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PubMed2004

Effects of thrombin, hypoxia, and steroids on interleukin-8 expression in decidualized human endometrial stromal cells: implications for long-term progestin-only contraceptive-induced bleeding.

Abnormal uterine bleeding is the major reason for discontinuing long-term progesterone-only contraceptives (LTPOCs). Prior studies demonstrated that endometria exposed to the LTPOC, Norplant, display aberrant angiogenesis, leukocyte infiltration, and hypoxia-associated impaired blood flow. Paradoxically, human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) of these specimens exhibit elevated expression of tissue factor (TF), the primary initiator of hemostasis via thrombin generation. The current study demonstrates that TF levels are also elevated in HESCs that are decidualized after insertion of Mirena, an intrauterine system that releases levonorgestrel directly into the endometrial canal and produces elevated perivascular levels of the proinflammatory and angiognenic cytokine IL-8. Because bleeding, inflammation, and ischemia-associated increased vascular permeability enhance access of plasma factor VII to HESC-expressed TF to generate thrombin, we evaluated the effects of steroids, thrombin, and hypoxia on HESC expression of IL-8. Confluent HESCs were incubated in a serum-containing medium for 7 d with vehicle control or estradiol (E(2)) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA). The medium was then exchanged for corresponding defined medium with and without thrombin, and the cultures were incubated in parallel for up to 48 h in a standard incubator (normoxia) or a sealed chamber at 0-1% O(2) (hypoxia). Under normoxia, immunoreactive IL-8 levels in the conditioned medium were reduced to one-third of control levels during decidualization with E(2)+MPA (P < 0.05; n = 5). In E(2)+MPA-treated cultures, thrombin (0.1 U/ml to 2.5 U/m) elicited a dose-dependent reversal of this inhibition, elevating IL-8 up to 60-fold (P < 0.05; n = 5) for more than 24 h and steady-state IL-8 mRNA levels by 3-fold for 3 h. The specific inactivator, hirudin, blocked most of the effects of thrombin, whereas TRAP-14, an agonist of the protease-activated receptor for thrombin, enhanced IL-8 output. In the absence of thrombin, hypoxia elevated IL-8 output 5-fold in E(2)+MPA-treated HESCs (P < 0.02, n = 4), with thrombin exerting additive effects. In contrast to its effects in progestin-treated HESCs, hypoxia did not elevate IL-8 output in control cultures. This study suggests that inhibition of IL-8 expression in decidualized HESCs contributes to the antiinflammatory milieu of the luteal phase. However, LTPOC-induced hypoxia and excess thrombin generation enhance IL-8 expression in decidualized HESCs, thereby eliciting aberrant angiogenesis and inflammation that promote the onset of abnormal uterine bleeding.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed2001

Thrombin promotes fibroblast proliferation during the early stages of experimental radiation pneumonitis.

Huang, L., Ogushi, F., Tani, K., Ogawa, H., Kawano, T., Endo, T., Izumi, K., Ueno, J., Nishitani, H. and Sone, S. Thrombin Promotes Fibroblast Proliferation during the Early Stages of Experimental Radiation Pneumonitis. Radiat. Res. 156, 45-52 (2001). To clarify the role of thrombin in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced pneumonitis, we measured the thrombin activity and fibroblast growth-inducing activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained from the irradiated lungs of rats at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 18 weeks after irradiation. Thrombin activity was not detected in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from unirradiated rats, but the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from irradiated rats showed significantly increased thrombin activity which reached a maximum at 4 weeks after treatment. Higher fibroblast growth-inducing activity was detected in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from irradiated rats at 4 and 18 weeks than in fluid from unirradiated rats. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from irradiated rats that were pretreated with the thrombin inhibitors antithrombin III and argatroban showed significantly inhibited fibroblast growth-inducing activity and thrombin activity at 4 weeks. However, these thrombin inhibitors did not inhibit fibroblast growth-inducing activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from irradiated rats at 18 weeks. Purified rat thrombin similarly induced proliferation of fibroblasts derived from irradiated and unirradiated rats. These findings suggest that thrombin may play an important role as a fibroblast growth-inducing factor during the early stages of radiation pneumonitis.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (p125FAK): regulation by cAMP and thrombin in mesangial cells.

