity to alpha-thrombin, acidification reached a maximum of -0.175 +/- 0.033 pH units at 2 nmol/L alpha-thrombin, but alkalinization was observed at 5 nmol/L (+0.038 +/- 0.025) and 10 nmol/L (+0.042 +/- 0.007) alpha-thrombin. These results show that the transition from acidification to alkalinization occurs in the same range of alpha-thrombin concentrations (2 to 5 nmol/L) in both preparations, despite the rightward shift in sensitivity caused by the absence of the high-affinity receptor. However, the maximum acidification reached in control platelets (-0.037 pH units at 2 nmol/L) was much less than the value obtained in platelets lacking the high-affinity receptor (-0.175 pH units at 2 nmol/L alpha-thrombin).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amiloride↗

PubMed1993

Thrombin-induced release of lysophosphatidylcholine from endothelial cells.

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) increases extracellularly during ischemia in vivo in both animals and man as judged by measurements from venous effluents, but more recent studies have shown little or no increase in buffer-perfused, isolated heart preparations. The appearance of LPC in blood and lymph in animals and in venous effluents in man in response to ischemia suggests a vascular site for the production of LPC. The present study was performed to assess whether thrombin could stimulate phospholipase A2 in endothelial cells and whether this would evoke an increase in and release of LPC. Endothelial cells were disassociated from canine aortas by incubating with 0.1% collagenase for 20 min. Cells were plated and allowed to grow to confluence. Measurement of LPC was performed using Bligh and Dyer extraction of lipids, high performance liquid chromatography separation, and quantification of LPC using a recently developed radiometric assay employing [3H]acetic anhydride. Incubation of endothelial cells with thrombin (0.05 unit/ml) resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in LPC to 2.3 +/- 0.1 nmol/mg of protein at 2 min (p < 0.01) and returned to control levels within 20 min. The increase in LPC induced by thrombin exhibited a concentration-dependent response with an ED50 = 0.04 unit/ml. A concentration-dependent increase in LPC was also elicited by stimulation with the peptide portion of the thrombin receptor's tethered ligand SFLLRNPNDKYEPF with an ED50 = 8 microM. The LPC produced was rapidly and completely released into the surrounding media. Hirudin completely blocked the thrombin-induced increase in LPC. Dansylarginine N-(3-ethyl-1,5-pentanediyl)amide (0.1 microM), which rapidly inactivates thrombin's proteolytic activity in situ without impairing binding, or phenyl-prolyl-arginyl-chloromethyl ketone (PPACK, 5 nM), which inactivates thrombin due to chemical alteration of the proteolytic site, each prevented the increase in LPC in response to thrombin. Stimulation of protein kinase C with phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA, 1 microM) enhanced the response to thrombin. In contrast, staurosporine (100 nM), H7 (15 microM), or chronic treatment with PMA for 20 h to down-regulate protein kinase C completely prevented the increase in LPC in response to thrombin. Thus, thrombin stimulation of endothelial cells in vivo during ischemia may be a primary mechanism contributing to the marked increase in LPC extracellularly during ischemia.

Amino Acid Sequence↗