Stress fibers, composed of actin filaments, converge upon and associate with a number of proteins, including focal adhesion kinase (p125FAK), and integrin receptors to form areas of close contact between cells and the extracellular matrix referred to as focal adhesions. Treatment of mesangial cells with cAMP-elevating agents causes a loss of focal adhesions, fragmentation of stress fibers, and decreased tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK. Thrombin reverses these effects of cAMP, and this model can be used to address some of the cellular mechanisms involved in regulating the loss and formation of focal adhesions. This study reports the effects of cAMP and thrombin on mesangial cell shape, distribution of actin, formation of stress fibers, and tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK. cAMP-treated cells display a condensed cell body with slender processes that traverse the area formerly covered by the cell. Addition of thrombin to these cells restores actin filaments (stress fibers) and increases tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK, and the cells resume a flattened morphology, even in the continued presence of cAMP-elevating agents. Peptides that mimic the tethered ligand portion of the thrombin receptor have the same effects on cell morphology and stress fiber formation as thrombin. In selected experiments, agents that disrupt either stress fibers (cytochalasin D) or microtubules (nocodazole; Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, MO) were used to examine the role of these cytoskeletal elements in thrombin-induced restoration of focal adhesions. Cytochalasin D blocked the ability of thrombin to restore focal adhesions and phosphorylate p125FAK. The effects of nocodazole, an agent that destabilizes microtubules (but which has no known receptor), are very similar to those of thrombin. The findings discussed in this study indicate that thrombin can modulate the formation of focal adhesions. The organization of stress fibers and microtubules is apparently intimately related to the phosphorylation of p125FAK and can be modulated by soluble receptor agonists such as thrombin or via altered polymerization of microtubules.

Actins↗

PubMed1995

Intracerebral infusion of thrombin as a cause of brain edema.

Purified thrombin from an exogenous source is a hemostatic agent commonly used in neurosurgical procedures. The toxicity of thrombin in the brain, however, has not been examined. This study was performed to assess the effect of thrombin on brain parenchyma, using the formation of brain edema as an indicator of injury. Ten microliters of test solution was infused stereotactically into the right basal ganglia of rats. The animals were sacrificed 24 hours later, and the extent of brain edema and ion content were measured. Concentrations of human thrombin as low as 1 U/microliter resulted in a significant increase in brain water content. Rats receiving 10 U/microliters had a mortality rate of 33% compared to no mortality in the groups receiving smaller doses. Thrombin-induced brain edema was inhibited by a specific and potent thrombin inhibitor, hirudin. A medical grade of bovine thrombin commonly used in surgery also caused brain edema when injected at a concentration of 2 U/microliters. Edema formation was prevented by another highly specific thrombin inhibitor, N alpha-(2-Naphthalenesulfonylglycyl)-4-DL-phenylalaninepiperidid e (alpha-NAPAP). Thrombin-induced brain edema was accompanied by increases in brain sodium and chloride contents and a decrease in brain potassium content. Changes in brain ions were inhibited by both hirudin and alpha-NAPAP, corresponding to the inhibition of brain water accumulation. This study shows that thrombin causes brain edema when infused into the brain at concentrations as low as 1 U/microliter, an amount within the range of concentrations used for topical hemostasis in neurosurgery.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Thrombin rapidly and efficiently activates gelatinase A in human microvascular endothelial cells via a mechanism independent of active MT1 matrix metalloproteinase.

Thrombin has been shown previously to activate gelatinase A in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The activation is thought to be mediated by membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) on the cell surface, which generates the 62-kd intermediate and the 59-kd fully active forms. We used microvascular endothelial cells derived from human neonatal foreskin to investigate the mechanism of gelatinase A activation by thrombin. Gelatinase A was measured using zymography. Whereas activation by PMA generated both the 62-kd intermediate and the 59-kd fully active forms of gelatinase A after 24 hours, activation by thrombin produced only the 59-kd species rapidly (within 2 hours). Four findings indicate that MT1-MMP was not involved in thrombin-induced activation: (1) there was no up-regulation of MT1-MMP after 2 hours stimulation by thrombin, even though there was activation of gelatinase A; (2) the 62-kd intermediate species was never detected in response to thrombin; (3) tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 completely prevented gelatinase A activation induced by PMA but not by thrombin; and (4) the metalloproteinase inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline did not inhibit thrombin-induced activation. Together, these data demonstrate that activation of gelatinase A by thrombin is different from PMA and operating via a pathway independent of MT1-MMP. The ability of thrombin to rapidly and efficiently activate gelatinase A is likely to be a major contributing factor to its potent angiogenic activity.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1999

Rapid release of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 by thrombin in the rat aorta: modulation by protein tyrosine kinase/phosphatase.

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2, gelatinase A) and thrombin contribute to many long-term (patho)physiological processes requiring the proteolytic breakdown of the vascular extracellular matrix (e.g., normal tissue repair, remodeling, tumor invasion, atherosclerosis plaque rupture). Thrombin (10 to 1000 nM, 0.5 to 50 U/ml) induced a rapid secretion of MMP-2 from freshly isolated rat aortic tissue (detectable after 1 min of thrombin exposure). This secretion was mediated by an unidentified thrombin receptor, distinct from the proteinase activated receptors (PAR)-1 and -2. Protein tyrosine kinase/phosphatase activity differentially modulated the basal and the thrombin-induced release of MMP-2. The inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinase, herbymicin A, genistein, and tyrphostin 1288 (1 to 100 microM), enhanced the basal release of MMP-2 but did not affect the thrombin-induced secretion of MMP-2. The inhibitor of phosphotyrosine phosphatases, vanadate (100 microM), selectively inhibited the thrombin-induced, but not the basal, release of MMP-2. Rapid release of vascular MMP-2 by thrombin could contribute to short-term processes where thrombin is involved such as the regulation of platelet aggregation and vascular reactivity. Vascular tyrosine kinase/phosphatase likely modulates this action of thrombin to prevent exaggerated platelet aggregation, thrombosis, and vasospasm.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Pharmacologic modulation of thrombin generation associated with human clots by human purified antithrombin alone or in the presence of low molecular weight heparin or unfractionated heparin.

Procoagulant activities associated with human clots may contribute to thrombus extension. We investigate the inhibition of clot-associated factor Xa and thrombin activities by purified human antithrombin either alone or as combination with a low molecular weight heparin (enoxaparin) as compared with unfractionated heparin (UFH). The standard clots were prepared by recalcification of frozen platelet-poor human plasma. Clot-associated thrombin was measured on the clot after clot incubation in recalcified buffer or recalcified prothrombin solution. The enzymatic reaction was measured using a specific substrate for thrombin (CBS 3447). The thrombin concentration was determined both on the clots and in the reaction mixtures. In parallel, prothrombin fragment 1.2 and thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. We demonstrated that in the presence of purified human prothrombin and antithrombin (AT), a partial inhibition of clot associated thrombin activity correlated with an increase of TAT complexes. However, antithrombin was unable to inhibit thrombin generation induced by the clot-associated factor Xa. Enoxaparin (low molecular weight heparin) and UFH did not enhance clot-bound thrombin inhibition induced by AT. We conclude that clot-bound thrombin is accessible to human antithrombin alone. AT is also able to inhibit thrombin generated by factor Xa-associated clot. However, neither a low molecular weight heparin or UFH enhanced the effect of AT alone.

Antithrombin III↗

PubMed2000

Thrombin facilitates primary platelet adhesion onto vascular surfaces in the absence of plasma adhesive proteins: studies under flow conditions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The effect of local and circulating thrombin on platelet adhesion onto vascular surfaces was explored in the absence of plasma adhesive proteins using flow conditions. DESIGN AND METHODS: To study the local effects of thrombin, denuded rabbit aorta segments were incubated with thrombin concentrations of 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 U/mL. To evaluate the effects of circulating thrombin, the same concentrations were added to perfusates consisting of washed platelets and washed red blood cells suspended in a human albumin solution (5%). In some experiments, purified von Willebrand's factor (vWF) (Haemate-P) was added to the perfusates (0. 8 U/mL of vWF, final concentration). A humanized chimeric antibody to the GPIIb-IIIa complex (Reopro) was used to determine the role of this glycoprotein on platelet adhesion under the conditions described. The effect of blocking GPIb was also assessed. Perfusions were carried out at 800 s(-1) for 10 min. The interaction of platelet with the vessel surface was morphometrically evaluated and expressed as percentage of surface coverage (%SC). Changes in the surface expression of the major platelet antigens were also analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Incubation of subendothelial surfaces with thrombin enhanced platelet deposition with respect to control levels (increases in SC of 64%, 79% and 86% with 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 U/mL of thrombin, respectively). Low concentrations of thrombin (0.001 and 0.01 U/mL) incorporated in the perfusates resulted in a similar pro-adhesive effect (increases in SC of 64% and 71%, respectively) while the highest concentration (0.1 U/mL) failed to produce a pro-adhesive effect due to the augmented formation of platelet aggregates with subsequent thrombocytopenia (15+/-1 vs. 160+/-5x10(9) plt/L in the perfusates). Similar results were obtained when VWF was present in the perfusate. Reduction of platelet deposition by blockade of GPIIb-IIIa (to 5.3+/-0.7%) was partially restored by thrombin. Blockade of GPIb prevented platelets from adhering even when thrombin was present (%SC of 2.0+/-0.8%). No significant changes in the distribution of platelet membrane glycoproteins during perfusion experiments were detected. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that thrombin facilitates primary platelet adhesion onto vascular surfaces even in the absence of plasma adhesive proteins. This effect seems to be mainly dependent on the GPIb/vWF axis.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

The effect of DDAVP infusion on thrombin generation in platelet-rich plasma of von Willebrand type 1 and in mild haemophilia A patients.

In von Willebrand disease (vWD) type 1 and mild haemophilia A patients we studied the effect of an infusion of DDAVP (0.3 microg/kg body weight) on thrombin generation in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-poor plasma (PPP). Baseline thrombin generation in PRP was diminished both in the haemophilia A and vWD patients. It was normal in vWD plasma when sufficient procoagulant phospholipids were present, either via adding phospholipid vesicles to PPP or via scrambling of the platelet membrane with ionomycin in PRP. In haemophilia A plasma, thrombin generation did not normalize by providing procoagulant phospholipids. Treatment with DDAVP temporarily restored thrombin generation in PRP to normal in both diseases. To investigate the individual roles of von Willebrand factor (vWF) and factor VIII, we also studied the effect of factor VIII infusion on thrombin generation in a severe haemophilia patient. It appears that at a fixed normal vWF concentration, <25% factor VIII is sufficient for normal thrombin generation in PRP. At a sufficient factor VIII concentration, however, thrombin generation is still lower than normal in vWD patients; approximately 40% of vWF is required for half-normal thrombin generation in PRP. It thus appears that vWF is also a clotting factor, in the sense that it is required for normal thrombin generation. This underlines the importance of the interaction between coagulation and the platelets in normal haemostasis. Thrombin generation in PRP appears to be a suitable test to reflect the combined function.

Deamino Arginine Vasopressin↗

PubMed2001

Thrombin induces increased expression and secretion of VEGF from human FS4 fibroblasts, DU145 prostate cells and CHRF megakaryocytes.

Angiogenesis is required for tumor growth and metastasis. It has recently been suggested that thrombin is a potent promoter of angiogenesis. We therefore examined the possibility that thrombin could be inducing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes endothelial growth. Primary human FS4 fibroblasts as well as tumor cell lines: prostate DU145 and megakaryocyte CHRF were incubated with thrombin (0.25-1 unit/ml) for 1-8 hrs and then examined for mRNA by Northern Analysis. Enhanced mRNA (approximately 3-4 fold over base line) was noted at 2-4 hrs, with 0.5 u/ml thrombin. The effect was specific for thrombin activity on its PAR-1 receptor, since equal units of hirudin completely inhibited the response and the thrombin effect could be mimicked with the 14 mer thrombin receptor activation peptide (TRAP). Upregulation of mRNA was associated with enhanced VEGF protein synthesis and secretion as assayed by immunoblot. Enhanced expression of VEGF mRNA was not secondary to enhanced transcription (nuclear run on experiments), but due to an >3 fold stabilization of mRNA (Actinomycin D chase experiment). Enhanced VEGF mRNA stabilization is promoted by the PI3Kinase and serine/threonine kinase pathways, since thrombin-induced mRNA expression is inhibited by Wortmanin and H7. No effect was noted with the MAPKinase inhibitor, PD98059. Thus, thrombin-induced tumorigenesis and metastasis is associated with enhanced VEGF protein synthesis and secretion via the stabilization of VEGF mRNA promoted by the PI3Kinase and serine/threonine kinase pathways. This could help explain how thrombin promotes angiogenesis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1999

Thrombin contraction of vascular smooth muscle: implications for vasospasm.

Thrombin contributes to hemostasis by activating platelets, the formation of fibrin, and contraction of the injured vessel. These effects are mediated through the proteolytic activity of thrombin. We hypothesized that thrombin may have a role in vasospasm after arterial injury and examined the physiologic and cellular signaling events of thrombin in intact vascular smooth muscles. Thrombin stimulation of strips of bovine carotid artery smooth muscle led to contractions which relaxed with the addition of the nitric oxide donor, sodium nitroprusside. However, washout of the thrombin and SNP resulted in the re-generation of force. This was not observed with other agonists such as endothelin, thromboxane analogues, or serotonin. Using two-dimensional immunoblotting we demonstrate that thrombin stimulation leads to increases in the tyrosine phosphorylation of 4 proteins, three different isoforms of P44 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and one isoform of P38 stress activated protein kinase (SAPK). Activation of P38 SAPK leads to activation of MAPKAP kinase-2 and a major substrate protein of MAPKAP kinase-2 is the small heat shock protein, HSP27. HSP27 has been implicated in mediating smooth muscle contraction. These data suggest that in the setting of arterial injury, thrombin-induced contraction may supercede over short acting vasorelaxants such as NO resulting in vasospasm. In addition to stress, physiologic substances such as thrombin, activate SAPKs leading to increases in the phosphorylation of HSP27. Thus, thrombin may play a central role in hemostasis after vascular injury and in the pathologic responses to plaque rupture and thrombosis in atherosclerosis.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

[Thrombosis and thrombin].

Thrombosis, either venous and arterial, is the most important cause of death in our society. Thrombin formation is a pivotal step in the pathogenesis of both forms of thrombosis. Drugs like heparin and vitamin K antagonists act because they inhibit thrombin formation. Better drugs than conventional heparin and oral anticoagulants are however urgently needed. They can be found on basis of a better understanding of thrombin formation. The mechanism of thrombin formation is explained. The mode in which conventional heparin and the newer, low molecular weight heparins inhibit this process is discussed. It is shown that, contrary to current belief, low molecular weight heparins inhibit primarily via their action on thrombin and that the inhibition of factor Xa is of less importance. Thrombin inhibition has a direct action but also acts indirectly via its influence on thrombin mediated feedback loops. It is argued that rather than anti-factor Xa activity or prolongation of some type of coagulation time, the time-concentration integral of thrombin (thrombin potential) in clotting plasma should be used as a yardstick for the efficiency of a thrombin inhibiting drug.

Factor Xa Inhibitors↗

PubMed2006

Review: Laboratory markers quantifying prothrombin activation and actions of thrombin in venous and arterial thrombosis do not accurately assess disease severity or the effectiveness of treatment.

Thrombin is normally produced for hemostasis and physiological wound healing. Increased thrombin production in vivo, cell activation and inflammation mediated in part by thrombin are hallmarks of both arterial and venous thrombosis. Thrombin generates (pro) coagulant, mitogenic, inflammatory and anticoagulant responses by interacting with a variety of cells in vivo. Both direct and indirect thrombin inhibitors are effective drugs for preventing and treating the consequences of arterial and venous thrombosis. For these reasons, measurements of the production and activities of thrombin in vivo have the potential for gauging the extent of thromboembolism and the responses of patients to anticoagulant, antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory drugs. However, a critical review of published information suggests that measurement of thrombin production and activity in patients at risk for and in patients with significant thrombosis generally does not provide information useful for clinical decision-making. This lack of clinical utility of levels of thrombin production in vivo may arise from two causes: the inability of the measurement to differentiate between physiological (hemostatic) and disease-related (pathological) sources and/or causes of thrombin productio n in vivo, and the inability of antithrombotic treatment modalities to permanently eliminate the stimuli that cause increased thrombin production evident in venous and arterial thrombosis.

Biomarkers↗

PubMed1991

The N-terminal acidic domain of heparin cofactor II mediates the inhibition of alpha-thrombin in the presence of glycosaminoglycans.

Heparin cofactor II (HCII) is a glycoprotein in human plasma that inhibits thrombin and chymotrypsin. Inhibition occurs when the protease attacks the reactive site peptide bond in HCII (Leu444-Ser445) and becomes trapped as a covalent 1:1 complex. Dermatan sulfate and heparin increase the rate of inhibition of thrombin, but not of chymotrypsin, greater than 1000-fold. The N-terminal portion of HCII contains two acidic repeats (Glu56-Asp-Asp-Asp-Tyr-Leu-Asp and Glu69-Asp-Asp-Asp-Tyr-Ile-Asp) that may bind to anion-binding exosite I of thrombin to facilitate covalent complex formation. To examine the importance of the acidic domain, we have constructed a series of 5' deletions in the HCII cDNA and expressed the recombinant HCII (rHCII) in Escherichia coli. Apparent second-order rate constants (k2) for inhibition of alpha-thrombin and chymotrypsin by each variant were determined. Deletion of amino acid residues 1-74 had no effect on the rate of inhibition of alpha-thrombin or chymotrypsin in the absence of a glycosaminoglycan. Similarly, the rate of inhibition of alpha-thrombin in the presence of a glycosaminoglycan was unaffected by deletion of residues 1-52. However, deletion of residues 1-67 (first acidic repeat) or 1-74 (first and second acidic repeats) greatly decreased the rate of inhibition of alpha-thrombin in the presence of heparin, dermatan sulfate, or a dermatan sulfate hexasaccharide that comprises the minimum high-affinity binding site for HCII. Deletion of one or both of the acidic repeats increased the apparent affinity of rHCII for heparin-Sepharose, suggesting that the acidic domain may interact with the glycosaminoglycan-binding site of native rHCII. The stimulatory effect of glycosaminoglycans on native rHCII was decreased by a C-terminal hirudin peptide which binds to anion-binding exosite I of alpha-thrombin. Furthermore, the ability of native rHCII to inhibit gamma-thrombin, which lacks the binding site for hirudin, was stimulated weakly by glycosaminoglycans. These results support a model in which the stimulatory effect of glycosaminoglycans on the inhibition of alpha-thrombin is mediated, in part, by the N-terminal acidic domain of HCII.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1986

The kinetics of inhibition of alpha-thrombin in human plasma.

Methods have been developed for kinetic studies of the inhibition of exogenous unmodified thrombin in human plasma containing normal levels of fibrinogen and calcium ion. To prevent interference by other proteases, factor VIII-deficient plasma was used and contained 50 nM Phe-Phe-Arg-chloromethyl ketone and 1 kallikrein-inactivating unit/ml aprotinin; neither inhibited thrombin at these levels. Two independent assays were used. The first was the discontinuous amidolytic assay of thrombin activity, which measures both free thrombin and thrombin-alpha 2-macroglobulin complex, and was used to estimate the rates of inhibition both by "inactivating" inhibitors, such as anti-thrombin and alpha 1-protease inhibitor, and by alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M). The contribution of alpha 2M was confirmed by a second method, which measured with time the generation of amidolytic activity due to the thrombin-alpha 2M complex. The total rate of thrombin inhibition in plasma containing 4 mM free Ca2+ was of the order of 1.9 min-1, of which 0.4 min-1 was due to alpha 2M and 0.9 min-1 was due to inhibitors that were removed when plasma was passed through heparin-agarose. Thrombin inhibition was also measured in varying dilutions of plasma and confirmed that total inhibition rate is approximately linearly related to plasma (and thus inhibitor) concentration. Negatively charged phospholipid micelles had very little effect on thrombin inhibition rate, but platelets accelerated inhibition to more than 2.5 min-1.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

PubMed1989

Thrombin enhances release of tissue plasminogen activator from bovine corneal endothelial cells.

The effect of thrombin on release of plasminogen activators (PAs) was studied using cultivated endothelial cells of the bovine cornea. Species of PAs released into the conditioned medium were determined by fibrin autography and immunological analyses. Chromogenic peptide (S-2251) microassay was used for a quantitative estimation of the PA activity in conditioned medium and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for tissue plasminogen activator concentration. Fibrin autography revealed that cultured bovine corneal endothelial cells released into the conditioned medium tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and urokinase type plasminogen activator (u-PA). Addition of increasing concentrations (0.1 to 10.0 U/ml) of thrombin to the confluent cultures led to a dose-dependent increase in the rate of release of t-PA, while there was no significant increase in the release of u-PA. About a 2-fold increase in the t-PA concentration occurred when 10.0 U/ml thrombin was to the confluent cultures for 24 hr. Thrombin induced an increase in the release of t-PA, in a time-dependent manner. The addition of cycloheximide or actinomycin D to the thrombin-treated cultures resulted in a reduction of t-PA levels in the media. These findings indicate that the enhancing effect of thrombin is due to an increase in t-PA production, via protein synthesis. Thrombin inactivated with diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) did not induce an increase in t-PA levels. A 100-fold excess of DFP-treated thrombin did not inhibit the thrombin-induced increase. These findings indicate that binding ability and the effect of t-PA release depend on the enzymatically active site of thrombin.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Factor XIIIa formation promoted by complexing of alpha-thrombin, fibrin, and plasma factor XIII.

Fibrin polymers (des A,B fibrinogen) reduced the concentration of alpha-thrombin required for 50% activation of plasma factor XIII (a2b2 tetramer) by approximately 100-fold. In the presence of fibrin, the amount of gamma-thrombin required for activation was not affected. Catalytically inactive i-Pr2P- and D-Phe-Pro-Arg-CH2-alpha-thrombin were found to inhibit over 95% of the activation by alpha-thrombin in the presence of fibrin. Unlike plasma factor XIII, the concentration of alpha-thrombin required for 50% activation of platelet factor XIII (a2 dimer) was lower, and the activation was not enhanced by fibrin. However, when the a2 platelet factor XIII was incubated with purified b-chains, the alpha- and gamma-thrombin concentrations required for activation increased tenfold and reached levels similar to those required for activation of the plasma factor XIII. When fibrin was present, the alpha-thrombin concentrations needed for activation of the a2b2 complexes were reduced, and the presence of fibrin had no effect on gamma-thrombin cleavage of the a2b2 complexes. Therefore, the b-chains must inhibit a-chain cleavage by alpha-thrombin in the absence of fibrin. These results imply that the formation of a cocomplex involving alpha-thrombin, fibrin, and plasma factor XIII causes some conformational change in plasma factor XIII such that the b-chains no longer inhibit cleavage of the a-chains.

Factor XIII↗

PubMed1989

Antithrombin activity of fucoidan. The interaction of fucoidan with heparin cofactor II, antithrombin III, and thrombin.

Fucoidan, poly(L-fucopyranose) linked primarily alpha 1----2 with either a C3- or a C4-sulfate, is an effective anticoagulant in vitro and in vivo (Springer, G. F., Wurzel, H. A., McNeal, G. M., Jr., Ansell, N. J., and Doughty, M. F. (1957) Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 94, 404-409). We have determined the antithrombin effects of fucoidan on the glycosaminoglycan-binding plasma proteinase inhibitors antithrombin III and heparin cofactor II. Fucoidan enhances the heparin cofactor II-thrombin reaction more than 3500-fold. The apparent second-order rate constant of thrombin inhibition by heparin cofactor II increases from 4 x 10(4) (in the absence of fucoidan) to 1.5 x 10(8) M-1 min-1 as the fucoidan concentration increases from 0.1 to 10 micrograms/ml and then decreases as fucoidan is increased above 10 micrograms/ml. The fucoidan reaction with heparin cofactor II-thrombin is kinetically equivalent to a "template model." Apparent fucoidan-heparin cofactor II and fucoidan-thrombin dissociation constants are 370 and 1 nM, respectively. The enhancement of thrombin inhibition by fucoidan, like heparin and dermatan sulfate, is eliminated by selective chemical modification of lysyl residues either of heparin cofactor II or of thrombin. The fucoidan-antithrombin III reactions with thrombin and factor Xa are accelerated maximally 285- and 35-fold at fucoidan concentrations of 30 and 500 micrograms/ml, respectively. Using human plasma and 125I-labeled thrombin in an ex vivo system, the heparin cofactor II-thrombin complex is formed preferentially over the antithrombin III-thrombin complex in the presence of 10 micrograms/ml fucoidan. Our results indicate that heparin cofactor II is activated by fucoidan in vitro and in an ex vivo plasma system and suggest that the major antithrombin activity of fucoidan in vivo is mediated by heparin cofactor II and not by antithrombin III.

Antithrombin III↗